By James Pearce, 5 January 2004 09:25
NEWS It is a well known and popular fact that people are a product of society. Now people are beginning to name their children after products and who knows where that will end?
A psychology professor by the name of Cleveland Evans who works at Bellevue University in Nebraska analysed the names of four million babies born in the US in 2000 and discovered the trend of parents naming their children after products.
There were several boys names based on cars including Chevy, Camry and Dodge while girls names include fashion houses such as Armani and Cartier, as well as Essence, a name Evans believes was inspired by a women's magazine. Seven children were named Courvoisier, after a brand of cognac, which was possibly a contributing factor to the pregnancy?
Of course, these products have been around for a long time and older brands such as Chanel and Tiffany entered the naming lexicon decades ago. So it's only a matter of time before parents begin naming their children after technology brands.
Siemens, Panasonic, Symbian and Pentium are all potential childhood traumas waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting generation. Of course, it can get worse would you name your son Longhorn? And anyone named Intel had better hope the 'Intel Inside' promotion has ended by the time they hit school.
However, there could be some benefits. Memory guru Benjamin Levy has bemoaned the fact that most names are a random jumble of nonsensical syllables, which makes them hard to remember. He teaches how to remember people's names by linking them to an image and claims the pilgrims of America had the right idea in naming people things like Temperance and Chastity. Even Native Americans had a more sensible naming system by choosing a name based on a distinguishing characteristic.
Let's be honest when you meet one of the Linuxes I am sure are running around, it will be easy to remember their name by simply picturing them as a giant penguin.
James Pearce writes for ZDNet Australia.
Comments
There are 11 comments. Join the discussion
1. Christian Koblenz
I was talking to my brother Handyvac about this yesterday and apparently his mate Budweiser thought this was a really silly idea although his daughters' name is Vauxhall Zafira!
2. Steve Watkins
Where has memory guru Benjamin Levy who 'has bemoaned the fact that most names are a random jumble of nonsensical syllables' got this idea from? Traditional names actually mean something; my name (steven) comes from Greek 'stephanos' meaning a crown or a garland. I once knew someone who was called 'Peter Stone' the meaning of which is quite clear. Names really do mean something; the fact that most people have not bothered to find out is irrelevant.
3. Gordon Hunter
As far as Linux names are concerned, we have been using them for years! Over the years I have met plenty of girls and women named Suzy and some even get called Suz, short for Susan....;-) There will no doubt be a few "corruptions" as people puth their own spelling into those names to personalise it. Changing the spelling of existing words can cause problems, so we'll have to watch out with spell checkers. They can come up with some real crackers! I remember once writing a letter to order a 100 user Novell Netware 3.12, only to find that the spell checker wanted to change my order to 100 user novel nightwear 3.12!!!!!!!!!
4. Mauno Aho
Names have always had a meaning. The Christian names have their explanation in the Bible. So this is not so weird as it seems at the first glance.
Our decision was to give Christian names to our kids. It is also a question of family traditions.
Mauno Aho
(<=Magnus<=Great, <=Clearance)
5. Darren Long
I know a programmer who called his daughter Delphi.
Another programmer, who, contemplating a name for his second daughter, thought our Start Trek inspired "Two-Of-Two" suggestion was pretty close to what he wanted.
6. Paul Shrimpton
My mate Ginger reckons this is all a load of SHT....
7. Sridhar
Hi,
I am very much interested in Solaris name i am very much to keen to use this name
Sri
8. Solaris Smith
Too late ;-)
9. anonymous
My neighbour's son, Timberland (I kid you not) will surely have the **** kicked out of him by the wearers of his namesake brand by the time he gets to school.....
10. anonymous
Parents should take a few moments to consider naming as it does have a fundamental bearing on their lives.
For our children we chose traditional biblical names (Rachael and Andrew) and an old favourite (Emma).
Having been to school with Carol Carroll and Annette Kirton (no, really, its true), you begin to wonder if couples should pass an IQ test before being allowed to breed.
11. anonymous
you begin to wonder if couples should pass an IQ test before being allowed to breed.