Wednesday, March 23, 2005
dave and brian
I was just noticing today that approximately 92% of adult males in the US are named either Dave or Brian.
I did a little research on the topic, and it turns out that this is due to the US Bureau of Naming Rights' clamping down on what they felt were overly creative baby names in the 1970's. The controversy began when rock musicians started naming their kids things like "Dweezle" and "Mary Jane." Concerned that names in the United States would soon explode to include numbers, symbols, and pictures, the government decided to crack down on this creative naming.
The efforts culminated in the US Male Naming Bill of 1972, which had good intentions and originally provided an "acceptable names list." However, certain provisions were added by Congressmen Dave Willingham of Nebraska and Brian Talbert of New Jersey, dropping all names but Brian and Dave from the list. Unfortunately, no one noticed that the name list had been reduced until after the bill had been signed by President Nixon. The bill became law in October 1972.
The US Male Naming Law of 1972 was eventually repealed in 1978, but during this time there were some 23 million male babies born in the United States, and almost all of them were named Dave or Brian. There were some exceptions, but the parents of these babies were fined $300 each, due to noncompliance.
In the early 21st Century, some lawmakers, apparently nostalgic for the free-wheeling 70's, briefly toyed with the idea of reintroducing the law, this time limiting names to Ethan, Nicholas, and Connor. Many parents went ahead and named countless babies Ethan, Nicholas, and Connor, apparently concerned that the provisions would be retroactive to babies born as early as January 1, 2000. However, the bill was killed and no such naming restrictions are currently in place.
Bottom line: if you want to name your baby "monger187" or some other similarly awesome name, now is the time to take advantage of your current freedom to do so. ¶ monger187 wrote this on 3/23/2005
I did a little research on the topic, and it turns out that this is due to the US Bureau of Naming Rights' clamping down on what they felt were overly creative baby names in the 1970's. The controversy began when rock musicians started naming their kids things like "Dweezle" and "Mary Jane." Concerned that names in the United States would soon explode to include numbers, symbols, and pictures, the government decided to crack down on this creative naming.
The efforts culminated in the US Male Naming Bill of 1972, which had good intentions and originally provided an "acceptable names list." However, certain provisions were added by Congressmen Dave Willingham of Nebraska and Brian Talbert of New Jersey, dropping all names but Brian and Dave from the list. Unfortunately, no one noticed that the name list had been reduced until after the bill had been signed by President Nixon. The bill became law in October 1972.
The US Male Naming Law of 1972 was eventually repealed in 1978, but during this time there were some 23 million male babies born in the United States, and almost all of them were named Dave or Brian. There were some exceptions, but the parents of these babies were fined $300 each, due to noncompliance.
In the early 21st Century, some lawmakers, apparently nostalgic for the free-wheeling 70's, briefly toyed with the idea of reintroducing the law, this time limiting names to Ethan, Nicholas, and Connor. Many parents went ahead and named countless babies Ethan, Nicholas, and Connor, apparently concerned that the provisions would be retroactive to babies born as early as January 1, 2000. However, the bill was killed and no such naming restrictions are currently in place.
Bottom line: if you want to name your baby "monger187" or some other similarly awesome name, now is the time to take advantage of your current freedom to do so. ¶ monger187 wrote this on 3/23/2005
