basher: vechtersbaas.
Boadicea: Keltische koningin uit de eerste eeuw n.C. in Engeland. Na de dood van haar man, kon ze volgens de Romeinse wetten het koninkrijk niet erven. Toen ze protesteerde, werd ze gegeseld, werden haar dochters verkracht en werden de woonplaatsen van haar volk (Iceni) geplunderd. Daarop kwam Boadicea in opstand, de gevechten waren heel wreed, maar uiteindelijk werd ze verslagen door het beter georganiseerde Romeinse leger. Boadicea staat sindsdien synoniem voor wraak, maar ook voor vrijheid.
Bunnyface: konijnengezicht.
crop: oogst.
fudge: toffee, maar ook idioot.
ostrich: struisvogel.
profusion: overdaad.
trawl: speurtocht.
Around 600,000 births were registered in Britain last year. Registering a birth necessitates giving the child a name and it’s always interesting to see what names come up. What is most notable about last year’s crop – and indeed those from the last few years in general – is their variety. There were, of course, thousands of kids called James or John or Lucy or Sarah and so on. But the trend seems to be to name your child after something you like or something memorable to you.
So, for example, the names of people’s favourite drinks appear quite frequently on the lists. No less than five parents decided to name their daughter Margaux – after the £100 a bottle Chateau Margaux. Along the same lines, Moet and Richebourg (both boys’ names) appear. But it’s not all snobbery in wine names. The most popular name of this kind remains Chardonnay – 80 girls were given this name last year.
Food is another source of inspiration. Among the new girls’ names are Paprika and Caramel. Lots of British people love going to home-improvement stores, so perhaps it is not surprising that one girl was named Ikea. More parents seem to be following the example of the Beckhams and naming their child after where they were conceived. This may be OK for their Brooklyn, but not so nice for the poor kid who was conceived in the not-very-glamorous north London suburb of Finchley.
It is possible to read into this profusion of exotic names a greater individualism and confidence among today’s parents. But one should not get carried away by this analysis. A recent trawl through the official records of centuries past in Britain turned up names such as Boadicea Basher, Philadelphia Bunnyface, Ostrich Pockinghorn and Gentle Fudge.
