Monthly Favorites | Baby Names

Hello!

This is my final post of the week and In my act to bring something different to my blog this month, I thought about putting together a collection of my favorite baby names since the start of 2022.

If you have been on here a while, you might know I have a HUGE obsession with names; I’ve done a lot of things in the past, but my favorite thing is discussing what could be the next royal baby’s names. I’ve been wrong on Prince Louis of Cambridge, his cousin Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, and Prince Gabriel of Sweden, but I somewhat right for both Princess Eugenie’s son August Brooksbank and Prince Gabriel’s little brother Prince Julian of Sweden!

I love doing those types of posts, but I mainly create them to have fun, so with that, I thought I could come up with something that you as a reader might enjoy, but I would love to look back on to see what has changed in the future.

In 2019, I made up a Pinterest board that would help me keep track of all the names I came across each month, and I attempt to list my ultimate favorites on my name accounts on Facebook and Instagram at the end of the year. I have surprised myself quite a bit, but that’s kind of the point though. For this post, I will be including ALL of the names I’ve been into from January to March, as I say this, I could forget a few just before I publish the post in general. but everybody should be ready and updated for you today.

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January

Girls: Anne, Agnes, Arden, Amaryllis, Audra, Betty, Caroline, Cecilia, Chantal, Frances, Freya, Hannelore, Hedy, Henrietta, Hermione, Honor, Iris, Juniper, Lavinia, Leta, Lynlie, Maud, Monaco, Rue, Skylynn, Sophie, Taryn, Victoria, Wilhelmina, Winifred, Wren, Yuna, Zita

Boys: Adolphus, Athelstan, Barclays, Bridgemont, Dempsey, Ford, Isaiah, Joachim, Jon, Kade, Khair, Kohl, Lancaster, Ludo, Odin, Santos, Sherwood, Somerset, Ralph, Winston

Unisex: Asa, Denali, Shiloh, Joss, Lennox

February

Girls: Abigail, Adelaide, Amy, Andie, Ashlyn, Atlas, Arizona, Brielle, Brookline, Brynn, Bubbles, Carlyn, Colbie, Claudia, Daphne, Deirdre, Eleonore, Ethel, Fiona, Freya, Gertrude, Halla, Hannelore, Honor, Imogen, Isla, Ira, Ivy, Jane, Jessamine, Jo, Julissa, Kendall, Kiernan, Kira, Kyla, Laney, Leni, Letha, Liselle, Lovelyn, Mako, Mary, Mayim, Moira, Nercissa, Ocea, Oceanne, Orna, Ottilie, Remy, Riverlyn, Roseline, Runa, Salome, Sierra, Sophia, Soraya, Story, Suki, Verena, Yuna,

Boys: Aiden, Alfred, Alonso, Asher, Braylin, Brexson, Byron, Cameron, Caspian, Gregory, Hayden, Hunter, Falcon, Jaxon, Ledger, Leonidas, Mark, Maverick, Mosaic, Nevada, Neville, Nikos, Orlando, Ptolemy, Ryan, Spade, Spencer, Taurien

Unisex: Albany, Ashton, Eiffel, Emerson, Linwood, Noel, Sayre, Vesper

March

Girls: Adelaide, Alessia, Aoife, Astra, Avril, Beatrice, Catherine, Catriona, Cecilia, Clover, Davina, Dorothy, Edda, Edie, Eliza, Eloise, Ethel, Eydis, Freyja, Gwyneth, Hervor, Ida, Imogen, Ingrid, Kassandra, Katya, Ksenia, Libby, Lilian, Lilias, Lille, Loralei, Lotte, Lydia, Madeleine, Maeve, Magdalene, Mailin, Matilda, Millicent, Mimi, Moira, Noelle, Odessa, Oona, Parisa, Philippa, Posie, Primrose, Savannah, Soleil, Sophia, Sybil, Sybilla, Thea, Violet, Wylla, Yrsa

