Ultimately, we just loved the name- December 10, 2010

The night we brought our daughter home from the hospital, this episode of 30 Rock aired. Jack and Avery were discussing naming their daughter Charlotte. You see what Liz Lemon thought of it. Greyson and I almost fell off the couch laughing at the coincidence of this episode airing the day we brought our girl home. (I wish I could find the whole clip. Please, someone, let me know if you find it.)

To say I over-analyzed what to name my daughter is an understatement. But, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s an incredibly important decision. I mean, you are giving a person a name for the rest of their lives! If you’ll recall, I was looking for a not-too-common-not-too-unique-family-inspired-non slutty-name.

We had a list of the top 5 names. We were waiting to see her before naming her, but I think Greyson and I both knew Charlotte was our girl before we named her in the delivery room. We love it and truly picked the right name. However, I AGONIZED over Charlotte. I’ll admit now, I agonized a little too much. But, in my defense, I live in North Carolina. Granted, in Raleigh not in Charlotte, but it is the biggest city in our state. Greyson rolled his eyes as I wrote in to the Name Lady advice column this summer. But, I’m so glad I did! She took my question and made some excellent points about “place names” and helped us come to the right decision. (Click on the link and read the comments too. Good stuff!)

Can I Name a Baby Charlotte in Charlotte?

Aug 16th 2010

I’m a first time mom pregnant with a daughter. Our absolute favorite name is Charlotte. It’s just so beautiful! Here’s the catch. We live in North Carolina. Charlotte is the largest and most well-known city in our state. Is it out for us? – NC Mom

There’s no simple rule for how a place name plays to people from that place. Some city names sound silly on babies to the locals, while others sound extra-appealing. And still others just sound like, well, names.

For one end of the spectrum, take Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the 37th most popular girl’s name in the U.S. The closer you get to Brooklyn, New York, though, the less popular it gets. In New York State and New Jersey, the name has never cracked the top 100. Brooklyn-the-borough has such a powerful image there that namers stay away from it. But far from the Big Apple, where Brooklyn has less daily reality, the pretty sound and vaguely big city edge make the name extremely popular — it’s top-10 in Utah and South Dakota.

At the other extreme, Savannah is more popular in Georgia than in the US overall. Virginia the name was for several years most popular in the state of Virginia, and Caroline remains especially hot in the Carolinas. (Want to explore this on your own? Try the BabyNameWizard.com NameMapper tool.)

Part of the calculation is whether the image of the place fits the name’s style. Brooklyn, New York is many fine things, but sweet and girlish don’t top the list. Savannah, in contrast, is just right for Savannah, Georgia’s southern charm. In fact, the portrait of the city of Savannah in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil helped make the baby name popular.

Another factor is the name’s associations beyond the place. This is where Charlotte really shines. It’s a classic girl’s name, linked to centuries of culture from Charlotte Brontë to Charlotte’s Web to the Charlotte of Sex and the City. Even a city as strong as Charlotte, NC can’t dominate the name. As a result, Charlotte remains quite popular in your state. So go ahead and give your child the beautiful gift of your “absolute favorite name.” Your fellow North Carolinians should welcome her with open arms.

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
— E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web (I do love this book. It will be great when she reads it in the 1st or 2nd grade.)

On seeing the tacky floral arrangement at Miranda’s mother’s funeral, “They were supposed to say ‘I’m sorry. I love you.’ not ‘You’re dead. Let’s disco!'”- Charlotte, Sex and the City

From Wikipedia– Charlotte’s population was estimated by the US Census Bureau to be 709,441 in 2009 (the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce insists it is higher in mid-2010, at 756,912),^[1] making it the 18th largest city in the United States based on population.

We didn’t tell anyone our name choices. It was fun to make our final decision on the name the day she was born and reveal it to the family. We figured if we found out she was a girl, we’d at least leave the name as a surprise. Her middle name, Eva, is after my Great-Grandmother. Now, I hear Charlotte is becoming popular. {sigh} Hopefully not too popular, but it’s done now. There’s only one Charlotte in my eyes and she’s more beautiful than any children’s literary character, prim cable TV fashionista, or mid-sized southern city.

7 Responses to “Ultimately, we just loved the name- December 10, 2010”

The Cotton Wife says:

December 10, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Being due with a baby girl the week after Hurricane Isabelle hit was especially fun. Or not.

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C. Beth says:

December 10, 2010 at 12:50 pm

I love the Name Lady's response–seriously, what a fun thing for your daughter to read in the future!

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Cameron says:

December 12, 2010 at 9:17 pm

I love the name Charlotte!! It's so classic, but it's also really different because you don't hear it a lot! I think it's a great name!!

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Wendy says:

December 13, 2010 at 7:23 am

I know exactly how you feel. I'm torn with boy names. I've had my girl name picked since like 7th grade.

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Texan Mama @ Who Put Me In Charge says:

December 29, 2010 at 4:58 pm

I love the name Charlotte. So Pretty. And, I named my last daughter (born 2009) Amy. I've always wanted a daughter named Amy. It's a pretty, easily-spelled, simple name. But it's not too common anymore. Yet, it's plain enough but still beautiful!!!

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That’s MY name!- June 24, 2012 - Somebody's Parents says:

June 24, 2012 at 10:34 pm

[…] The ultimate decision. […]

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Chelsea Clinton Has A "Charlotte"- 09-27-14 » Somebody's Parents says:

September 27, 2014 at 2:41 pm

[…] chuckling at my friends’ comments. I thought of all the agony I put myself through before we chose the name I knew all along my heart was set on. No, my Charlotte wasn’t named after the largest city in […]

Reply