Ruminations – What's in a Name?
 
– By John A. Schwarz –

Some people are bird watchers. They'll travel 500 miles to see if they can spot a rare bird, usually something like "The Blue Speckled Paraguayan Parrot". Others will spend two weeks standing in a freezing stream for eight hours a day trying to catch a salmon, to no avail. Me, I've always been interested in first names. I can just hear those nutty birders and fishermen thinking, "What's so interesting about first names?”
I marvel how first names have changed in my lifetime. For most of the last century, saint's names were the most popular (think John and Mary). If you showed up at church with a tiny infant, the priest would say, "You want to call this child John?" If it were a girl, he'd say the same thing about Mary. I suspect the last time a child was christened John or Mary was when Spiro Agnew was Nixon's Vice-President. Today, wonderful names like Paul, Barbara, Arthur, Nancy, Daniel, Susan, among others, have all but disappeared, too.
Certain first names can give away where people come from, while others give you no clue. Two very good friends of mine in England are named David and Mary. Until you meet David and Mary and learn that they are English, they could just as easily come from Christchurch, Calgary, Cape Town, Cork, Cincinnati, Cardiff, or Canberra.
Other monikers are a dead giveaway. If you're invited to a dinner party and are informed that Alistair and Fiona will be there, you can bet your entire net worth that they didn't grow up around here. (On the other hand, Tiffany and Bubba probably did.)
For babies born in America in 2008, Josh and Brittany are now at the top of the list. I have never known anyone named Josh or Brittany. And, I have to confess, I've never heard of a St. Josh or a St. Brittany, either.