Boys: Archibald, Aldrich, Alastair, Atlas, Bruno, Calder, Cord, Elias, Ewen, Ezra, Fox, Finn, Gilbert, Hudson, James Jameson, Jasper, Leif, Levi, Loki, Mikey, Nolan, Pluto, Reginald, Rhys, Ryker, Riley, Rory, Silas, Sullivan, Thaddeus, Tobias, Willoughby

Unisex: Daisuke, Namir, Raleigh, Ronan

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As you might’ve noticed as you read each name, a lot were inspired by my recent reads. I’ve always loved the various styles authors will name their own characters. A lot are inspired the different eras in history, such as Vikings and their Norse mythology. I’ve finished two books that discuss many parts of their religion, so you have popular names like Odin, Freya/Freyja, Loki but then you have the main characters and even though you are writing about a fictional person, you still want them to have a name that readers can recognize as part of that group, and you get a mismatch of names you might know about and the rest are basically made up, like Halla, Taurein, Rollo, Revna, Runa, Hervor, Eydis, Asta, Calder, and Leif.

There is another group you should have noticed, and they are my Irish/Gaelic/Scottish style of names. I usually keep a nice array of names in the back of my mind of these types, but since March is about spring and of course, St. Patrick’s Day, my usual bag is suddenly larger as we continue on to the next month.

I love the traditional Gaelic names that can be difficult to pronounce for most people. I’ve been interested in everything Irish since 2014, so I’m happy to say I can say several names with ease now. I do have some trouble with others, but it is a slow process and I work on it every day Some of my favorite names of that language are Aoife, (Eva) Ewen, Imogen, Maeve, (Mae-vv) Moira, Oona, (On-na) Ronan, Willoughby (Will-o-be).

I hope you have enjoyed this post. I would like to do this again, keeping with the three months, so you can see how everything changes with the others. I also keep record of all of the name combinations I make from various name games on social media, so if you would like to see what I create with each month, let me know and I can update this post with the names of January through March.

Are you obsessed with names too? If you are, what styles are you most drawn to on a daily basis? Do you keep a list of favorites in a notebook or in your phone throughout the year(s)?

Royal Baby | 32 Swedish Forward Baby Names!

Hello!

I am back for another baby name post, and today I am focusing on the Swedish Royal family. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia’s son, Prince Carl Philip and his wife Princess Sofia will welcome their third little bundle of joy sometime in the next few weeks. When I was busy coming up with these posts, I wasn’t necessarily paying any attention on what season these babies would arrive, so there is a small chance that by the time this post does publish, the new Prince or Princess has already made its welcome to the royal house.

Back in 2016, I wrote a post just like this one for their second child, Prince Gabriel, and although the only part I got right was the letter “G” it, obviously, hasn’t stopped me from making any other name guesses of the future generations. During that time, I was thinking it would be a boy, mainly because both of the Prince’s sisters have had boys during their second pregnancies, however, with this one, I am definitely leaning into the color pink, so I tried to think of well beloved names on both sides of the family tree and hoped I was correct on more than one element.

For this post, I will be doing what I’ve done on my previous baby posts and picking out four names listed in the banner below, and including a middle name that could work with it too. I will also be giving you a little background on each name, plus my reasons behind my decision.

Birgitta Sofie

The name Birgitta is well beloved in the royal house of Bernadotte, as it is the first name of Prince Carl Philip’s great aunt Princess Birgitta of Sweden, Princess of Hohenzollern. If they do decide to use a name that is a bit popular among the public of Sweden, Birgitta or maybe even shortening it to Britta could be absolutely gorgeous for a modern day Swedish princess!

If they do end up having a daughter, I can see the name Sofia being apart of the full name but not a first. I’ve been wrong before and it was my main thought behind using Sofie as a middle and/or nickname! I feel this combination fits both the French and Swedish styles that you normally see throughout the rest of the royal family, and it works as Bridget Sophie too!

Kristina Madeleine Victoria

The name Christina in general is a big symbol of the Swedish monarchy. Just because they use the first letter “K” instead of a “C” is just basically moving on with the times, as Christina has an older quality while Kristina has a modern flair considering it is different compared to the king’s older sister Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson. There have been many other princesses with the name up and down history, but nothing is more amazing and possibly infamous than Queen Christina in the 17th Century.

