Katniss Strikes Back...Again...and Again

It's been almost one year since the notorious post in which I declared that Katniss is not a real name.  After all this time, comments are still rolling in about how wrong I was/am.  People love The Hunger Games.  People love Katniss Everdeen.  People think Katniss IS a real name.

There she is.  Badass.

I get it.  In fact, I got it about two weeks after I wrote the original post, so I wrote a follow-up post (here) taking back my assertion that Katniss was the modern day equivalent of Spock - a science fiction character and not a name.  It wasn't a full take back (I never said that Katniss is a real name), but I did admit some wrongdoing.  Nonetheless, the Katniss backlash continues.  So, I'm trying again.

(The beginning of the most recent comment on 

the year old "Katniss is Not a Real Name" post)

I'm still not going to declare that Katniss is a real name (despite the snide, but funny and informative comments I've received).  What I will do is acknowledge that I'm not sure that there is such thing as a "real" name.  Any word is a name, right?  Well, in some states there are words that legally can't be names (think: terrible, horrible 4-letter words) and a judge can actually rename a child if the parent chooses one of the forbidden words.  Beyond those rarest of rare circumstances, pretty much any combination of letters can be a name.

Celebrity parents are the most shining example of taking a seemingly random word and turning it into a name.  Apple Martin (Gyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's daughter) always comes to mind in these type discussions, though there are far more random words that have become celebrity baby names (i.e. Pilot Inspektor).  So, I admit, Katniss is not just the name of a book character, it's also a viable option for the name of a real life lady or gentleman.  That's my amended statement - Katniss could be a name.

Pilot Inspektor Lee (son of actor Jason Lee)

 

Will Katniss become a popular name and someday reign the Top 100 list?  Ummm, I don't know, though I kinda, sorta doubt it.  But, I'm perfectly happy being proven wrong.  So, go ahead - prove me wrong.  Start naming your babies Katniss!!!

Stuff People Google 65

Today's edition of Stuff People Google likely brought the typist to Next Stop Baby thanks to one of my most popular posts of all time.  First, here's the phrase:

people who named their kid katniss

It's not the craziest or grossest phrase I've shared.  Rather, I think I googled these exact words at some point last year when I was writing the highly popular post I referenced: Katniss Is Not a Real Name.  I was taken aback by how popular that post was (and still is). 

Many people challenged my assertion...that Katniss is not a real name.  There are comments that 1) Katniss IS a real name and 2) many popular names having been derived from characters in famous works of fiction.  My opinion was swayed by all the comments, but only slightly.  I still have yet to meet someone named Katniss or even hear of someone named Katniss.  So, I'm holding firm that Katniss is not a real name until that happens.  I'm curious as to whether the typist of today's phrase found an answer to his or her question.

Stuff People Google 44

Who's excited for the first movie in The Hunger Games trilogy?  Only a week away!!!  Today's edition of Stuff People Google was selected to celebrate next week's opening.  Someone googled the phrase below and found Next Stop Baby (you know the drill).

baby named catness

What's interesting to me is that Google is intelligent enough to link "catness" to "katniss" because I've certainly never written about anyone or anything named Catness.  I still don't know of any babies named Katniss...much less Catness.

Goodbye Katniss and Seraphina

I popped by Nameberry last week as part of my weekly (and sometimes daily) ritual.  Shock.  For the first time in a very, very long time neither Seraphina nor Katniss were listed in "Today's Most Popular Names".  What?  WHAT?!!  For the better half of 2011 both Seraphina and Katniss were listed every single day, all day long, without fail.  But on February 8, 2012 at approximately 2:54 p.m., neither were listed.

Had the queens been dethroned?  Well, not quite.  I went back to Nameberry over the weekend and there she was, Katniss, not giving up so quickly.  Seraphina, however, was still missing.

Here is what the "Today's Most Popular Names" section of Nameberry looked like for most of 2011.  This screenshot is from a post I wrote in the beginning of November 2011 (here).  Notice the prominence of both Katniss and Seraphina.  The size of each name indicates how many people are searching it (bigger size = more people), pink is for girl names and blue is for boy names (if that wasn't obvious).

Here is what the "Today's Most Popular Names" looked like this past weekend.  Small Katniss, NO Seraphina.

BUT WAIT, this is what it looked like just a couple hours later.  NO Katniss, small Seraphina.

And another couple hours later...

Why was I stalking Nameberry this past weekend and why am I giving you the play by play?  I want a record.  I want visual proof that the times, they are a changin'.  This is clear indicator that the next wave of baby name trends is almost upon us.  I'm guessing there will be a resurgence of Katniss when the first Hunger Games movie comes out in a little over a month, but the "it" factor is no longer.

So what are the new "it" names?   I spent a great deal of 2011 predicting what they would be (here, here and here).  Now that it's 2012, we don't have to guess anymore.  There are proof points all around us.  Unfortunately, the only thing proven by Namberry this weekend is that Seraphina and Katniss are on the way out, I didn't see any clear names or trends that are on the way in.  The three babies born into my (extended) circle of friends since the new year are a baby boy named Luc, a baby girl named Peyton and a baby girl named Penelope.  Not enough material to show a trend.

