The Best Names Ever

I’ve been thinking recently about the best names and so I decided to share them with all of you. I hope this doesn’t backfire and have all you insanely jealous people steal my names because you Cant have them! With that, I will give you my list:
1. Jack. I have always liked the name Jack ever since I saw “The Nightmare Before Christmas” It is such an awesome name and it just touches me somehow. I was going to be the first person I knew to have a son named jack, until those Nunninks swooped down and stole it from me! I’ll have my revenge! No, actually I love Jack. Sure he doesn’t know me, or like me, and doesn’t wave when I smile and wave at him, but he is a awesome kid (or so I hear). Jack has also been the number 1 most popular name in England for the last 7 years! And number 2 in Scotland for the last 8 years. Therefore, Jack is definitely up there on the list of awesome names.
2. Sam. This one is a given. Who could not love the name Sam? Have you ever met a Sam you did not like? Well I haven’t. Sam is very popular in Australia. Short for either Samson or Samuel. It could also be short for Samantha. Sam is always the good guy and will always be there for you when you need him. Gotta love it.
3. Marcus. I don’t know why I like this name, but it just has something about it that I like. Marcus sounds like a superhero or something. I only know of two great Marcus’s: Marcus Tullius Cicero (known simply as Cicero), a statesman and orator, and Marcus Aurelius, a notable emperor of the 2nd century. This was also the name of a pope of the 4th century. It’s a famous name! Plus Marcus is the original form of the name Mark. Betcha didn’t know that! Well maybe you did.
4. Aaron. I love this name a lot. Partly because the first Aaron I knew was Aaron Sidebottom, and I love Aaron Sidebottom. He was like my first mentor and so I gladly accept this name into my favorite archives. Aaron was the 12th most popular name in Ireland in 2002, and in 2004 it is the 10th most popular. In the U.S. it’s the 53rd most popular. Aaron was, of course, the older brother of Moses and the first high priest of the Israelites.
5. Audrey. This is a pretty name. It means noble, strength. Also popularized by Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn, who starred in 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' and 'My Fair Lady'. It’s a very beautiful name and for some reason, between 1900 and 1939 Audrey was a male name as well. Sure it ranked 917th out of 1000, but it still counts! That means there were 83 worse names for males back then. It is also the name of a character in Shakespeare's comedy 'As You Like It'.
6. Morgan. Morgan is a great name for a male or a female. It is welsh and means “Circle of the Sea”. Not entirely sure what that means, but I like it a lot. It can be a first name, last name, male or female. It’s the perfect name! It was a male name before it was a female name though, and the name has always been in the top 50th most popular names ever since 1991. Morgan Freeman is a famous icon bearing this name. I love the way it sounds and I think I am going to keep it.
Well there you go. This is my list of favorite names. Add your own if you want because I would love to hear your thoughts. Now here is some information on some of your names:

Ian: Scottish form of John. Also cannot be shortened into some annoying nickname.

Rosalyn: Medieval form of ROSALIND

Michelle: French feminine form of MICHAEL

Mariah: Variant of MARIA. Also very popular in 1998.

Mimi: Italian pet form of MARIA. Also not very popular in the United staes.

Zach: Shortened from the Hebrew name Zekaryah which meant "YAHWEH remembers".
Nattalie: From the Late Latin name Natalia, which meant "Christmas Day" from Latin natale domini.

Michelle: French feminine form of Michael. Also translated “One who rules over the blogs with an iron fist of snap judgments.” I think I read that somewhere.

Levi: Means "attached" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Levi was the third son of Jacob and Leah, and the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of the Israelites (the tribe that eventually became the priests of the Israelites). In the New Testament this is another name for the apostle Matthew. Quite the popular one!

Melanie: Derived from Greek μελαινα (melaina) meaning "black, dark". This was the name of a Roman saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Also very popular in France. Sorry Mel.

Sadie: Pet form of Sarah, which means "lady" or "princess" in Hebrew.

Rachel: Means "ewe" in Hebrew. She was the favorite wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin in the Old Testament. Also insanely popular in Ireland and Scotland.
That’s all!
~Ian

Warning: pirates among us

Dear Friends and family.
Today I am here to warn you about Pirates. Oh yes they are out there and they are nasty indeed. They might look like you and I but underneath, they aren’t. They are pirates and should be hunted down and treated as such. I have assembled a super team of experts (actually just me and my 2 brothers) and we have compiled a list of things to look out for to spot a pirate. Be careful though, you don’t want to confuse a pirate with a buccaneer. A buccaneer fought against the Spanish and the word later became a general term for pirates of the Atlantic, specifically the Caribbean. They are not official pirates though. A combination of any two of the following qualifies somebody to be a pirate and should be reported immediately:
1. They have a peg leg (left or right).
2. Has an Eye patch.
3. Shiny metal hook for a hand.
4. Has a big scruffy beard.
5. Always has a parrot on his shoulder.
6. *Likes to say “Arrrrgggghhhh” a lot or excessively.
*Note: if anybody you know says Arrgghh at all, this immediately qualifies him as a pirate. Think about it, who just sits there and says “arrgghh look at that car. It be a nice car indeed. Arrrgh….” It’s just not right.
These are just the warning signs of pirateism. There are many other things to look out for when trying to spot a pirate so watch out. They will do things like bury money in the backyard in a big wooden chest and look for it later, or they mumble subtle things under his breath about Davy Jones’s Locker.
If you so much as suspect someone being a pirate and at any point they use the phrase “Shiver me timbers!” that person should be immediately terminated at the earliest available time. This is a dead giveaway to pirate hunters. Weapon of choice is a 1750’s flintlock pistol and carelessly carries it in his belt facing down. Also if he describes anything as swashbuckling then you know you have pirate issues.
Other words to lookout for when trying to spot a pirate: If he calls people a blaggard (or something that sounds like it, or ends in laggard for that matter) If he calls his friends “me hearties” or simply “Matey”. These are little things they will do that a pirate hunter should look out for. I am sending this out because I don’t want any of my friends to become the victim of a pirate. They are pretty evil and if they catch you they might break out into song or make you swab the deck, even though there might not be any ships around for miles. If you have any other suggestions on what to look out for the feel free to share them in the coments section. Just be on your guard and don’t let those pirates fool you. Thanks.

~Ian