In the name of Hollywood
morgan young 1.28.06

In the 1984 movie, Splash, Tom Hanks' character is walking down the street with his new found mermaid friend (Darryl Hannah) and they are discussing what name to call her by. She looks up at the street sign, Madison Ave and says, "Madison." Hanks' character laughs and says, "But Madison isn't a name!"

Well thanks to Splash, it is now! In fact for two years running it was the most popular girl's name in America (somewhere around #3 now).

I was recently at my youngest son's elementary school awards ceremony where one hears endless lists of children's names read through a very annoying PA system when "Anakin" brought me out of my daydream.

"What the?...seriously?...Anakin?!" What is the matter with Darth?---oh, that's what they'll call him when he gets older. A couple years earlier I was similarly awakened by a little guy named, "Seven."(spelling?)

Good or bad I think it says a lot about the culture. It defines our biggest influence. I can't imagine any best-selling book generates baby names like movies or TV (unless they are made into movies). And I must admit I was first fondly aware of my daughter's name,
Meghan, when I watched the TV movie, The Thorn Birds circa 1982. It was the name of Rachel Ward's character; she struck me as being beautiful and strong.
(At the time I didn't factor in the moral hoo-haw of the character & at the time I basically had a different moral compass than I do now.)

Believe it or not, The Matrix has spawned babies with the names: Morpheus, Trinity, & Neo. I can see the poor guy as a young adult being introduced at parties, work, etc.:

"Good to meet you Neal."
"No, it's Neo."
"(Laughing) What? Like the Matrix?!"
"(forcing a smile for the 1,876th time) "Yep--just like the Matrix..."

I don't even want to think about the babies named from Lord of the Rings! Could someone actually name their baby: Aragorn, Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, Gollum, Legolas or Sauron? Who am I kiddingit's only a matter of time.

Of course I am really no one to talk about names. I didn't even get a first name; I have three last names: Morgan Slater Young. I've always wanted to separate them with commas and put "attorneys at law" at the end. And I've done the same to two of my sons: Taylor Stephens Young and Slater Miles Young.

And now after forty years of truly liking my first name I'm finding that it has been hijacked by tiny blonde-haired girls. Thank-you Morgan Fairchild; thousands of years of male association flushed down the drain. Nurses who call my name in waiting rooms for the first time have, "Oh. You're not a little girl," written all over their poor poker faces.

I don't really know what to make of all this. I suppose that it's a reflection of our culture and  could possibly draw these conclusions:

1. Movies & TV are huge influences to the point we feel such a strong connection as to name a son or daughter. (This is potentially frightening when you think about it.)

2. "Anything goes" is part of our cultural ethos. We don't need a precedent and we aren't afraid to break from tradition.

3. "My feelings drive my actions." I love this character/movie, so apart from any cultural opinion, future ramifications, I'm going with it.

4. Names are a lot like tattooes. They're with you for life and people will make first impressions and draw conclusions based on them. Yes, you can change them, but not easily.