My wife Clare was glancing through the newspaper.
“Says here that Amelia and Oliver are now the most popular children’s names – they’ve just announced the most common baby names from last year. Did you see that children are now being named Khaleesi and Tyrion?
“Yeah, “ I said, “I’m amazed that no-one’s named their baby Jodfrey.” I commented after the mad and deeply unpleasant boy king from the series.
“Ah yes, but people only name their children after characters and people they like.” Clare came back.
“You just wait, next year there’s going to be hundreds of little sisters called Arne and Else,” I speculated based upon the popularity of the Disney film Frozen.
I pondered for a moment. “I suspect that you’d get much more interesting names for children if parents waited a few years before naming them. Then you could give your child a name that really matched their character.”
“What would we name ours?” Clare asked, taking the bait.
“Well, Arun (our six year old son) has to have his name changed to ‘Kerfuffle’. Surely. That’s what he is, does and creates.”
Clare chuckled. “What about Meri?” (our four year old daughter).
“Has to be ‘Contrary’.”
Later that day, my phone pinged with a long expected e-mail from my cousin announcing the birth of his beautiful baby boy. I showed my daughter Meri the picture they sent of the little bundle of joy.
“What do you think they should call him?” I asked, and, remembering my earlier conversation with Clare about naming children after people you admire, I added a little mischievously, “Do you think they should call him ‘Mrunal’?”
Meri shook her head, “No,” she said, “They should call him Arun.”
I felt immensely proud of her but was about to feel even prouder: A few moments later my phone pinged again. They had chosen a name. And remarkably, little Meri had got it right. They had named their little boy ‘Arun’.
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