Is Mary the New Sarah?
December 29, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Baby Care
This man, taught me everything about how not to name a baby. Except, I may have over-learned and gone too far in the opposite direction.
One of my friends has a daughter named Sarah. In fact, many of my friends who aren’t named Sarah themselves have daughters named Sarah. This friend’s Sarah, however, had the distinction of being in a gym class of 30 girls. Almost half of those girls were also named Sarah.
This anecdote has made me re-think the wisdom of old-fashioned names. One of the ways I have made my older relatives happy, is by choosing sensible, traditional names for my children.
My daughter was born the week before Christmas, so I called her Mary Christina. My great fear, now, is that the name Mary will become the new Sarah in the next few years.
English parents of my generation had lulled me into a false sense of originality. The were all, I thought, giving their children weird names that have become common. Names like Anya and Lola, Otto and Max. It’s a trend that the esteemed Bob Geldof and his late ex-wife Paula Yates started when they gave their three daughters the names Peaches, Fifi and Pixie.
Not so popular, says a report in the Guardian. Apparently, the most popular names in England and Wales are Olivia for girls and Jack for boys. In second place are the equally old-fashioned Grace and Thomas. In the US, old-fashioned names are all the rage too. Jacob and Emily are in first place, Micheal and Emma are in second place. Canada’s most-popular list isn’t too different. Emma and Emily, Ethan and Matthew are most common at home while here in Germany half of my son’s Kindergarten class seems to be named Julian or Celine, the mothers I associate with here tell me that Jakob and Laura are also very popular.
In a few years, will I call my Mary in the playground and have a dozen little girls look up?
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