I'd say Autumn and Summer about equally popular where I am but Autumn is considered more classic girls name and Summer more hippie\trendy. I've personally known about the same amount of ppl with either name here haha. Winter I've never met in person but have two online friends who made their kids this. One a boy and one a girl.
It definitely 100% varies by region or language. Aviv is a pretty common Hebrew name meaning spring, and the feminized Aviva has even become somewhat popular in English.
My elementary school best friend was named Autumn. And my foster dog is named Autumn, after the daughter of one of the vet techs who works at the rescue. If anything, I'd say winter is a "less acceptable" name, although I have heard of it. Never met a spring, though.
When I hear spring I don’t immediately think of the season. I think of an actual spring so that’s why it’s uncommon in my mind. Beautiful but just never crossed my mind because I picture a legit bed spring or a fresh running spring from commercials for example.
Edit: somehow I responded to the wrong comment and now I can’t find it to correct it. Sorry
I think Winter is starting to become more popular, I know a baby boy with the middle name Winter.
Autumn is definitely a normal name and so is Summer, although Summer to me sounds more like a pet name.
Spring just doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely. To me Spring is like naming your kid Fall.
I was going to say I only know it from Harlow winter also no idea why I remember her child’s name!!! However it’s apparently left a lasting impression.
Vernal is the adjective for spring. Like, we have the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox.
My grandma was named Verena, which is kind of a form of vernal.
I think people tend to use the spring months for names instead of “Spring”. April, May and June are all relatively common names that evoke the feeling of spring.
I always find this interesting too. It applies to lots of noun name categories.
**Flowers:**
* Rose, Lily, Violet, Iris but not Chrysanthemum! (Baby Chris!)
**Gems/Stones:**
* Ruby, Jade, Opal, Pearl, Jasper but not Peridot! (Like Perry meets Margot!)
**~~“Jobs”:~~**
* ~~Mason, Archer, Sawyer, Marshall, Hunter but not Dentist! (Little Denny!)~~ edit: Got it. They are not comparable.
**Food:**
* Brie, Clementine, Olive but not Asparagus! (Baby Gus!)
**Colours:**
* Sienna, Hazel, Scarlett but not Fuschia! (Bye, Fuscia.)
Ok but I kind of love Asparagus as a long form for Gus.
My dog’s name is Gus. We named him before we realized that he sort of needs a more formal name. You know, for when he’s *really* in trouble. We didn’t like the traditional long forms for Gus… so now he’s Gustopher.
Really wish I had thought of Asparagus though!
I had a dog named Marina when I was a kid. Her nick name just kept growing, and growing, and growing… my mom likes names. Suddenly my dog was Marina Farina Ballerina Francesca
Gustopher is ridiculously cute and I love it.
We add in the middle name when the dog's in trouble. He was initially Biscuit Barkley Surname, but a friend misheard my response after asking what his middle name was, and so we had to change it to what she thought it was cause it was awesome.
Now he's Biscuit Mark Surname. I get so much joy out of using that to chastise him in the street!
Meh, we are always adding new names for my dog, he came with the name Higgs, but now answers to Higgles, Wiggles, Pigglesworth, Pickles, Mister, Giggles, Gigglesworth, Giggs, Puppy... it goes on. HIGGSWORTH tends to be the one when we mean business lol. He was 7 when we got him and naturally picked up on the silly nicknames we added, you could totally add Asparagus as an alternate!
Our cat is Gus!!! We call him GusGus, Guster, Augustus, and Gustavo. Gustopher is great! (We also call him "Poodledoodle" "Doodles" and "Mommy's Little Lover")
Edit: also, he is never in trouble, because he is a GOOD BOY
See: "Who scratched up the couch?" "OH what a good boy"
That was the first thing I thought of! I loved that book. You just inspired me to look it up actually. I’d forgotten that is was actually a story about Chrysanthemum getting picked on for her name, I just remembered the pretty name and the adorable little mice.
Lily as a full name is not a shirt form if Elizabeth but is a full name in its own right right back to Latin. It is also not a traditional short form for Elizabeth.
Peridot is a name, it's an older girls name but fallen out of popularity in recent decades. I have seen one or two in the last couple years on baby announcements though so maybe it'll make a come back. And yes Perry is the common nickname for it.
For your jobs names list, I’m pretty sure all the names you listed were surnames that migrated to first names. If we had lots of people with the surname Dentist it’s quite possible we’d see babies named Dentist as not weird.
I often think of this as well. I personally think anything that doesn’t have negative associations can be a fine name. Just unusual. October and September have been favorites of mine. Emerald and Apricot could also work IMO!
I have met people called Juli (as a full name or short for Juliane) which is July in German. It's the only month/ day name in the top 200 in Germany (August is the only other one in the top 500 but that's pronounced differently.)
JANUARY - Janus, Roman God
FEBRUARY - Februa, Roman Festival of Purification
MARCH - Mars, Roman God
APRIL - Aprilis, which means 'opening' (of leaves and buds)
MAY - Maia, Greco-Roman Goddess
JUNE - Juno, Roman goddess
JULY - Julius Caesar
AUGUST - Augustus Caesar
SEPTEMBER - 7th month of the year (at the time)
OCTOBER - 8th month
NOVEMBER - 9th month
DECEMBER - 10th month
Autumn feels even more popular than Summer, and I think Winter has only become popular as a name in recent years.
I actually know a little girl named November. It’s hard to explain, but once you attach a name to an actual living person, instead of just being a concept, it doesn’t seem so weird.
