Names

[methodwriter85]

Since Gathan and Will are going to meet a whole slew of people as they start college and high school, respectively, I thought I'd bring this one up.

 

Top Baby Names of 1982

 

Top Baby Names of 1986

 

For some contrast, these are the names that will be familiar to Tiffany and Jeanine's kids:

 

Top Baby Names of 2000

 

It would be cool if Jeanine named her daughter Madison to be correct to the times, but story-wise I'm thinking it should be Gale.

 

Or what about Madison Gale Van Den Boss-Graves? I like that. Madison Gale...kinda flows together nicely, I think.

 

As for Tiffany's son, Danfield Carrswold Van Den Boss-Graves would be a cool name...the names would both pay homage to the families while allowing them to give their kids their own last name.

Edited May 1, 2011 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Just one thing to add...I LOVE that Mark uses period-correct names in the story, names that reflect what were popular names at the time the characters were born. It bugs the hell out of me when writers of tv shows and movies use names that are popular currently instead of what was popular when those characters were born. On Mad Men, they have a character named Megan. It's set in the 60's, and she would have been born circa 1940. Megan. I mean, really. Considering that Mad Men usually does such a great job with naming their characters- Joan, Sally, Harry, Betty- the Megan being thrown in there still bothers me. It's so blatantly anachronistic.

 

And there was an episode of Cold Case set in 1965 that had a twenty-year old character named Tiffany. God, that one bothered me, too.

Edited May 1, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Matthew k]

Just one thing to add...I LOVE that Mark uses period-correct names in the story, names that reflect what were popular names at the time the characters were born. It bugs the hell out of me when writers of tv shows and movies use names that are popular currently instead of what was popular when those characters were born. On Mad Men, they have a character named Megan. It's set in the 60's, and she would have been born circa 1940. Megan. I mean, really. Considering that Mad Men usually does such a great job with naming their characters- Joan, Sally, Harry, Betty- the Megan being thrown in there still bothers me. It's so blatantly anachronistic.

 

And there was an episode of Cold Case set in 1965 that had a twenty-year old character named Tiffany. God, that one bothered me, too.

 

While Tiffany may not have been as popular in the 1950's and 60's as it became in the 1980's, it was certainly around, especially in certain cultures.

 

James Bond's love interest in Ian Fleming's 1955 novel Diamonds are Forever, was Tiffany Case (Jill St. John in the movie of the same name) and she would have been in her 20's.

[methodwriter85]

While Tiffany may not have been as popular in the 1950's and 60's as it became in the 1980's, it was certainly around, especially in certain cultures.

 

James Bond's love interest in Ian Fleming's 1955 novel Diamonds are Forever, was Tiffany Case (Jill St. John in the movie of the same name) and she would have been in her 20's.

 

You have that same annoying trait that Timmy has in always trying to prove me wrong.

 

I mean, you're right, but still, if you check Baby Name Voyager, Tiffany doesn't even enter the Top 1000 names at all until the 1960's. Tiffany is therefore not a plausible name for someone born in the early 1940's. It maybe have been a name in a novel that came out about 15 years after the Cold Case character would have been born, but it's still not a likely name at all.

 

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#ms=false&exact=false

 

Did anyone else notice that in Be Rad, Mark used a lot of names that were popular in the 1960's- Mark(Lark), Karen, Scott, Bruce, Douglas- which is when those characters would have been born? I really liked that. He even included the touch of having a Cary- which wasn't a popular name for guys, but it had a period in the 1960's of being used pretty often, and then experienced a major drop in the proceeding decades.

 

This thing is damn fun, by the way. According to Baby Name Voyager, my name exploded in popularity during the 1970's and 1980's, but was not popular before the '70's and fell out of the top 100 for the 2000's. Your name jumped from being 98 in the 1950's, to Number 3 for the 1980's and 1990's.

[B1ue]

Unlikely doesn't mean impossible though. I ran the names of my entire family through that voyager thing. The msot popular name, my own, didn't crack 150 per million children. Mostly our names are in the 2-3 per million. I also sort of question what databases they are drawing from, as my first name is fairly common in Spanish speaking areas. Much more common than the English translation, but this thing said the English version was 3 times as popular.

 

Also, did you mean "following decades?" Preceding, I think, means the ones that come before the one in question.

[Matthew k]

You have that same annoying trait that Timmy has in always trying to prove me wrong.

