The NAME GAME Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold.
Many things go in and out of style. Look at some old photos of your parents and grandparents. Maybe your father’s shorts are very short, and your mother’s hair is big and curly. In another photo, maybe your grandparents’ 1960s kitchen has a green refrigerator and dishwasher. Maybe their car is large, long, and light green. Just like hair, clothes, colors, and cars, names also go in and out of style. Every generation, certain names become popular. For example, in the United States some popular girls’ names from the early 1900s include Gertrude, Mildred, and Viola. Some popular boys’ names from that time include Elmer, Chester, and Clarence. Some popular names from the 1950s and 1960s are Linda, Judy, Gary, and Dennis. None of these names is very common today. Today, popular names include Emma, Sophia, Jacob, and Liam. Sometimes people choose older names because they’re not very popular. These people want their
Most Popular Names in the United States Year
90
4.1
children’s names to be unique. However, they may be in for a surprise: Names from the past sometimes come back in style. At the moment, some oldfashioned names—such as Hannah, Olivia, Max, and Owen—are becoming popular again. Some people may have names from another generation1 for another reason. They may be named after people, usually people in their families. This is true of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Whose name does he have? He is named after his father, George H. W. Bush, the 41st president. George W. and his wife have two daughters. One daughter’s name is Jenna. What about the other daughter? Her name is Barbara. She is named after her grandmother, George’s mother. Different names are popular at different times and in different places. Is yours popular in your country? 1
generation: all of the people of about the same age
Jars of Nutella hazelnut chocolate spread feature names on the labels at a pop-up store in Hong Kong, China.
Boys’ Names Girls’ Names
2018
Jackson
Sophia
2010
Jacob
Isabella
2000
Jacob
Emily
1990
Michael
Jessica
1980
Michael
Jennifer
1970
Michael
Jennifer
1960
David
Mary
1950
James
Linda
1940
James
Mary
1930
Robert
Mary
1920
John
Mary
Unit 4 Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-203 Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
