Ken - not just Barbie's boyfriend

Barbie and Ken making eyes at each other in 'Toy Story 3'

I've recently been referred to a blog by a man named Kenney. At first I was a little confused, as it's not a naming related blog. But then it became a little clearer - you see, Kenney really likes his name. Really, really likes his name. So much that he has devoted several posts to famous Kens and Kennys from all walks of life, such as authors, politicians, actors and singers.

Admittedly, Ken or Kenny is not really a name that I would normally consider. My main associations with the name are Barbie's boyfriend, saxophonist Kenny G (who always seemed a little wimpy to me) and a great uncle Ken (Kenneth) that I barely remember. So to me it felt a little "soft" and dated.

But Kenneys' obvious enthusiasm for his name stuck in my head. Then recently while I was having a look at the list of names I keep for potential upcoming posts, I realised that while I'm not a fan of Ken or Kenny, I actually have my eyes on a few Ken related names. I guess I just prefer a less traditional path to Ken. There are a surprisingly large number of names starting with Ken, such as  Kent, Kendra, Kenzie, Kenlee, Kennedy, Kenzo, Kendrew, Kenway, Kennelly, Kensington and Kenisha. But the next three would have to be my current favourites.

Kenyon - I find myself strangely attracted to Kenyon. It has quite an earthy, spiritual feel to it, maybe because of it's similarity to both the word canyon and the East African country Kenya. While Kenyon may feel like a new, possibly made up name, it actually has roots in Gaelic, and means 'blond' or 'white haired'. Not very exciting, I know. It also has a history of use in the US since 1914 for boys and 1969 for girls. While for boys it has entered the top 1000 a number of times, it spends more time skirting around just outside the top 1000. It's usage is much rarer for girls.

Kendall - not so strange anymore thanks to a younger Kardashian (well, technically Jenner) sister, Kendall is a great example of a  Ken-surname-turned-versatile-unisex-name. Kendall is an Old English name meaning 'of the Kent river valley'. Kendall first entered the US charts for boys in 1906, and has been in the top 1000 since the 1920's. For girls it first charted in 1929, and despite a few appearances in the top 1000 it wasn't a consistent performer until 1980. In 1993 female Kendalls started outnumbering the boys, and in 2011 it was positioned at #123 for girls and #606 for boys.

Kendrick - Kendrick has a definite strong male feel to me, maybe because it contains Ken and Rick, both traditional male names. Obviously, this would be a fantastic choice for anyone wishing to honour both a Ken/Kenny/Kenneth and a Rick or Richard at the same time, while still having a quite "modern" sounding name. The origins of Kendrick are unsure, but it seems to be an English/Scottish name meaning 'royal ruler, champion'. Kendrick first hit the US charts for boys in 1912, and peaked in the 80's around the #320 position. And while I'd probably steer clear of it for girls, it has been given to a handful of girls most years since the 1970's.

It's interesting to note that all three of these variations first appeared in the US charts (for boys) between 1906 and 1914, a fairly narrow window. I thought that maybe Ken was peaking at this time and people were interested in alternatives, but Ken itself was only just appearing at this time too. However it was the more formal Kenneth that was extremely popular at this time. A Gaelic/English name with the romantic meaning 'born of fire, handsome', Kenneth ranked #170 in America in 2011, and was a top 100 name from 1898 to 2001. So I guess that makes it "King of the Kens"!

However you like Ken, there are plenty of alternatives if you just can't get over the Barbie reference. What would be your pick for the "King of the Kens"?

Collins

Lily Collins plays Collins in 'The Blind Side'

They're playing 'The Blind Side' on TV tonight. I remember being so touched when I first saw this movie a couple of years ago, and even more so to know that this is based on a real family. Movies like this renew your faith that there are good, kind, generous people in the world. And Sandra Bullock did such a good job of playing the matriarch of the family, Leigh Anne Tuohy, that she won the best actress Oscar that year.

But I'm not going to gush about the movie too much, just about one of the names spotted in the movie. Early in the movie, there's a scene when Leigh Anne arrives at her daughters volleyball game and shouts encouragement to her. I did a bit of a double take, because I had forgotten that the daughters name is Collins. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, I double checked and yes, that is the name of her daughter.

