The "Naming " Story

It was another ordinary day. Paying bills! Always make sure I have everything perfect before I put my signature on the bottom line. Then I write my name with flair on the bottom line. A few months back I was framing a job at the Gallery in Neffsville, where I work part-time, when I looked at the signature on the original watercolor I was working on. Looked exactly like mine. You can't really read either. I asked Keith, my boss, if he liked the print I was framing and he said he did. I then asked if he saw who had painted it and he looked. "Did you really paint that?" he asked. Never thought anyone would ever sign their name as I do, that's why I use all the flairs. Getting back to my story. After I finished writing the checks I started working on the Manheim Township Middle School yearbook, typing names to identify some of the photos I had taken. I typed a few and thought, doesn't anyone have common names anymore like when I was growing up? What ever happened to names like David, John, Paul, Jim, Bob and even Larry. And how about girls names like Dottie, Carol, Alice, Janet, Sally, Sue and Sarah. As I typed, I even had a hard time pronouncing them, and I thought I was good at that after teaching for over 30 years. I guess in the time I have been retired from teaching, people have invented new names. As I typed the name Holland I said to Carol, "I wonder why they chose that name? Do you think that is a boy or a girl?" "Doesn't really matter, does it?" she said. "Remember, we chose Derek, Brynn and a nickname of Tad for our last son. To some people they may sound strange." I responded, "Yea, I guess so." Well, I thought I would give you a few that I typed so you can see what people called their children back in the early 2000s. I should mention that I am typing these names not to make fun of them, but to show you some of the unusual names that I found. Names like: Royel, Balsam, Breeze, Dynasty, Solstice, Adnela, Unique, Serenity, Precious and religious names such as Savior, Genesis, and Faith. I must admit I typed a few really neat names that if I was going to have anymore children, I would think of using them. Such as: Quinn, Cheyenne, and Yogi. One of the names that was used the most was Skylar which I typed 7 times. Oh yeah, I do remember watching Sky King as a young boy. And wouldn't you know it, not a single Larry. What were you thinking, Mom? It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.