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Ear to the Ground

The Brand-a-Baby Biz

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Posted on Jun 25, 2007
baby
AP Photo/Tina Fineberg

From $50 for a list of suggestions to $475 for a numerologist to test the positive and negative associations of a certain name, the baby name business is booming.  Sociologists and name researchers are reporting an increase in the level of stress that parents-to-be experience when choosing baby names.

Adding to the pressure are celebrities whose baby monikers read like bad science fiction or trendy cocktail names (see Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf-Lee and Apple Martin, respectively).  Naming a baby can be like branding a product: Parents want their children to stand out without being too trendy.


WSJ.com:

Celebrities (think Apple Martin, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf-Lee) are helping to drive up the pressure. And the growing brand consciousness among consumers has made parents more aware of how names can shape perceptions. The result: a child’s name has become an emblem of individual taste more than a reflection of family traditions or cultural values. “We live in a marketing-oriented society,” says Bruce Lansky, a former advertising executive and author of eight books on baby names, including “100,000 + Baby Names.” “People who understand branding know that when you pick the right name, you’re giving your child a head start.”
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By peedeecee, June 26, 2007 at 4:17 pm #

I like C Quil’s idea of not naming kids for the location where they were conceived—we’d have kids named “‘57 Ford Back Seat,” “Quickie Motel,” “Behind the Filing Cabinets,” and (my personal fave) “Business Class.”

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By noodle, June 26, 2007 at 2:27 pm #

When my wife and I married in Italy 1n 1961, we were given a little booklet with space for the names of 13 children we might have. A cautionary note said we were not allowed to give our children names that would hold them up to ridicule in later life. One man, for example, tried to name his child “odiolaguerra” (I hate war), and it was not allowed. Although we agreed with his sentiments, we felt it would have been highly improper to so label a kid. I feel the same way about some of the painful and outlandish names people are now imposing on infants who can’t fight back.

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By great_satan, June 26, 2007 at 1:58 pm #

Here’s what the wizard of acid has to say:
http://www.thebear.org/essays2.html#anchor515747

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By RYS, June 26, 2007 at 12:38 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Gee Whatever happened to people just taking a name?  Most of the people I know don’t use their legal one much anyway.

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By C Quil, June 26, 2007 at 7:31 am #

Just give your kids they won’t be mortifed about when they grow up. No weird spellings, no celebrities, no cutsie-wootsie ones, no naming them after the places where they were conceived. The last, especially, is likely to do them lasting psychological harm - especially if you tell them the origin of the name.

So - no Kaytelynne or Gerromme, no Paris, Elvis or Puff Daddy, no Kryckette, and definitely no Denver, Sheboygan, Chicago or Vegas.

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By Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD, June 26, 2007 at 5:01 am #

Image is everything; look at our gov.’s manipulation of language.  How about the word “spin?” One word can and often does change everything with a population so aurally sensitive.  Why wouldn’t a kid’s name be similarly crafted?  The really smart people are the ones cashing in on this idiotic phenomenon.

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By DennisD, June 25, 2007 at 7:43 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Has the rest of world signed on to this mind numbing crap or are America’s empty heads once again leading the planet as only we can.

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By peedeecee, June 25, 2007 at 7:32 pm #

From the article: “People who understand branding know that when you pick the right name, you’re giving your child a head start.”

Puh-leeze. What a manipulative crock of sh*t that is, stated by someone who wants to cash in on the latest breathlessly inane trend.

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By TDoff, June 25, 2007 at 7:25 pm #

McCain’s campaign committee tried to jump aboard this baby-name trend by offering $100 to any family that would name their baby after John.

But so far, ‘Dumfuk’ and ‘Luzer’ don’t seem to be catching on.

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