Offside: What's in a name?
Loezer, Abraham Lincoln and Mafifi are just some of the bizarre names Flemish parents handed out to their children in 2013
Conservative and religious names also remain popular
The phenomenon is international, as you’d know if you saw video of an interview with an American woman called Airwrecka last week. Say it loud, as lyricist Stephen Sondheim might have said, and it sounds like Erica. If only the same near-sense were at play in Flemish names like these:
Boys Aaron Gracious, Deedee, Loezer, Abraham Lincoln, Rivaldo Christ, Gotwill, Torrex O’West, Phinneas Rex, Ma’Té Da’Vid, King David Osasere
Girls Dageraad, Sourire d’Ange, Pippa Bluebell, Daemon, Delta Amaryllis, Emalia Myosotis, Godiswithme, Maria Italia, Overcomer Christian, Mafifi
To be fair, some of those – Sourire d’Ange or Pippa Bluebell – are rather pretty. Some may be religious, so best not to mock too hard. And Phinneas Rex is unusually noble, unlike other entries further down the list, like Xy, Stig, Twinity and Makarona.
Among the normal names handed out in Flanders last year, there are no mysteries. Mark or Marc, the second evangelist, is the most popular boy name by a short head. Maria, mother of god and the girl Sondheim was writing about, is the most popular girl name by a country mile, with 120,289, ahead of second place Marie on 49,070. Rita is a distant third on 31,480.
When it comes to naming children, Flanders is resolutely both conservative and religious. Second and third place for boys are Jan and Luc, Johan comes in at seven and Jean at eight. The girls have Ann and Anna as well as Godelieve and Christiane in their top 10.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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