So many times I’ve been looking at names, and found a book at the library that showed a different perspective.

Beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana

The authors go through several different ideas to show how names evolve into what’s hot and what’s not – and sometimes why. I’m starting the section on TV and how we use these names for our children- not that everyone does it, but it influences us. More likely Soap Opera Digest than the TV Guide to pull some random new name.

I find that fascinating. I don’t really watch soap operas, other than a short stint as a teenager when someone was buried alive on Days of Our Lives. It was the first time it had been done, and I was intrigued by it. Then they dug her out and it really just wasn’t as interesting.

Back to the names, though. It seems like it might be interesting to skim the names of Soap Opera Digest and TV Guide to figure out what will trickle down into the general population as the next trend. Makes me wonder what it would take to bring a name in from a character in a book (or even a book-made-into-a-movie) as well.

The main character in The Art of Science is named Janie. It’s not a common name at all right now and it’s supposedly staying out of the norm. At least one of the characters is on the up-and-coming list, guess you’ll just have to read it to figure out who.