Katniss was my first thought, too - although I don't know how 2012 specific it is since the books were so popular before the movie.
I do think Trayvon works, although (unfortunately) that story has already faded from public consciousness. I can't imagine reading the name next year and immediately remembering why it was important & representative.
Sandy & Mitt don't pass the test for me either - both were part of big, memorable stories from the year but as a PP said, in neither case was the name really an important part of the story.
I did like another PPs suggestion of Blue Ivy. It's unusual style, celebrity connection and most importantly, the attempt to trademark it are a perfect illustration of our culture's changing views of names.
My two kids have the same first initial - not intentional, just the two names we liked best (we have a boy & girl) & we weren't going to rule them out for that reason. It was hard enough finding names that DH & I both agreed on - nixing a name because of a matching initial for the 2nd child would have been way too trivial in comparison to the other family issues & naming styles we were juggling.
I will say though, reading the blog post and many of the posts here, there is a BIG difference between a matching initial and a matching first syllable - many of the examples given have the latter (like Kailyn & Kayden). To me, that is not the same thing, although many are lumping them together. Jackson & Jacqueline? Too much. Jackson & Julia? No big deal.
How do you pronounce Joycee? I haven't come across that in real life, and all my attempts end up sounding like I'm saying "Jersey" with a bad New Jersey accent.
A word of caution about Britton: I went to school with a girl named Britton (this was in the 70s-80s) and she was on the chubby side. She was teased mercilessly by being called "Great Britton". I know that virtually no name is tease-proof but I always wondered if life would have been a little easier for her if she had a name that didn't have such an obvious choice for weight-related teasing. Just something to think about...
I know one Camilla - she is in her mid-30s and has always gone by the nn Cami. It's a beautiful name, and I suspect her own cohort won't have any of the Parker-Bowles associations at all, so I say go for it!
There is a girl Jayden in my 3 year old son's class at church - but it is spelled Jaedn. I try not to judge but man - that spelling just about puts me over the edge.
I love the name Clementine, but when I had my daughter I just couldn't do it. The folk song, the fruit... too much potential for teasing. I did end up going with Caroline, which has the same rhythm but I still don't think it has the charm of Clementine.
Katniss was my first thought, too - although I don't know how 2012 specific it is since the books were so popular before the movie.
I do think Trayvon works, although (unfortunately) that story has already faded from public consciousness. I can't imagine reading the name next year and immediately remembering why it was important & representative.
Sandy & Mitt don't pass the test for me either - both were part of big, memorable stories from the year but as a PP said, in neither case was the name really an important part of the story.
I did like another PPs suggestion of Blue Ivy. It's unusual style, celebrity connection and most importantly, the attempt to trademark it are a perfect illustration of our culture's changing views of names.
My two kids have the same first initial - not intentional, just the two names we liked best (we have a boy & girl) & we weren't going to rule them out for that reason. It was hard enough finding names that DH & I both agreed on - nixing a name because of a matching initial for the 2nd child would have been way too trivial in comparison to the other family issues & naming styles we were juggling.
I will say though, reading the blog post and many of the posts here, there is a BIG difference between a matching initial and a matching first syllable - many of the examples given have the latter (like Kailyn & Kayden). To me, that is not the same thing, although many are lumping them together. Jackson & Jacqueline? Too much. Jackson & Julia? No big deal.
How do you pronounce Joycee? I haven't come across that in real life, and all my attempts end up sounding like I'm saying "Jersey" with a bad New Jersey accent.
My 3 year son just started preschool this week. Here's the list of the names from his class:
A word of caution about Britton: I went to school with a girl named Britton (this was in the 70s-80s) and she was on the chubby side. She was teased mercilessly by being called "Great Britton". I know that virtually no name is tease-proof but I always wondered if life would have been a little easier for her if she had a name that didn't have such an obvious choice for weight-related teasing. Just something to think about...
I know one Camilla - she is in her mid-30s and has always gone by the nn Cami. It's a beautiful name, and I suspect her own cohort won't have any of the Parker-Bowles associations at all, so I say go for it!
There is a girl Jayden in my 3 year old son's class at church - but it is spelled Jaedn. I try not to judge but man - that spelling just about puts me over the edge.
I love the name Clementine, but when I had my daughter I just couldn't do it. The folk song, the fruit... too much potential for teasing. I did end up going with Caroline, which has the same rhythm but I still don't think it has the charm of Clementine.