Celebritywise, here is the latest for 2012:

BOYS

Exton Elias (son of Robert Downey Jr.)

James Timothy (son of Danny Pudi)

Micah Emmanuel (son of Sarah Drew)

Jonah Christopher (son of Jo Dee Messina)

GIRLS

Elliotte Anne (daughter of Marla Sokoloff)

Maxwell Lue (daughter of Lindsay Sloane)

Kaya Emory (daughter of Lindsay Davenport)

Fiona Lee (daughter of Danny Pudi)

Beatrice Jean (daughter of Bryce Dallas Howard)

Romy Hero (daughter of Aaron Johnson)

Blue Ivy (daughter of Beyonce and Jay-Z)

Willa Lou (daughter of Keri Russell)

Sebella Rose (daughter of Roselyn Sanchez)

The only trend I spot is amongst the girls: the middle names Lue, Lee and Lou are nearly identical.  Hmmm.  It's a kickback to the 1920s/1930s South?  

What names and names trends are you noticing?  What have the babies in your life been named?  What names are your pregnant friends pondering?  

PS - Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's to hoping you find yourself in the presence of dark chocolate and champagne by the day's end.

Katniss Backlash

I recently declared that Katniss is not a real name (here).  A couple major things have occurred since that post.

First, I started reading The Hunger Games.  I've only finished a few chapters, so I can't yet tell you if I love it or hate it.  But, I can tell you that I'm enjoying it much more than I did the first book of The Twilight Saga.  This has no connection to whether Katniss is a real name, but I thought it was worth following up on.

Second, I've since looked into the number of names that have been derived from written works.  There are tons.  This just makes sense.  Before there were telephones, television or internet, people communicated through writing - newspapers, poetry, letters and books.  In addition to spreading ideas and information, written communication introduced and popularized names.  While I'm not going to take back my declaration (because I'm stubborn and I wouldn't personally name my child Katniss), I will share a few details of my findings. 

Jessica.  The first documented use of the name Jessica was in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.  Who knew?  Bill Shakespeare also created the name Miranda in his work, The Tempest.  The name Pamela was invented by Sir Philip Sidney in The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia.  Poet Jonathan Swift originated the name Vanessa for his 1713 poem "Cadenus and Vanessa".

There are also a handful of names were made popular, though not invented, by a writer.  Wendy.  You've heard of this name, yes?  J.M. Barrie popularized the name Wendy in his little known book, Peter and Wendy (the story of Peter Pan).  Charlotte Bronte popularized the name Shirley in her novel entitled Shirley.  Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, didn't invent the word Katniss, but she will most certainly be responsible for popularizing it as a name.

Katniss is a plant. 

Here is a guide on how to grow the katniss plant...

if that strikes your fancy.

(image here)

Katniss Is Not a Real Name

The title of this post says it all - Katniss is not a real name.

It's an answer to a question that I feel is plaguing my favorite baby name website, Nameberry.  I check it out on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis.  I love the witty blog articles.  I love scrolling through all the name lists like "Geezer Names for Girls" and "Nouveau Names on the Rise".  And, I love checking out the "Today's Most Popular Name" feature, which is a cluster of the most searched names on Nameberry on any given day.  It's a great website to kill fifteen minutes or two hours (click here for other websites that I kill time on).

For the past several months, Katniss has been a name featured in Nameberry's "Today's Most Popular Name".  It's always there.  Front and center, large and pink.  The larger the name the more times it's been searched.  Everytime I pop over to check out the latest in baby names I see Seraphina (thanks Ben and Jen) and Katniss.

A screenshot from Nameberry yesterday.  

You'll notice the prominence with which Katniss is featured.

For those of you who are thinking, KATNISS?  WTF?  I can explain its popularity, in part: The Hunger Games.  You've heard of The Hunger Games, yes?  It's followed in the footsteps of the Twilight Saga as the next, best, cheesy, teenage, science fiction, drama, romance series.  The heroine of the Hunger Games series, who will be played by Jennifer Lawrence when it comes to movie theaters everywhere in March 2012, is Katniss.  Just as Bella and Isabella became wildly popular baby names thanks to the Twilight Saga, it seems that Katniss is becoming a top baby name choice thanks to The Hunger Games.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss.  Fierce.
Looks like she could kick Kristen Stewart's ass.

The part I can't explain is why people have decided that Katniss is a real name (versus the name of a science fiction heroine).  Katniss is like Spock - it's a character, not a name.  People didn't have to make that distinction with Bella or Isabella, because both had been within the top 1,000 most popular baby names (per the social security website) since 1880.  Katniss has never been on the social security website's top 1,000 baby names.  Will it join those ranks in the next couple years?  If it's popularity on Nameberry is any indication, then yes.

What do you think - is Katniss a "real life" name?  Am I being a baby name party pooper?  Will I be eating my words in a couple decades?  And, more importantly, have you read The Hunger Games and how does it compare to the Twilight Saga?