I have to say, I don’t normally include multiple middle names in these posts, but with thinking about continuing a tradition, the royal Swedes are known to name their children after close family members and it would be an sweet way of the Prince to name this little girl after his own sisters: the Crown Princess and the Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland!

Isabelle Maria

Isabelle or Isabel is a beautiful and very French way of the name Elizabeth or Elisabeth. Although, Elizabeth has been used in the past for both first and middle names, I just don’t think it will appear on this baby. I don’t have anything against it–my middle name is Elizabeth!–it unfortunately has the same look as Christina, this past tense feel of it just turns me off but I do love for Isabelle because it just has this elegant but loose magic that the other lacks at the moment.
As far as the middle name pairing, I think it works great with any variation of the name Mary. Personally, I love Maria because I’ve never been a huge fan of the same letter either beginning or ending, but the main reason why I believe it will feature somewhere is because it is the name of Princess Sofia’s mother. She is also my inspiration for Britta as her middle is actually Britt. I really would love it to see The Princess’s family recognized too!

Signe Alexandra

I am actually a fan of Swedish names, and the moment I found Signe, I was hooked immediately! So, it is pronounced as “cig-knee” and can be spelled as ‘Signe’ or ‘Signy’ and could also be used as a sweet nickname for the rougher ‘Sigurd’ maybe. I like to think of it as the Swedish cousin of Australia’s own “Sydney” and I’m not even sorry about it either!

Honestly, between Birgitta, Kristina and Signe, they are all common names in Scandinavia, and I would really love it if the current royal family used more of their country’s baby names. I think it is time to fully allow their home grown names to shine out forward for the whole world to see finally its authentically and uniqueness.

My outlook on boy names is somewhat different than what I would think will happen, mainly because they’ve already had a nice thing going with using Alexander and Gabriel as first names. and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. What I really mean is, those names are like ‘normal, everyday’ type of names to the general public. I mean, I’m an American and this a different royal family then what most people know about, so despite the fact that I would like to see a traditional Swedish name up front, I can understand wanting to give the child a simple name that reflects both the royal family and what the future holds for this little prince.

Felix Johann

The name Felix already has a big following among fellow royal families, as there is one in Denmark and Luxembourg, so I think it’s only right for it to appear in Sweden. Felix is also big in households all over Scandinavia, so it would be a perfect fit all around I think! It has that likeable but traditional quality that I thought could work great with Alexander and Gabriel. Personally, my favorite part of it is, it’s masculine and short and these are two big factors for couples right now.

When I was trying to figure out a middle, I was instantly pulled into pairing it with longer and strong Scandi names like Oscar, Nicholas, and Johann. There are a wide array of names that could work great with Felix but I think we will have to see what .happens because this is where I have the most trouble are with male middle names!

Theodore Harald

Now with Theodore or Teodor as both spellings are common in Sweden, I feel more confident with this name to be on the Top 5 since it is an universal type of name. Despite the fact that people enjoy shorter names–a lot like the sweet quality that Theodore instantly brings to a child. Some couples love it for the cutesy flair on little boys and the amount of strength it will bring to him as he continues to get older, as it adds some seriousness for a man.

Again, middle names are difficult to decide on, but I thought about how close the Swedish family is to other monarchs on their borders, and with all of the health concerns on King Harald V of Norway, I think it would be really nice thing is to name their little guy Harald in tribute to the king. The Crown Princess has done that with her daughter and heiress, is named Princess Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary.; the last name Mary is for her godmother, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, so it can happen and has been lovely additions to the next generation.

Folke Philip

When I worked on my guesses for Prince Gabriel, I was hoping the name Folke would see the limelight because I think it is so neat! I’m still not 100% sure on how to pronounce it yet but I would still like it to be somewhere in his name. The same goes with Philip too, it would be really nice to allow their third son a chance to bear the name “Philip” like his father, but I would still like ‘Folke’ to be up front though!

