- Oct 28, 1999
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People naming their kids Camry, Xerox, Canon, Timberline, ect.
Branded anything but Unique
By John Harlow
September 29, 2003
AT age 3, Timberland is too young to be embarrassed about being named after a bestselling brand of footwear, but his mother cringes.
"His daddy insisted on it because Timberlands were the pride of his wardrobe. The alternative was Reebok," said the 32-year-old nurse, who is now divorced.
"I wanted Kevin."
The boy is not alone: five other Americans were named Timberland in 2000, according to social security records.
A trend for naming children after favourite possessions is accelerating in brand-driven America.
The records show that in 2000, 49 children were named Canon, followed by 11 Bentleys, five Jaguars and a Xerox.
There is also a Gouda and a Bologna, who are named after the cheese and the sausage rather than the places.
Foreign brands are regarded as increasingly chic: Chanel is popular among doting mothers, and several boys have been named after a Japanese family car called Camry.
Companies are ambivalent about the honour.
"It all depends on how the kids turn out, and who can predict that?" said Richard Laermer, who once represented a New York couple offering to name their child after a top brand for $US500,000 ($742,000).
The number of American parents spurning traditional first names is rising sharply. According to the most recent census, at least 10,000 different names are now in use, two-thirds of which were largely unknown before World War II.
Edward Callary, a past president of the American Names Society, said a determination to be different was the hallmark of the current generation of young parents: "The more we feel defined by numbers, in our postal codes and bank statements, the more we need to shout out a unique name into the world.
The 2000 social security records reveal that 24 children were named Unique
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