No longer does a reason exist for one’s failure in having some little morsel of small talk next time they find themselves at a social gathering. If ever you thought to yourself: “I just can’t find anything interesting or even uninteresting to say at a gathering” then just fire up the old *Internets and go to one of the Google News pages in a language you can understand.
That is what I did this afternoon and found that the most popular baby names for 2008 in New Zealand are — ta-da — Jack and Sophie. As a matter of fact Jack, Jack is the top baby name in the “English-speaking countries,” according to the New Zealand Herald. The article points out that Jack is number 1 in Australia and Britain although it acknowledges Jacob is the most popular boy’s name in the U.S. (Actually, Parents.com claims Aidan is the most preferred U.S. boys’ name.) Canada wasn’t mentioned, so I guess the Kiwi newspaper just pretends Canada doesn’t exist, sort of like some people here in the U.S. do not believe Canada exists.
The article doesn’t go into any hard and fast analysis of why Jack and Sophie are the most popular names although it admits Jack, which had “until this century” been used as only a nick name, had a “hard and crunchy sound” which makes it more apt as a name for a cereal than for a little boy. Imagine the creepy slogans:
“Eat Jacks and Wonder Where the Little Kiwis Go!”
The most popular girl’s name does seem to differ a bit depending on where one goes. Ella is No. 1 in Western Australia. Lena is tops in Luxembourg (Noah is the ultimate boys’ name there.)
Parents.com also listed Isabella as the top choice to name U.S. girls in 2008. Whether that or any else of the above is true, don’t hold me to it. I just read it on the Internets.
*Internets — What about to be former President George W. Bush called the Internet one time and will likely be ridiculed for it the rest of his life, just so all you foreign readers out there know.