By Louis A. Zona
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – I was far too young to have learned that the names of newborns in the 1940s were the “cat’s pyjamas.”
According to folks who study such stuff, the decade of the ’40s had the coolest baby names.
It’s no surprise, because the parents were part of the Greatest Generation. They gave their babies names that are still common today – like John, Mary, Michael and Carol.
Social scientists have even gone as far as ranking the popularity of names. Their findings show that the most popular baby boy name today is James, and the most popular baby girl name is Mary. No surprise there.
Names making return appearances these days include Barbara, Karen, Sandra and the ever-popular Linda, plus James and John.
It was William Shakespeare who posed the question “What’s in a name?” And for generations, that question was questioned itself. One need only ask (most) people about their name to realize how they treasure it.
My own informal poll tells me that David, Larry, Charles, Robert and Richard rank high. Other polls confirm that finding, citing David, Robert, Charles and Larry as the most popular for baby boys today.
Sports figures names seem to be all over the map, especially the nicknames they get.
A favorite of mine is “Catfish” Hunter, and our own Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.
But how could I not include Mickey “The Mick” Mantle, a baseball legend. And speaking of legends, let’s not forget Serena Williams, whose self-proclaimed nickname is simply the reverse spelling of her official name: Aneres. She needed a unique name for her clothing line.
When it comes to unusual names, how about mine?
I know that there was a famous French king named Louis but believe me, I have no royalty in my bloodline.
My father was named Louis, so I was called “Junior.”
Outside of this part of the country, I could be Lewis, which is a British adaptation of my name. But people can use either spelling, and it wouldn’t bother me.
One of my favorite old names that is hardly ever the choice of new parents nowadays is Jasper. It’s the name of one of the most famous living artists, Jasper Johns. And for that reason, it has become one of my favorite names – because it is attached to my favorite artist and a truly great person.
A documentary released a few years ago traced Jasper Johns’ family to Allandale, S.C. That’s in the Old South, which might have something to do with it.
But something can be said for names that are – for the most part – unique.
On the other hand, common names are easily understood and perfect for interviews for jobs and other such purposes.
I think that some folks believe that completely made-up names are cool.
To them I say, carry around a completely made-up name like Lubajean. It puts one at a disadvantage. Instead of being easy to remember, they tend to be easy to forget.
Certain songs can remind us of a special time in our life or even a place.
The 1950s song “Oh Donna” carries me back to my high school days. My neighbor would give me rides in his car, which were particularly welcomed in the winter months. Donna was the name of his girlfriend, and she eventually became his wife.
Those of us who are baseball fans, particularly Pittsburgh Pirate fans, know that the song “We Are Family.” It connects us to the 1979 World Series, when the song united the players on that championship team.
All of us who are loyal fans need only hear that song to think of the 1979 team.
Very old female names are Betty, Margaret, Susan and Nancy.
I can’t help associating the name Nancy with Frank Sinatra. In fact, he and Phil Silvers wrote a song when Frank’s first daughter was born, “Nancy with the Laughing Face.”
As far as really old male names attached to songs, there’s George, John and Joseph. Christians believe that Joseph is the name of Jesus’ stepfather. How often we hear of this during the Christmas season when Joseph, Mary and the Christ child had to stay in a stable with animals spending the night, thus the Christmas song “Oh Holy Night.”
There are certain words that strike us in certain ways. For example, the word precious could refer to expensive jewelry but some prefer to say that certain children are precious in their behavior.
On the other hand, others might not be lovable or sweet in the least.
But going back to unusual names, the nuns that taught me in grade school had such names as Sister Mary Verene and Sister Mary Jean Paul. The most memorable was Sister Mary Irma who was the school disciplinarian. We referred to her lovingly as Sister Mary Charlie Bronson.