After many wonderful months as your ‘JustBabyNames’ scribe, this is my final post for the blog.

It has been a great experience for me, and I want to thank you for reading and commenting along.

I’ve had the chance to profile my own name a couple of times on the site. The first time was last December, when England’s Queen turned 80…

“The name “Elizabeth” comes from Greek variation of the Hebrew name, ‘Elisheva’ meaning ‘God’s promise’ or ‘God’s abundance.’ Some transcribe it to mean ‘My God is a vow’ or ‘My God is bountiful’ or ‘God’s plenty’.

The name dates back to the Bible, specifically to the mother of John the Baptist. In the Gospel of Luke, Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah were ‘righteous before God’, but childless. Then Zechariah was visited by the Angel Gabriel, who told him his wife would have a son - John. And that John would be special in the sight of God.

Luke also wrote that Elizabeth was cousin to Mary, Mother of Jesus, and that the two women carried their sons at the same time.”

Just a month or so later, James Cameron and Suzy Amis had a new daughter they named Elizabeth.

“…The name has been one of the most popular names for baby girls for as long back as records have been kept. The Social Security Administration has it in the top 25 as far back as their records go.”

From THIS particular Elizabeth, I wish you well.

Good night.

Little Ryder Russell Robinson has a new cousin.

Actor Oliver Hudson and Erinn Bartlett welcomed their first child, a little boy, on August 23, 2007, in Los Angeles, CA. The baby arrived a few weeks ahead of schedule but is reported to be healthy.

Oliver Hudson has said; “I’m so tired, but I’m on a high, and I want to take in all of it.”
Like Ryder, who has 3 surnames as a name (including that of Kurt Russell, who Katie Hudson consides a father), Oliver and Erinn have named their son Wilder Brooks Hudson.

The name “Wilder” is Saxon (old Germany) and means traveler, foreigner, or pilgrim. It also means forest-dweller.

“Brooks” comes from the word for a small stream. It was a last name once given, in addition to its many other assoications, to people from the area(s) of Brooksbank in old England.

Wendy Wilson now has 4 boys under the age of 4!

She’s part of the singing group “Wilson Phillips” with her sister Carnie and their friend Chynna Phillips.

Wendy married musician Daniel Knutson in 2002 (she now uses the name ‘Wendy Knutson’ non-professionally).

The next year, they welcomed their first son - Leo. The following year, second son Beau was born.

2004 was also the year Wilson Phillips released their first album in 7 years - California.

Then on August 17, 2007, Wendy gave birth to twin boys. Continuing their trend with strong ‘Cowboy’-type names, she and Daniel have named their newest sons Jesse and Will.
The name “Jesse” is ancient. Its roots are Hebrew and it means ‘Gift’ or ‘Wealthy’, and ‘God Exists’. From the legend of Jesse James, it has long been associated with the West, outlaws, and rebellion.

We’ve profiled variations of the name ‘William’ before - most recently when William Huckleberry Paisley was born. It’s from Old German, and its meaning is ‘Protector, Determined, and Resolute’. The version ‘Will’ is also very much a name associated with cowboys, especially after Will Rogers (and his horse, Trigger) came one the scene.

These two bring the baby count for the band to 8. Carnie is mom to Lola Sofia, born in 2005. Chynna, who is married to actor William Baldwin, has two girls - Jamieson is 7 and Brooke is 2, and a son Vance, is turning 5.

Remember last June, when we spent mindless fun hours playing at Nymbler? Well, you’ll probably going to LOVE Laura Wattenberg’s latest naming tool - The Name Voyager.

The free online tool lets you look at the popularity of many names over time, as it’s risen and fallen in popularity. And because names are organized alphabetically, you can see similar names as a stream.

According to their FAQ, the Name Voyager includes name statistics from “1880-2005. The 19th/20th-century data is shown decade by decade, while the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 are shown individually to give a detailed picture of current trends.”
Enjoy!

There’s been some news about the Moynahan-Brady boy, none of it yet confirmed by the parents themselves…

Friday’s Boston Herald Inside Track column rumors that the possible baby name is Jonathan , and confirmation that Tom did arrive in time for the Patriots exhibition game.

In Touch reported that the baby weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz, and was 22 ¼ inches long. Bridget apparently had C-section after because the baby was in a transverse lie - sideways instead of head-down. Additionally, the tabloid reports that Tom arrived at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica minutes after his son was born.

