<p>I think Madison is a perfect example of a girl’s name that used to seem odd or cutesy but is now mainstream. In 2005, it was the #3 girl’s name. In 1985 it was #628.</p>
<p>I know, I know… “Splash”</p>
<p>All right! Beaten down on Amy! How about “Debbie” then?? Wait, “Little Debbie’s Snacks” are pretty old. But, then again, it’s <em>little</em> Debbie…</p>
<p>I thought molly had a good point about getting away from conceiving of traditional anglo-saxon names as the primary mainstream (even though my kids both have very anglo names).</p>
<p>W works for a newspaper and sees all of the birth, engagement, and business announcements, as well as the usual news stories. The list above was chosen mostly for first names - as the thread began - but you would not believe some of the last names; unfortunate, indeed! However, you can’t pick your last name - usually.</p>
<p>The “Crystal Cockayne” is a girl my D’s age. Her last name is pronounced “Cocaine.” Why would a parent do that?</p>
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Just to clarify in case anyone gets the wrong idea - I like anglo names, I’m just saying that while in the past, most lawyers/doctors/CEO’s were white with traditional anglo names, in the future there will be a lot more diversity, as it will no longer be mostly white anglo men who are only successful in the fields of medicine/law/business. So i don’t think parents should pick names based on whether they sound like a “successful” person with a good salary. That said, Crystal Cockayne is ridiculous - what were they thinking?!</p>
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<p>I agree. But it’s ironic that this criticism is coming from someone who wants to name their child a Muslim name. While the name you eventually give your child will be familiar to you, to the average American (including blacks, Asians, and Hispanics), your Muslim name will be functionally equivalent to Palin’s children’s names. Both the Muslim name and “Trig” will seem just as odd and difficult to pronounce/remember. It doesn’t matter that Palin probably made hers up.</p>
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<p>While you may not like this, that’s the way it is. I could say the same thing about traditionally male and female cloting:</p>
<p>“getting away from conceiving of traditional female clothing like skirts and bras as the primary mainstream for women”</p>
<p>OK, you can go right ahead and start wearing skirts as a man. That doesn’t mean people won’t react negatively.</p>
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<p>Have you ever been to a lawyer or doctor? They’re surely not dominated by WASPs anymore. </p>
<p>And I don’t agree with the idea that a name has deterministic predictive power for one’s life outcome. In fact, I think the correlation surely does not imply causation. The reason most people with weird names don’t do well is because their parents are generally dumb themselves and/or don’t provide a suitable environment to raise a child.</p>
<p>I believe ethnic/weird names are generally a burden for social interaction. That’s all. I don’t think it has a big effect on income or economic mobility or anything like that.</p>
<p>I recall that both Reagan and Clinton were frequently referred to by their full names.</p>
<p>I think its silly to worry about whether your kid’s names will sound good with the right title. While I do believe that stereotypical names of a particular race or SES may play a role (such as those found n the prior empirical studies), I hardly think whether one has a serious or cutesy name is going to matter. </p>
<p>So many self-respecting professionals I know- doctors, lawyers, professors- go by all kinds of less that traditional names. Many quite famous and very successful in their respective fields. They are brilliant, self-confident, carry their ‘cutesy’ name well and sure didn’t need a parental leg up by the right sounding name. Moreover, as others have pointed out, new or cutesy now is run of the mill later on. </p>
<p>All kinds of high-powered people i know that very comfortably go by ‘cute’ names in their profession: Jerry, Carrie, Skipper, Susie, Lolly, Bo, Becky, and on and on. </p>
<p>I once had a doctor named Penguin. As in the bird. I read it on her diploma and it was a great ice breaker for us (I’m sure for many new to her office). </p>
<p>If Penguin can become a physician, your child by any other name can too. Have confidence.</p>
<p>@ starbright:</p>
<p>See post 146. I agree with everything you write. I can’t imagine someone advocating that a name somehow determines or hinders one success. But I do believe that a nontraditional name can be a burden socially.</p>
<p>My husband is European and wanted to name our daughter ( had she been a boy ) a name that no one would’ve ever pronounced correctly in this country. I not only didn’t like the name , but didn’t want to give our child a name that would make things difficult for them in school and in life.</p>
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<p>Why is this so difficult for people to see? Why do so many think that tradition trumps practicality in something as “trivial” (it’s trivial in the sense that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”) as a first name?</p>
<p>My husband wanted to give our daughter the name that (unbeknownst to him) was the name of my cocker spainel, years ago. Plus it is the name of a liquor & several porn stars. Um, no.</p>
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<p>There’s a pretty obvious implication due to you having this knowledge (smiley face).</p>
<p>Well…not really…(really!). It just <em>seemed</em> like that kind of name and, there is a more mainstream disccussion of those names, at times, w/out the necessity of direct viewing. :-)</p>
<p>(okay…! It was “Brandy”! Sounded funky and/or puppy-like to me!)</p>
<p>I think Brandy would be a fine girl and would be a good wife, too.</p>
<p>LOL - I was thinking the same thing.</p>
<p>My kids and their cousins have inadvertently ended up with a Henry VIII naming scheme:</p>
<p>Not only do we have a Henry, but an Anne, a Katherine, a Jane and a Mary. Traditional to the extreme!</p>
<p>^ ^ lol at DadofB&G & cartera45. Yes, well, I suppose my husband was thinking the same.</p>
<p>dontno - didn’t you read my post? I said in my family, it was tradition to have a muslim name, however, I will be the first to break from the tradition, for the reasons you stated. not because I worry my kids wont be successful otherwise - both their parents will be smart and college-educated (ok, I’m not married, but my husband will be smart!), but because it’s frankly annoying to have people constantly mispronounce your name and plus they often assume you’re foreign even if you’re not. And in the list of names I said I liked, only 2 were muslim - Lilah and Alaina, and those are not hard to pronounce, nor can I imagine anyone with those names will be teased extensively.</p>
<p>And yeah, I know most lawyers/doctors aren’t wasps, but most have mainstream european names.</p>
<p>My next-door neighbor recently got a puppy. She named him after her (deceased) dad. (?!)
Happens to be the name of one of my sons, so when she calls the dog. . .</p>