The fashion of names

In this article, I am particularly interested in the idea of the fashion of names, how one name could be so popular in one period of the history and eventually become unusual in another.

In the article, the popularity of one name is influenced by the culture at its time. For example, male names such as Alfred, Arthur or Percy and female names such as Dorothy, Ruby or Vera are quite popular in 30s, 40s whereas very few young people nowadays have those names. The article explains the influence is due to the popularity of the current celebrities.

In Asian culture, names also have the fashion. I have been grown up in a family where almost everyone has a name starts with letter H. Moreover, my mother and my aunts are all named Thao which sometimes creates confusion. Therefore, they are often called by their middle names.

I think Thao is a very popular name in Vietnam. I had met at least 25 Thaos from my day of birth. The less popular name is Long (I met about 10 of them) and then Vy (I met 7).

Throughout history, some names also faded and were actually erased. One reason was the change in the dynasty. Basically, whenever a new king is announced, the birth name of the king is forbidden to be called out publicly. Therefore, it is very unlikely for a child to be given the same name to the king at that era. Eventually, some names are eradicated and they have only become popular again recently.