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Can I Name a Baby Charlotte in Charlotte?
Filed under: Baby Names, Expert Advice: Pregnancy
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, whereas others sound extra-appealing. And still others just sound like, well, names.
On 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, N.Y., 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 U.S. 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, N.Y., 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, N.C., 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.
Have you run into names shared with a map, or a dictionary? Share your experiences here. And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 3)
8-19-2010 @ 7:27PM
Dolores said...Loved your comment...what a great sense of humor...
8-19-2010 @ 3:57PM
Kathleen Vaughan said...And let's not forget that great state "Texas". I've seen both sexes named that. Dakota has been a favorite of late as well. Tyler and Mason are two other place names that come to mind, What I really hate is when people feel compelled to get creative with the way a name is spelled. You take an ordinary name like Carolyn and decide to change it to Karoliyne, and I guarantee you, that name will be misspelled forever more.
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 3:59PM
Brenda said...Just don't name her Apple or some weird name...
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 4:01PM
Eve said...What a stupid thing to worry about. Although Charlotte is old-fashioned, it is a valid name no matter where you live. Try living with my grandson's name -- Bram. Apparently my daughter saw "Dracula" while she was pregnant and thought Bram Stoker. How cool! No not cool. Everytime I mention his name the person says "What's his name?" The boy is tall, blond with blue eyes. Not a "Bram."
Reply
8-24-2010 @ 2:29PM
kelly said...You do realize that Bram is a form of Abraham? Bram Stoker's father was in fact named Abraham. They were Irish. Bram is popular in dutch speaking countries, so tall and blond and blue eyed is not unusual for a fellow named Bram.
But I do feel your pain. A friend of the family has a new grand daughter. Her name is Ocean.
I already cringe for her. Wait until she's in middle school and her birthday rolls around. "Ocean's eleven!"
8-19-2010 @ 4:13PM
kelly said...that is the dumbest question i have ever read....
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 5:59PM
Shelly said...NC Mom,
I have a daughter who is now 20 her name is Charlotte. You couldn't pick a more beautiful name. But to your point. I have a daughter named Elizabeth and when she was 10 we moved the house we bought is on Elizabeth Ave. She thought it was great.
Good luck.
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 4:28PM
WHAT said...What is wrong with the name Charlotte?
Signed Charlotte
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8-19-2010 @ 4:32PM
Amanda said...There's nothing wrong with naming your daughter Charlotte. I have a cousin with that name, and it's beautiful! Not to mention that the name Charlotte means "womanly!" If she grows up to be a girl who's not afraid to acknowledge her feminine side, then the name will suit her to a T!
My older daughter's middle name is Virginia, but she's named after her paternal great-grandmother, not the state. So far, nobody's asked us whether or not we named her after the state of Virginia, but never say never.
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8-19-2010 @ 4:33PM
Jane Thibodeau said...What's the big deal? I have a friend who lives in Addison TX and guess what ? She named her daughter Addison!!!!
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8-19-2010 @ 4:43PM
A.D. said...Go with it if you love it but whatever you do... please do not change the spelling. The way people swap letters these days in an attempt to be clever or edgy is moronic and trashy.
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8-19-2010 @ 4:46PM
Alejandra said...My cousin is named Lindsay, lives on Lindsay st in Lindsay Ca!
She's 17yrs old and has always loved writing her name and adress on documents :)
So go for it, no worries
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 4:53PM
Dale said...Hi, You shouLd name your child/children any name you want. It's aLL about "the feeling" so go with that, and don't worry about " what "eveybody" thnks. My gkids are :: BLaze Star girL, Dakota Storm boy, Austin Kyle boy, Madison RieLy boy, My Neice 's name is : Autum Sky and they never lived in any of those cities/states their names all came from "the feeling" And mine is : DaLe , and I'm a girL. Way to long to share on all the stories of each name but still go with your feeeeeelings !! CongratuLations... See you soon Charlotte Rae
DaLe
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 5:05PM
David S. said...The fact that this woman asked such a question shows she's not rowing with both oars in the water.....
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 5:44PM
Joe said...Try having a child who your ex named "Algernon" and calls him "Alge" all the time....
Reply
8-19-2010 @ 6:07PM
Charlotte said...I'm a Charlotte, and I love my name more with every passing year. In this world of cute, trendy, often made-up names, I am always thankful that mine is timeless and -- to my mind -- sophisticated. The only thing I would warn against is a change in the usual spelling. The name is lovely, and it deserves to be spelled according to tradition. I cannot abide it when people spell it incorrectly. I never associate my name with a city. Rather, I remember that Charlotte, North Carolina, was named in honor of Queen Charlotte of England (wife of King George III). That's a far more noble connection, don't you think?
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8-19-2010 @ 6:10PM
Bonbon said...When my son told me they were naming their daughter Dakota I thought it was kind of weird but now it's a very popular name so I guess a lot of people felt the same way. But when I asked him why they wanted to name her Dakota, he said, "Because Mississippi is too long!"
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8-20-2010 @ 6:25AM
Bob said...Isn't opne of the Sex in the City characters name Charlotte? My only caution would be is to be aware of the first and last name combination, like Helen Montana, if your last naem is Montana or if your last name is North be sure your daughter doesn't get involved with any body with the last name of Dakota if you give her the first name Fargo, Minot or some close variation.
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8-19-2010 @ 6:19PM
Sheila said...My parents were living in Virginia and thinking of naming me Virginia Greene. One day they were driving around and saw a sign that said "Help Keep Virginia Green" Decided to go with something else!
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8-19-2010 @ 6:24PM
Emily said...Brooklyn is the 37th most popular girls name. On what list? Wow, who in their right mind would name their daughter that?
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