Gustaf Viktor

Out of all of the names I listed above in my banner, the one name that I am sure will make an appearance is “Gustaf”. Why? Well, it is the second name of the current King of Sweden. Despite the fact that almost all of the king’s grandsons has the name “Carl” in their full names, it’s only Princess Madeleine’s son Prince Nicolas that actually has “Gustaf” instead!

Now originally, I had picked the name “Kristian” for the possible middle, and I was really proud for remembering it but just before I was going to talk about my decision there, I thought about naming in tribute for both the Norwegian and Swedish kings, we are forgetting, the royal family has four little princes as of right now and none of them are named after the Crown Princess yet. I thought this was an interesting aspect to keep in mind as I was comfortable with adding “Victoria” on the girl side, but what about creating a “Victor” in the lineup as well? I do think this would be a great combination too because it honors a current and future sequence of events that will be visible in this child’s lifetime.

So, what do you think of the combos I’ve listed in this post? Do you think any will be on this child’s full name? If you have any guesses that you want to share with me, please tell me in the comments!

Album Review: “Honey” by Robyn

I think my mom and I have been in love with Robyn for several years now! Technically, my mom only likes one of her earliest tracks, whereas I have been listening to her music since 2010. So to say that I was excited to see the Swedish EDM singer back with a new album is a bit of an understatement! “Honey” came out in late October, but I’ve had to wait a bit to finally listen to it all the way through and share my thoughts with you guys!

This review will be kind of short in a way, as the album itself consists of only nine tracks. I figured it would be a lot more than that, but I’m willing to deal with this.

The first song that begins our musical journey is “Missing U” and I was so happy to hear that standard Robyn sound. She’s really into the electronica sound, I feel like the ones she usually uses always remind me of how EDM used to be in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. She also has a very high-pitched, sweet voice that tends to make you feel loved while you listened to each one. The song though, is a really good starter, as it’s light but has enough of a dance-y vibe going on that it still makes you happy! Next is “Human Being” and this was the only track that has a featured singer on it: Zhala. Now I’ve never heard of this person before, which isn’t uncommon for me, but all I’ve been able to get out of my research is that she’s pop singer too and what’s really cool is that she’s signed to Robyn’s record label! I actually like this one as it has a darker tone, it’s still pop-y and has a nice groove to it but the sound itself is sort of mysterious and makes the two of them sound like one person, which I don’t usually like but in this case I was okay with it.

Third is called “Because It’s In The Magic” and the synths on this made me think of Christmas music! I don’t know if it was because I have Christmas albums to review later on and I’m just getting myself in the holiday spirit, but then I look at the title and I figured maybe this was on purpose, this might be the song I’ve ever come across that isn’t a Christmas song that sounds exactly like one in every way! Afterwards, there’s “Baby Forgive Me” and this has a real sensual feeling all throughout the song. I liked the atmospheric vibe going on, it kind of took over quickly, but I didn’t mind that calmness it brought to me.

“Send To Robin Immediately” is on now and I was a little confused with this at first, but when it first started I thought it was going to continue on with the same lyrics of the previous song, just with a different beat. After we get to the middle of it is where it kind of breaks off into its own track, but really it’s sporadic with its words, so mostly all you hear is this somewhat annoying beat all the way through. The sixth track is the title track “Honey” and I really enjoyed the lovey dovey vibe you get with this one. I also really liked the stripped beginning–as she just sang in a capella. It has a nice trance type of sound to it, but it was really light so it fit really well with the lyrics of the actual song.

We’re almost finished with the album, but continuing on we have “Between The Lines” and I really liked the seductive lyrics with this one, which threw me for a loop. Oh and the male voice featured in it! But don’t ask me who it is, because even I don’t know, but I think what really sold it to me was this cosmopolitan beat, the best way to describe what I mean is literally “perfect catwalk music” more like a Victoria’s Secret fashion show since it does have a sexy attitude to it.  If I thought the last one was bringing me old Madonna vibes, “Beach2k20” just added onto it! There’s really no lyrics, but you definitely have a beach-y vibe going on with this, it’s not in your face and I think that’s why I really liked it. Lastly is “Ever Again” and we go back to a normal pop beat with real lyrics! One thing I thought was interesting was the fact that this had a less of a dance worthy type of beat with it, and so it has more a pop-rock sound going on instead. It was kind of a motivational song too, for all of those broken hearts out there! It really good for the final song!

