The article talks about the boom in newborn babies who were given the name Barack — in the wake of the election of Sen. Obama as president."Like the Dwights and Lyndons of Old, Baby Baracks All Over," says the headline.
Actually, the article is quite interesting, but the point that it made — that the choice of a baby's name can be influenced by whoever happens to be popular when that person is born — reminded me of an experience I had when I was working on the sports copy desk of the old Arkansas Gazette more than 20 years ago.
Without going into too much detail, we had a long-standing commitment to getting the final high school football scores and at least a brief article on every high school football game involving a school from Arkansas into our Saturday morning sports sections.
Sometimes, when it took a lot of effort to track down anyone who could provide any information at all from some of the tiny schools in the far-flung districts, the staff was in the office until 2 or 3 in the morning.
On one such evening, I remember taking a call about a game from someone in a remote, rural school district. One of the football players in the game was named "Lyndon Johnson."
I mentioned it to the sports editor. He observed that children are frequently named after the president — or the president-elect.
"Gee," I said. "I wonder how many little Richard Nixons are running around out there?"
He laughed.
I guess that phone conversation took place in 1985 or 1986, which means the football player was probably born in 1967 or 1968, near the end of Johnson's presidency — when his general approval ratings had plummeted because of the unpopularity of the Vietnam War.
But the person I spoke to on the phone sounded black, and the district itself was in an area that was mostly black. So my assumption was that the young man was given the name as a tribute to LBJ's role in civil rights and voting rights. Vietnam, I assumed, was not a factor.
Later, I reflected on the observation the sports editor had made — and it occurred to me that one of my high school classmates had probably been named after the man who was president when we were born.
The president was Dwight David Eisenhower. I never knew anyone with that surname, but my friend's given name was "Dwight." According to the figures I've seen, "Dwight" enjoyed its greatest popularity in the 1940s (when Eisenhower planned and oversaw the invasion of Normandy) and the 1950s (when Eisenhower was elected president twice).
Author Laura Wattenberg told the Times it was once an "American tradition" to name babies after presidents, but the custom went into a decline after Watergate.
But how could you tell? The first names of all the presidents since Nixon — Gerald, James, Ronald, George (twice) and William — are reasonably common names and have maintained spots among the leaders for years, although there has been some movement away from them, which hasn't necessarily been related to the occupant of the Oval Office.
"A shift away from traditional names has meant a decline in the prevalence of John, George, William and James," writes Jennifer Lee in the Times, "the popularity (or unpopularity) of presidents notwithstanding."
Of course, presidents aren't the only ones whose names are given to babies. Movie stars, popular singers, even fictional characters can provide inspiration for new parents.
For example, I've known of a few women who were named Tabitha. My guess was that they were born in the late 1960s or early 1970s — when TV viewers knew that to be the given name of Samantha's daughter on "Bewitched."
And I knew of one gentleman whose name was "Charles Manson." I can only hope he was born — and named — before the notorious "Manson family" murders of 1969.
In the long run, I guess it wouldn't help much if he was born before the murders took place — he just had the misfortune of having the same name as the leader of a notorious, murderous sect.
It could happen to anyone, I guess — just like the fellow I met once who was named Ted Bundy.
Anyway, I suppose my point is this: It's fine to admire Barack Obama or anyone else. But wait awhile and see what he accomplishes before you make a permanent tribute to him — like naming one of your children after him.
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