20070721, Article, Picture, Feedback
發表於 : 週五 6月 29, 2007 9:37 amHappy English Club 電子報 本報由EVP Team編審
網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論
第116次例會，2007年07月21日（週六）下午2:30~5:30
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
Time:
14:30 ~15:30 (Free Talks)
15:30~16:00(Speaker Session)
16:00~17:15 (Topic Discussion)
17:15~17:30 (Happy Time)
Host: Carmen Tao
Assistant Host: Charles
Naming tricks among low-end families in US
===========================================================
Sources: Excerpts from the book “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Most Popular White Girl Names
Year 1980
1. Jennifer
2. Sarah
3. Melissa
4. Jessica
5. Christina
6. Amanda
7. Nicole
8. Michelle
9. Heather
10. Amber
Year 2000
1. Emily
2. Hannah
3. Madison
4. Sarah
5. Samantha
6. Lauren
7. Ashley
8. Emma
9. Taylor
10. Megan
A single holdover: Sarah. So where do these Emilys and Emmas and Laurens all come from: Where on earth did Madison com from? It’s easy enough to see that new names become very popular very fast – but why? (Madison almost certainly came from the 1984 movie “Splash”, starring Daryl Hannah as a mermaid who comes ashore in New York City and takes her name from the street sign for Madison Avenue. For humans, the name soon progressed from exceedingly rare to a perennial top five choice.)
Let’s take another look at a pair of earlier lists. Here are the most popular names given to baby girls in the 1990s among low-income families and among families of middle income or higher.
Most common “High-End” White Girl Names in the 1990s
1. Alexandra
2. Lauren
3. Katherine
4. Madison
5. Rachel
Most common “Low-End” White Girl Names in the 1990s
1. Amber
2. Heather
3. Kayla
4. Stephanie
5. Alyssa
Notice anything? You might want to compare these names with the "Most Popular White Girl Names" list mentioned above, which includes the top ten overall names from 1980 and 2000. Lauren and Madison, two of the most popular “high-end” names from the 1990s made the 2000 top ten list. Amber and Heather, meanwhile, two of the overall most popular names from 1980, are now among the “low-end” names.
There is a clear pattern at play: once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder. Amber and Heather started out as high-end names, as did Stephanie and Brittany. For every high-end baby named Stephanie or Brittany, another five lower-income girls received those names within ten years.
So where do lower-end families go name-shopping? Many people assume that naming trends are driving by celebrities. But celebrities actually have a weak effect on baby names. As of 2000, the pop star Madonna had sold 130 million records worldwide but hadn’t generated even the ten copycat namings – in California. Or considering all the Brittanys, Britneys, Brittanis, Brittanies, Brittneys, and Brittnis you encounter these days, you might think of Britney Spears. But she is in fact a symptom, not a cause, of the Brittany/Britney/Brittani/Brittanie/Brittney/Brittni explosion. With the most common spelling of the name, Brittany, at number eighteen among high-end families and number five among low-end families, it is surely approaching its pull date. Decades earlier, Shirley Temple was similarly a symptom of the Shirley boom, though she is often now remembered as its cause. (It should also be noted that many girls’ names, including Shirley, Carol, Leslie, Hilary, Renee, Stacy, and Tracy began life as boys’ names, but girls’ names almost never cross over to boys.)
So it isn’t famous people who drive the name game. It is the family just a few blocks over, the one with the bigger house and newer car. The kind of families that were the first to call their daughter Amber or Heather and now calling them Lauren or Madison. The kind of families that used to name their sons Justin or Brandon and are now calling them Alexander or Benjamin. Parents are reluctant to poach a name from someone too near – family members or close friends – but many parents, whether they realize it or not, like the sound of names that sound “successful.”
Questions:
1. Do you know how your parents named you when you were just born?
2. If you have ever selected a name for yourself (e.g. your English name), how did you choose it?
3. Do you know the meaning of your name? What is it?
4. If possible, tell us the meaning of your name in English (including your Chinese name, English name, Indian name, Korean name, Japanese name if you have any.)
5. Do you want to change your name? Why?
6. If you get involved in the show business, are you going to use a stage name? What is it?
7. Have you thought about how to name your children if you are still not a parent? If you are a parent, how did you name your child? Please share with us.
