Wilbur's Suburbo

,
                                                          Chapter Three
                                                                                             KIDS
 
           “A rose by any other name . . . “  Children’s’ names in the U.S. of A. have always cycled through new iterations as each generation passes through.  In the 19th century we had people named Ulysses, Abraham, Augustus,  Abner, Amos, Ezekiel, Cyrus, Homer, and Horace.  In the early 20th century we had Theodores and Franklins and then a raft of immigrant monikers: Salvatore, Dominic, Hans, Moshe, Juan, et al.  And there were a number of women’s names we no longer see like Edna, Lydia, Gertrude (“Gertie” or “Trudy”), Mabel, or Florence (“Flo”).  As the Baby Boomers hit the stage, starting in the late 1940’s, a new wave swept through with lots of Bobbys and Billys and Johnnys and Tommys and Jimmys along with millions of Susans and Carols and Barbaras.  But there were also Margories and Marilyns, and Miriams and Lois-s and Joans – that we seldom, if ever, hear any more.  During my high school teaching years we saw these tides come in and out:  the Jennifer, Jessica, Sarah wave along with a Joshua–Jacob-Nicolas groundswell.  And so it goes.

        Today’s Suburbo is about boys’ names in the 21st century and I’ll let the illustrations speak for themselves.  Last year I wrote a Blast about this phenomena and my prediction was that we shouldn’t be surprised if, around 2050, we see these names on the doors of CEO’s all over the country.

              Thanks for reading and have a great week!