On this side of the pond, the revelation of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor as the name of Prince Harry and Meghansa国际传媒檚 newborn son immediately sparked questions about his sa国际传媒渞ealsa国际传媒� first name sa国际传媒� Is it Archibald? Could he be Archer?
Nope. Last weeksa国际传媒檚 royal announcement revealed this kid is simply Archie, an apparent statement by his parents that they hope to give him as normal a life as possible.
The name is sa国际传媒渁 quintessentially English choice,sa国际传媒� declares Boston naming expert Laura Wattenberg, but it notably bucks convention in North America, where many parents eschew such cutesy, short monikers.
sa国际传媒淎rchie is a Top 20 given name in England and itsa国际传媒檚 not alone. Charlie and Alfie and Freddie and Reggie are all big hit names in England. Itsa国际传媒檚 one of the biggest differences as you cross the Atlantic in baby name style,sa国际传媒� says Wattenberg, author of sa国际传媒淭he Baby Name Wizard.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淐ute just plays differently in England versus here, and particularly for boys and girls. Wesa国际传媒檙e much more willing to give diminutives to girlssa国际传媒�. You wouldnsa国际传媒檛 be surprised to meet a Gracie or an Emmy but you would be surprised to meet even a Billy.sa国际传媒�
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In general, handles ending in sa国际传媒�-iesa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒�-ysa国际传媒� have largely faded over the last century in Canada and the United States, agrees L.A.-based Linda Rosenkrantz of the website nameberry.com
Itsa国际传媒檚 one of the biggest differences in naming trends between the two continents. Archiesa国际传媒檚 dad, notably goes by the nickname Harry, instead of his given name Henry.
If anything, many North American parents are more likely to bestow an invented name thatsa国际传媒檚 so new it cansa国际传媒檛 be truncated into something casual, say the experts.
sa国际传媒淲hat I hear today is not, sa国际传媒榃ell, of course wesa国际传媒檒l name Billy sa国际传媒榃illiam.sa国际传媒� I hear, sa国际传媒楬ow do I keep people from calling William, sa国际传媒淏illsa国际传媒�?sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� says Wattenberg.
Consider the myriad short names that have been lengthened to seem formal, like Trenton and Jackson.
sa国际传媒淭he parents look for ways to add something formal, even when a name was a perfectly full name to begin with,sa国际传媒� says Wattenberg. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 purely a parentsa国际传媒檚 sense of the name not feeling like itsa国际传媒檚 enough.sa国际传媒�
Professor Cleveland Evans, an onomastics expert at Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb., says preferred boyssa国际传媒� names tend to be two or three syllables in length, which can be cut to one syllable in everyday conversation.
sa国际传媒淏y far, the most popular sound pattern in the U.S. and I would guess probably Canada, too, for boyssa国际传媒� names, especially newly popular boyssa国际传媒� names, is two syllables ending in sa国际传媒榥sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� so you have Jackson and Jayden and all the things that rhyme with Aiden and Mason,sa国际传媒� says Evans, author of sa国际传媒淭he Great Big Book of Baby Names.sa国际传媒�
Some parents do choose Ben and Mike for birth certificates instead of Benjamin and Michael, but most still favour a formal name for official identification, no matter the social class, he adds.
sa国际传媒淭he image American parents have is any child can grow up to be anything and so no matter what their own circumstances are, they want to give their child a name that will fit into the executive suite,sa国际传媒� says Evans.
sa国际传媒淢eanwhile, I think a lot of working class people in Britain are proud to be working class and are not thinking in that way.sa国际传媒�
Gender plays a role, too, with sa国际传媒�-iesa国际传媒� nicknames growing in popularity among girls, even if they started out as primarily boyssa国际传媒� names sa国际传媒� think Frankie, Billie, Charlie and Teddie.
That trend has pushed some boyssa国际传媒� parents to look for masculine alternatives, says Wattenberg, who studied names that were made out of words and found sa国际传媒渂oys are being given new names that literally mean weapons and violence.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淩iot. Rage. Cannon. I think thatsa国际传媒檚 why I think it will take a lot for the cute British nicknames to catch on,sa国际传媒� she says.
sa国际传媒淓ven as gender roles have changed, what hasnsa国际传媒檛 changed is that parents want boys to be strong above all.sa国际传媒�
Top baby names registered with U.S. Social Security in 2018 were Emma and Liam, the agency revealed Friday.
They did not include Riot, Rage or Cannon, but Ruger sa国际传媒� also known as a brand of firearms sa国际传媒� was used 134 times.
There were only 207 Archies, barely enough to crack the Top 1,000 at 992.
Archiesa国际传媒檚 middle name Harrison is far more popular in Canada, says Toronto kindergarten teacher Melissa King-Ferman, who says the name was especially popular in her class about five years ago.
In contrast, shesa国际传媒檚 only met one child named Archie.
sa国际传媒淚 know more people that have an Archie dog than an Archie kid,sa国际传媒� says King-Ferman, a self-proclaimed royalist.
Wattenberg says parents who give a long formal name thinking that they can keep nicknames away are kidding themselves.
sa国际传媒淎t some point in childhood theresa国际传媒檚 a change in ownership and the name no longer belongs to the parents, it belongs to the child,sa国际传媒� she says.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e talked to so many parents who thought that theysa国际传媒檝e successfully called their son only Christopher, until he was 14 and they suddenly learned hesa国际传媒檇 been going by Chris at school for years.sa国际传媒�
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
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