 

I mean, you're right, but still, if you check Baby Name Voyager, Tiffany doesn't even enter the Top 1000 names at all until the 1960's. Tiffany is therefore not a plausible name for someone born in the early 1940's. It maybe have been a name in a novel that came out about 15 years after the Cold Case character would have been born, but it's still not a likely name at all.

 

http://www.babynamew...lse&exact=false

 

I am curious what they are using for sources. Matthew, Mateo, Matthais, Mathieu and many other variations have been popular forever because of St. Matthew.

 

Far be it from me to defend the writers on Cold Case, it is one of the worst, most predictable shows on the air, but Tiffany, somewhat like Matthew, used to be popular because it comes from Epiphany (the holday, not the 'ah ha' moment) so many Catholics named their daughters it and Tiffany jewelry I am sure also made the name more common too.

 

I am sure Mr. Fleming chose the name with good reason. His Tiffany would have been born in the 1930's to be in her 20's in 1955. Maybe you could explore Pussy Galore for us

[methodwriter85]

Unlikely doesn't mean impossible though. I ran the names of my entire family through that voyager thing. The msot popular name, my own, didn't crack 150 per million children. Mostly our names are in the 2-3 per million. I also sort of question what databases they are drawing from, as my first name is fairly common in Spanish speaking areas. Much more common than the English translation, but this thing said the English version was 3 times as popular.

 

Also, did you mean "following decades?" Preceding, I think, means the ones that come before the one in question.

 

I said proceeding, not preceding. That would mean the following decades.

 

"Unlikely" doesn't mean impossible; you're right. But if you're doing a story that tries to capture the mindset and feeling of a certain era, using names that weren't representative of the kinds of names people were growing up with can be jarring.

 

A 25-year old named Megan in 1965. Explain that one. LOL.

Edited May 2, 2011 by methodwriter85

[mmike1969]

not everyone cares about proper names in any time period...

 

example would be Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa...

 

or when Prince had that symbol for a name...

[methodwriter85]

But actually, if you think about, Frank Zappa's children reflected the hippie trend of naming your children out-there names in the 1960's and 1970's. Joaquin Phoenix's real name is Leaf, and his sister was named Rainbow.

[Westie]

I said proceeding, not preceding. That would mean the following decades.

 

"Unlikely" doesn't mean impossible; you're right. But if you're doing a story that tries to capture the mindset and feeling of a certain era, using names that weren't representative of the kinds of names people were growing up with can be jarring.

 

A 25-year old named Megan in 1965. Explain that one. LOL.

 

Jeremy, seriously, WTF? do you have nothing better to ponder about? Names are more or less common ov er periods of time, but Meghan/meagan/megan are fashionable forms of "Meg" which began to originate in the 1940's. They are in turn, a derivative of Margaret. It was a name that became almost cult like in the 1940's, especially among American soldiers who served in/trained in wales during the war, where the name originates.

 

 

Interestingly, Mrs Centlivre had a character called Meaghan (from which Megan derives). The year? 1702

 

 

[methodwriter85]

It's one of my OCD things. I'm obsessed with historical accuracy.

 

There's an entire thread at Mad Men devoted to catching historical inaccuracies, and there was some big houhau over the unlikiness of names like Megan in 1965. Considering that the writers did work on getting historically-popular names like Sally, Ken, Paul, Harry, Betty, and Joan...hearing a name like Megan kinda disrupts the mid-1960's ennui of the show a little bit.

 

Since I'm getting my master's in history, it's at least tangentially related to my major to ponder the historical trends of names. They can say a lot about the time and mindset of a culture. In the 1960's, you started seeing counter-culture names pop up, like Moon Unit Zappa and names like Leaf and Rainbow. In the 1980's, the name Crystal experienced a bump in popularity because of the character on Dynasty, which was a very popular program. I myself was named what I was named because my parents wanted to call me J.R., i.e. J.R. Ewing from Dallas. There was also a return to more traditional names, like Hannah and Sarah. That could be reflective of the conservative mindset of the 1980's.

 

Girl's names, in general, tend to be more dated than guy's names. Parents tend to stick with the classics for boys, which is why names like Christopher, Matthew, and John seem to work well for any era.

 

So no one has any name suggestions for Tiffany's son and Jeanine's daughter? Come on, it'll be fun.

Edited June 25, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Westie]

It's one of my OCD things. I'm obsessed with historical accuracy.