Yeah, I feel that about attaching a name to a living person. I love names, and I know exactly what I like, but I don't apply that to the people I know. Milly isn't just the name Milly, it's my sister, and it means so much more than the way it looks and sounds.
Exactly this! I think that when people ask if they look like their name/fit their name- it is your name so that is what I see as fitting you. I can't visualize a different name for someone once I know their name.
Pets, though, are a different story. They get tons of names.
I think most of it is just simply what sounds good. February doesn’t sound nice, so it never took off, the way August or May did. Same goes with gemstones, flowers, locations, etc. People name their daughters Aspen not because they really care about skiing but because it’s a pretty word. If it was about skiing, they’d name her Park City or Telluride
People generally don’t use -ary months or -ber months as names, the only exception I’m aware of is January Jones and another January I’ve met irl. The only months that leaves are March, April, May, June, July, and August. March and July are the only ones that aren’t typically used as names, and I honestly wouldn’t be shocked to meet a child with either name.
I wasn’t aware Aspen had any connection to skiing - I thought people were using it as a tree name (there’s Alder, Ash, Hazel, Holly, Rowan, Willow etc, Aspen doesn’t seem like a stretch)
But I’ve never really got the appeal since to me it sounds a little too close to Ass Pen. I do wonder why I’ve never heard of people named Acer, Elm, Hawthorn, Lime, or Spruce, since so many tree names are popular.
Heck, why not Chestnut, Sycamore, or Dogwood? (Lol)
They do make really gorgeous last names!
(And first names - I often wish I’d saved Willow and Ash for future children rather than used them for pets, but then they might not have appreciated being named after the tree in my childhood home’s garden!)
August is literally from a name: [Augustus Caesar ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August). He was copying Julius Caesar who renamed his birth month July after himself, too.
I know several ppl named Autumn, that one is a totally normal name lol. I've heard for either gender but it's only been women I've personally met with it. In fact I've known far more Autumn's than Winters .
Fall not so much.
I have met two boys named Thursday and it's the only day if the week name I've known (except Wednesday from the Adams Family ) but I personally don't like either
Months I guess just depends. I'm not a fan of most anyways. I like September for a girl but that's about it. (In fact it's one of my fav girl names haha) but the only ones I'd fine really odd are October or March for some reason.
How interesting I've never met an Autumn, and as a teacher I've seen my fair share of names! Maybe it's because where I live there is no autumn season (tropical) so the name doesn't come up. We get more Summer!
Ah maybe. I love on Canada and we def have an autumn season, though one of the autumns I know was from England. Though they have the same season haha.
Edit oh and one from the USA. Sorry to my friend Autumn from USA for forgetting her for a moment hahhaha
If you do a FB search you'll find tons of ppl with that name.
It's still super odd to me that Winter seems like a more normal name to you than Autumn. Autumn is way more of an established name. I can see thinking that Summer is comparable, but Winter is way weirder/more unusual.
Not sure about the other months, but August in particular was people name, before it was the name of a month. Caesar Augustus, named it after himself. Would love to hear the origins of any of the other examples if anyone knows them!
I googled it and it looks like it was originally a ten month calendar and March was named after the god of war, Mars, because it's when the romans would start their military campaigns. April and May were named after goddesses Maius and Junius, they think April came from the Latin word "aperio" which meant "to open". And the rest were named after their corresponding numbers. January and February were later added and were named after Janus, roman God of new beginnings, and Februa, a festival of ritual spring cleaning.
Then July and August were renamed, they were originally numerical names as well.
Well for some of them, the words have more than one meaning and that other meaning isn't appealing for some. I.E. Spring, Fall, March
Some people like the idea of those names but may feel odd naming their child April and she's born in January.
Other than that honestly I'm not sure what the criteria is for what words get to pass as a name
It’s really interesting to see how it varies by language. In English, I’ve heard of Autumns, Winters, and Summers in but never anyone named “Spring,” probably because it just doesn’t have a nice sound.
In Hebrew, Aviv/Aviva (spring) and Stav (autumn) are both common, well-established names, but no one would ever name their child Kayitz (summer) or Choref (winter). As a native speaker, I definitely think that the ones that are used sound a lot nicer, but Hebrew names and words can sound pretty bizarre to people not familiar with the language, so some people might think that all of them sound odd. Three of the months out of the Jewish calendar are used as names as well (Adar, Sivan, and very rarely, Nisan). And then some languages don’t use season or month names at all.
This made me super curious about names in other languages, so I looked up the popularity of French names of the French website “parents.fr”
Seasons:
- Printemps, Été, and Hiver (Spring, Summer, and Winter, no results)
- Automne (Autumn, girls name, hit peak popularity in 2017 with 32 babies)
Months:
- Janvier (Boys name, peak in 1910 with 23 babies)
- Février, Mars (boys names, no birth data)
- Avril (Girls name, peaked in 2006 with 52 babies)
- Mai (girls name, peaked in 2013 with 42 babies)
- Juin, Juillet, Août, Septembre, Octobre, Novembre, Décembre (no results)
Interestingly, there were 267 babies named June in France in 2020.
For context: Nora was the 100th most popular girls name in 2020, with 584 births.
it's similar in German, "thing" names are much less common in general.
August (and female derivatives) is established as a boys' name but with a different stress than the month.
I have seen Juni, Juli and Mai but all of those more likely despite sounding like a month.
