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My newspaper column on names...


Ormond

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For those of you who might be interested:

I have begun writing a column on names that at this point will be appearing every other Tuesday in the Omaha World-Herald. At the moment you seem to be able to look at in online. I'm not sure I really want it to be online, as my ultimate goal is to get the column syndicated, but at least you all can look at it for now. The topic for the first column was suggested by the editor. I hope you all like it.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pag...u_sid=10232182

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Try this link? Ormond's article

ETA: The title of the column is "He's known as Martin but was born Michael", and is in the Living section. I found it by searching Ormond's own name, but you should also be able to browse to it using the dropdown menus at the top. I should also point out that it's dated the 15th, so it's not in today's e-newspaper as far as I can tell. (It is Wednesday the 16th, isn't it? I'm confused now. :P)

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Thanks, Eeef!

I think it's a great idea for a column, particularly since there's a baby boomlet going on in USA currently. I didn't know that about MLK. But I somewhat wondered why they didn't like "Michael" and chose to switch to "Martin." Did it have anything to do with the German Protestant reformer?

Anyway, I would read it. :thumbsup:

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Try this link? Ormond's article

ETA: The title of the column is "He's known as Martin but was born Michael", and is in the Living section. I found it by searching Ormond's own name, but you should also be able to browse to it using the dropdown menus at the top. I should also point out that it's dated the 15th, so it's not in today's e-newspaper as far as I can tell. (It is Wednesday the 16th, isn't it? I'm confused now. :P)

Sorry that the link didn't work to take you directly to the column. And it was published on January 15, not the the 16th. My real name is "cleveland evans" if you want to use the search function on the World-Herald site to find it. :)

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Did it have anything to do with the German Protestant reformer?

Yes. It's in the article.

Interesting about Yolanda King's name. Hubby is anglo and his parents have good friends (the Chens) who are Chinese. Hubby's parents and the Chen's had children at the same time. One of the Chens' daughters (first generation Chinese-American) is named Yolanda. I grew up in the South and knew lots of Af-Am Yolandas, but I always thought it was an odd choice for a Chinese American.

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Apparently every other Tuesday.

Right...sorry...the first post seemed to indicate some uncertainly as to whether they would be online. I am also making a subtle hint that I think it would be cool for Ormond to come on from time to time and say "a new one is up", even though I could keep track of "every other Tuesday" if indeed it was for certain that it would be online.

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For those of you who might be interested:

I have begun writing a column on names that at this point will be appearing every other Tuesday in the Omaha World-Herald. At the moment you seem to be able to look at in online. I'm not sure I really want it to be online, as my ultimate goal is to get the column syndicated, but at least you all can look at it for now. The topic for the first column was suggested by the editor. I hope you all like it.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pag...u_sid=10232182

Very good stuff! Your newspaper should have an account with the Associated Press, if so, I believe you can submit your columns to the AP for reprinting. That does not mean automatic syndication, but your columns will be put into the AP database for newspapers all around the world to choose to add to their sections if they so choose.

I am not sure of the logistics of such an action, but you can contact the AP representative (probably in Omaha) to find out more details.

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You know, I've never understood the trend for turning surnames into first names (even though my first name is one of those - Graham).

BTW, I expect you've probably got a long list of ideas already, but I'd be interested in seeing a comparison of names between the US and the UK, or between the English-speaking countries in general. See whether the Commonwealth follows the mother country, or if the US cultural domination is more of an influence on naming choices, something like that.

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You know, I've never understood the trend for turning surnames into first names (even though my first name is one of those - Graham).

BTW, I expect you've probably got a long list of ideas already, but I'd be interested in seeing a comparison of names between the US and the UK, or between the English-speaking countries in general. See whether the Commonwealth follows the mother country, or if the US cultural domination is more of an influence on naming choices, something like that.

Don't know if I can get away with that topic as long as the column is only in Omaha and not syndicated. :)

I'd have to spend some more time perusing the lists before coming to definite conclusions, but my initial take on that question is that there is a bit more influence from the USA to the UK than vice versa these days. However, there is still a lot in the other direction. I think part of this is because there seems to be a strong London-NewYork-Hollywood connection between people in the entertainment industry, so a lot of film and TV screenwriters, producers, and actors have connections across the Atlantic and then help to transfer name fashions from one side of the ocean to the other. It's been striking to me how often a character in an American TV series, presented as an American, turns up with a name which is actually more appropriate for an English person their age. One example if that the daughter of the US President in the West Wing TV series was named Zoe, a name much more likely to actually be that of an English girl her age than an American one. Jack, Oliver, Sebastian, Emma, Lucy, Georgia, Charlotte, and Imogen seem to be other names that are presently rising in use in the USA when they got popular in England first.

On the other hand, we Americans seem to have successfully exported Ethan, Tyler, Harrison, Logan, Mason, Ashton, Emily, Amy, Jessica, Madison, Scarlett, Maya, and Lacey to the UK recently. :)

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