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bbchris Princess Of Hongkong
Joined: 01 Jan 2002 Posts: 11441 Location: Hong Kong
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 7:09 am Post subject: Look Nivea, it's your new little sister, Porsche!! |
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Imagine calling your children after namebrands....!?!?!?!?
Article taken from here
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Joanne MacNeil had no idea what to name her third child until she spotted a Lexus SUV parked at the local McDonald's.
She had been toying with names like Alexis and Alexa, but had her eureka moment when she saw the luxury vehicle as she pulled up to the drive-through. She named her daughter, who is now almost 16 months, Lexxus.
The baby's father insisted on the extra x to make it more original.
Ms. MacNeil, an ambulance dispatcher in St. Catharines, may have thought she was selecting a rare name, but in the United States, 353 girls were named Lexus in 2000, according to baby names on social security applications.
Increasingly, parents are naming their children after the most sought-after cars, popular perfumes and expensive drinks.
"I think the Lexus maybe belonged to the manager of McDonald's. She'll be so proud," Ms. MacNeil joked.
Among the other popular names in the United States in 2000 -- Chanel (269 girls), Timberland (six boys), Porsche (24 girls) and Armani (273 boys and 298 girls).
Parents named their children after everything from bottled water (Evian) and soft drinks (Fanta) to Western hats and cologne (Stetson), wine (Chardonnay) and beer (Guinness).
"Perfumes and automobiles are the ones that are most common," said Cleveland Evans, an associate professor of psychology at Bellevue University in Nebraska who has studied the list of names. "Chanel is fairly popular now and there are a fair number who name their daughters Porsche -- who spell it like the car instead of the normal way to spell Portia as a girl's name. Camry also turns up quite regularly," he said.
"There are a lot of girls who are named just Lexus and a lot of girls named Alexus [suggesting "a Lexus" -- rather than Alexis]. I saw one child named Obsession, which I am sure was the perfume."
He said some parents are naming their children after consumer products they aspire to own but will likely never afford.
"Someone who is a lawyer is not going to name their child Lexus usually -- they are the ones who like antiques and dig up the old names like Abagail. It is the blue-collar workers who are looking for something modern but ritzy sounding."
Over the past several years, Mr. Evans has come across children named Chivas Regal, Champagne, Nivea and Pepsi.
The 2000 names list also included five Canadas and five Cobras.
Sheila Embleton, vice-president academic at York University and a linguistics professor, said naming children after possessions has also become popular in Canada. There are no equivalent statistics, but she has seen children named Nike, Lexus and Chanel. She said the names may be popular because they are "echoes" of others -- Camry is similar to Cameron, Chanel isn't far off Chantal -- while giving an air of importance. Parents realize they are choosing brand names but they have a nice, familiar ring.
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MIKE BURN Generally Crazy Guy
Joined: 08 Nov 2001 Posts: 4825 Location: Frankfurt / Europe
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bbchris Princess Of Hongkong
Joined: 01 Jan 2002 Posts: 11441 Location: Hong Kong
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DreamTone7
Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 11:53 am Post subject: re |
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I like "December".
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droolymutt No Underblurb
Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 6721 Location: Montreal, Canada
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 12:36 pm Post subject: Re: re |
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Fascinating topic......
Thing is, I really feel that a child's name has a huge effect on his/her self-perception during the formative years....
My first child was named Jessica.... - I named the second Jennifer.... - chose a similar name because I wanted them to feel close to each other....
Remember names like Faith, Hope, and Charity....???
One of my least favourite female names is "Hortense".... - makes me think of a tense Horse.... - with big teeth....
hahahahaha....!
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MIKE BURN Generally Crazy Guy
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bbchris Princess Of Hongkong
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MIKE BURN Generally Crazy Guy
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bbchris Princess Of Hongkong
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MIKE BURN Generally Crazy Guy
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bbchris Princess Of Hongkong
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