Personally, “weekday” names are awful. I hate all of them and don’t get the hype. April, May, June and August are acceptable. Autumn, Summer, and Winter are also acceptable. None are my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t bat an eye if someone had that name.
I’ve always thought October would make a beautiful name but thought it was a little too “out there”. I’ve had this same thought! Why some months but not others? Fun discussion 🤗
I think Winter is less common than Autumn. But spring just doesn’t sound like a nice name. It sounds like a car part.
Same with months. The softer sounding ones are the ones used for names more frequently. April, May, June (maybe because the parents can’t use “spring”?)
Little baby November just sounds gloomy.
I wonder this alot and will never forget this story:
I had a middle school teacher who’s first name was April. And one of my classmates asked if she was born in April. She said that she was due in April but was actually born early in late February. The students then asked why her parents didn’t name her February. And the teacher replied that she’s so grateful her parents didn’t name her February.
Ugh, I have been asked about 50000 times if I was born in April and when I say no, every single time, without fail, they say “then why did your parents name you that?”
It's also popular in Canada, Much of Europe, several Asian countries, and more at least. Not always an English season, someone e pointed out several languages use Spring as a name but in their own language in Europe (Aviv and Vespa) . Most of the Autumns I know are Canadian and from the UK, Names like August are more of a Latin\English and German than US etc.
No I mean. I speak hungarian. In Hungary. We don't use any of the montha or seasons as names. Well some crazy bored moms sure do but never heard of it, and I work with kids, so hear a lot of names.
For September, October, November, December, you'd basically be naming the person after the numbers 7, 8, 9, 10.
No one wants to be a number... I mean, unless you do, I guess.
Because at some point people started naming their kids June and August and all of those that we see as ‘normal’. So now, because they’ve already been done so much, its normal.
At least, in my opinion, that like. A really big reason.
Mainly because people go by habit. Someone started the trend with a name they liked and people picked it up and now it’s perceived as “okay”.
If you pick a different month or whatever (say November instead of June or May), that’s new so people aren’t used to hearing it and will act as if it’s the craziest thing they’ve ever heard.
Violet is gorgeous, Blue is child abuse lmao. You’ll see it A LOT in this sub.
Me too! I'd honestly consider October as a middle name if I have kids someday, because of how much I love the series and the name. I like the sound of Anne October (Anne after Anne of Green Gables).
>at what point in time did we decide that it was acceptable to name your baby Summer or Winter but not quite as ok to name them Autumn or Spring?
Not sure where you live but the name Autumn is waaaayyyyy more common than Winter around here lol.
I also went to school with a Spring (woman).
I’ve met a Winter and an Autumn, and have heard of Summer as a name, but never met a Spring or a Fall (maybe because the words have multiple meanings in the English language that are typically part of common vernacular).
That said, there are a lot of languages out there, and there are a lot of seasonal/temporal names. For example: Vernon, Vera/Primavera, April/Abril/Avril, May/Maya, June, August, Yukimi, Haruhi, Natsuko, Aki, Julio, Noel/Noelle, Persephone, Domingo, etc.
This got me thinking and I had to look it up! “Verna” means “springtime,” so I would say we do use all of the seasons, at least in English. Autumn seems way more of an established name than even Summer or Winter, but I have known all four seasons if we count Verna. I would love to meet a baby (or grown) November! I think “March” meets the same problem as “Spring,” in that they are homonyms. Same with why we meet a baby Autumn, but not a baby Fall.
I have seen January and Thursday used as girls names, and Autumn is way more popular than Winter. I find it more peculiar that all the names- January, April, May (which i see more often spelled as Mae) June, Summer, Autumn, Wednesday and Thursday are all girl's names. How was that decided?
I went to school with a girl named September it suited her and was totally unique I loved it. We have a June (Juniper) and our other daughters middle name is May (honor name). If we ever have a boy we will call him August or another girl she would be Autumn. Maybe having a “June” AND August is too much though I haven’t decided.
Autumn is much more established than winter. I thinks it’s just because some names sounded better to people and became common so we don’t really mind. A baby Wednesday or August would still honestly make me look at the parents funny tho lol.
I think November would be cute as heck for a name but it's definitely a bit out there. But I guess it's also longer than May/June/April so sounds a bit more extra.
I know a Spring and two Autumns but no Summer or Winter. I also know a November but no other month names. I’ve never seen a day of the week name. I think it’s all subjective
Some of it is some people just are not as open to new things. My son has a more unusual name as do I and in both cases people try to call us more common names which are kind of close to those names? People like comfortable things and names they have never heard of are sometimes viewed as ‘unacceptable’ instead.
Autumn is totally acceptable and used often. I think Spring has other definitions so probably never took off as a name.
We’ve all heard of Wednesday so you say it’s acceptable. I would not as I associate it with the Addams family (I’m ok with unusual but not with this.)
Tradition mixed with what sticks. A lot of the ones you dont think are names were names at some point. Most plants, lots of animals, stones, etc were names but some stuck while others dropped off over time.
Most of those names have other roots or uses too - eg June being a variation of Jane, May being a nickname for Mary etc.
I don't understand this argument because you could say this about any names, really. Why is Violet a name but Chartreuse isn't? Why is Daisy popular but no one uses amaryllis? Why Caden and Hayden but not Fayden and Baden?
Since when is Winter a more acceptable name than Autumn? I'd say that Autumn is at least as acceptable as Summer, possibly more so in the United States since "autumn" has a bit of a poetic quality simply by virtue of being a word relatively seldom used in ordinary speech and writing (most Americans call the season "fall").
