Monday 15 September 2014

Lucy, Mia & Scarlett

     Because my last post was about Ella Fitzgerald, a jazz singer whom my daughter's friend Ella is named after, I decided to write about baby name trends.  It has been years since Ella Fitzgerald was popular; people have forgotten about the name -- until recently.  I googled Top Baby Names for 2014 and discovered that Ella is #13.

     My friend Heidi has a little girl, Mia, born the same year as Ella.  She and her husband were watching the movie "Rosemary's Baby", starring Mia Farrow, who inspired them.  Again, people had forgotten about Mia Farrow until recently.  Mia is #6 on this year's Top Baby Names list.

   In Teacher's College, I was thrilled to be able to teach my students about a classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.  Today, the name Harper is #9 on the list.

     My Mom's had a friend named Evelyn for decades.  I also taught with an Evelyn almost 20 years ago.  The name became dated.  Now it is #18 on the list.

     Audrey Hepburn starred in some great classic movies like Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck in 1955.  The only Audrey's I'd ever met were usually much older than me.  Today, Audrey is #27 on the list.

     Gone with the Wind, written about the Civil War, featured a Southern belle named Pansy. However, the editor suggested the author change the name to Scarlett.  I had never heard of another Scarlett until the actress Ms. Johansson appeared on the big screen.  Today, Scarlett is #30 on the list.

     My Mom's parents bought their first television set in 1949.  Within two years, she was watching "I Love Lucy", the former silver screen actress who started a TV series with her husband Desi Arnaz. The only other Lucy I knew of was Lucy from the comic series "Peanuts", the sister of Charlie Brown.  Today Lucy is #35 on the list.

     Jacqueline Kennedy, the First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, caused a surge in popularity of the beautiful French name.  By the time I named my daughter Jacqueline after Mrs. Kennedy in 2003, the name sat at #100.  Today it sits at #239.

     So what is the top baby name for 2014?  Olivia.







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