The search for a good name.

The WSJ had an article today on yet another issue that some parents apparently consider while naming their kids. They check that Google thinks their uniquely precious one really is that unique. In the words of a proud mother of a young baby boy, their excuse for wanting to name their child Kohler is the currently low Google return for this

"I wanted our son's name to be as special as he is"

Sheesh! Yes, lady. Unfortunately your telling this to a WSJ reporter now means that the first 100 links for your precious one's name are going to be links to articles where people are questioning your decision.:)

Now I'm as big an ego-surfer as anyone else out there, but this is carrying things too far. Parents overthink the names of their kids, and that's natural and to be expected. What annoys me is when they start unnecessarily worrying about optimizing these names to suit the environment. I have friends of Indian origin who're giving their kids "West-friendly" Indian names: i.e. those that are easily shortened to something that rolls off easier from Western (really American) tongues, or in some cases even Biblical names that seem kinda Indian too. I'm not sure this is necessary, but I kinda understand; parents believe this will allow their kids to adapt more easily to their adopted environment, maybe something they would have liked to be easier for them.

Trying to avoid your kids being mocked by a the school bully is one thing; but trying to search optimize a name may be carrying things a little too far.

Anyway, new ChiBus article this week; just one more issue to write for.:)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The "Rescue Me" minisodes

A short love letter to ~8 years on Google Search - 8 things I’m grateful for.

Avengers Endgame: how trivial passions can nudge a career