A is for Apple

Adele, from brainz.org

The letter A kicks off the 26-letter alphabet, and does a fine job of it, so it’s no wonder many a wonderful name begins with the letter A. Indeed the letter A is somewhat over-represented in the Top 100 of England&Wales at the moment, with 12 girl names and 10 boys names taking  up over 20% of the slots on both lists.

Girls: Alexandra, Aisha, Annabelle, Amelia, Ava, Abigail, Amy, Alice, Aimee, Amber, Amelie, Anna

Boys: Alfie, Alexander, Archie, Adam, Alex, Aaron, Aiden, Ashton, Arthur, Aidan

I too love names starting with the letter A, but my loves are rather under-represented when it comes to the Top 100 of England&Wales. Whilst Alice and Arthur rank in the top flight, Ada and Asa don’t, thus the following lists were born:

12 Girls Names I’d Love To See In The Top 100:

1. Adele (#683 with 84 births)

The name of a popular singer who hails from London, it comes from Germanic origins and means noble.

2. Araminta (#3533 with 6 births)

A name invented by a 18th-century English playwright, perhaps inspired by the name Aminta which means defender.

3. Adelaide (#910 with 38 births)

The name of a city in Australia named after George IV’s wife, this name has the same origins as Adele, thus she means noble.

4. Audrey (#655 with 57 births)

Of Old English origins, she means noble strength.

5. Arabella (#228 with 218 births)

A variant of the name Annabel, which means loveable. It was used as the name of a play by Richard Strauss.

6. Ada (#499 with 81 births)

Ada Byron Lovelace was a famed English mathematician, and her name is also of the same origins as Adele, thus she means noble.

7. Azure (no rank)/ Azura (#5707 with 3 births)

Azure is a shade of blue, whilst Azura is a slight elaboration of the name.

8. Aurora (#549 with 73 births)

The Roman Goddess of dawn, the name as such means dawn in Latin.

9. Agnes (#758 with 48 births)

Jennifer Connelly recently named her daughter Agnes Lark, a name which comes from Greek and means pure or holy.

10. Andra (#2843 with 8 births)

A variant of the name Andrea, which means either manly or womanly depending on whether you feminise the meaning or not.

11. Athena (#583 with 68 births)

The Greek goddess of wisdom, amongst other things, and thus the name means wise.

12. Agatha (#878 with 40 births)

Agatha Christie is a well-known English mystery author and her name comes from the Greek, meaning good.

10 Boys Names I’d Love To See In The Top 100:

1. Archer (#811 with 36 births)

The name of the long-running radio show The Archers, the word has it’s origins in Old French, and ultimately comes from the Latin word arcus, meaning bow.

2. Ambrose (#1483 with 16 births)

Of Greek origins meaning immortal.

3. Aurelius (no rank)/Aurelio (#2941 with 6 births)

Of Latin origins meaning golden.

4. Amedeo (no rank)/Amadeus (#3865 with 4 births)

The famous middle name of Mozart although he wasn’t born with it, the name comes from the Latin, meaning love of God.

5. August (#2941 with 6 births)

Of Latin origins meaning great, it’s the name of the eighth month in the Western Calendar.

6. Asa (#660 with 48 births)

Comes from the Hebrew word for doctor; the Japanese word for morning; the Nigerian word for hawk.

7. Angus (#311 with 143 births)

Of Scottish Gaelic origins, Angus means one choice.

8. Asher (#364 with 112 births)

Of Hebrew origins, this name means happy.

9. Arlo (#305 with 146 births)

Either a slight variation of the name Harlow, which means fortified hill or a derivation from the Italian version of Charles.

10. Atticus (#942 with 30 births)

Popularised by Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, it is of Latin origins and means from Athens.

I know this isn’t a complete list of all fantastic A names out there, and I’m sure you’ll all have different Top 12/10 lists to me. Aloysius was certainly one name I’m sad to have not included, and indeed Arrow and Avril were both cut from the long list with a heavy heart as well.