Baby Names: Blurring the Lines

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When Bear Grylls and his wife announced they were expecting baby number three earlier this month, readers were congratulatory, but slightly confused — was his youngest son Marmaduke, 2 ½, named for a type of animal? As some readers remembered, Marmaduke was actually the name of a cartoon pup — similar to how Casper, a human name as well, is also a cartoon ghost. As CBB Senior Editor Danielle said, "Isn’t it funny how certain cartoons impact our perception of certain names?"

We spoke to Pam Satran of NameBerry, co-author of The Baby Name Bible: The Ultimate Guide By America’s Baby-Naming Experts, to get her opinion on the transfer of names from people to cartoons (and back). Pam tell us,

Fictional animal names that are really human names and now are being reclaimed by humans. It’s tangled!

There are some names that have become so identified with fictional animal characters that it can be really difficult for humans to reclaim them. The character needs to fade away not just for the child’s generation but for the parents’ as well. But there are some names that are coming back into play as the memory of the fictional animals fades. Felix, as in the Cat, is a major one: Gillian Anderson just named her newborn son Felix. Minnie (the Mouse) is starting to be used for humans again as part of a whole wave of cool nickname-names, as is Elsie (the Cow). Even Mickey is more possible than it was a generation ago.

Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is hugely fashionable in London. Kermit (the frog), Harvey (the big pink rabbit), and Ferdinand (the bull) are hip too — and the fact that they’ve been so off limits for so long makes them MORE hip, because they feel fresh and new.

But Clarabell (the Cow) and Alvin (the Chipmunk), not so much. And Marmaduke is a name that only a celebrity could get away with for an actual baby!

What’s your take on the blurred lines between cartoon names and baby names?

Comments

Felix is a baby name first …. the cartoon came later. I bet he is cute tough.

- xena on November 28th, 2008

I don’t agree that “Marmaduke” is a name that only a celebrity could get away with using…

I had a relative in my family tree named Marmaduke (circa 1820) and because my husband & I wanted to pick historical family names for our children, Marmaduke was on our short list. We thought a cute nickname would’ve been “Duke,” but I think it is completely arrogant to write off names from yesteryear.

- Sherri on November 28th, 2008

Barney the dinosaur, Ferdinand the bull and Clarabel and Elsie the cows just aren’t fixtures of English childhood which probably explains in part why the names are more popular here.

- Betty M on November 28th, 2008

I must say I’ve never heard of Elsie the cow, Harvey the big pink rabbit or Ferdinand the bull before; they’re just regular names to me. Felix, Minnie and Mickey also seem quite normal as names – if you met a child called Felix you wouldn’t automatically think of Felix the cat (at least I wouldn’t).

Like the baby name expert said, character names are usually just borrowed from human names anyway, so taking them back isn’t a big deal.

- Emma on November 28th, 2008

I had clarabel on my short list of girl names. Love it! Love Felix too – will go great with my Oliver someday!

- brannon on November 28th, 2008

I know a Chinese guy who took Felix as an English name because of Felix the Cat! Before that his English name was Hannibal (after Hannibal Lecter) but a friend clued him in that it wouldn’t be good for his business with foreigners

- Sarita on November 28th, 2008

i agree Emma-think sometimes people dont even know that those names are cartoon names..like i didnt know harvey was.. i think most of them are cute though

- melanie on November 28th, 2008

I could never go with Homer or Bart because of the Simpsons. But Marge and Maggie are fine by me.

- Red on November 28th, 2008

People get ‘baby name’ inspiration from any number of people, characters, places etc. I don’t think that a name shouldn’t be used if its also the name of a widely known cartoon character. If you like the name, go for it. I do think though that parents should consider that its the child that will need to live with the name for its entire life – so evaluate the impact and be considerate.

- madison on November 28th, 2008

I really like Felix as a name, though I do picture a cat when I hear. However, like brannon said, it goes well with names such as Oscar (par example, Gillian Anderson’s older son is called Oscar, so Felix fitted well with it) and Oliver.

However, name choice is entirely up to the parent. I see nothing wrong with naming your child after a TV character (Barney or Clarabel etc.) Where I do draw the line however, is when parents choose names that are completely absurd and beyond reason such as Bronx Mowgli or Pilot Inspektor. But it’s a personal preference I guess.

- Denise on November 28th, 2008

“Mickey” is a common nickname in Ireland for Michael so to me I don’t associate it with Mickey Mouse straight away.

- Pippa on November 28th, 2008

I think if a name has significant meaning to you, and you want to name your child that, then go for it! As long it doesn’t border on child abuse like the name Peanut!

- babyboopie on November 29th, 2008

Um, Harvey wasn’t pink. He was invisible. If you’re going to try to reference a movie made before 1970 (when actors and actresses actually had to ACT), at least try watching it.

- micky on December 1st, 2008

What is ‘Harvey the big pink rabbit’ from? I’m familiar with the rabbit from the James Stewart movie of the same name, but he certainly wasn’t pink. Is it a cartoon or something?

- h on December 4th, 2008