Guess the Royal Baby Name!

This photo may be a spoof, but I love the idea
that the name is causing so much excitement for everyone!

It's hard to turn anywhere at the moment without hearing the excitement about the imminent birth of the new British Royal bub! And it's nice to see that us self-professed name nerds aren't the only ones interested in names for a change. People have been placing bets for month now on not only whether the baby will be a young Prince or Princess, but what name - or more accurately, string of Royal names - the baby will be given.

If you're not a betting person, the next best way to get involved is by entering the Nameberry Royal Baby Name competition! It's a fun way to put your skills to the test, plus you can win any product (to the value of $100) in the Nameberry store that you want. And they have some super cute things, such as the baby name bunting and personalised baby blankets. Plus, it's a good distraction from the waiting ☺

I'm off to bed now to sleep on what I think it will be, but make sure you get your guesses in before the eagerly awaited bub arrives!

Good Things Are Happening

A slight departure from my usual posts today, as I thought I'd share with you a few of the awesome things that have been happening for me and Baby Name Pondering lately.

Firstly, I was delighted recently to learn that Baby Name Pondering had been included on a list of the best blogs for baby name inspiration at Disney Baby last month! As far as I know it's the first mention I've gotten on one of these types of lists, and it was very exciting to see my blog included with several of my favourites, including Baby Name Wizard, Nameberry, Appellation Mountain and Waltzing More Than Matilda to name a few. It's quite a comprehensive list, so worth checking out if you're after some extra inspiration.

Secondly,  the second issue of Matilda Magazine is ready for reading, and includes a story from yours truly! Check out page 30 for my article on Surname Names, which includes an A-Z guide on some popular, some not-so-popular, and some very rare choices. I'm loving surname names at the moment.

Matilda Magazine New Issue

It's a great second issue - I'm particularly liking an interview with little Arrow's mother on the process they went through in choosing her name. I remember reading the threads in the Nameberry forums before Arrow was born, and let's just say they were some of the more interesting (and long) debates I have ever seen on their site. I'm glad they stuck with the name they knew would work for them.

Unfortunately Kate and Sarah have been experiencing a few problems with their regular site lately, but you can find the new magazine at http://issuu.com/matildamag/docs/winter2013. Matilda Magazine also has a Facebook page, so if you love the current issue be sure to drop them a line and let them know - they put in a lot of work and the result is a beautiful magazine.

Finally, you may have noticed that a new "Vote For Me Now" button has been added to the right hand side of the page. That's because I've entered the Best Australian Blogs 2013 competition, following a suggestion that one of my readers made late last year. If you love (or even just really, really like) Baby Name Pondering, please take a couple of minutes to vote for me in the People's Choice round of the competition. It's super easy and you don't have to be an Australian to vote. I'm also fairly sure I'm the only naming blog in the competition - which is to say I didn't see any blogs that I recognise, or any with the word "name" in it - so it would also be great to get some more attention for naming blogs in general.

That's it from me for now - hope you're all enjoying your Easter holiday (if you celebrate it where you live), and I'll be back with more names for you soon.