NAME OF THE DAY: Emerald

St. 🍀Patrick's Day is right around the corner — the infectiously fun, 💚green themed holiday where on 📅March 17, "everyone is Irish" — originating obviously in Ireland "where St. 🍀Patrick’s Day has been a religious feast day since the 17th century and a public holiday since 1903."

Ireland is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle" because of the country's greenery — initially referring to Ireland as such in the celebrated poem 📃'When Erin First Rose' by William Drennan.

So to get into the spirit of St. Paddy's Day approaching 🎉 I will talk about the lush name: 📛💚Emerald

💚"Emerald is of Persian origin meaning "green,"" 📛Nameberry🍒 explains. 💚"Emerald is the intriguing color and jewel name of the deep green stone treasured as far back as ancient Egypt — it's supposed to open one's heart to wisdom and to love and be good for strengthening relationships — which could make for an interesting, unusual name, particularly with the popularity of so many Em-starting names. 💚Emerald is the birthstone of May, making it extra appropriate for a girl born in that month." 

👶Baby 💙boys have also been named 💚Emerald. I don't like 💚Emerald however as a 💙boy's name unless perhaps it's the middle 📛name.

📛NB🍒 reports that 💚Emerald ranks #707 in the US Top 1000. 📍California & 📍District of Columbia are where the most 💚Emeralds live in the United States. 

A variant of 💚Emerald is 📛Esmeralda (means 💚"emerald" in Spanish).

I really like the name 📛💚Emerald — it's very beautiful (whether chosen for a 🌈color or 💎jewel name — or to honor one's Irish heritage) and has a certain, sparkling✨ charm to it.

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛💚EMERALDS:

📛💚Emerald Fennell ✍ /🎥/ 🎭 (screenwriter / director / actress)

📛Caroline "Caro 💚Emerald" Esmeralda van der Leeuw 🎤 (singer)

📛💚Emerald Zellers 👸 (former Miss Arizona Teen USA)

📛💚Emerald Ignacio aka "DriftGirl"  / 👠 (car racer / model)

📛💚Emerald aka Green Esmeraude   (anime character in Sailor Moon R)

📛💚Emerald Sustrai   (cartoon character in web series RWBY)

📛💚Emerald Empress   (collection of several supervillains in DC Comics)

📛💚Emerald Star⭐ 📗 (title of the third novel in Hetty Feather series by Jacqueline Wilson)

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛💚Emerald:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/E/EM/EMERALD/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛💚Emerald: 👍 OR 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚/10 

 

Alysa Liu the Techie — NOT Alysa Liu the Skater

A 💻tech worker from San Francisco is named not only 📛Alysa but 📛Alysa Liu — and shares the exact same name as 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan figure skater 📛Alysa Liu. 

As 7 On Your Side ABC News 📰 reports, "the other Alysa" is finding out: "it's not always a good thing: Liu has apparently been deemed an imposter on Instagram."

Alysa says, she's heard over the years of the young skating phenom from the East Bay who shares her name. And is admired by her fellow Gen Z members, including Alysa. "When she did win the gold medal... they'd say 'Oh, congrats on the gold.' I'd say, 'I can't take credit for that but I'm really happy for her,'" Liu tells 7 On Your Side. "I feel like more inspired to be like her and... be more positive, in the way that she is, sort of because we share this, this part of our identity, like our names," she says.

But now that Alysa Liu (the skater) has won gold, the other Alysa is getting online attention meant for the superstar. "I would get... message requests from people who are trying to contact Alysa. And not only that, but I think somehow they found my number online too. So I just text them like, 'Hey, this isn't the Alysa you're looking for,'" she explains. Fans of Alysa (the skater) have offered congratulations, asking to meet, leaving adoring voice messages like this one she played for 7 On Your Side: "We love you Alysa Liu... bye Alysa Liu, I love you."

More than fans however caught the attention of seeing the name of an Alysa Liu — Meta did too. "I logged into my account and just for some reason, it said that I had been suspended from Instagram and that I had 180 days to appeal this decision, or else I would be banned permanently," Liu shares. It ironically happened the day after the Alysa (the skater) reportedly posted a story on her own Instagram, warning of scammers creating fake accounts in her name. "I was not contacting anyone or trying to, like, pretend that I was her. My account is private. I have very clearly in my bio that I'm from New Jersey. I went to Berkeley," the other Alysa explains.

