Re: OT: Anthroponymics

Mark J. Reed wrote:
>
> João Ricardo de Mendonça wrote:
> >
> > Is this surname-into-given-name thing common in other
> > countries as well?
>
> It's pretty common in the US.  For instance, Addison is a
> popular first name for girls.  My last name, Reed, is a
> common first name as well.   CNN anchor Anderson
> Cooper is a famous example -  I would not blink if I were
> introduced to a Cooper Anderson, either.

Yes, in the last ten or fifteen years, this has become a hot
trend in the United States (among those of European
ancestry). There are lots of children with first names such as
Taylor, Madison, Morgan, and Conner, all of which are
actually surnames.

Among those of African ancestry, the trend seems to be
to just select two or three random syllables. In Hispanic
families I've met, it seems that all the girls have the first
name Maria but with a different middle name: Maria Elena,
Maria Teresa, etc. The first name is ignored, and the girls
actually go by their middle names.

--Ph. D.

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