What is a baby name

想快讀一把，昨晚折騰了３個鍾頭，還不是很好, 就這樣吧。歡迎磚頭。

 

So many end-of-the-year lists detail something trivial. But sometimes, those lists can help us appreciate something obvious. BabyCenter.com has just released their list of the most popular names for American babies in 2011. The most popular girls' names: Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia and Ava, which sound like they could be lifted, letter by letter, from 1960s movie marquees.

The most popular boys' names: Aiden, Jackson, Mason, Liam and Jacob, which could be the name of a Boston or Chicago law firm. Lily, Chloe and Madison follow in the girls' names. You know the 21st century is well under way when Ashley is no longer even in the top 100, but Brooklyn is 21. There is no Bronx or Queens. Jayden, Ethan, Noah, Lucas and Logan follow on the boys' list.

What used to be considered signature American names still sound familiar, but maybe a touch plain. The most popular names for girls in 1955 were Mary, Deborah, Linda, Susan and Patricia. Mary is 137 now. Maria is higher, at 84. The most popular boys' names in 1955 were Michael, David, James, Robert and John. David and John are still popular, but rank lower now than Zachary, Grayson, Ryan, Connor and Dylan.

Despite all the airing they get, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney with a K, as in Kardashian, are not especially popular names. Parents seem to appreciate that naming your child is not voting for "American Idol," but a lifetime choice. They choose names to last, which may be why biblical names - including Sarah, Hannah, Gabriel, Joshua and Elijah - are among the most popular.

Madison has been among the top 10 girls' name since 2000. But its popularity doesn't trace back to the fourth president of the United States or the capital of Wisconsin, but the mermaid Darryl Hannah played in the 1984 film "Splash," who saw it on a New York street sign. Real Madisons growing up today can make new stories for that name.

A lot more 2011 baby names seem to have a stamp of ethnicity, but not necessarily their own ethnicity. I wonder how many American girls named Sophia are from Greek or Italian families; how many Isabellas are Spanish or Italian; and how many Aidens, Ryans and Conners are even a scintilla Irish. Family names are still passed between generations, but a lot of Americans pointedly give names to their children that aren't tied to their past or taken from their family.

They mix, they invent and come up with names that ring with new hopes and dreams. That's why lists like this change and are worth reading. They remind us that Americans name their children for the people they hope they'll be.

所有跟帖： 

• 先占沙發，去烤麵包了，回來給磚。 -非文學青年- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 11:21:46

• 讀得非常好，想起了我收藏的一組兒童藝術照。 -祤湫霖- ♀ (1061 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 11:22:32

• lovely and creative photos. -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 11:29:44

• Artistic photography and adorable babies. -祤湫霖- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 11:32:43

• 自己又聽了一遍， 有點不倫不類。 真是畫虎不成反類犬呀。 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 11:41:32

• Oops. The title should be "What is in a baby name" -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 12:54:12

• 非常棒！聽了4，5遍，沒怎麽聽到磚 -非文學青年- ♀ (3581 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 13:54:23

• 多謝多謝。快讀讀好不容易。 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 14:16:44

• 我聽京北的reading，永遠是挑不出一點毛病來，真是太地道的男主播了，太charming了。。 -beautifulwind- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 14:21:26

• 京北就是我們努力的方向。 -bingli- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 18:02:52

• 嗯，就是太難了。 -beautifulwind- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 19:39:46

• 京北就好比全能的泳隊選手，而我們隻會一點狗爬式，還不標準。努力。 -bingli- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 06:48:44

• 過獎過獎。問題很多， 磚家要努力呀。 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 23:35:28

• Very enjoyable. -EnLearner- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/09/2012 postreply 19:34:59

• 不知道什麽原因，試了幾次都聽不到。 -ntotl- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 08:55:58

• Co: 不知道什麽原因，試了幾次都聽不到。 -NewVoice- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 09:08:33

• 不行換個Browser? 原讀在這裏： -jingbeiboy- ♂ (112 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 12:07:31

• JINGBEI的朗讀得太好了。我已經分不出和NATIVE SPEAKER有什麽區別。 -ntotl- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 14:28:49

• 太棒了, 非常流暢! -tingfeng- ♀ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 11:23:43

• 多謝。 -jingbeiboy- ♂ (0 bytes) () 02/10/2012 postreply 12:08:03