And now, I choose to recite a list.
…Wisconsin, a book of matches, next week, a lot of money…In somewhat of a bold move, I actually did recite a list to my students this week -- a long one -- and they even listened to it! I had decided that it would be good for them to choose an English/American name for class because that was always one of my favorite things to do in my French classes (and because they’d been asking me about names anyway). The other reason I did this was simply because I like names. You may have noticed the link on the right called “Baby Names”. This is not because I want a baby (one thing at a time!), but because I find trends in names fascinating.
Anyway, in case you’re interested, here’s the list I came up with, put on a handout, and distributed in my classes. I tried to choose typical American names with some new, popular ones, and some older standards -- but with the knowledge that these little French kids were apt to choose any name on there, and might choose Mildred if I included it. I also jazzed things up by putting in italics the top ten names given to babies (girls and boys, respectively) in 2004, according to the (government affiliated) Baby Names site.
And now, I choose to recite a list. :o)
Girls Names: Abigail/Abby - Alice - Allison - Alyssa - Amanda/Mandy - Amy - Ann/Anne - Anna - Ashley - Bethany - Brittany - Brooke - Carol - Carrie - Charlotte - Chelsea - Christina/Christy/Tina - Cindy - Danielle - Diane - Elizabeth/Liz/Beth/Betty… - Emily - Emma - Erin - Hailey/Haley - Hannah - Heather - Heidi - Isabella - Jamie - Janet/Jan - Jennifer/Jen/Jenny - Jessica/Jessie - Jillian/Jill - Jodi - Judith/Judy - Julia/Julie - Kaitlyn - Karen - Katherine/Katie/Kathy - Kayla - Kelsey - Kimberly/Kim - Kristin - Laura - Lauren - Linda - Lindsey - Lisa - Lydia - Madison - Maria - Mary - Megan - Melanie/Mel - Melissa - Michelle - Molly - Nancy - Natasha - Nicole/Nicky - Olivia - Patricia/Tricia - Rachel - Rebecca/Becca/Becky - Sally - Samantha/Sam - Sarah/Sara - Shannon - Stacy/Stacie - Stephanie/Steph - Susan - Tiffany - Tracy - Victoria/Vicky
Boys Names: Aaron - Alexander/Alex - Andrew/Andy/Drew - Anthony/Tony - Austin - Benjamin/Ben - Bradley/Brad - Brandon - Brian/Bryan - Bruce - Cameron/Cam - Charles/Charlie - Christopher/Chris - Corey - Daniel/Dan - David/Dave - Dean - Derek - Dylan - Eric - Ethan - Evan - Frank - Fred/Freddie - Gary - George - Gregory/Greg - Jackson/Jack - Jacob/Jake - James/Jamie - Jason - Jeffrey/Jeff - Jeremy - John - Jonathan/Jon - Joseph/Joe - Joshua/Josh - Justin - Keith - Kenneth/Ken - Kevin - Kyle - Lewis/Louis - Lucas/Luke - Mark - Matthew/Matt - Max - Michael/Mike - Nathan/Nate - Nicholas/Nick - Oliver - Owen - Patrick - Paul - Peter/Pete - Philip/Phil - Raymond/Ray - Richard/Rick - Robert/Rob/Bob/Bobby - Roger - Ronald/Ron - Ryan - Samuel/Sam - Scott - Sean/Shawn - Steven/Steve - Taylor - Tomas/Tom - Timothy/Tim - Toby/Tobey - Travis - Tyler - William/Will/Bill - Zachary/Zach
I already know that I omitted some important names (but you've gotta stop somewhere, right?), but I’d be interested in knowing where you all think I screwed up. As I said, I love names, so I hope you all aren’t bored to tears, because I’m sure not!
posted by Kate @ 6:59 AM
5 Comments:
I noticed you included "Frank," but not "Frankincense." Care to explain that one?
Now, for the important question: Did anyone choose Anne as their name?
I'm glad to see Jessica and Nate are on the list. Perhaps you'd like to advertise those ones in particular =)
I am deeply disturbed at the omission of three of the greatest American names.
Larry, Moe, and Curly
That reminds me of the book In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. There's a Chinese family who is going to come to America, and the all need to choose American names. At first, the little girl chooses "Uncle Sam." Someone tries to explain that she can't use that name because it's for boys, and so she asks about the other American name she's familiar with: Shirley Temple. No one can think of any objections, so she becomes Shirley Temple Wong.
I must say, as personally biased as this is, I'm glad you put Lindsey on there, and in its proper spelling. I've discovered in my various language classes that my name does not translate well into any other language than English, unlike the name "Sara" which is fairly well pronounced in a variety of languages. So really, my name is so American they should give an American Girl doll my name.
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