Liu says she's had that Instagram account for 15 years. "So definitely, I think her popularity and fame has, like, just exploded, very suddenly. I love her, but yeah, I think it definitely was... the impetus for, like, me getting banned from Instagram. It's like, kind of like a home base for all these really cherished memories that I have. Snapshots of my life at different points in time... And so when I thought about possibly losing it, I was really sad. The parts of sharing the name that are a little bit negative are the parts that I would not like. Like, I would like to have my Instagram account back!"

Liu filed an appeal but Meta denied it, saying her driver's license wasn't enough proof of her identity. She then contacted 7 On Your Side. 7 On Your Side told Meta that the other Alysa Liu is no imposter. A spokesperson agreed to try to restore her account. But so far, it's still in limbo.

▶Click here to watch the video via YouTube📺: Another Alysa Liu loses Instagram for sharing Olympic skater's name 

🤔Just how popular is the name Alysa? 📛Nameberry🍒 says, "📛Alysa  rose in the US popularity charts starting in the 1960s and continuing in some cases until the first decade of this century. The Alysa form drifted along at the bottom of the Top 1000 girls' names from about 1990 until 2005, when Olympic skating champion Alysa Liu was born." Liu was born in 📍California and that is the state where most Alysas have the name.

🤔Is Alysa pronounced A-lisa or A-lissa? 📛NB🍒 explains, "Liu herself @:8🔊pronounces her first name ah-LISS-ah, rhyming with Melissa, but this spelling might also suggest the pronunciation ah-LEES-ah, rhyming with Lisa. With Greek roots connected to the name 📛Alice (meaning 'noble' or 'truth'), Alysa's sisters and cousins include 📛Alyssa, 📛Alicia, 📛Alisa, and 📛Alissa." Click here to see all 20+ 🤯 variants of Alysa.

I like the name 📛Alysa 👌🏾 — it's safe and can be adorable — but the spelling with a 'y' instead of the 'lissa' if it's pronounced A-lissa, throws me off and I see: A-lisa or literally A-lye-sa. 😖

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Alysa: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓/10 

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Alysa:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/A/AL/ALYSA/index.html

📌Check out my ⏪past ☔📛 post: 📄Mads World: Having The Same Name As A Celebrity 

CELEBRITY BABY NAME REVEAL: Ozzy

Jack Osbourne, son of the late heavy metal legendary 🤘rocker Ozzy Osbourne (born John Michael Osbourne) aka the "Prince of Darkness" — has just had his own "Princess of Darkness"  — with the birth of daughter named after her grandfather: 📛Ozzy 💗  

Her full name is 📛Ozzy Matilda Osbourne. 📛Nameberry🍒 says, "Ozzy is derived from the Old English element os meaning "God" or "divine", or from the Irish oss meaning "deer". This grandpa-esque nickname traditionally short for masculine names like Osmond, Oscar, or Oswald is starting to get traction on its' own, thanks to its cool, zippy sound." 

Behind the Name says Ozzy is a variant of 📛Ozzie (which is a diminutive of 📛Osborn). BTN points out, "a famous bearer was the British musician Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025), though in his case it was a nickname based on his surname." Biography.com writes, "he acquired the nickname Ozzy in elementary school, where he struggled with dyslexia."

I'm not an Ozzy Osbourne fan but I am a fan of his granddaughter being named 📛Ozzy after him 👍🏾👍🏾 — it's a very sweet tribute 🥰 plus a pretty cool 😎 name to carry as a girl. 

Some Ozzy the musician fan comments on 📛Ozzy the 👶baby girl💗:

 

 "The most perfect name she could have ever received!!"

 "I love her name I'm sure Ozzy is smiling."

"The sweetest name. Her Papa's gotta be so tickled watching over."

"Yay, we have another Ozzy Osbourne! The world is right again." 