Although both Tom and Bridget had said they wanted an Irish name (both their families have Irish roots), for all its ‘Irish’ flavor - “Jonathan” is actually of Hebrew origin. Usually said to mean “gift of God”. Jonathan was the son of King Saul in the Bible and was generous, unselfish, strong, and heroic.

It is related to both “John” and “Nathan”
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Bridget Moynahan and Tom Brady’s son was born today, Wednesday, August 22, 2007 in Los Angeles, CA.

The name and details - including whether Tom was there for the birth - have not been released.

Tom and Bridget broke up last December after being together for 3 years. He’d already started dating Leo’s ex, Gisele Bündchen, when Bridget and Tom discovered they were going to be parents.

Tom and Gisele are still together and despite an acrimonious start to the pregnancy, in recent months both Tom and Bridget have found a way to be publicly civil to each other and jointly excited about their son’s birth.

Tom referred to Bridget as his family when asked if he was nervous waiting for the phone call to tell him she was in labor; “It’s stuff that’s very private to me and it’s my family. I’m sure it won’t be hard to figure out when it happens.”

Whether the New England Patriots allowed him to jump on a plane when he got the call was another matter. Coach Bill Belichick refused to comment on whether he’d greenlight Tom’s departure from the team’s pre-season schedule. Pointing out that some players have been forced to play through news like a close death in the family or a sick child, Bill said that his decisions were “dealt with on an individual basis. It doesn’t matter who the player is.”

Personally, I think that no business - whether it’s corporate, political, or sports, or whatever - should trump the need for a person to be there for his family.

That said, the Boston Herald is reporting that Tom was absent from practice today and flew out for the birth of his son. Although he is scheduled to play in Friday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina, he has downtime after that to be with Bridget and their son.

We’ll get you details as we get ‘em. Meanwhile, congratulations to the new family.

In addition to all the other considerations you have in naming your new child - the Internet brings you one more: Will your child’s name be unique enough to be easily Google-able?

Epidemiologist Abigail Garvey recently gave an interview to Wall Street Journal about what happened to her when she got married and took her husband’s name - Wilson.

As someone who is known by her research papers and academic achievements, she was now in a position where a simple ‘Google’ search of her name would no longer discover any of her previous work. She solved the problem by making sure she referenced her maiden name professionally, but it got her to thinking about her child’s name when she and her new husband discovered they were expecting.

Alison would ‘Google’ each name they liked to make sure that it wasn’t TOO common that their future child’s own achievements would be lost in the shuffle of other people with the same name.

Search for ‘John Wilson’ and you’ll get something like 1.65 million results. Alison got excited by the name ‘Kohler’ for their new son - a family name. The combination of ‘Kohler Wilson’ is rare enough to yield maybe 120 results.

Her husband didn’t like the name, so it was shot down.

But what Alison was doing has become a huge trend in baby naming - researching the name online to see how common it is, and what others with the same name have done with their lives.

It’s  a Google world…

Jason Momoa, from Stargate: Atlantis, and Lilakoi Moon (who was Lisa Bonet before legally changing her name 12 years ago) welcomed their first child together on Saturday, July 21. A baby girl who was born at home.Jason’s mother has announced the name of her new granddaughter is Lola Iolani Momoa.

I’m sorry to say it, but doesn’t ‘Lola-Momoa’ sound just a little bit like a children’s cartoon character?

“Lola” comes from the old Spanish and was originally a nickname for ‘Delores’, meaning sorrows.

Besides being the inspiration for both Barry Manilow AND the Kinks, “Lola’ is UBER-HOT among celebrities for their baby girls. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards, Annie Lennox, Chris Rock, Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli, Carnie Wilson, and the prodigious composer (and former Oingo Boingo member) Danny Elfman all have daughters named Lola. Modonna’s daughter, Lourdes, is known as Lola.

According to Jason’s mom quoted on the Celebrity Baby Blog, Lola’s middle name means ‘… royal hawk, and was chosen as there were hawks flying around [overhead] during the birth. The baby has ‘long legs, lots of black hair, and her lips are the perfect shape.’

Jason is Hawaiian. Before landing the primal role  of Ronon Dex on the Stargate franchise, his first recognizable role was as ‘Jason’ on Baywatch.

Until about… hmmm… 9 months ago, Jason was engaged to his longtime Australian girlfriend Simmone Mackinnon, who had been on Baywatch with him and then become famous as ‘Stevie’ on McLeod’s Daughters.
Lilakoi has a daughter with another beautiful dreadlocked dude, Lennie Kravitz. Her eldest daughter, Zoe, is now 18.