Names From Nevaeh

SOMETIMES WE THINK that condo developers who struggle with new names for developments (e.g. Metro Place at Town Center) should pair up with the people who invent new baby names. On Monday, we told you about the rise in popularity of the name Madison (or Maddison, Madisyn and Madyson) for baby girls. Now Jennifer 8. Lee (who had fun coming up with her middle initial) of The New York Times tells us about the name Nevaeh ("heaven" spelled backwards), and its incredible rise of the from near-total obscurity in 2000 to a ranking of 70 on the newborn names list this year.

The Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn has another sharp blog post on baby names, where, via this nifty java app, you can track the popularity of a name over time. [NYT, Trib]

» BABY PROOF: While there still have not been any public photos of the child of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, there is increasing evidence that it wasn't some miraculous virgin birth or an alien spawn as some people have suggested. OhNoTheyDidn't spots Holmes' stretch marks. Now you know. [OhNoTheyDidn't via Defamer]

» NEED CASH? Sometimes if you're a celebrity, you have to make money. And when the stars want to make some easy cash, they head to Japan to star in commercials and the like. Japander has an excellent listing of Japanese commercials starring Hollywood types and other notable celebs. Who knew Whoopi Goldberg once promoted some sort of candy or chewing gum? You gotta pay the bills. [Japander via AdFreak]

With contributions from Donn M. Fresard.