9/8/08

You named the baby what?!

For us Brit's there have been some very odd choices of names popping up in the US media recently. In some cases 'if only they knew' has come to mind upon hearing them!

I find it highly entertaining that British town names seem such a popular choice for babies these days. Do the parents think they are blessing their baby with instant cosmopolitan'ism? Because in many cases they are not!

Here's just a few examples I have heard and what could spring to mind for a Brit':

Camden - a trendy open-air Sunday market, or home to the infamous Amy Winehouse, who can usually be found puking in some corner or hitting innocent bystanders in a drug fuelled rage.

Brighton - famous for it's pier, a bombing and the Gay Pride festival

Chelsea - a pretentious part of London, now run by the Russian mafioso and distinctly 'chav'. Although that might all change if Prince Harry gives us a Princess Chelsea.

Bristol - a suspension bridge people jump off, but more famous as a slang term for boobs!

Now I am not saying there's anything wrong with being associated with any of these things ordinarily, but having a name that reflects them - strange choice!

And that brings me neatly to the names of Sarah Palin's kids. Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow and Piper - are you serious!! I honestly think she must be related to that great British comedian Michael Palin somewhere down the line.

I will be more than happy when this trend to give kids a name no-one else has thought of ends. I guess our descendants will at least find the census and electoral rolls good entertainment years from now!

I know 2 grandmothers locally, who laugh at their offsprings name choices for their children. I know one of them won't mind me saying her grandson was named 'King', which has yet to be beat for me.

12 comments:

Julie said...

Oh gosh...I am laughing so hard! That was very informative. And I must say, I have crossed all of those names of my potential names list...

Anonymous said...

LOL You know, I have never looked at names of people's children like that...I mean, both of my boys' have names that well, are not your normal names, I guess you could say, but they came from Great Grandmothers...but you now make me wonder if I look crazy for naming them that...but then again, look at the name of my blog;) LOL

Lump said...

HAHA! This is great! Bristol is slang for boobs?! I am so going to start using that.

Love your blog! =)

Pam said...

You didn't explain about it being "Bristol Cities" for (ti**ies)....

Anyway, I guess she is named after Bristol Bay in Alaska. Am sure Alaskans don't know about British rhyming slang ... And Chelsea Clinton was named for Chelsea area in London, as I recall their story when they were running for President!

Unknown said...

Pam - you're correct that is the full saying, but I have only ever heard and said 'Bristols'

Anonymous said...

haha...I'm going to come to you before naming any of my children!

Pam said...

oooh! Also I have been hearing of kids over here named London (as opposed to Paris) and Devon. And don't forget Somerset Maughan, the author .... hehe

Tess Kincaid said...

The "Bristol" thing is new to me...haha! Oh...and just so you know..."Willow" is not my real name. :D Great post!

Robin said...

baby naming has always been a mind boggler for me.....wonder what they're thinking!

here's a funny story: years ago i taught driver's ed to high school students. one of my students attended the same (small town) high school as my niece. i said to him, "oh i bet you know my niece, sharessa." and he said, "WHICH ONE?" i couldn't believe there'd be more than one but apparently there were several! you never know!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Boy, I never knew that about Bristol. Makes me laugh. Of course, my dog is named Edward, so you can tell I prefer proper classic choices for names.

But, my other dog is named Apple, so there you go.

Stevyn Colgan said...

Sarah - you may not be aware of this but the word 'Palin' is Latin for 'Backwards'. And, certainly in the UK, to describe a person as 'Backwards' isn't generally complimentary. Says it all really, doesn't it?

Additional dull trivia: The term ‘palindrome’ - a word or sentence that mirrors itself like 'Kayak' or 'Madam I'm Adam' was coined by English writer Ben Jonson in the 1600s from the Latin palin (meaning ‘backwards’) and dromos (meaning ‘direction’).

There. You may have learned something today. Albeit a boring something!

Veronica said...

What about Gwen Stefani's new baby that they named "Zuma"? Yikes.