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Ozzy: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓/10 

NAME OF THE DAY: Daryl

With 80s 🧜🏼‍♀️Splash actress Daryl Hannah recent resurfacing in the news — I will be discussing her very out of the ordinary 🦄 name for a woman: 📛Daryl 

📛Nameberry🍒 bluntly gives credit, "actress Daryl Hannah made this a girls' name in theory." Adding, "though in the most recent year counted, about 75 baby boys in the US were named Daryl...and zero baby girls." Daryl as a girl's name ranks #959 in the US Top 1000 while Daryl as a boy's name ranks at #946.

📛NB🍒 says, Daryl is a variation of the French 📛Darrell and means, "dear one, beloved." Behind the Name details Darrell as, "from an English surname that was derived from Norman French d'Airelle, originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France."

In the U.S. Daryl is used as a girl's name 7% of the time — most Daryls live in 📍California and 📍South Dakota. 

I think 🤔 I like the name 📛Daryl for a 💗girl or 💙boy equally... although a girl named Daryl is definitely more different a little cooler. 😎 In the case of Daryl Hannah's name, it tickles me 😄 because her name should be the opposite (a la 📛Michael Michelle) — 📛Hannah Daryl (📛Daryl is also a surname). Her middle name is 📛Christine. But Christine Hannah does not make a splash💦 like Daryl Hannah does. 

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛DARYLS:

📛Daryl Ann 👄🚓📺 (t.v. show character on Hill Street Blues) 

📛Daryl Van Horne 😈📕🎥 (movie character in The Witches of Eastwick - based on the book by John Updike — Daryl has an extra 'r' as: 📛Darryl Van Horne)

📛Daryl Dixon 📺 (t.v. show character on The Walking Dead)

📛Daryl Mitchell 📺 (actor)

📛Daryl Sabara 🎥 (actor)

📛Daryl McCormack 🎥 (actor)

📛Daryl Palumbo 🎤 (band frontman)

📛Daryl Hall 🎤 (singer)

📛Daryl Dragon 🎤 (singer)

📛Daryl Braithwaite 🎤 (singer)

📛Daryl Johnston 🏈 (former NFL football player)

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Daryl:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/D/DA/DARYL/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Daryl: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓/10 

MIDDLE MYSTERY: What is Rihanna's middle name?

 🤔📛❓: "📛Rihanna is singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty's middle name."  

When 🎤Rihanna first stepped   on the 🎵music scene, I assumed like most, her first name was Rihanna. ✔ Wrong.🚫 📛Robyn 🐦is her first name and although cute (too, the name of 🎤Robyn the Swedish singer), it was a great choice 👍🏾👍🏾 to go by her middle name professionally. Rihanna is a distinct, gorgeous, one-of-a-kind 💎name (meaning "basil" in Arabic, derived from 📛Rayhana). My only gripes with it are: sometimes I write it mistakenly as 📛Rhianna (which is an alt spelled version of 📛Rihanna) 🤦🏾‍♀️ or I think of the similar yet unrelated Welsh name 📛Rhiannon (I'm not a big fan of it 🤷🏾‍♀️). Also the pronunciation is tricky: I see Ree-hanna but say Ree-ona. 😬 Rihanna herself says: @:15🔊"It is Ree-anna." 👌🏾

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Rihanna: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓/10

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Robyn: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💓/10

〰

☔📛

SPECIAL SPELLING of: Melissa ➡✨Milissa✨

The name 📛Milissa is just the pretty popular (at #378 📈 as of 2024 for baby girls to be named➡) 📛Melissa spelled differently. 

Melissa "derives from the Greek word mélissa, meaning 🐝"bee," which was taken from the word for 🍯honey, meli. In Greek mythology, Melissa was a nymph who nursed the infant god Zeus with honey," 📛Nameberry🍒explains. 📛NB🍒 says on Milissa: "The spelling variation with an "i" instead of an "e" emerged as parents sought to personalize traditional names while maintaining their essential sound and meaning. Milissa saw modest popularity in the United States during the 1970s and early 1980s, though it never achieved the widespread usage of its more traditional counterpart. The name carries a gentle, melodic quality with its soft consonants and flowing syllables, making it appealing to parents seeking a name that sounds both familiar and slightly distinctive. The meaning "honeybee" — this sweet connection — gives the name associations with industriousness, community, and natural sweetness."

