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Baby
Names - Choosing Trendy or Traditional
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by:
Barbara Freedman-De Vito
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Lists of baby names are always fun to look at, whether you're seeking a
name for your soon-to-be-born baby boy or baby girl, wondering about
the popularity of your own first name, or just curious about what baby
names are currently hot.
What I find particularly interesting is tracking the popularity of baby
names over the decades. In looking through U.S. government baby name
lists from 1880 to the present, some amusing patterns emerge,
particularly in regards to baby names for girls.
For example, in Victorian times Biblical names, such as Mary, Sarah and
Ruth were very popular for baby girls. There were also many baby names
that sounded very old-fashioned to me, as a kid growing up in the
1960s, including names like Martha, Alice, Bertha and Minnie.
From the 1920s to the 1950s certain baby names rose in popularity. For
example, I went to school with many Susans, Debbies, Patricias, and
Lindas. All of these baby names have since waned, to be replaced, by
the 1980s, with fancier names such as Jennifer, Jessica and Nicole.
When I was a children's librarian in the 1980s my preschool storyhours
were populated with little girls named Lauren and Jenny, and little
boys named Alex and Matthew.
More recently there's been a lot of renewed interest in more
"old-fashioned" baby names like Hannah, Abigail and Ethan, plus many
Biblical names such as Sarah, Rachel, Joshua, Jacob, and Samuel.
There's also been a surge in nontraditional baby names including
Madison, Ashley and Brianna for baby girls, and Brandon and Logan for
baby boys.
It's interesting to consider the whys and wherefores of such
developments. Sometimes, I suspect, the popularity of a specific actor
or fictional character might result in many babies with a particular
name. For example, were some of the Lauras born in the 1970s and 1980s
given a name suggested by older brothers and sisters who were growing
up watching "Little House on the Prairie ?" Were some attributable to
the super popular Laura of "General Hospital" fame ?
Today Madison is a very highly ranked baby name for girls (ranking
number 3 in 2003) but, when the film "Splash" came out in 1984, Tom
Hanks' character told Daryl Hannah's character that Madison was not a
bona fide first name.
While baby girls' names seem quite subject to the whims of fashion and
the top ten lists can change radically over time, I've noticed that, in
general, the top baby names for boys remain far more stable. Names like
John, William and James are perennials, perhaps because baby boys are
often named for their fathers, perpetuating the popularity of certain
baby names from generation to generation. The "Junior" factor aside,
baby boys are also less apt to be given fanciful names.
When naming a baby there are, of course, many other points to consider
besides how popular or unique a name is. Here are some helpful tips
that you can use with your other children to get them involved in
choosing a name for the new baby and to make the process fun:
1. Baby names need to go nicely with the sound of your last name. Also,
pick a first name and a middle name that go together well. (So maybe
not something like Erasmus Beelzebub Smith !)
2. When your family finds a name you all like, look at the initials to
be sure that you don't give the new baby a name with initials that will
make people laugh. (So maybe not Pamela Iris Green, which equals P.I.G.
!)
3. You might not want a baby name that is so unusual that the other
kids will make fun of your little brother or sister as he or she grows
up. (So maybe not Rosebud or Molasses !)
4. You also might not want a baby name that is so trendy that it will
sound funny by the time the baby is ten years old. (So maybe not
Sunshine !)
5. You probably shouldn't pick a name that's really cute for an
adorable little baby but will sound silly when the baby grows up. (So
maybe not Dimples !)
6. Avoid baby names that might produce insulting nicknames when people
shorten them. (So maybe not Smellonius, or Smelly for short !)
7. You and your family might not want a name that is so hard to spell
or to pronounce that people will always get it wrong and your poor
little brother or sister will have to go through life correcting
people. (So maybe not something like Incandescence, or is it
Incandessints ? )
8. You and your family might want to pick baby names in honor of
favorite relatives or ancestors, or special names that show your
family's ethnic roots. You might even find a special name from a book
or movie that you love. (Like Harry ?)
9. You might want to look through books of baby names and pick one that
has a special meaning that you like - maybe something that means
"sweet" or "kind" or "brave." (So maybe not wimp !)
10. You might want to think about names that will go nicely with your
name and your other brothers' and sisters' names, so that if mom or dad
are calling you all for dinner or signing a birthday card to grandma it
won't sound too crazy.
(So maybe not "Happy Birthday, Grandma ! Love, Joey, Cindy and Dweevo
!")
There are hundreds of names waiting for you out there, so good luck on
your search for the perfect name !
Visit Barbara Freedman-DeVito's website at
http://www.childrensclothingbabyclothes.com for baby clothes,
children's clothing and gift items decorated with her colorful and
amusing artwork for kids. Barbara is a professional storyteller,
teacher and artist. |
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