Just for fun I looked back at the Coffeetalk I did exactly 10 years ago today, October 29, 2008. I talked about names, people’s names, as in what parents were naming their new babies. Popular names for new girl babies 10 years ago were, for example, Ashley, Samantha, Alyssa, and Jessica. For boys it was Andrew, Daniel, Matthew and Ryan, to name a few. In 2018 the list contains girl’s names like Emma, Olivia, Ava, Emelia and Mia. Boys are being named Noah, Oliver, Liam, Logan, and Aidan. I went to school with Bill and Bob, Frank and Mark. There was Susan, Diane, Donna and Cathy. There are boys names I remember from my school days that are still around today like Michael, James, John, Joseph and David. However, scanning the list of the Top 100 girl’s names for 2018 I don’t see one that was popular when I was a kid. I’m not sure why some names for boys have stood the test of time but not girls. Why do we choose a particular name for our offspring? Do we hope it will help make our boy or girl more popular? Does the meaning of the name factor into it? Does it have to do with family tradition? I’m named after my paternal grandfather, Victor. Now there’s a name that doesn’t even show up on the list of the Top 100 boy’s names in 2018 and that’s OK. Who wants to have the same name as a whole bunch of other guys anyway?

That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois.