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SOLUTION NOTES
ACROSSDOWN
1. Liam became America’s #1 boy’s name in 2017 and repeated in 2018.1. Link is the time-traveling protagonist of the Zelda games, and can be short for Lincoln — yes, even when spelled with a k.
3. Maria is the most common formal source of the pet name Mimi. Mimi is also the nickname of singer Mariah Carey, who used it in the title of an album.2. Mai, written with either kanji, was a super-popular girls’ name in Japan in the 1980s & ’90s.
5. President Abraham Lincoln is known as “Honest Abe.”4. Ivan, a form of John, was the name of several Russian rulers including Czar Ivan IV, famously called “Ivan the Terrible.”
7. Diego is a Spanish classic, as in the name of San Diego, California. 6. Peter Rabbit author/illustrator Beatrix Potter grounds her ultra-sophisticated name in a timeless sweetness.
9. Kai has separate Nordic and Hawaiian origins. The Hawaiian name means “sea,” the Nordic name is of disputed origin. 7. Diana was the goddess of the moon and the hunt, and the Princess of Wales.
11. Actor Don Cheadle and tv character Don Draper are both Donalds. For Quixote and Corleone, Don was a title, not a nickname. 8. Odell Beckham Jr. is a star wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, formerly with the New York Giants.
13. The tv series Supernatural named its angel character Castiel on the model of biblical angels like Gabriel. Castiel has been a top-1000 name for US boys for six years running. 10. Ace used to be a pure nickname, the kind bestowed on a young man by friends. In the 21st Century it’s a popular given name.
14. Len and Leo can both be nicknames for Leonard or Leonardo. 12. Ole is a classic nickname for Olaf in Denmark and Norway. It’s pronounced as two syllables.
15. Lee, on the model of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, is a middle name often heard in Southern two-part names. Actor Tommy Lee Jones attended Robert E. Lee High School. 14. The name Lana still carries the golden glow of actress Lana Turner. I’ll leave the backwards spelling problem for you to contemplate.
17. Ariel occurs in the Bible as both a man’s name and a name for Jerusalem. Disney gave the name to its female Little Mermaid. 16. Elsa is a short form of Elizabeth (or Elisabeth) in several languages including German and Swedish, as well as Frozen‘s snow queen.
20. The stage name of GNR frontman Axl Rose has ranked in the US top 1000 ever since singer Fergie chose it for her son in 2013. 18. Rae can be a Southern-style middle name, as in the movie Norma Rae, or the first half of the current hit RaeLynn.
21. The simple classic Anne doesn’t even crack the top 1000 in England today. 19. Biblical priestly name Eli can also be short for Elijah, Eliezer or (as in the case of quarterback Eli Manning) Elisha.
22. The name Isla, from the Scottish isle of Islay, is pronounced (like isle and Islay) with a silent s.
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