I thought this was a really nice album! If you’re missing the summer, which majority of us are at the moment, because we’re already tired of wearing layer after layer of clothing or seeing giant piles of snow in your front yard, this could be perfect for you, because it does have a bubbly, bikini, and summer fling going on throughout the entire thing.

Tell me, have you listened to Robyn’s new album “Honey” yet? Do you think it was as good as her last or are you okay with the new sound she’s bringing with this?

The Young Queens.

Howdy!

The night I was trying to figure out how to write my Queen Mary I vs. Lady Jane Grey post, I got sidetracked and started thinking about the future queens. Right now there are only two Queen Regent monarchs: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. After they both pass on, their sons will reign in their place and hopefully their grandsons after them but what you may not know is that there might be FIVE Queens in the coming years and I find that absolutely fascinating considering everybody would rather have a king than a queen, whether or not she is their wife or daughter.

I really don’t know how to really start this post, because I don’t want anybody to be confused but I thought it would be an interesting hope for the world that one day all five princesses will be on the throne of their native country someday.

I’m going to start with Spain. The reason why I want to discuss Leonor, Princess of Asturias (11) is because if her parents King Felipe VI and Queen consort Letizia have a son, Leonor will take a step back on the act of succession, like I explained in my first paragraph, Spain is one of the countries that is male preferred.

Spain has had a total of three queen regents, starting in 1479 Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ruled together and their oldest daughter Joanna of Castile or as she’s known around the world: Joanna The Mad became Queen of Spain in 1504. After Fredinand VII died in 1833, his daughter Isabel II became the last Queen to rule in Spain until she had to abdicate the throne in 1868 to her son Alfonso XII despite the fact that he was not her first child, Isabel, Princess of Asturias was born in six years before him.

Leonor isn’t the only one that has a hefty line of Queen rulers. Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange is thirteen years old and is the heiress apparent of King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Máxima. Before her father came onto the throne, her grandmother Queen Beatrix reigned from 1980 to 2013 and she is the daughter of Queen Juliana and she herself was the daughter of the first queen of the Netherlands Queen Wilhelmina. If Catharina-Amalia does her duty, she will the country’s fourth queen.

One thing that is very similar between both Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange is that even if they don’t ascend to their thrones, they each have a sister to take their place. Infanta Sofia of Spain is only a year younger than her sister. Catharina-Amalia has two younger sisters Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, age 12 and Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, age 10.

This next princess will literally be the first Queen monarch in Belgium. Princess Elisabeth of Belgium is the oldest on this whole list. She will turn 16 later this month. Her parents came to the throne in the same year as the Dutch royals. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde ascended onto the throne after King Albert II abdicated in 2013. The Kingdom of Belgium was started with King Leopold I. He was originally a German prince prior moving to and ruling Belgium. He was first married to Princess Charlotte of Wales, daughter of King George IV. He was the uncle by marriage to Queen Victoria and an maternal uncle to her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

One of the similar things between these next two countries is that only one queen has ruled over them: Margaret I, who died in 1412, ruled over Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Princess Ingrid of Norway is thirteen and is the daughter of Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Merit. Now our final princess is Princess Estelle of Sweden and she is the youngest as she is only five years old. Her mother is Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who is also the heiress apparent to the Swedish throne and Estelle’s father is Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. This hasn’t happened in Sweden before, where two future queens will take the throne back-to-back. So technically, we end this post with six future queens!

Do you find the upcoming monarchs interesting? Or are you like me and find the medieval Kings and Queens more fascinating? 

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The New Royal Baby!

Hi 🙂

I have to say I did not plan on having two royal posts going up this month. It just sort of happened on accident!

On the fourth of September, I was mainly excited for the fact that the public would finally be told of Sweden’s new royal baby that was born on August 31st. Prince Carl Philip (the only son of King Carl Gustaf XVI and Queen Silvia) and his wife Princess Sofia had their second child, a baby boy! They didn’t say what his name was until four days later after the King and heir apparent Crown Princess Victoria, announced that his name was Gabriel Carl Wurther, Duke of Dalarna.