 

There's an entire thread at Mad Men devoted to catching historical inaccuracies, and there was some big houhau over the unlikiness of names like Megan in 1965. Considering that the writers did work on getting historically-popular names like Sally, Ken, Paul, Harry, Betty, and Joan...hearing a name like Megan kinda disrupts the mid-1960's ennui of the show a little bit.

 

Since I'm getting my master's in history, it's at least tangentially related to my major to ponder the historical trends of names. They can say a lot about the time and mindset of a culture. In the 1960's, you started seeing counter-culture names pop up, like Moon Unit Zappa and names like Leaf and Rainbow. In the 1980's, the name Crystal experienced a bump in popularity because of the character on Dynasty, which was a very popular program. I myself was named what I was named because my parents wanted to call me J.R., i.e. J.R. Ewing from Dallas. There was also a return to more traditional names, like Hannah and Sarah. That could be reflective of the conservative mindset of the 1980's.

 

Girl's names, in general, tend to be more dated than guy's names. Parents tend to stick with the classics for boys, which is why names like Christopher, Matthew, and John seem to work well for any era.

 

So no one has any name suggestions for Tiffany's son and Jeanine's daughter? Come on, it'll be fun.

 

"unlikely".... "tended"..... these words basically tell us about what we expect to see in any given paradigm. but nobody writes stories about ordinary people, because ordinary lives dont make good fiction - there's no story to tell. We are looking outside of the ordinary. these people dont live within paradigms - they shift them. I would suggest that any names that they come up with, would be maybe 5-7 years ahead of the curve. I think you need to be looking at names common circa 2005-2007 to be believable in this context

 

 

 

[methodwriter85]

Well, I'm just hoping that they don't name Tiffany's son Edward. That will be really, really awkward. Even more awkward would be if they named Jeanine's daughter Isabella. The jokes they'd get.

 

*shrugs* Mark uses these lists to pick up names for their contemporaries and friends. He's been doing this since at least Bloodlines, and I help with it.

 

I like the touch of there being multiple characters named "Ashley" in CAPverse. I also like the touch of having a guy named Cary, which was a popular name in the 1960's but dropped off sharply in popularity afterwards. It adds a bit of reality to the story, as opposed to the tv soap operas that always go for the outlandish names.

Edited June 25, 2011 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

I think you need to be looking at names common circa 2005-2007 to be believable in this context

 

If we're going to go with your idea...

 

Most Popular Baby Names of 2007

 

Tiffany's son should be named Aiden, and Jeanine's daughter should be Sophia. Maybe Sophia Gale Van Den Boss-Graves?

 

What say ye, Mark?

Edited June 25, 2011 by methodwriter85

[B1ue]

If we're going to go with your idea...

 

Most Popular Baby Names of 2007

 

Tiffany's son should be named Aiden, and Jeanine's daughter should be Sophia. Maybe Sophia Gale Van Den Boss-Graves?

 

What say ye, Mark?

 

/facepalm. Because a database consisting of reader submitted names is bound to be 100% accurate for the time and culture. In fairness, the newborn characters are also white, and the sample is a surprisingly deep one, but just looking at that list made me crosseyed.

[methodwriter85]

My sister's friend named her daughter Addison. My sister went for the much-less trendy Cadence, which shot up in popularity in the 2000's but stalled at being around 200 babies per 1,000. Everyone wants to call her Candace. LOL.

 

It really is funny looking at that list, and remembering the names of the kids I grew up with, and how much of a difference twenty years makes. The only two names that were at the top of the list that were popular names for my generation would be Emily and Matthew.

 

I really like the trifecta of Aiden, Caden, and Jaden.

 

What flows better for you guys? Madison Gale van Den Boss-Graves, or Sophia Gale van Den Boss-Graves? The babies have to be coming soon.

[methodwriter85]

I would suggest that any names that they come up with, would be maybe 5-7 years ahead of the curve. I think you need to be looking at names common circa 2005-2007 to be believable in this context

 

You know, I thought about that, and then I realized that it's not Brad and the guys coming up with the names, but Tiffany and Jeanine. They may take some input, but in the end they're the ones choosing the names. We don't know them well enough to say they'd be five years ahead of the curve in picking names. And if you go by the track record, the Schluters and Cramptons aren't exactly all that avant-garde in name choosing. Claire and Jack named their kids Marie and John, after Maman and JP. Brad didn't exactly pick a cutting-edge name for his son, either, in 1986. Will ranked 15 that year, and it was a tribute to his adoptive father. Ace picked Courtney, which might have been avart-garde in 1965 but was ranked 17 in 1995. If Tiffany's baby daddy is Wade, I think Wade would ask her to pick something that sounded traditionally Southern, like Hunter. His siblings are named Beaugarde and MaryEllen, likely traditional family names.