Since Collins' younger brother Sean was named after their father, I thought that perhaps Collins was Leigh Anne's maiden name perhaps. But no, Leigh Anne's maiden name is Roberts, so there went that theory. Nevertheless, I'm guessing that a Collins can be found in their family tree somewhere, especially as it's not particularly unusual to use family surnames as given names in the Southern US States. And fun fact - in the movie, Collins is played by actress Lily Collins. I guess that would have made things easy on set!

This name caught my attention mainly because it sounds more like a preppy boys name at first, and seeing it on a girls made me do a double take. It would definitely get confused with Colin/Collin a lot. But the instant after that thought, I thought it sounded like a spunky (and still a little preppy, which I like) choice for a girl.

Traditionally a surname, Collins fits right in with current unisex surname trends, but has so far gone largely overlooked. It has been modestly used for boys in the US, and occasionally for girls (which increased a lot after 'The Blind Side' was released), but hasn't cracked the top 1000 for boys since 1909. Or ever for girls.

There's a little confusion as to the origin and meaning of Collins. Different sources say that it's:

• an Irish/Gaelic name meaning 'holly'
• a Scottish variant of Colin, meaning 'young creature' or 'pup'
• a shorter variant of the Greek name Nicolas, meaning 'people of victory'. 

If you're using it to honour a family member though, having one definitive meaning doesn't really matter, as it will be what the original owner meant to you that will define what special meaning the name has for you.

While it's not for everyone, I quite like Collins for a boy or a girl. Admittedly if you're using it for a girl you'd probably want a more traditionally feminine middle name to pair with it. And you probably want to avoid it if your last name starts with an S. But for the right person and the right family, Collins could be a real gem.

Argo

I see a lot of movies every year, and one that really stuck in my head in 2012 was 'Argo'. We came close to almost not seeing this one at the cinemas. We had some Gold Class vouchers that we had less than a week to use, and there weren't any seats available for 'Skyfall' (it was in its opening week), so we went to 'Argo' instead. It was a great choice, and I loved it. Ben Affleck did an outstanding job, both with the acting and the directing, and it's great to see him receiving so many accolades at the awards this season. Fingers crossed for the Oscars on Sunday!

I'm sure I can't be the only name enthusiast who walked out of the cinema thinking "you know what, Argo would make a really cool name". I can see it working best for a boy, particularly due to it's "o" ending and due to it's similarity to Arlo. Arlo has been getting quite a bit of attention recently. In 2011 it slipped back into the US top 1000, after an absence of just over 60 years. But for some reason I have found it hard to get on the Arlo train (so to speak), whereas Argo is a name I would love to see more of.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, 'Argo' is the title of the fictional movie used as the cover to get the escapees from the hostage standoff at the American embassy in Tehran out of Iran and on a flight to America. The concept is that it is a science fiction retelling of the Greek mythological hero Jason, whose famous quest was the search for the Golden Fleece. Jason was supported by a group of heroes otherwise known as the Argonauts. This literally meant 'Argo sailors', as their ship was christened Argo for its builder Argus.

Argus/Argos is a Greek name meaning 'vigilant guardian', so as a derivative I would assume that Argo has the same meaning. Argo has only charted four times in the US, and it seems that at the time it was popular there was a company in the US called Argo Electric Vehicle Company. Coincidence maybe, or perhaps naming a child for a luxury car is a phenomenon that is not as new as we like to think.

Argos has never charted, but the original form Argus first charted the same year Argo did (1912) and managed to hang around much longer than the short lived Argo. I'd be interested to know how these names fare in Greece.

While I can see a lot of positives to Argo, it could be said that the name is virtually unusable at the moment as people would only associate it with the movie. But Argo makes me think of that other famous two-syllable, ends in "o", mythology based movie name/title, 'Juno'. 'Juno' hit screens in 2007, and was a massive hit for first time writer Diablo Cody. Juno had charted once in the first half of the 1900's, and was just starting to see some increased (bu still rare) use for both boys and girls when the movie was released. Since 'Juno', use of the name has increased quite a bit for girls, although it has decreased for boys somewhat.

I'm guessing give it a couple of years and we'll start seeing Argo re-appearing in birth announcements. It feels like it could be the next cool hipster/bohemian name, or would feel right at home in a mythological or  "heroic" sibset. And now thanks to the movie, it even has a little sci-fi geek cred. Or maybe it just appeals to you as the little name that could - the movie concept that reportedly helped to rescue a group of innocent people when the odds seemed to be stacked against them.