I only recently came across this "new" (to me🙋🏾‍♀️) spelling of 📛Melissa as 📛Milissa. I like it a little  more than the original. The 'i' instead of the usual 'e' (✍🏾writing it feels "wrong") gives the normally classic, kinda basic 🥱 name — a more modern look 👌🏾 and some pizzazz. 💥

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Milissa: 👍 OR 💓💓💓💓💓💓/10

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Melissa: 👍/👎 OR 💓💓💓💓💓/10  

NAME OF THE DAY: Daniel

Today is the 🎂birthday of my favorite 🎥actor (who portrayed one of my favorite film characters: 0️⃣0️⃣7️⃣ aka James Bond) Daniel Craig 😍 — therefore I will discuss one of my 🤗 favorite 📛names of all time 🏆 for men/boys💙: 📛Daniel 

Daniel is from the Hebrew name דָּנִיֵּאל (Daniyyel) meaning "God is my judge", from the roots דִּין (din) meaning "to judge" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Daniel was a Hebrew prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament — he lived during the Jewish captivity in Babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the king's dreams  — and presenting Daniel's four visions of the end of the world. 

Behind the Name says, due to the popularity of the biblical character Daniel, "the name came into use in England during the Middle Ages. Though it became rare by the 15th century, it was revived after the Protestant Reformation."

📛Nameberry🍒 raves that, "Daniel is a perennial favorite, in the 🔝Top 15 names for boys every year since 1972. Daniel ranks first among all baby names starting with D. Daniel is one of only a handful of male names that sounds both classic and modern, strong yet approachable, and popular but not cliched. It also has a solid Old Testament pedigree. Daniel 🦁 was the name of one of the greatest biblical heroes. Yet Daniel does not seem as solemn and weighty a name as other Old Testament names like Abraham and Ezekiel. The only real downside: There are about 10,000 Daniels named each year, making it a less than distinctive choice." Daniel is the 16th most popular boy's name as of 2024 in the U.S. In the U.K. however, Daniel is the 59th most (I thought it would be much higher... 🤔) popular name for British boys in 2024.

📛Nameberry🍒 points out Daniel's international appeal, "from Ireland to Israel (Daniel is a Top 100 name for girls in Israel, pronounced as above. However, there were 11 baby girls named Daniel in the US last year, so its use is not unheard of beyond Israel.), Finland to Chile." In the United States, 📍California and 📍Illinois are the places where the most Daniels live. 📛Nameberry🍒 is a fan of Daniel's nicknames: "📛Danny and 📛Dan — make it sound even friendlier, though, as with other classics, many modern parents are opting to use the name in full." 

I went to high school🏫 with a 📛Danny (🧠brainy yet brawny, a 🏈football player & my h.s. crush😊) and briefly met a 📛Dan as an adult. I love 🥰 the name Danny (especially if it's a nickname for Daniel) but I do not like the nickname or name 🙅🏾‍♀️Dan. Danny has an adorable ring to it while Dan just sounds so serious. But of the three names, I 💓 adore 📛Daniel the most. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I think it's a 💪strong, 💞handsome name and the 📖Biblical backstory behind it makes it even greater. It's applause 👏🏾 worthy how 📛Daniel has been in the 🔝Top 15 baby names for boys 💙 for over 50 years. 🤯 But I would really love to see 📛Daniel make the 🔝Top 10 baby boy 💙 names too — and make it one day... just maybe... to the 🥇#1 baby boy 💙 name. 🤞🏾

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛DANIELS:

📛Daniel Radcliffe 🤓🎥 (actor) 

📛Daniel Day-Lewis 🎩🎥 (actor)

📛Daniel "Danny" Michael DeVito 😂🎥 (actor)

📛Daniel "Danny" Lebern Glover 💥🔫🎥 (actor)

📛Daniel Kaluuya 😱🎥 (actor)

📛Daniel King 🎼🎚📺 (character on tv show Insecure)

📛Daniel Dae Kim 📺 (actor)  

📛Daniel Bruhl 🎥 (actor) 

📛Daniel Lombroso 🎥 (documentary filmmaker) 

📛Daniel Bedingfield 🎤 (singer and brother of singer Natasha Bedingfield)

📛Daniel "Dan" Rather 📰📺 (news anchor)

📛Daniel "Dan" Gerhard Brown 📚 (author)

📛Daniel Defoe ✍ (writer)

📛Daniel Boone 🧭 (explorer)

📛Daniel Webster  (politician)

📛Daniel Bernoulli 🔢 (mathematician)

♀️Female Version of 📛DANIEL:

📛Daniela / 📛Daniella / 📛Danielle 

💭I love💗 all the feminine versions of Daniel. They're all very pretty names 👌🏾 and although the 'a' at the end of Daniela & Daniella make them more girly looking/sounding — I like Danielle over them both just a bit  more.

