noose pleasant: Beyonce And Jay-Z's Blue Ivy: What's In A Name?

Friday, January 13, 2012

Beyonce And Jay-Z's Blue Ivy: What's In A Name?

Experts sound off on the meaning behind the less-than-traditional name.
By James Montgomery

Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images

We've yet to receive an official confirmation on the name of Jay-Z and Beyoncé's brand-new baby girl, who entered the world Saturday, though the consensus seems to be Blue Ivy Carter. And Monday (January 9), Jay released "Glory," featuring B.I.C., a new song dedicated to his daughter.

It's a less-than-traditional name, to be sure, but it's also one that holds plenty of significance to the proud parents, with "Blue" being a particular favorite of Jay's, and "Ivy" representing the Roman numeral IV for the couple's lucky number, four.

Then again, that's just our take on things, so while we wait for word from Jay and B, we figured we'd reach out to those who make baby names their business to get their reactions to the most-excellent moniker. And, as you could probably expect, Blue Ivy left some of our experts scratching their heads.

"Interesting name indeed! Our thoughts are it's another, um, unique name from the celebrity realm," Matt Kelly, the co-owner of MyBabyName.com, told MTV News. "We haven't seen a trend in color names, but that's why celebrities pick colors, fruits and other odd names: to be different. It just wouldn't be right if celebrities or artists named their babies 'John' or 'Jennifer,' right? But what about 'Bay-B' in honor of 'Jay-Z'? Just throwing it out there."

Of course, not everyone saw "Blue Ivy" as the logical successor to the Apple Martins or Bronx Mowgli Wentzes of the world. Some think at least part of the name is in keeping with recent baby-name trends: drawing influence from names of the past.

"I think Ivy is a great 'classic' name, definitely following the trend for classic girls' names," said Jennifer Moss, the founder of BabyNames.com. "Blue, on the other hand, although it is a nice color, is also an emotion: sadness. If Jay-Z and Beyoncé had consulted me about the name, I would have asked if Blue had any meaning to them. Is it a family name? A special place, perhaps?"

"We've seen a rise in names with a long 'I' over the past couple years, like Milo, Eli, Lila, so, Ivy fits right in with that. And Ivy is a name that has been on the [baby name] charts for a long time ... Beyoncé is very much a style trendsetter, and Ivy is very much on style," Jennie Baird of NameCandy.com added. " [And] Blue has a long history especially among musicians. Gregg Allman and Cher named their child Elijah Blue in the 1970s, and Joe Don Rooney from Rascal Flatts named his daughter Raquel Blue ... it recalls the blues, obviously, a lot of heritage for musicians."

And though Baird added that most name enthusiasts actually preferred Ivy Blue (which was rumored to be the baby's name when news of her birth first hit) to Blue Ivy — "Blue Ivy sounds more like a nightclub," she said — she did say that Jay and Beyoncé's baby girl probably won't have to wait long to inspire her first trend: a whole lot of other "Ivy" babies.

"I think we'll see a lot of babies named Ivy coming up in the next year or so," she said. "Blue, I'm not so sure about. I think it's harder for regular people to pull off. But names that celebrities use, they do see a bump, usually if they fit into the style trends of the greater zeitgeist. And Jay and Beyoncé's baby name definitely does that."

What do you think of the name Blue Ivy? Let us know in the comments section!

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