Forget Emma and Noah: these are the names you want to know
Every year it is announced what the most popular names in our little frog country are, and actually, I am not surprised every year. This year it is again Noah and Emma, who also took off with the ‘title’ in 2017. In 2018, thousands of Lucasses and Julias joined (who are still very popular). Of course, you should give your child a name that you find the most beautiful, but to say that Noah is still very original... No. We won't pay any attention to that, because we are no longer surprised by it. What is much more interesting, and also funnier, are the - how shall I put it - less common names that we encounter. It is striking that celebrities seem to have complete disregard for standard names (hi North West, Blue Ivy and Pilot Inspektor - yes really, from actor Jason Lee), but also in other parts of the world, people decide to give their kids the most bizarre names. From nouns to complete sentences: these are the names that really matter. Emma and Noah, are you reading along?
On the website Reddit asked the question what the strangest name is of people that readers have met. And there were some names that came by... May I introduce you to Dishwasher, Benadryl, Goodbye, and Very Helpful? Yes really, in the countryside of India, people live with these names. One thing is for sure: it is at least unisex and that is also a trend nowadays. But Kviiilyn also passes (unfortunately) several times in review. How do you pronounce that? Well, very logically: like Kaitlyn. The ‘viii’ is actually the Roman spelling of the number 8. How. Do. You. Come. Up. With. That.
It is striking that the name Abcde also comes up several times. By the way, you pronounce this as ‘Epsidie’. Why would you think of naming your child that, and worse: apparently, several people have come up with this same idea. No, I would rather have Crystal Wineglass, No Exit, or Yo'Majesty. Oh, America, how wonderfully bizarre you remain. Even Stalin (given as a name to seven boys in 2017) and Moo (in that same year, six girls and seven boys were added with that name) are accepted. That doesn't mean you should do it right away, of course. And it can also sometimes be bad for the bond with your kids: in New Zealand, two parents lost custody of their child because of the name. The poor girl was named Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. Her siblings had it just as tough: Number 16 Bus Shelter and Midnight Chardonnay.
Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop is not doing very well besides his unusual name. How many times he has been arrested by the police in the US is no longer countable on one hand. I must add that this man himself changed his name. So there is definitely something off there, I guess. Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens (full name) had just as much trouble following the rules; he is on the sex offenders list in the US. Jurassic Park did better: he is head of his department at work.
We are doing quite reasonably in the Netherlands, except for the occasional shameful name. Will Noah and Emma remain at the top forever? According to experts, Noah is a keeper, but Emma will soon be replaced again. They also see a clear difference between lower and higher educated people and their name choices. Higher educated people would choose French names more often (because French is an elitist language, it seems), but also Scandinavian names (Niels and Lars, for example) or names from history are more common there. Lower educated people are quicker to choose English names that we see a lot in the media. Those same experts also say that in 25 years we will see completely different names as popular again. So who knows, you might meet your first Dishwasher, or Crystal Wineglass, Midnight Chardonnay, or Very Helpful in the pub in 25 years? Sounds great to me.