   

 📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛Daniel:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/D/DA/DANIEL/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛Daniel: 👍 OR 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙/10

NAME OF THE DAY: Ebony

To end ✊🏾Black History Month, I wanted to discuss the divisive name: 📛🖤Ebony —  and how despite how bold the name is and how controversial (being called "an ebony" because of one's skin tone 🤦🏾‍♀️ not because it's your name 😬)  it can be — it still has been a popular first name choice for Black 👶🏿 baby girls 💗 since the 1970s. ⏪

Ebony is a color 🖤 name and is described by 🌈Color Psychology🧠 as: "a dark, rich color that represents depth, elegance, and sophistication. It’s a shade that is often associated with luxury, power, and mystery. The hex code for Ebony is #555D50, and its RGB values are (85, 93, 80), symbolizing a hue that is deep and grounding."

Ebony as a word via Dictionary.com:

Ebony is also a nature name, being it is a tree 🌳: "The black ebony tree (Diospyros ebenum), native to Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, is one of the rarest and most valuable hardwood species in the world. Black ebony wood is prized for its deep, jet-black color, fine texture, and exceptional density —this wood is ideal for musical 🎹 instruments, luxury furniture, and fine carvings." 

Ebony the word is from the Egyptian word hbnj.

Nameberry🍒 points out that Ebony has "historically been particularly popular in the African-American community" and compliments Ebony as an "attractive and now underused" name. "Ebony joined the most popular girl names list in the US in the early 1970s, peaked 📈 in 1982 at #132, and dropped back below 📉 the Top 1000 in 2006. The name Ebony 📈peaked for boys 💙 at #1658 in 1982." As of current, Ebony is #960 on US ⬆Top 📊1000.  

The 📍District of Columbia and 📍New Jersey are the states where the most women named Ebony live. I knew a girl named Ebony (who was as popular as her name) in middle 🏫school [📍NYC], right around the time when 📛Ebony was regaining traction on the name charts 📈 in the 1980s. 

I like the name 📛Ebony. 👌🏾 I really love color names and 📛Ebony can be a 🖤 beautiful, powerful 💪🏿 name to have if you're an African American woman (btw, there can be / are non-Black women named Ebony 🙃 click here & click here 😮). I don't like 📛Ebony for a 💙 boy's name 😕 however (I'd recommend these cool 😎 names that are the equivalence of "black": 📛Jet, 📛Obsidian, 📛Onyx, 📛Midnight or 📛Raven even). 

Variants for 📛Ebony include: 📛Eboni 📛Ebonie and 📛Ebonee. I find all of these more playful  and cuter 🥰 than the more ✔strong, ✔sleek and ✔original 📛Ebony.

⭐FAMOUS & 📝NOTEWORTHY 📛🖤EBONYS:

📛Venus 🖤Ebony Starr Williams 🎾(tennis player)

📛🖤Ebony Williams 🏀 (former WNBA basketball player) 

📛🖤Ebony Haith 👠 (former contestant on reality show America's Next Top Model) 

📛🖤Ebony Jones-Avery 📺 (former reality star on VH1's Real Chance of Love)

📛🖤Ebony Obsidian 📺 (actress)

📛🖤Ebony P. Jones 📺 (t.v. producer)

📛🖤Ebony Bones [born 🖤Ebony Thomas] 🎤 (singer)

📛🖤Ebony Riley 🎤 (singer) 

📌STATS ON THE NAME 📛🖤Ebony:

https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/E/EB/EBONY/index.html

☔📛IRN RATING OF 📛🖤Ebony: 👍 OR 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤/10