I remember learning to play Bach's "Minuet in G Major" for two reasons. For one, it was one of the first pieces I played that was written by a famous composer, and I liked the piece. The other reason was the note on the piece: "From the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook." The name Anna Magdalena struck me as absolutely gorgeous.
I have been interested in names since I was 8 years old. My mom was pregnant with my little brother, and while his middle name was decided, my parents were having trouble finding the perfect first name. I suppose those discussions started the wheels turning. Around the same time, I found the baby name book that my parents had used to name my brother Nicholas and me. It solidified my interest -- which over the last 14 years grew from merely what I would name my future babies to memorizing meanings and etymologies and following trends in American baby naming.
However, I don't think most people take names -- and naming -- as seriously as I do. I can't fathom when parents admit to having given total control of their child's name to their spouse. To me, names can be exquisite or atrocious or unremarkable; they convey social demographics, personality characteristics, even values.
People judge others based on names alone -- studies have shown that essays and resumes with common English names on them receive better responses, and how often have you heard someone refer to a name as "a stripper name"?
To me, a name can be appreciated in the same way as anything that's a matter of taste. A good name has a comfortable syllabic flow. Its vowels or consonants don't run together. The relative obscurity of each name (first, middle, last) strikes a balance which keeps it from being boring but also from being too out-there. If these elements are broken, it is a purposeful disruption with a striking result. A good name has substance, history, meaning.
The middle name is not wasted, given no thought -- a middle name is a perfect place to honor a loved one, use a meaningful name, balance out an unusual first name with a common middle name or vice versa. It's a good place to experiment; after all, very few people use their middle names, so if a person hates theirs it's not difficult to hide behind its first letter.
Beyond name appreciation, I also find it interesting to see how the American public's taste in names changes. Right now, the trends are:
For boys:
- Old Testament biblical names (Jacob, Isaiah, Noah)
- Names that are or rhyme with Aidan (Braden, Kaden, Hayden, Jayden, etc.)
For girls:
- "Old-fashioned" names (like Abigail, Sophia, Emma, and Grace -- this trend carries over to boys to some extent with names like Henry and Oliver)
- Names beginning in Mad- or Ad- (Madeline, Madison, Adeline, Addison, and variant spellings)
- Names that end in -aylee or -iley (Kaylee, Jaylee, Kiley, Miley, Riley and variants).
Evidently this interest -- at least this intense of one -- is not one that a lot of people share. Names provide a conversation-starter for me, and people usually are mildly curious about names and their usage. After all, everybody has a name.
6 comments:
You can't easily hide behind the first letter of your middle name if your middle name is Phillip and your last name is Nuss. Especially if your in middle school.
I love this post. I always think of you when someone has an especially beautiful or unusual name. Or the other month when my mom's friend had twins and gave them the same middle name?! I also find it pretty shocking when people let their spouse chose a name, especially because I think the child's name is sometimes "evident" while they're still in utero. At least that was the case for me, I had tons of reasons why I had chosen "Micah" if I ever had a boy, but somehow just "new" that Jaime wasn't a Micah. (although that's more "crazy pregnant hormones" than "name etymology"). Anyway, I like this post. And I always rely on you when it comes to anything name related.
and "new" should read "knew"....
So, someday in the faraway future, when we're struggling with finding the right name (because I do believe names are very important - they are chosen), I'm looking to you.
Yay names! You know I love them more than the average person, although probably not as much as you.
If it had been completely up to me, I probably would have named Ada Hazel, but I guess the other parent should get some say. Although actually, after having had a baby, I do think the mom should get the most say. If we ever have another baby, I like John Solomon for a boy and maybe Tess for a girl. For some reason, girl middle names are really hard for me. I did basically pick Ada's (Margot) randomly. Oh well.
I love names. I love the way they slip from one socioeconomic demographic to another, and I love learning about the way people put them together. As a girl named after three men (thanks, Mom and Dad), I've had an interest in family names since I decided to like my decidedly male full name.
All that said, I quite enjoyed this post.
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