All throughout the weekend, I had been trying to figure out what exactly they would name him. I looked through the previous Swedish kings (and queens) to see if there would be some good possibilities, but all three of King Gustaf’s children have used a royal name as a part of their middle names–not a first–only Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel’s second child Prince Oscar uses a former king’s first name.

So I had a tough time figuring out if I should stick with my first choice which was Gustav or go another route. I think my full guess was “Gustav Johan Folke”. I was happy of the choice of names for the little Prince though! I did get the “G” right! I’d like to know where they came up with both “Gabriel” and “Wurther” though, they might be the ones they liked the most or could be family names on Princess Sofia’s side. Now that we know about Princess Madeleine’s pregnant, I can start making some guesses on this upcoming Prince or Princess of Sweden!

After going on Facebook that morning, I actually spent a good five minutes trying to not to fall off my bed because the first thing I saw was that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their third child as well! I had actually seen an article like two weeks ago about people were betting that Buckingham Palace was going to announce something big soon. They were going back and forth between a new baby or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement, now we know!

My friend Gail had sent me a comment after I sent my mom the announcement of Prince Gabriel’s name and she asked what I was thinking for this new baby’s name would be. She and I were going through our favorite names, like Alexandra, Henry, and Arthur. We were discussing the fact that if it is a girl and she has the name “Camilla” everybody would be pissed! Honestly, I think Camilla is a cute name but I understand the reasons why it would be a name that people wouldn’t enjoy for a royal princess. Gail already has two combinations she likes: Alexandra Victoria Mary and James Albert Philip.

I’m thankful I have over seven to eight months left to figure out my combination. I’m dead set on Catherine having another girl though, so I’ve picked Caroline or Mary, mostly because “Caroline” starts with a “C” and “Mary” is from Prince William’s great-great-grandmother Queen Mary. However, there’s a slight difference between the British and Swedish royals. The British royal family will probably name their children after a royal ancestor, Prince George is named after both King George V and King George VI (even though his real name was “Albert”) and the name Charlotte has been used for Charlotte, The Princess Royal (daughter of King George III) so there’s a good chance that they will recycle a name.

There are many, many names that could be used to name this baby. Someone has noticed that Prince William and Princess Catherine have gone with Georgian era names and I found that both of my names guesses are apart of that list. I would like to see “Cecily” come back. The name hasn’t been used since Cecily of York, the younger sister of King Henry VII’s wife Elizabeth of York. After the House of York died out, apparently so did the name in the royal family. A name for a boy that is still a favorite is “Edmund” and it’s cute and a strong British name. The last time a prince was called “Edmund” was the last boy of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, who named him after Henry’s father Edmund Tudor. I’d like to see another Princess Victoria though, it hasn’t been used since Victoria, The Princess Royal (Queen Victoria’s oldest daughter) and I really like it! If they hadn’t used “Elizabeth” with Princess Charlotte, I would have said Victoria Elizabeth Mary as my favorite combination. However, the one combination that has been popping up in my head the most is Mary Augusta Frances.

I honestly don’t see them using a name that somebody in the royal family already has like “James” and it is a contender among people nowadays, but since Prince William’s younger cousin (Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex) is James, Viscount Severn. It is also Catherine’s younger brother’s name as well! I don’t really see it happening, but I kind of feel the same about Henry too, it’s only if he is called “Henry” and not “Harry” like his uncle I don’t think it wouldn’t be so bad.  If they do decide on using either one, I think it would be as a one of two middle names.

I think this will be a hard thing to figure out, because I’m honestly looking for roughly 12 names at one time! I have two separate babies from two different countries. So I’m being pulled into looking for traditional British names and nice, strong, original, Swedish names for the other. It’ll be very confusing once I get it all going, but I’m actually excited about it too!

Are you curious about what The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will name their new baby? Did you have any guesses for Sweden’s newest royal baby’s name?

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