In my Sociology class, we start the semester by exploring what is in a name and the trends that baby names seem to follow. I'll spare you the sociological mumbo jumbo behind it, but the short and sweet version is that we hear names we like and then we name our little bundles of joy that exact name, or a slight variation to it. (Eva is totally different than Ava right?)
This website is really cool to see some trends for names. Look up family member names, your favorite movie stars or popular ones now. See anything interesting? Why is it Bentley was practically non-existent until 2009, conveniently enough until a little show call "16 and Pregnant" appeared on MTV. Thanks Macy. The statistics and data are fascinating and show a lot about our culture. I have to chuckle at how many of my students find out during this lesson that their names originated from a soap opera star that their mother favored.
I named my oldest son Alexander. Obviously not a new name, but my coworker also had the same name picked out for his boy that was born 2 weeks earlier. Grrr. His initials also spell a word that some might take offense too, but I can save that for another post.
Then there is my youngest son, Cameron. I had never had a student with that name. I loved that it went with the middle name we had chosen. Fast forward to Cameron's 2 month check up and I'm in the waiting room with 3 other mothers. There were 2 boys, and 2 girls....wait for it...all named Cameron. WTH? Seriously?
My #1 rule for any name of my children must be that it has some 'umph' behind it when I yell it. I want my boys to know when I mean business, lol.
Don't forget to check out the Social Security Administration's database of popular names too.
Any fun stories you want to share behind your little one?
Read more about baby names on Growing up Geeky
I love both of their names :)
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