 

This is one area in which the family does not tend to be avant-garde. So I think you're wrong that they'd be 5-7 years ahead of the curve. Which, in this case- thank god. I mean, Addison? Being called Addy for the rest of your life? And the Cayden/Jayden stuff makes me twitch.

 

Speaking of name trends...

 

Pippa Leads List for Top 2011 Baby Names

 

Interesting how pop and celeb culture can really infuence names, right? My parents named me Jeremy Richard because they wanted to call me J.R., as in J.R. Ewing from Dallas. (It was 1985. It could have been worse. I could have been named after Blackie from General Hospital.)

Edited July 28, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Matthew k]

You know, I thought about that, and then I realized that it's not Brad and the guys coming up with the names, but Tiffany and Jeanine. They may take some input, but in the end they're the ones choosing the names. We don't know them well enough to say they'd be five years ahead of the curve in picking names. And if you go by the track record, the Schluters and Cramptons aren't exactly all that avant-garde in name choosing. Claire and Jack named their kids Marie and John, after Maman and JP. Brad didn't exactly pick a cutting-edge name for his son, either, in 1986. Will ranked 15 that year, and it was a tribute to his adoptive father. Ace picked Courtney, which might have been avart-garde in 1965 but was ranked 17 in 1995. If Tiffany's baby daddy is Wade, I think Wade would ask her to pick something that sounded traditionally Southern, like Hunter. His siblings are named Beaugarde and MaryEllen, likely traditional family names.

 

This is one area in which the family does not tend to be avant-garde. So I think you're wrong that they'd be 5-7 years ahead of the curve. Which, in this case- thank god. I mean, Addison? Being called Addy for the rest of your life? And the Cayden/Jayden stuff makes me twitch.

 

Speaking of name trends...

 

Pippa Leads List for Top 2011 Baby Names

 

Interesting how pop and celeb culture can really infuence names, right? My parents named me Jeremy Richard because they wanted to call me J.R., as in J.R. Ewing from Dallas. (It was 1985. It could have been worse. I could have been named after Blackie from General Hospital.)

 

I want something real Southern, Beau(regard), Custis, Reid, Jefferson, Lee or Braxton.

[methodwriter85]

How about Riley Thompson Danfield? I like that.

 

You know, this feels like when Days of Our Lives ran a contest where people could name Hope Brady's daughter, and Ciara won.

[Mark Arbour]

How about Riley Thompson Danfield? I like that.

 

You know, this feels like when Days of Our Lives ran a contest where people could name Hope Brady's daughter, and Ciara won.

 

You watching soap operas....why am I not surprised? I'm willing to wager you read a Soap Opera Digest at least every once in a while.

[methodwriter85]

Mark, CAP is a soap opera. Wouldn't it stand to reason that most of your readers would be soap opera fans?

 

It's a shame that soaps are dying in the U.S. I think CAP fufills my need for a fun, campy soap.

[methodwriter85]

Madison and Riley. How nicely period.

 

I remember when there was a 20-year old Madison on Everwood circa 2003. The amount of bitching about the historically inaccuracy of having a 20-year old girl named Madison was pretty funny.

[methodwriter85]

Jeremy, seriously, WTF? do you have nothing better to ponder about?

 

I know this has been awhile, but dude, I'm a historian. I went to school for it and everything.That means that pondering things like this- historical trends over time- are the things I should be pondering.

[PrivateTim]

I know this has been awhile, but dude, I'm a historian. I went to school for it and everything.That means that pondering things like this- historical trends over time- are the things I should be pondering.

 

Tiffany, Britinany, Faith, etc is sociology, hot history. When a Tiffany, Britinany or Faith does something notable, then it besomes history.

[methodwriter85]

Naming often reflects the mindset of a time period. It's social history, which I'm more interested in, as opposed to the more traditional historical school of thought that follows political and economic events.

 

But you're right, there is a mix of sociology to it, which is why it's not quite the same kind of history that you're thinking of. It's a history that looks at the common people and why they did the things who did, rather than looking at big historical figures like FDR and the like.

Edited September 22, 2012 by methodwriter85