babery namery: statistics

[dustthouart]

So the 2011 baby name data for the United States has been released by the Social Security Administration. I have been anxiously awaiting this because everyone was predicting that Philippa/Pippa would be some of the hottest names of the year, in terms of rise in popularity over previous level

Comments

You're gonna have to get used to being ahead of the curve

[joetexx]

You don't follow trends, you make 'em.

5 years from now her friends will sigh, "why can't I have a cool name
like Pippa?", and in 10 years you won't be able to toss a candy wrapper
In a kindergarten without hitting a Phillipa.

Re: You're gonna have to get used to being ahead of the curve

[dustthouart]

Heh, I wouldn't mind that too much. If her name becomes a huge hit when she's ten, people will think she's ten years younger than she is. She'll thank me for that some day. XD

[kisekileia]

I agree with you very strongly about not giving nicknames as the only name. I am really, really glad that my parents put my full first name on my birth certificate rather than just the nickname, because as an adult I strongly prefer the full name, and I now use the full name for anything academic/professional and for people I meet now. Kids should have a professional-sounding name that they can use.

There's also this test for names: would it sound better for a stripper or for the U.S. president? Although I'm not sure that works anymore with presidential candidate names like "Newt" and "Mitt".

[kisekileia]

Not that either of those names is at all stripper-friendly...it's more just that they don't sound presidential either.

[salanth]

Newton is a perfectly respectable name. Awkward to pronounce on a regular basis. Mitt, on the other hand, should be reserved for winter clothing.

[dustthouart]

It's interesting actually, there was a post on Baby Name Wizard about how hardly any politicians go by full names anymore. My take is that as politicians have become more and more of an elite class totally removed from the vast majority of people, the more they want to seem like "regular guys". Probably the best example of the "aw shucks" politician name being Jimmy Carter. Not even Jim! Newt actually fits right into this, because his full legal name is Newton.

[breathingbooks]

You may have addressed this directly back, but I was wondering exactly what combo makes you cook so much from scratch. I figure health/money/taste/love of it are all factors, but is one dominant?

[dustthouart]

Hmm, if I had to pick absolutely one, I would actually say I just enjoy the process of cooking itself. I like the blend of monotony/repetition and creativity/novelty. I love the smells, and the textures, and the excitement/tenseness when you've got three dishes needing attention at once, and the satisfaction and accomplishment of having the finished product come out as intended

[breathingbooks]

Interesting, doubly so since I'm definitely without the cooking gene (too much work + messy + in the boring house hinterland between soothing autopilot (dishes) and active creativity (interior design)). I don't mind baking, but that may be because I do it less often and have a... flexible approach to recipes *g*.