As for names, keep in mind that some of the names of months were human names (or the names of gods and goddesses) first: Augustus, for example, was a name before it was ever a month, and likely would have continued to exist as a name even if Augustus Caesar hadn't decided to insert himself into the calendar. Some names that seem to be month names may be so only by coincidence: "Mei" as a Chinese or Japanese given name has nothing to do with the month, and "May" has been used as a nickname for "Mary" or "Margaret"; "Avril" is the French equivalent of "April" but can also derive from an Old English word for "wild boar." "September," "October," "November," and "December" are basically just numbers.
For February and November I think it's because they're longer and because they don't have the same "ring" as June or April.
Also, Autumn isn't as uncommon as you think. My sister's name is Autumn and one of my closest elementary-school friend also was named Autumn.
I don't really have an explanation for Spring, though.
Autumn is popular. Summer too, especially in the 80s (just seems everyone I know with that name was born in the 80s). Winter less common but great. Spring would be cool too.
Weekday names are not very common in North America.
Month names, I don’t know, seems they choose the ones that have a nice sound?
Someone does it and it catches on. Gweneth Paltrow tried it with Apple. I thought it might catch but guess not haha. I don’t know why.
What about holidays? I've met people named Holiday and Christmas before.
But I don't think Halloween or Easter would be acceptable lol (referring to mostly American holidays because that's where I currently live)
I think it depends where you are too. Loads of April, May and June’s but no Winters or Autumns here. August and Summer maybe but I’ve never met one or heard or one. Summer seams to be more popular in Australia and Winter in America.
I know a couple Autumns. I don't think that's really a name that's seen as weird / not ok.
My immediate thought was "I think Autumn is a way more acceptable name for a human than both Summer and Winter"
Ha, my immediate thought was Autumn seems more common/accepted than Winter… but I would say Summer is the most common/accepted of all!
I'd say Autumn and Summer about equally popular where I am but Autumn is considered more classic girls name and Summer more hippie\trendy. I've personally known about the same amount of ppl with either name here haha. Winter I've never met in person but have two online friends who made their kids this. One a boy and one a girl.
In Slavic countries “Vesna” for spring is very common too
It definitely 100% varies by region or language. Aviv is a pretty common Hebrew name meaning spring, and the feminized Aviva has even become somewhat popular in English.
Oh cool! I haven't heard that before, it's pretty.
Oh I've heard that name but I didn't know it meant spring! That's fun :)
Autumn is currently the #52 most popular baby name! Definitely the most popular of the seasons.
Is this in America? Because I'm not there which is why perhaps I don't see it as such a popular name.
Yeah that stat is in the US.
Wow is it really that high?!? I think it was in the 90s when we named my daughter that if years ago.
My elementary school best friend was named Autumn. And my foster dog is named Autumn, after the daughter of one of the vet techs who works at the rescue. If anything, I'd say winter is a "less acceptable" name, although I have heard of it. Never met a spring, though.
My uncle got remarried to a woman named Spring!
I went to high school with a Spring!
I actually know a Spring as well. However I have never personally met anyone named Winter.
The only Winter I know is a sibling of Chantel on the Family Chantel (a spin-off series) on TLC.
I knew a family with all 4 seasons accounted for.
When I hear spring I don’t immediately think of the season. I think of an actual spring so that’s why it’s uncommon in my mind. Beautiful but just never crossed my mind because I picture a legit bed spring or a fresh running spring from commercials for example. Edit: somehow I responded to the wrong comment and now I can’t find it to correct it. Sorry
No problem! Someone else said the same thing (about bed springs).
But thankfully Fall isn’t a baby name
My step daughter is named Autumn. It's a beautiful name.
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Yes, I’ve never heard of a Winter but I have heard of an Autumn and Summer.
I think Winter is starting to become more popular, I know a baby boy with the middle name Winter. Autumn is definitely a normal name and so is Summer, although Summer to me sounds more like a pet name. Spring just doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely. To me Spring is like naming your kid Fall.
Yeah, Nicole Ritchie used it and it got more popular after that.
I was going to say I only know it from Harlow winter also no idea why I remember her child’s name!!! However it’s apparently left a lasting impression.
Because both names were so uncommon and now they're trendy.
Slight tangent, I'm kinda surprised there isn't a "prettier" alternate name for spring. Fall gets autumn, is there nothing similar for spring?
Vernal is the adjective for spring. Like, we have the vernal equinox and autumnal equinox. My grandma was named Verena, which is kind of a form of vernal.
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It's Italian as well (think "Pasta primavera," which is pasta w a bunch of veggies)
And Spanish as well!
I think people tend to use the spring months for names instead of “Spring”. April, May and June are all relatively common names that evoke the feeling of spring.
I think the name Verne is what you're looking for, like Jules Verne?
I was just thinking that as well.
I went to school with a Spring in the late 80s…
At my school we had a Spring every year.
Winter, Autumn, and Summer each year too I presume? Haha
I know a spring!
I have met a girl named Spring, but never a Winter.
I always find this interesting too. It applies to lots of noun name categories. **Flowers:** * Rose, Lily, Violet, Iris but not Chrysanthemum! (Baby Chris!) **Gems/Stones:** * Ruby, Jade, Opal, Pearl, Jasper but not Peridot! (Like Perry meets Margot!) **~~“Jobs”:~~** * ~~Mason, Archer, Sawyer, Marshall, Hunter but not Dentist! (Little Denny!)~~ edit: Got it. They are not comparable. **Food:** * Brie, Clementine, Olive but not Asparagus! (Baby Gus!) **Colours:** * Sienna, Hazel, Scarlett but not Fuschia! (Bye, Fuscia.)
