Look Nivea, it's your new little sister, Porsche!!

[bbchris]

Imagine calling your children after namebrands....!?!?!?!?



Article taken from here



=============================================

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.

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[MIKE BURN]

Well, all I can say is that I think it is utterly tasteless and irresponsible to give your own child a name like "Pepsi" for his life.



I'm glad that I'm living in a country where you can't name your child "Pepsi", "Coca-Cola" or "Big Mac". Names have to be approved over here first, before issuing a birth certificate.



Names like "Lexus" will be rejected, since they bear the potential to have a child experiencing a hard childhood and life.



I think the next step is, to put a "Pepsi"-tattoo on the forehead and back of a child after birth and to sell the

child for advertising purposes.



I think cultural aware people like the Scandinavians do show what names are about...



i.e. Thomas Frederiksson (Thomas, son of the old Frederik)...

MIKE

[bbchris]

Well Mike - I wish they would have regulations like that here in Hong Kong.............



My friend has students in his class called "Cockroach", "Thirteen" and "Mace" ???



I've been served by a gentleman called "Hitler" (!) and a lady called "December".



There's a bank teller I use, she's called "Charming"



Then there's "Panty" who doesn't believe me when I say her name is not a real name.......



We also have a lot of names that are very unpopular in Western world, e.g. Gilbert, Maisie, Rosa

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[DreamTone7]

I like "December".

[droolymutt]

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....!

[MIKE BURN]

Quote:

---

I've been served by a gentleman called "Hitler" (!)

---

AY............... is that REAL?



It's almost like naming a child "JESUS".....





Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzz........



And grandpa's name is "GOD" or what?



I rather would go for "FRIDAY" then..........

[bbchris]

Well I've known a Ringo Lam... Apparently there's a lot of guys in religious countries called "Jesus"



But NO ONE in Hong Kong calls themselves "Buddha"

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[MIKE BURN]

Actually in most European countries "Jesus" is not a valid name and being rejected for blasphemous reasons.



In Spain and Portugal people often use "Jesus" as a additional component to names, like they also mix in female names in this combination (i.e. Maria Jesus Lopez for a male child).



The southern Americans "abused" the holy name by putting in in a single context like "Jesus Alvarez".



If I remember right, even the Pope once complained about this practice. As a matter of fact every 2nd. child in Mexico has the name "Jesus", but I don't know if they all can fulfill their prophetic duties though



Arabs are even more often using prophetic names.



I think nearly every male human being in the Arabic world, bears somehow the name "Mohammed".



Either as "Mohammed Ibn Said al Mohammadi" or "Jamal bin Mohammed al Tikriti" and so on........



My... is this BORING! :LOL

[bbchris]

Wait till you find out the name of our new bass player........

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[MIKE BURN]

"Mr. Proper" or........... "King Lychee"????????

[bbchris]

MIKE!!!!!!!!! hahahahahaha



I CANNOT reveal it in this thread!! hahahahaha That would be making fun of him!!! hahahahahaha Soon to be revealed... Stay tune to the TOL website!!

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |