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Help[Facts] According to my contact...
in reply to a message by Cleveland Kent Evans
the fact that, in 2005, the soccer Francesco Totti chose the name Cristian for his son can explain the growing popularity of C(h)ristian: in 2004, C(h)ristian was not in the top 30, but in 2006, both forms were (Christian #21 and Cristian #25).
She also agrees with Fiammetta about Matilde: "(...) Matilde Brandi does hardly have the kind of popularity for people to name there children after her (...)".
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
She also agrees with Fiammetta about Matilde: "(...) Matilde Brandi does hardly have the kind of popularity for people to name there children after her (...)".
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
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Replies
Thank you for the information about Cristian Totti.
I am sure that people in Italy know more about how famous Ms. Brandi's is than I do.
But remember that a celebrity doesn't have to have popularity in the sense of people liking them for there to be an effect on what people name their children. A lot of publicity is enough, even if it would seem to be bad publicity.
Many people who are inspired to give a name to their children because of seeing a name in the media aren't naming their kids "after" the celebrities in the sense of honoring them. They just have discovered a name that they like through the publicity given the celebrity.
I am sure that people in Italy know more about how famous Ms. Brandi's is than I do.
But remember that a celebrity doesn't have to have popularity in the sense of people liking them for there to be an effect on what people name their children. A lot of publicity is enough, even if it would seem to be bad publicity.
Many people who are inspired to give a name to their children because of seeing a name in the media aren't naming their kids "after" the celebrities in the sense of honoring them. They just have discovered a name that they like through the publicity given the celebrity.
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I see your point...
and in a lot of cases that is absolutely true, the celebrities act as a loudspeaker, even if they are not starting the trend. But I noticed that in the Romance Europe (the Europe that I know for names: Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy) this situation seems less common than in the English speaking world and in a lot of cases, the only explanation for the rise of a name is an internal process: the name sounds like another popular name, has the same style...
Honestly, in the case of Matilde I don't know, but if two Italian people (who are into names) think that Matilde Brandi is not an explanation for the rise of the name, probably the explanation has to be found in other places. For example, the book Matilda (1988), by Roald Dahl, was translated into Italian as Matilde and the kids from the 80s are now having children. This concurring with the trend of old fashioned names (this trend recovered Mathilde since 1980s in France).
and in a lot of cases that is absolutely true, the celebrities act as a loudspeaker, even if they are not starting the trend. But I noticed that in the Romance Europe (the Europe that I know for names: Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy) this situation seems less common than in the English speaking world and in a lot of cases, the only explanation for the rise of a name is an internal process: the name sounds like another popular name, has the same style...
Honestly, in the case of Matilde I don't know, but if two Italian people (who are into names) think that Matilde Brandi is not an explanation for the rise of the name, probably the explanation has to be found in other places. For example, the book Matilda (1988), by Roald Dahl, was translated into Italian as Matilde and the kids from the 80s are now having children. This concurring with the trend of old fashioned names (this trend recovered Mathilde since 1980s in France).
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Yes, I agree with your second paragraph. I think it's basically an old-fashioned name that's coming back. Even supposing Matilde Brandi played a part in its increased popularity, it's not comparable to Asia, which was virtually unknown as a person's name before director Dario Argento used it for his daughter, who became a well-known actress in her own right.
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You are right
with the cases of Matilde and Asia being not comparable.
About Asia, my contact sent me more information this morning: "Asia Argento is actually Aria. The name Asia was refused by the registry office in 1975 when she was born.
Only in 2001-2 the naming laws no longer proibited geografical names. in this case it's likely people got the idea from the Argento family."
with the cases of Matilde and Asia being not comparable.
About Asia, my contact sent me more information this morning: "Asia Argento is actually Aria. The name Asia was refused by the registry office in 1975 when she was born.
Only in 2001-2 the naming laws no longer proibited geografical names. in this case it's likely people got the idea from the Argento family."
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