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Herald Editorial Board

Bob Bolerjack,
Opinion Editor
bolerjack@heraldnet.com

Carol MacPherson,
Editorial Writer
cmacpherson@
heraldnet.com


Allen Funk,
Herald Publisher
funk@heraldnet.com

Kim Heltne,
Assistant to the Publisher
heltne@heraldnet.com

Send letters to the editor by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Saturday
Two dead, two injured in Lynnwood car wreck
Accident near Poulsbo kills Marysville man, inj...
Icy conditions lead to numerous wrecks on count...
Friday


Salish Sea: Huge body of water now has common n...
Cost of dispute falls on Monroe
Lawsuit blames county and weed inspector in man...
Thursday


Nursed to health by volunteers in Lynnwood, sea...
Everett boy left with brain damage; father face...
Monroe must fill $290,000 gap in budget
Wednesday


81 veterans' names, 81 meaningful lives honored...
USO singer's voice still charms them in Edmonds
Monroe honking case makes it to state Supreme C...
Tuesday


Fire destroys Emory's restaurant
Peggy Pritchard Olson always put Edmonds first
Camano Island burglaries spike: Is Colton back?
Monday


Tree clearing, mud slide angers Everett neighbor
Later start for school day unlikely in Marysville
Hopes for Snohomish excursion train may hinge o...
Sunday


Glacier Peak freshman overcomes jitters to win ...
Gay marriage issue can wait, say Referendum 71 ...
Cities across south Snohomish County see tax re...
 

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Published: Monday, May 5, 2008

A 'Boy named Sue' is at least easy to spell

A recent, yet moldy "trend" story tells us that dog and cat owners no longer name their pets traditional pets names such as Fluffy, Rover and Fido.

Duh. Dogs that are dressed in outfits, who go to day care or ride in baby carriages (witnessed in Snohomish) are not going to be called "Spot." Even the majority of pet owners who don't mistake their canines for infants prefer what we used to call "human" names. Which makes sense. Some traditional pet names are too common: Call out "Buddy" and you may get many.

The human names used for pets tend to be easy: Max, Lucy, Charlie, Fred, Sam, Molly, etc. Yes, there are those who burden their beast with some pretentious (for a dog) multi-syllablic moniker, "Come here, Is-a-bella." Except when the precious purebred is found eating out of the garbage. Then the command is "Drop it, Izzy!" No time to be lyrical when the dog is eating butter. It's the opposite of when a human child misbehaves and a parent uses the child's full name for effect: "Brittany Celine Jones, walk Isabella!")

As our pets increasingly receive "human" names, our children are increasingly being saddled, or gifted, depending on your view, with names designed to be "unique." A family's cocker spaniels might be Joe and Jane, for example, and the youngsters Lexus (girl) and ESPN (boy).

The most popular baby names in the U.S. are still Jacob, Michael and Joshua for boys and Emily, Emma and Madison for girls. But every parent, teacher and reporter can tell you names are not simple anymore.

"It's almost as if parents feel like they've failed their children if the child walks into a classroom and there's another kid with the same name," psychology professor Cleveland Evans, the author of "Unusual & Most Popular Baby Names," told ABC News.

The professor has found girls named Unique, Armani, Chevy, Celica and Infiniti. Boys' names include Sincere, Del Monte and Canon (the camera).

"Alternate" spellings are even more fashionable than brand names. Sometimes it's taking a traditional name and making it "unique." Doesn't little Joo`lee feel special? Sometimes it's spelling a word backward, like "Nevaeh." Studies show these odd spellings, why unique, don't help the child. People think that Sharel's parents don't know how to spell. Children with "creative" (ahem) names will spend a lifetime correcting the pronunciation and/or spelling.

Do your child a favor. Do the teachers a favor. Name your child a nice, traditional name. A pet's name, for example.

1. Lake Stevens neighbors protest loss of left turn off Highway 9
2. Police look into fire at Emory's restaurant in Everett
3. Man who died from fall identified
4. Mural memorializing fallen soldier lost in effort to fix Silvana building
5. Marysville-Pilchuck comes up short in battle of unbeatens
6. 'Twilight' tourism
7. Accident near Poulsbo kills Marysville man, injures five
8. In Forks, it's always Twilight
9. Expect wintry roads at passes, dusting of snow on Snohomish County hills
10. Icy conditions lead to numerous wrecks on county roads
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
Memorial for Peggy Pritchard Olson set
Bazaar Fever
Hawks proud of historic season
Olson always put Edmonds first
Honoring student veterans
‘Wheedle' author comes to Lynnwood bookshop
Mavs build early lead en route to easy win
Prep football games of the week (state playoffs)
Tears of laughter, tears of grief
The Enterprise Online Newspaper


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