What’s in a list? Not my first name
The top 20 most popular baby names for 2010 were released this
month and once again the uniqueness of
”
Adam
”
was proven. It was nowhere on the top 20; nor was my middle
name, Patrick.
The name of our oldest son, Michael, who was born 16 years ago,
held the No. 3 spot last year while second-born Andrew, who was
named 14 years ago, came in at No. 14.
What’s in a list? Not my first name
The top 20 most popular baby names for 2010 were released this month and once again the uniqueness of “Adam” was proven. It was nowhere on the top 20; nor was my middle name, Patrick.
The name of our oldest son, Michael, who was born 16 years ago, held the No. 3 spot last year while second-born Andrew, who was named 14 years ago, came in at No. 14.
For girls, the most popular baby name in 2010 was Isabella, which is what my wife and I would have named our daughter if we had one back in the 90s, when we were in family expansion mode.
Our cat, Chloe, who was named about seven years ago, had the ninth-most popular baby girl’s name last year, just after Madison and before Mia, which would not make good cat names.
My wife, Mary, once again did not see her name on the list, which was no surprise to her, as she often laments how it is an old-fashioned moniker. I try to make her feel better by saying Adam was the first man, so my name is really old.
For what it’s worth, the top five names on the girls’ list end with the letter “a”: Isabella, Sophia, Emma, Olivia and Ava. The next three – Emily, Abigail and Madison – have a certain proper air about them, while Alyssa rounds out the top 20.
On the boys’ side, Biblical names remain in vogue, with Jacob and Ethan as the top two and Noah and Daniel in the top seven. There’s also David and Matthew and Elijah and James and Joseph on the list, all of which date back to ancient times. Jayden and Aiden are sprinkled in as well.
The names of my dad, Thomas, and his dad John, did not make the 2010 list, nor did my grandpa, Ray. The names of my mom, Karen, and my grandmothers Berneice and Aileen also were not there, nor was the name of my sister, Amy. Not sure why girls’ names don’t have the same staying power on the list as some boys’ names.
Ah, but what’s in a name, other than letters, of course? Regardless of what we are named at the time of our birth, what we are actually called throughout life varies by who we are with and where we are.
My mom calls me “son” and my sister calls me names that are not suitable for reprinting. My sons call me “Dad” and my grandma calls me “honey.” Some friends in high school called me “String,” a reference to my stringy hair, and we had friends in our group called things such as “Wire” (another hair reference) and “Squiggy” (he just seemed like a Squiggy).
At work I’m Mr. Breen or sometimes just Breen, which is also what my wife calls me at times and her co-workers call her. After school during baseball season and on weekends I’m “Coach.”
I sometimes call my dad “Dad” but I also call him Tom or T-bone. Even though my grandma named my mom Karen, Karen was always referred to as “Joanie” (her middle name is Joan) while growing up. My family has taken to calling her that, which at first bugged her but now is considered normal.
This name thing can get confusing. I can go from honey to Dad to Adam to Mr. Breen to Coach within an eight-hour span. And when I don’t put away my dishes or I return a paper with a low grade or I make a player run extra at practice, I’m probably called things that I don’t want to know about.
I don’t know many people named Adam and I’m OK with that. I turn my head enough when I hear a kid call out “Coach” or “Dad” so I guess I’m grateful my parents picked a name that is not worthy of the Top 20.
Adam Breen teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School and is a reporter for The Pinnacle. He is former editor of The Free Lance. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].
