What's in a name?
Dorothy. Virginia. Esther. Ethel. Clark. Gertrude. Arthur. Herbert. Eunice. Fanny.
Jordan. Logan. Amber. Tiffany. Brittany. Bethany. Suri. Scout. Apple. Austin.
The first ten names are what I would call "Old Fogey" names. They're like one of those rare birds the post office prints collector stamps for. An endangered species. Old. Outdated. To them, John Wayne is a cowboy. Who do you know, less than 55, with the name Ethel?
The second ten are what I'm calling "Whipper Snapper" names. They're hot off the presses. The next big thing. They're cool. They know who Paris Hilton is dating. They know who Paris Hilton is. And to them, Brokeback Mountain is a cowboy movie. Who has a grandpa named Jordan?
I realize there are exceptions to these rules. I know that somewhere out there little "Herbert" is crawling around in his diapers, and someone just checked Grandma "Tiffany" into the old-folks home. That's not my point. My point is that these names are primarily generation-specific.
There are many names that cross the generation gap: James. Andrew. John. Joseph. Elizabeth. Jessica. Mary. Michael. They've stood the test of time.
Why? What has happened here? The name Elizabeth is no more "pretty" than Virginia. Austin sounds just as strong as Michael.
I want to hear from the Whipper Snappers. And if anyone can teach the Old Fogies how to blog, I want to hear from them too.
