Name calling - out with the old?
In these times of world turmoil, are we reverting to old-fashioned names, or it is still cool to lumber your kids with an unusual moniker? We look at some current naming trends.
What's in name?
Football has a lot to answer for. Thanks to the first series of Footballers Wives, there are now 51 baby girls called Chardonnay in England and Wales. And hot on the trail of the Beckhams second son, 21 baby boys can look forward to endless playground calls of 'Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou'. But soft! Despite these aberrations, it seems we're less impressed with mad celebrity names than we used to be. Top of the name polls for England and Wales 2003 placed Jack, Joshua and Thomas as the most popular names for boys, with Emily, Ellie and Chloe for girls. It seems we're moving away from wackier fashionable names and looking to the past for names with a nostalgic quality.
Child psychologist Peter Gilchrist agrees. He thinks that back in the sixties when we were feeling upbeat and adventurous about the world, there was a profusion of hippy, adventurous names about. 'But in more uncertain times, although we're still searching for what's different, we also want names rooted in family history, like the mother's name or even a close friend'.
In the past
In the distant past, individuality was less important than a name firmly linked to family and religious tradition. The Puritans in particular looked to the Bible with over 90 per cent of their children having biblical names. Interestingly, they were barred from using angel names, so Michael or Gabriel was out. However being Puritans they were keen to remind their offspring of hell and damnation. Either that or they chose names by blindly opening The Bible and pointing. How else can you explain Be-Worthy and Repentance? The luckier babies got off with names which would hopefully inspire certain virtues, like Faith or Constance.
Later on the Victorians, following the exemplary and industrious family unit of Victoria and Albert, would emphasise very non-flowery names like George or Elizabeth, rooted in class - a tradition that persists today. You won't find many royal children called Inigo or Addison. After World War Two, with rising mass media, world travel and a strong emphasis on individuality, it became more acceptable to give your child a unique name; something that was not necessarily linked to family tradition, religion or class but was solely about the baby.
Gender bending
Non-gender specific names are also growing in popularity. But The Office of National Statistics tells a similar story to babyworld, namely that Jack and Chloe have been the most popular names for eight and six years respectively, indicating that adventurous names are fine for girls but we prefer to give boys a solid, masculine name.
For our daughters we can play with boyish names like Sydney or Taylor, with no ill-effects, but Peter Gilchrist feels it's wise not to exercise your protest against narrow definitions of masculinity on your boy. 'Gender perverse names can be an ego exercise for the parent but can be very difficult for boys to live with. They may feel they have to overcompensate to 'prove' their masculinity.
Remember Shirley Crabtree - aka Big Daddy - it's not surprising he became a wrestler with a name like that!
Ironic names
But there's always the problem of parents falling in love with the image behind the name. The irony is that your child might display the exact opposite characteristics. So naming your baby Maximus after Russell Crowe's 'Gladiator', is a cast iron guarantee that your boy will loathe sports and become an estate agent. Just as the name Chastity is condemning your daughter to a lifetime of lap-dancing. Peter adds that it's also worth remembering any name you give will be shortened to a nickname. So Zachary will be Zak and Fatima will be just . . . Fat.
Creative Spelling
For parents who long for a traditional name with a twist, a current US trend is creative spelling. Thus Caitlin becomes Kaytlin or Kaytlyn. Trouble is, you might intend to make your child feel unique by using a creative twist on a popular name but come across as declaring that you're both pretentious and a rubbish speller.
The Institute for Naming Children Humanely has a special 'Let me spell that for you' section, in which they argue convincingly that, as the average person says their name a million times in their lifetime, if it takes little Kaytlin five seconds to say: 'No you spell it like this . . .', she wastes a whopping 58 days of her precious life!
Do mention the war
If the trend for looking backwards for names continues, we can soon look forward to a new generation of babies named after our grandparents. But beware. Along with the classy elegance of Sadie Frost's Iris or Catherine Zeta Jones' Cerys, are fustier old names like Ethel and Arnold. Sooner or later someone (probably in Islington) will decide that Enid or Norbert is so un-cool, it's cool and is due for a revival.
As Peter points out: "Just remember that the name you give your baby is directly linked to their identity. If you give them a gender perverse name, a name with a ready made image, weird spelling, or just a hideous one, it may make you feel creative but your child has to live with it".
Peter Gilchrist: Home Made Kids; A Journey Through Adolescence, Troubador £9.99
by Jane Purcell
Where to next?- babyworld's baby names finder
- Find out how to deal with a growing bump at work
- Stay blooming with our Health and wellbeing section
- Join our online antenatal classes
- Don't forget Dad! We've got all the info your partner needs to understand your pregnancy in our For dads section
 |
Shop@babyworld |