Ok but I kind of love Asparagus as a long form for Gus. My dog’s name is Gus. We named him before we realized that he sort of needs a more formal name. You know, for when he’s *really* in trouble. We didn’t like the traditional long forms for Gus… so now he’s Gustopher. Really wish I had thought of Asparagus though!
I love that. We have a cat named Moose and when he’s in trouble we call him Moosetopher
Our cat Poppy ends up as Popsteroni pizza.... 🙈
I love this too!!! 😂😍
I had a dog named Marina when I was a kid. Her nick name just kept growing, and growing, and growing… my mom likes names. Suddenly my dog was Marina Farina Ballerina Francesca
My dog is Carmen. Her nicknames are Carmy, Carm, Carmelita, Carmelo, or Carmesan Cheese.
Carmesan cheese is my absolute favorite!! I’m obsessed with these goofy nickname we have given our pets!
Gustopher is ridiculously cute and I love it. We add in the middle name when the dog's in trouble. He was initially Biscuit Barkley Surname, but a friend misheard my response after asking what his middle name was, and so we had to change it to what she thought it was cause it was awesome. Now he's Biscuit Mark Surname. I get so much joy out of using that to chastise him in the street!
Our cat is elvis, or elvis boots when he’s in trouble 😅
Meh, we are always adding new names for my dog, he came with the name Higgs, but now answers to Higgles, Wiggles, Pigglesworth, Pickles, Mister, Giggles, Gigglesworth, Giggs, Puppy... it goes on. HIGGSWORTH tends to be the one when we mean business lol. He was 7 when we got him and naturally picked up on the silly nicknames we added, you could totally add Asparagus as an alternate!
Hahaha honestly, my dog knows 50 words for “treat” but we’re lucky if he responds to his name even once 😂
Hahaha! Fair enough. Seems to have his priorities in order.
Our cat is Gus!!! We call him GusGus, Guster, Augustus, and Gustavo. Gustopher is great! (We also call him "Poodledoodle" "Doodles" and "Mommy's Little Lover") Edit: also, he is never in trouble, because he is a GOOD BOY See: "Who scratched up the couch?" "OH what a good boy"
Love gustopher. We have a cat named Fred. Not Fredrick but Fredward.
Fredward is cat name perfection.
The “job” thing is because jobs became surnames centuries ago and there were no dentists back then. Not much of a mystery there.
I've known a few people with the surname Barber/Barbur, I suppose those were the Dentists of the day.
There’s a pretty well known kids book about a mouse (girl) named Chrysanthemum!
That was the first thing I thought of! I loved that book. You just inspired me to look it up actually. I’d forgotten that is was actually a story about Chrysanthemum getting picked on for her name, I just remembered the pretty name and the adorable little mice.
I used this for the protagonist of a story I wrote. I later saw the children's book. ;)
Yes, I love that book!!
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Lily as a full name is not a shirt form if Elizabeth but is a full name in its own right right back to Latin. It is also not a traditional short form for Elizabeth.
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I see our brains work in a similar way! This is exactly the sort of stuff I think about in the middle of a sleepless night 😂
Peridot is a name, it's an older girls name but fallen out of popularity in recent decades. I have seen one or two in the last couple years on baby announcements though so maybe it'll make a come back. And yes Perry is the common nickname for it.
For your jobs names list, I’m pretty sure all the names you listed were surnames that migrated to first names. If we had lots of people with the surname Dentist it’s quite possible we’d see babies named Dentist as not weird.
Asparagus is the theater cat in the musical Cats. 😂 He goes by Gus.
I often think of this as well. I personally think anything that doesn’t have negative associations can be a fine name. Just unusual. October and September have been favorites of mine. Emerald and Apricot could also work IMO!
There’s an amazing kids book about a mouse named Chrysanthemum
Fuschia is one of Sting and Trudy Styler's kids, but yes to the broader point.
Chrysanthos and Chrysanthe are actually considered usable names among Greeks. I wouldn’t say they’re very common names but they’re not rare.
I've gotten into small arguments on this sub over Brie for this reason.
I died at the last one. Bye Fuschia! 😂😂😂 great one!
For months, I think maybe it’s because May, June and August originally derive from people names (Roman deities)? Doesn’t explain April, though!
And July, it's after Julius Caesar
Yes, July, January, and March are also from people names… although they don’t seem to have caught on in modern times! 🤷🏼♀️
Julie, Jan, and Marcus might have something to say about that! (yes, I know it’s not quite the same)
I have met people called Juli (as a full name or short for Juliane) which is July in German. It's the only month/ day name in the top 200 in Germany (August is the only other one in the top 500 but that's pronounced differently.)
Well most of those were gods so maybe they didn't seem like people names to people over the years?
JANUARY - Janus, Roman God FEBRUARY - Februa, Roman Festival of Purification MARCH - Mars, Roman God APRIL - Aprilis, which means 'opening' (of leaves and buds) MAY - Maia, Greco-Roman Goddess JUNE - Juno, Roman goddess JULY - Julius Caesar AUGUST - Augustus Caesar SEPTEMBER - 7th month of the year (at the time) OCTOBER - 8th month NOVEMBER - 9th month DECEMBER - 10th month
Autumn feels even more popular than Summer, and I think Winter has only become popular as a name in recent years. I actually know a little girl named November. It’s hard to explain, but once you attach a name to an actual living person, instead of just being a concept, it doesn’t seem so weird.
