Jamie Lynn Spears and Casey Aldridge’s decision to name their newborn daughter Maddie Briann is “a surprising choice,” baby name expert Pam Satran, coauthor of baby-naming guides Cool Names and The Baby Name Bible, tells Joynews.“[Maddie is] cute but nearly old-fashioned at this point,” Satran says. “The nickname Maddie has been popular in its own right since the 1980s, when it was the name used by the character played by Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting.”
The name is short for Madeline (the French variation of Magdalen, which is Greek for “high tower) or Madison (of English origin, meaning “son of the mighty warrior”), which was a top name several years ago, Satran explains.
“Both Jamie and Maddie are ’80s-style nickname names,” Satran adds. “Rather than mother and daughter, they sound like classmates – co-captains of the cheerleading squad!”
As for Maddie’s middle name, Briann, Satran reveals its “a modern feminization of Brian, Irish for ’strong.’
Briann, Brian, Brianne and Brianna have been trending downward over the past several years, Satran points out.
Jamie Lynn gave birth to Maddie Thursday at Mississippi Southwest Regional Medical Center in McComb, Mississippi. Maddie – Jamie Lynn and Aldridge’s first child – weighed 7 lbs., 11 ounces.
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