例會須知
參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章並帶至現場，圖示如下：
請將社團網站，加入我的最愛
http://www.happyforum.org/
台北，每週六 (2005年6月起)
Taipei, Saturday, Weekly
from June, 2005
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
from April, 2007
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
20070721, Speaker--Ramesh
20070721, Game Conductor--Jonathan Chiang
20070721, Gathering and Feedback
網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論
第116次例會，2007年07月21日（週六）下午2:30~5:30
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
Time:
14:30 ~15:30 (Free Talks)
15:30~16:00(Speaker Session)
16:00~17:15 (Topic Discussion)
17:15~17:30 (Happy Time)
Host: Carmen Tao
Assistant Host: Charles
Naming tricks among low-end families in US
===========================================================
Sources: Excerpts from the book “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Most Popular White Girl Names
Year 1980
1. Jennifer
2. Sarah
3. Melissa
4. Jessica
5. Christina
6. Amanda
7. Nicole
8. Michelle
9. Heather
10. Amber
Year 2000
1. Emily
2. Hannah
3. Madison
4. Sarah
5. Samantha
6. Lauren
7. Ashley
8. Emma
9. Taylor
10. Megan
A single holdover: Sarah. So where do these Emilys and Emmas and Laurens all come from: Where on earth did Madison com from? It’s easy enough to see that new names become very popular very fast – but why? (Madison almost certainly came from the 1984 movie “Splash”, starring Daryl Hannah as a mermaid who comes ashore in New York City and takes her name from the street sign for Madison Avenue. For humans, the name soon progressed from exceedingly rare to a perennial top five choice.)
Let’s take another look at a pair of earlier lists. Here are the most popular names given to baby girls in the 1990s among low-income families and among families of middle income or higher.
Most common “High-End” White Girl Names in the 1990s
1. Alexandra
2. Lauren
3. Katherine
4. Madison
5. Rachel
Most common “Low-End” White Girl Names in the 1990s
1. Amber
2. Heather
3. Kayla
4. Stephanie
5. Alyssa
Notice anything? You might want to compare these names with the "Most Popular White Girl Names" list mentioned above, which includes the top ten overall names from 1980 and 2000. Lauren and Madison, two of the most popular “high-end” names from the 1990s made the 2000 top ten list. Amber and Heather, meanwhile, two of the overall most popular names from 1980, are now among the “low-end” names.
There is a clear pattern at play: once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder. Amber and Heather started out as high-end names, as did Stephanie and Brittany. For every high-end baby named Stephanie or Brittany, another five lower-income girls received those names within ten years.
So where do lower-end families go name-shopping? Many people assume that naming trends are driving by celebrities. But celebrities actually have a weak effect on baby names. As of 2000, the pop star Madonna had sold 130 million records worldwide but hadn’t generated even the ten copycat namings – in California. Or considering all the Brittanys, Britneys, Brittanis, Brittanies, Brittneys, and Brittnis you encounter these days, you might think of Britney Spears. But she is in fact a symptom, not a cause, of the Brittany/Britney/Brittani/Brittanie/Brittney/Brittni explosion. With the most common spelling of the name, Brittany, at number eighteen among high-end families and number five among low-end families, it is surely approaching its pull date. Decades earlier, Shirley Temple was similarly a symptom of the Shirley boom, though she is often now remembered as its cause. (It should also be noted that many girls’ names, including Shirley, Carol, Leslie, Hilary, Renee, Stacy, and Tracy began life as boys’ names, but girls’ names almost never cross over to boys.)
So it isn’t famous people who drive the name game. It is the family just a few blocks over, the one with the bigger house and newer car. The kind of families that were the first to call their daughter Amber or Heather and now calling them Lauren or Madison. The kind of families that used to name their sons Justin or Brandon and are now calling them Alexander or Benjamin. Parents are reluctant to poach a name from someone too near – family members or close friends – but many parents, whether they realize it or not, like the sound of names that sound “successful.”
Questions:
1. Do you know how your parents named you when you were just born?
2. If you have ever selected a name for yourself (e.g. your English name), how did you choose it?
3. Do you know the meaning of your name? What is it?
4. If possible, tell us the meaning of your name in English (including your Chinese name, English name, Indian name, Korean name, Japanese name if you have any.)
5. Do you want to change your name? Why?
6. If you get involved in the show business, are you going to use a stage name? What is it?
7. Have you thought about how to name your children if you are still not a parent? If you are a parent, how did you name your child? Please share with us.
例會須知 參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章並帶至現場，圖示如下：
請將社團網站，加入我的最愛 http://www.happyforum.org/
台北，每週六 (2005年6月起)
Taipei, Saturday, Weekly
from June, 2005
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
from April, 2007
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
20070721, Speaker--Ramesh
20070721, Game Conductor--Jonathan Chiang
20070721, Gathering and Feedback