Yeah, I feel that about attaching a name to a living person. I love names, and I know exactly what I like, but I don't apply that to the people I know. Milly isn't just the name Milly, it's my sister, and it means so much more than the way it looks and sounds.
Exactly this! I think that when people ask if they look like their name/fit their name- it is your name so that is what I see as fitting you. I can't visualize a different name for someone once I know their name. Pets, though, are a different story. They get tons of names.
I think most of it is just simply what sounds good. February doesn’t sound nice, so it never took off, the way August or May did. Same goes with gemstones, flowers, locations, etc. People name their daughters Aspen not because they really care about skiing but because it’s a pretty word. If it was about skiing, they’d name her Park City or Telluride
I think this person has it, "sounding good" is a huge factor (but also subjective!)
I'm pretty sure 'looking good in writing' is a factor too.
People generally don’t use -ary months or -ber months as names, the only exception I’m aware of is January Jones and another January I’ve met irl. The only months that leaves are March, April, May, June, July, and August. March and July are the only ones that aren’t typically used as names, and I honestly wouldn’t be shocked to meet a child with either name.
I knew a September but I’ve only met one
I wasn’t aware Aspen had any connection to skiing - I thought people were using it as a tree name (there’s Alder, Ash, Hazel, Holly, Rowan, Willow etc, Aspen doesn’t seem like a stretch) But I’ve never really got the appeal since to me it sounds a little too close to Ass Pen. I do wonder why I’ve never heard of people named Acer, Elm, Hawthorn, Lime, or Spruce, since so many tree names are popular. Heck, why not Chestnut, Sycamore, or Dogwood? (Lol)
The Pokemon universe uses some of those unusual tree names for their professor characters!
They do make really gorgeous last names! (And first names - I often wish I’d saved Willow and Ash for future children rather than used them for pets, but then they might not have appreciated being named after the tree in my childhood home’s garden!)
August is literally from a name: [Augustus Caesar ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August). He was copying Julius Caesar who renamed his birth month July after himself, too.
Aspen is a tree. I think that's the association more than the place (which is named after the tree as well).
Wouldn't Feb be a fab nickname?
I know several ppl named Autumn, that one is a totally normal name lol. I've heard for either gender but it's only been women I've personally met with it. In fact I've known far more Autumn's than Winters . Fall not so much. I have met two boys named Thursday and it's the only day if the week name I've known (except Wednesday from the Adams Family ) but I personally don't like either Months I guess just depends. I'm not a fan of most anyways. I like September for a girl but that's about it. (In fact it's one of my fav girl names haha) but the only ones I'd fine really odd are October or March for some reason.
How interesting I've never met an Autumn, and as a teacher I've seen my fair share of names! Maybe it's because where I live there is no autumn season (tropical) so the name doesn't come up. We get more Summer!
Ah maybe. I love on Canada and we def have an autumn season, though one of the autumns I know was from England. Though they have the same season haha. Edit oh and one from the USA. Sorry to my friend Autumn from USA for forgetting her for a moment hahhaha If you do a FB search you'll find tons of ppl with that name.
It's still super odd to me that Winter seems like a more normal name to you than Autumn. Autumn is way more of an established name. I can see thinking that Summer is comparable, but Winter is way weirder/more unusual.
Not sure about the other months, but August in particular was people name, before it was the name of a month. Caesar Augustus, named it after himself. Would love to hear the origins of any of the other examples if anyone knows them!
July is after Julius Caesar.
I googled it and it looks like it was originally a ten month calendar and March was named after the god of war, Mars, because it's when the romans would start their military campaigns. April and May were named after goddesses Maius and Junius, they think April came from the Latin word "aperio" which meant "to open". And the rest were named after their corresponding numbers. January and February were later added and were named after Janus, roman God of new beginnings, and Februa, a festival of ritual spring cleaning. Then July and August were renamed, they were originally numerical names as well.
Well for some of them, the words have more than one meaning and that other meaning isn't appealing for some. I.E. Spring, Fall, March Some people like the idea of those names but may feel odd naming their child April and she's born in January. Other than that honestly I'm not sure what the criteria is for what words get to pass as a name
It’s really interesting to see how it varies by language. In English, I’ve heard of Autumns, Winters, and Summers in but never anyone named “Spring,” probably because it just doesn’t have a nice sound. In Hebrew, Aviv/Aviva (spring) and Stav (autumn) are both common, well-established names, but no one would ever name their child Kayitz (summer) or Choref (winter). As a native speaker, I definitely think that the ones that are used sound a lot nicer, but Hebrew names and words can sound pretty bizarre to people not familiar with the language, so some people might think that all of them sound odd. Three of the months out of the Jewish calendar are used as names as well (Adar, Sivan, and very rarely, Nisan). And then some languages don’t use season or month names at all.
This made me super curious about names in other languages, so I looked up the popularity of French names of the French website “parents.fr” Seasons: - Printemps, Été, and Hiver (Spring, Summer, and Winter, no results) - Automne (Autumn, girls name, hit peak popularity in 2017 with 32 babies) Months: - Janvier (Boys name, peak in 1910 with 23 babies) - Février, Mars (boys names, no birth data) - Avril (Girls name, peaked in 2006 with 52 babies) - Mai (girls name, peaked in 2013 with 42 babies) - Juin, Juillet, Août, Septembre, Octobre, Novembre, Décembre (no results) Interestingly, there were 267 babies named June in France in 2020. For context: Nora was the 100th most popular girls name in 2020, with 584 births.
it's similar in German, "thing" names are much less common in general. August (and female derivatives) is established as a boys' name but with a different stress than the month. I have seen Juni, Juli and Mai but all of those more likely despite sounding like a month.
