Name Madness 2013: Theme!

And the theme winner is... European Names!

The theme for Name Madness 2013 has been decided by you! Thank you to those who voted. Now it's up to you to share some of your favorite European names... boy and girl names that root in European countries or are the European version of names. Examples could include Esmé, Cillian, Catalina or Florian. Remember... I need 64 total names (32 boys and 32 girls), so please comment!

Name Madness 2013 will start in November so be on the lookout for the bracket in the next few weeks!

On Vacation... But Make Sure to Vote!

NameFreak is going on vacation! I may post on my Facebook page every now and then, but I don't think there will be a new blog post until November (save for what is mentioned next). In the meantime, think about what names you want to contribute to this year's Name Madness!!!

That's right! Name Madness 2013 is coming in November! Last year's Name Madness was a lot of fun with the theme of character names from TV, movies and books, and after several weeks of voting, the declared winners were Claire and Henry. What names will win this year? First we need to come up with a new theme! While I have some ideas - sports names, musician names, Hollywood names, celebrity baby names, European names - I cannot decide which one to do. So, over the next couple of weeks, I will be taking votes. Please take a second and vote in the poll to the right. I will try to announce the new theme around October 21, and then begin taking name suggestions for the tournament. I love something to look forward to!

See you in November!

P.S. Check out Nameberry today, where my post on The Fitzes is on the Berry Juice blog! You should also take a look at the new book, The Nameberry Guide to the Best Baby Names for Boys. It's a fabulous collection of all names blue!

We the People

Image of Constitutional Congress via Wikipedia

As the United States' government is now shut down, I cannot help but think of the law of the land. The US Constitution was the first of its kind and has been an influence on several other constitutions around the world. Think what you will about the people running the government, the law itself is pretty impressive. So, let's take a look at the names of the men who signed the law that allows something like a shutdown to happen but also still holds the country together. On September 17, 1787, 40 men signed the Constitution, and their names are:

George Washington
George Read
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jacob Broom
James McHenry
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Daniel Carroll
John Blair, Jr.
James Madison, Jr.
William Blount
Richard Dobbs Spaight
Hugh Williamson
John Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth (C.C.) Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
William Few, Jr.
Abraham Baldwin
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
William Samuel Johnson
Roger Sherman
Alexander Hamilton
William Livingston
David Brearley
William Paterson
Jonathan Dayton
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robert Morris, Jr.
George Clymer
Thomas Fitzsimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouverneur Morris
William Jackson

There are definitely a number of traditional names in the bunch, such as George, William, James, Thomas, Daniel and John. But there are also some great standouts, like Gunning, Hugh, Pierce, Abraham, Rufus, and Gouverneur! The surnames are also wonderful to consider; my favorites are Blair, Rutledge, Langdon, Shermon, Livingston, Dayton, Morris and Fitzsimons.

If you had to use one of the signers' names, which would you choose?