<p>From The Chronicle of Higher Education today:</p>
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<p>Not a bad idea, actually. Elite-college admission officials are accustomed to applications that arrive accompanied by photos of smiling toddlers sporting miniature t-shirts that proclaim their Ivy aspirations. Some moms and dads–and perhaps the candidates themselves–assume that admission folks, upon gazing at the images of tiny Tigers, Bull Dogs et al, will recognize that a fat envelope has been preordained since preschool.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, that gambit doesn’t work, but here’s one that might:</p>
<p>Instead of investing twenty bucks in a teensy tee, why not instead name your progeny for the college of your choice? After all, what admission officer can say no to a kid who’s endured 18 years of being called “Providence,” “Palo Alto,” or “Cambridge”? And anyone named “New Haven” ought to be a lock at you-know-where. ;)</p>
<p>Hey, my 20-year old niece is named Charlotte. Feminine of Charles. In France, people have not heard of Duke University.
And isn’t Wilberforce the name of the most famous British abolitionist?
As to Austin, maybe the parents went to see Austin Powers, man of mystery?
Lincoln? How about naming one’s kid after one of the greatest US presidents?<br>
Pullman? How about naming one’s kid after a railroad car? :)</p>
<p>As a (former) Smithie father, you should know that the diminutive form would be “Noho.” :)</p>
<p>And when I worked at Smith, we had a student there named “Philadelphia,” although she was not from the City of Brotherly Love. She told me it was a family name, but maybe that just means her parents had hoped she’d go to Penn. ;)</p>
<p>I have met a few Yales, Cornells, Dukes, and Stanfords. I can’t remember meeting or hearing about any Harvards, Princetons, Browns, Pennsylvanias, or . . . Technologys. (“Tech” or “Techno” would make a great nickname, though.)</p>
<p>If your last name begins with T, you could give your kid a first name that starts with M an a middle name that starts with I and then have their stuff monogrammed with MIT. :D</p>
<p>I’ve always thought that the one college name that sounds wonderful as a name is Pomona. Even before I knew the location of the college, I’d heard the name and thought it would be lovely for an athletic, bubbly, West Coast-style girl.</p>
<p>Some colleges lend themselves fairly well to being a name such as: Smith, Duke, Drew, Stanford, Yale, Emory, Howard, Williams, Hiram, Reed, Hamilton, Simmons, Emerson, Davidson, Colby, Clarkson, Sarah Lawrence, Wagner. </p>
<p>Others? Not so sure…hmmm…Middlebury? Columbia? Beloit? Muhlenberg? Valparaiso? Wabash? Occidental? Pepperdine? Deep Springs? Swarthmore? Tufts?</p>
<p>I’ve met a Yale. I know it’s a family name but it seemed like a lot of pressure. I didn’t think about it at the time, but the classmate of mine named American would fit the bill as well. I know an Emory but until this moment did not associate that with the school. It seems naming a child after a college is an art that is wasted on me. </p>
<p>From the article, I’m so glad to hear that Lincoln is getting more popular. I’ve always liked that name. I think some of the names of that era need to make a come back, like August, Ulysses, Quinby and Sorrel.</p>
<p>ROTFLMAO…some of these names really belong together as first/last combos. Reed Hamilton is the ultimate soap opera star. And Tufts Pepperdine has got to be one of those Lawrenceville/Princeton string-pulling types: “if you mention my name to Tufts Pepperdine, he’ll take care of you.”</p>
<p>I knew a Yale growing up. Now, as an adult, I have seen this same guy’s name as OJ Simpson’s lawyer! (I don’t know where he went to college though)</p>