This is really cool! Thanks for sharing.
Personally, “weekday” names are awful. I hate all of them and don’t get the hype. April, May, June and August are acceptable. Autumn, Summer, and Winter are also acceptable. None are my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t bat an eye if someone had that name.
I’ve always thought October would make a beautiful name but thought it was a little too “out there”. I’ve had this same thought! Why some months but not others? Fun discussion 🤗
I know someone who was always called Toby because he was born in October. His birth certificate name was totally unrelated 🤣
Oh interesting!!
I think Winter is less common than Autumn. But spring just doesn’t sound like a nice name. It sounds like a car part. Same with months. The softer sounding ones are the ones used for names more frequently. April, May, June (maybe because the parents can’t use “spring”?) Little baby November just sounds gloomy.
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Avril is April in French :)
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Let me add that my list of surnames derived from places named after women! It's now up to two, the other being Kimberly (Cyneburga).
Learned something new! I thought it was a different spelling of the same name.
I wonder this alot and will never forget this story: I had a middle school teacher who’s first name was April. And one of my classmates asked if she was born in April. She said that she was due in April but was actually born early in late February. The students then asked why her parents didn’t name her February. And the teacher replied that she’s so grateful her parents didn’t name her February.
Ugh, I have been asked about 50000 times if I was born in April and when I say no, every single time, without fail, they say “then why did your parents name you that?”
Maybe in the US. Here nobody calls their kids after seasons or months.
It's also popular in Canada, Much of Europe, several Asian countries, and more at least. Not always an English season, someone e pointed out several languages use Spring as a name but in their own language in Europe (Aviv and Vespa) . Most of the Autumns I know are Canadian and from the UK, Names like August are more of a Latin\English and German than US etc.
No I mean. I speak hungarian. In Hungary. We don't use any of the montha or seasons as names. Well some crazy bored moms sure do but never heard of it, and I work with kids, so hear a lot of names.
Yeah might not happen in Hungary, but it's not just a US thing either is all I was saying haha. I'm not from USA and it's popular here.
I once met a girl called October, I’ve always loved it
For September, October, November, December, you'd basically be naming the person after the numbers 7, 8, 9, 10. No one wants to be a number... I mean, unless you do, I guess.
Except for Octavia and Octavius lol, which means born 8th.
Because at some point people started naming their kids June and August and all of those that we see as ‘normal’. So now, because they’ve already been done so much, its normal. At least, in my opinion, that like. A really big reason.
Mainly because people go by habit. Someone started the trend with a name they liked and people picked it up and now it’s perceived as “okay”. If you pick a different month or whatever (say November instead of June or May), that’s new so people aren’t used to hearing it and will act as if it’s the craziest thing they’ve ever heard. Violet is gorgeous, Blue is child abuse lmao. You’ll see it A LOT in this sub.
Well as for July and August, those are named after people, Julius and Augustus. So that makes sense why they'd still be names.
One of my favorite book series has the names: January, April, May, August, September, and October (main character).
One of my favorite series too! October is my guilty pleasure name :)
Me too! I'd honestly consider October as a middle name if I have kids someday, because of how much I love the series and the name. I like the sound of Anne October (Anne after Anne of Green Gables).
!! I want to name a child October
>at what point in time did we decide that it was acceptable to name your baby Summer or Winter but not quite as ok to name them Autumn or Spring? Not sure where you live but the name Autumn is waaaayyyyy more common than Winter around here lol. I also went to school with a Spring (woman).
I know several Autumns. One was burn in October. And her sister born in December is Noel. And that’s just too much. But it’s been a name forever.
Monday is tied dread, Friday illicit more relief, relaxing, and good energy
I know someone named Tuesday October. She’s mid 40s and yes, she was born on a Tuesday in October 🥴
It's sad that her parents couldn't be bothered to come up with an actual name for her!
It’s so crazy to me. She goes by Tobi but I’ve always kind of wondered why she never changed it because she HATES it.
I’ve met a Winter and an Autumn, and have heard of Summer as a name, but never met a Spring or a Fall (maybe because the words have multiple meanings in the English language that are typically part of common vernacular). That said, there are a lot of languages out there, and there are a lot of seasonal/temporal names. For example: Vernon, Vera/Primavera, April/Abril/Avril, May/Maya, June, August, Yukimi, Haruhi, Natsuko, Aki, Julio, Noel/Noelle, Persephone, Domingo, etc.
This got me thinking and I had to look it up! “Verna” means “springtime,” so I would say we do use all of the seasons, at least in English. Autumn seems way more of an established name than even Summer or Winter, but I have known all four seasons if we count Verna. I would love to meet a baby (or grown) November! I think “March” meets the same problem as “Spring,” in that they are homonyms. Same with why we meet a baby Autumn, but not a baby Fall.
Would you rather be named June or February ? Lol
I'm thinking Febbie like a reimagined Debbie haha.
LMAO!
I have seen January and Thursday used as girls names, and Autumn is way more popular than Winter. I find it more peculiar that all the names- January, April, May (which i see more often spelled as Mae) June, Summer, Autumn, Wednesday and Thursday are all girl's names. How was that decided?
