Would you name baby Jigglypuff?
IN four years, expect to find little Ninja, Pikachu, Alaska, Egypt, Lux and Camaro running around the preschool playground.
That’s the reality as millennial parents borrow names from TV, technology and the world map in a bid to give their darlings unique and trendy monikers.
Just ask new mom Stacey Leigh Lawrence, who found out two weeks ago when she picked up her six-month-old son’s birth certificate that in addition to Maxon Kade, he sported a third official name, Ninja.
Lawrence flipped when she found out that her partner, primary school teacher Stuart Rogers, had added the name without her knowledge — and also that the name he chose was Ninja.
“During the pregnancy when the subject of names came up, Stuart would often suggest Ninja or Pikachu, but not in my wildest dreams did I ever think he was serious,” Lawrence said. He wasn’t joking. A bureaucratic bungle resulted in the couple having to reapply for their son’s birth certificate about two months ago. On PIKACHU? ROSELIA? the day, Lawrence signed the form and went to the car to feed Maxon while Rogers completed the paperwork. He took the opportunity to add “Ninja”. “Come on, you have to agree that Ninja is a kiff nickname,” Rogers said. “When something is awesome or cool, we say it’s ninja; that’s how I feel about my son. His third name is a way to forever connect with my son and when the opportunity presented itself, it was like divine intervention, a sign.” Lawrence said that when she confronted Rogers, “he just burst out laughing. Both our moms wanted to kill him, but I am coming round to it now.” Last month parenting website BabyCenter’s database showed a massive spike in popularity for the Pokémon characters Pikachu, Eevee, Onix, Roselia and Jigglypuff. BabyCenter blog global editor-in-chief Linda Murray said Pokémon seemed to be the latest on this list: “Parents are always looking to pop culture for baby name inspiration and, right now, it doesn’t get hotter than Pokémon Go. It’s possible that parents’ enthusiasm for the game will TURNING TURTLE: Stacey Leigh Lawrence with her partner Stuart Rogers and their son, Maxon Kade Ninja Rogers reignite their love for the brand and spark a fullfledged naming trend.”
This week Mumsnet, one of the UK’s leading websites for parents, found that many parents would choose a different name for their child in a baby names regret survey.
The poll of 1 362 Mumsnet users in June found that 32% regretted the name they chose after six weeks while 23% did so when their child went to preschool or school. According to the survey, one mom said she rued naming her daughter Isis after the Egyptian goddess of health, marriage and wisdom. It is now used to refer to the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. JIGGLYPUFF?
Another said she regretted calling her daughter Elsa, after the main character in the Disney film Frozen.
Fashionable names “come and go like the wind”, said South African parenting expert Nikki Bush.
“They used to be influenced by royalty like EEVEE? Anne, Elizabeth, Mary or Richard, then it was movie stars, then TV stars such as Storm and Brooke from The Bold & The Beautiful. With the proliferation of technology and gaming, we should not be surprised that these digital heroes are now influencing the naming of children.” Bush said parents should preferably discuss and agree on names before they are cast in stone on a birth certificate to avoid upset and conflict.
“And, think down the line a bit as your child will have to live with their name. Pikachu may be in now, but what about in 20 years?”
Baby and parenting websites have also found instances of parents borrowing the names of Instagram filters like Camaro and Lux for their kids.
For celebrities, according to website Nameberry, the trend is to name children after travel destinations: think Alaska or Egypt.
The Recorded Live Births 2014 Report found that in South Africa, the top three names for boys were Junior, Bandile and Kungawo, while for girls it was Iminathi, Minenhle and Rethabile. Previous mostpopular names have included Sibusiso and Elizabeth.
Other popular boys names in South Africa are Siyabonga, Lethabo, Khayone, Mpho, Bokamoso, Kamogelo and Thato.
For girls, Bokamoso, Karabo, Amogelang, Tshegofatso, Lesedi, Amahle and Thandolwethu were also often chosen.
Come on, you have to agree that Ninja is a kiff nickname. When something is awesome or cool, we say it’s ninja
ONIX?