A long (we never say old) dear grandfather friend recently told me that his newest grandson was born and named for a grandfather of the parent. The name harkens back to those who were born in the 1920s. It is a name one hardly hears today and was never a name that one would think was a great sounding name.
He said that it went beyond the typical naming after a grandparent or parent which just uses the first initial and uses a more modern name with that first initial. He said, correctly and smartly, but what can you do. It’s their child, not ours. We just keep our mouths closed and love the baby.
Then, the New York Times, on Sunday, August 21, 2016, had an article entitled, “A Girl Named Lou,” which talked about a new trend, again a small trend regarding new baby names. Apparently the most popular baby names in the U.S. continue to be Noah and Liam for boys and Emma and Olivia for girls (2015 most popular names), but the new millennial parents are now exploring the idea of unisex names.
For those of us who can remember the words to the song “A boy named Sue,” we are of the generation where a girl was given a girl’s name and a boy was given a boy’s name, and if not, there were detrimental consequences to the child. If you want to see the 1969 Johnny Cash lyrics and hear the song go to this link. It seems that giving this boy a girl’s name was intended to build strength and character, or at least that is the theme of the song.
We Boomer Grandparents are out of date again and need to keep up with another trend that is driving the younger parents of our grandchildren. We are in the era of what is called “post gender” names.
Supposedly, it is okay for a boy to be named Sue in 2016. Linda Murray, the editor-in-chief of Baby Center (a great source of baby names, by the way), was quoted, and stated 2015 has been declared “the year of the gender neutral baby.” The website has a list of 120 possible suggested gender neutral names from Addison to Winter. She is quoted as saying that the trend for unisex names is by the millennial parents, who, as a generation, are more open minded and accepting and don’t want their children to feel pressure to conform to stereotypes that might be restrictive. She said that we are seeing gender neutrality by baby and child clothing designers and toy designers. They must talk to Legos who has now instituted that large segment of girl themed Legos in pinks and purples.
So, that grandfather friend of mine should be happy that his grandson received a name from the 1920s. At least the child will clearly be identified as a boy.
For those of you who are interested, the 10 most popular “post gender” baby names in 2015, as identified by the New York Times article author Alex Williams, are:
1. Hayden girls 39% boys 61%
2.Charlie girls 48% boys 52%
3.Emerson girls 60% boys 40%
4.Rowan girls 35% boys 65%
5.Finley girls 60% boys 40%
6.River girls 39% boys 61%
7.Dakota girls 59% boys 41%
8.Skyler girls 55% boys 40% 5%
9.Phoenix girls 37% boys 63%
10.Tatum girls 62% boys 38%.
The names, in and of themselves, are interesting, because several of them are names of places. However, although this as a trend is becoming something newsworthy, it only makes up 1.7% of all baby names in 2015.
This Grandma finds it very important to follow the trends in baby names. So many times the parents of our grandchildren think they are so clever, unique, and different in selecting names. I loved informing the parents of our grandchildren who thought they were selecting individualized unusual names when a grandchild’s name became number one in the U.S. or at least in the top ten within five years of a grandchild’s birth. It seems that the millennials are of a group of parents that selects names that reflects their apparently more liberal and open generation.
The trend highlighted by the New York Times and the trend highlighted by my grandfather friend are not so different from each other. Theyare reflective of life experience. The New York Times mentions one trend of gender neutral names among millenials, and doesn’t mention the trend of going back to names that are historically in the family, grandparents’ names from the 1920s, which this Grandma is also seeing repeated by our grandchildren’s parents, as well as others of their thirties and forties.
The majority and the latter trend brings a huge smile to this Grandma’s face. The most popular names, especially, Noah for boys and Emma and Olivia harken back to those who were born in the 1920’s. It seems to tell me that this group of grandchildren, now parents, had a very close relationship with their grandparents, and they want to memorialize the exact grandparent’s name or at least era. As a matter of fact, our granddaughter’s middle name is the exact name of her mother’s grandmother, with whom our daughter was very close and wanted to honor. The name is unusual and our daughter said she wanted people to ask our granddaughter about the name, and then have our granddaughter speak of the strong and wonderful woman, a Holocaust survivor, for whom she is named.
As I have often noted, this blog is also a love letter to my own grandchildren, a way to share my life and thoughts. However, for this Grandma’s grandchildren, please forget the English sounding name that this Grandma was given by American relatives when she was brought to the United States as a baby, and, if you are so inclined to name a child after me, go back to the original name I was given in the displaced persons camp in Germany by my Holocaust survivor parents. If you ever think of naming your children after me, please go back to my roots. If you think of using the name you named me as a grandmother, Mema, please note there are thousands of Memas and Mimis in this world, and the name would not be unusual. But, neither was “Sue” or “Noah.”
As my grandfather friend reflected, the names of our grandchildren do not matter and we will always love them. Neither will the names of our great grandchildren, if we should live that long. I know that wherever I may be at the time of the birth of a great grandchild, whatever the name, in my soul, I will always love the baby.
Joy,
Mema
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