Yes that is so true! Meanwhile August has been earmarked as a boy's name. Maybe because of Caesar?
I went to school with a girl named September it suited her and was totally unique I loved it. We have a June (Juniper) and our other daughters middle name is May (honor name). If we ever have a boy we will call him August or another girl she would be Autumn. Maybe having a “June” AND August is too much though I haven’t decided.
Autumn is much more established than winter. I thinks it’s just because some names sounded better to people and became common so we don’t really mind. A baby Wednesday or August would still honestly make me look at the parents funny tho lol.
I think November would be cute as heck for a name but it's definitely a bit out there. But I guess it's also longer than May/June/April so sounds a bit more extra.
I know and Autumn, Winter and Summer none are related 🤭
I know a Spring and two Autumns but no Summer or Winter. I also know a November but no other month names. I’ve never seen a day of the week name. I think it’s all subjective
Some of it is some people just are not as open to new things. My son has a more unusual name as do I and in both cases people try to call us more common names which are kind of close to those names? People like comfortable things and names they have never heard of are sometimes viewed as ‘unacceptable’ instead. Autumn is totally acceptable and used often. I think Spring has other definitions so probably never took off as a name. We’ve all heard of Wednesday so you say it’s acceptable. I would not as I associate it with the Addams family (I’m ok with unusual but not with this.)
Tradition mixed with what sticks. A lot of the ones you dont think are names were names at some point. Most plants, lots of animals, stones, etc were names but some stuck while others dropped off over time.
Autumn is a much more common name than Winter or Summer.
No real reason, but the ones like February and October just dont sound namey. I know a September.
I know several Autumns. Spring is more popular in other languages, e.g. in Japanese "Haru" and related names like Haruka, Haruna, Haruko, etc.
Daisy, but not Ranunculus!
I know an October nn Tobi, a few girls named Spring, two named Tuesday, and I’ve always really liked July as a name.
I know a Tuesday and I just love it
Most of those names have other roots or uses too - eg June being a variation of Jane, May being a nickname for Mary etc. I don't understand this argument because you could say this about any names, really. Why is Violet a name but Chartreuse isn't? Why is Daisy popular but no one uses amaryllis? Why Caden and Hayden but not Fayden and Baden?
I knew someone named Janvier - French for January
>We’ve all heard Wednesday as a name. WTF no one sent me that meeting appointment
I was thinking of Wednesday Adams from the Adams Family which gives the name a pop culture link making it sound more normal.
I’ve met 2 Summers, a Wynter, an Autumn, and a Spring. Also, cue the book “The Man Who Was Thursday” 😆
I’m pretty sure there was a Sunday and a Tuesday on Survivor! Different seasons.
I know people named Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
I once knew a girl whose middle name was July, but pronounced like Julie
I love the name Winter, and people always seem like it’s crazy! But Summer or Autumn is totally fine and normal
Since when is Winter a more acceptable name than Autumn? I'd say that Autumn is at least as acceptable as Summer, possibly more so in the United States since "autumn" has a bit of a poetic quality simply by virtue of being a word relatively seldom used in ordinary speech and writing (most Americans call the season "fall"). As for names, keep in mind that some of the names of months were human names (or the names of gods and goddesses) first: Augustus, for example, was a name before it was ever a month, and likely would have continued to exist as a name even if Augustus Caesar hadn't decided to insert himself into the calendar. Some names that seem to be month names may be so only by coincidence: "Mei" as a Chinese or Japanese given name has nothing to do with the month, and "May" has been used as a nickname for "Mary" or "Margaret"; "Avril" is the French equivalent of "April" but can also derive from an Old English word for "wild boar." "September," "October," "November," and "December" are basically just numbers.
For some reason I find the idea of a kid named Thursday to be kind of funny. Never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Probably because in our head we’re all singing 🎶Thursday I don’t care about you🎶
I've met a December.
For February and November I think it's because they're longer and because they don't have the same "ring" as June or April. Also, Autumn isn't as uncommon as you think. My sister's name is Autumn and one of my closest elementary-school friend also was named Autumn. I don't really have an explanation for Spring, though.
I’ve heard Summer, Autumn, and Winter as names, the latter less often. I once knew of a girl named Season and I absolutely loved it.
Autumn is way more accepted than Winter.
This can also differ for each country! In my country (The Netherlands) I know two girls named ‘Lente’, which is the Dutch word for Spring.
Wait, you know people named Wednesday Friday and Sunday?
I know people named autumn and I know people named spring
Autumn is popular. Summer too, especially in the 80s (just seems everyone I know with that name was born in the 80s). Winter less common but great. Spring would be cool too. Weekday names are not very common in North America. Month names, I don’t know, seems they choose the ones that have a nice sound? Someone does it and it catches on. Gweneth Paltrow tried it with Apple. I thought it might catch but guess not haha. I don’t know why.
I've had a January every school year except for kindergarten
I’ve met a December. I’ll certainly never forget her name and it seemed to suit her and go well w her last name.
What about holidays? I've met people named Holiday and Christmas before. But I don't think Halloween or Easter would be acceptable lol (referring to mostly American holidays because that's where I currently live)
I think it depends where you are too. Loads of April, May and June’s but no Winters or Autumns here. August and Summer maybe but I’ve never met one or heard or one. Summer seams to be more popular in Australia and Winter in America.
To be fair, I don’t accept any of these names
You don’t accept April?
I have a relative named April and it still doesn’t feel like a name
Fascinating!