quicko: juniors, thirds and fourths

It's reasonably common for Americans to name a son a junior, and it's heard of for there to be a third even a fourth generation sporting the same name.  I'm yet to meet an Australian who's a junior -- possibly there's a handful out there, but they're certainly few and far between.

quicko: names

I'm sure that there are some names that are distinctly more American, or more Australian.  The trouble is, I'm not sure which are which.  I've been told that Kyle is American, and I've certainly never met a Lachlan in America (though I think it's really more Scottish?).  What would be some other names that are distinctly more one nationality than another?

quicko: state slogans

Like American states, Australian states also have state slogans.  Ahem:

New South Wales:  The First State*
Queensland:  The Sunshine State**
Victoria:  The Garden State***
South Australia:  The Festival State
Western Australia:  The Real Thing
The Northern Territory:  Outback Australia
Tasmania:  Apple Isle
The Australian Capital Territory:  The Nation's Capital

*American equivalent:  Delaware
**American equivalent:  Florida
***American equivalent:  New Jersey

quicko: baby names 2010

Australia's top baby names of 2010, according to some random website, along with my comments as I just feel they can't be helped:

20 most popular girls' names

1. Lily (Harry Potter's mother, obviously, but otherwise quite possibly the best on the list ... which isn't saying much.  I could see it as a friendly middle name.)
2. Ruby (for a baby?!)
3. Charlotte (as in the spider?!)
4. Chloe (still makes me think of Uncle Tom's Cabin)
5. Sophie (was that the girl in The BFG?  I think it's been overdone, literarily speaking.)
6. Olivia (the mouse in the children's book.  I'm afraid I read too much.)
7. Isabella (for a baby?!)
8. Mia (Mamma?)
9. Emily (boring!  sorry to all my friends named Emily ... it's just that it's hardly unique.  Also L.M. Montgomery's other series ...)
10. Ava (can the baby fly?)
11. Amelia (again, can the baby fly?)
12. Zoe (perfect for a comic strip kid ...)
13. Ella (is her first name Cinder?)
14. Sienna (okay, I kind of like this one ... I was going to say mountain range, but that'd be Sierra ... which I still kind of like ...)
15. Isabelle (for a baby?!)
16. Madison (feeling just a wee bit too patriotic in the American sense methinks ...)
17. Emma (for a baby?!)
18. Matilda (for a baby?!?!?  I like Roald Dahl as much as the next guy, but I still wouldn't name my twins the Twits)
19. Hannah (just too nice and a little too biblical)
20. Georgia (the state?  the country?  or somebody's old aunt?)

20 most popular boys' names

1. Jack (aside from having to content with every English nursery rhyme not featuring Peter, it's not too bad)
2. Cooper (a name that definitely belongs to a golden retriever)
3. Oliver (hideous, no offense to those out there; I don't like olives at the best of times and Oliver is exceptionally wimpy unless he happens to be a singing orphan)
4. Noah (waaaay too biblical)
5. Thomas (well, if you must, but at least let us call him Tom)
6. Lucas (wimpy)
7. Lachlan (still very new to me and I can't quite tell what I think of it)
8. William (if we can call him Will, okay)
9. Jackson (is he one of five?)
10. Charlie (does he have a chocolate factory?)
11. Ethan (yay!  the winner!  and the cutest baby of the year, if not the quietest ...)
12. Liam (is that English??  sounds wimpy ...)
13. Riley (does he come with a gun?!)
14. Joshua (a bit overdone, but what boy name isn't?  like it.)
15. Aiden (again, is it English?  sounds wimpy ...)
16. Max (hmmm.  does he drink coffee?  play with wild things?  kill wives named Rebecca?)
17. James (can't go too wrong I guess)
18. Samuel (see notes at James)
19. Jacob (nice.  Jacob I can handle.)
20. Ryan (another keeper.)

Well, gosh, now that I've offended half the population I think my work here is done.  Till next time!

quicko: nicknames

They call me Kimmy here.

I've never let anyone call me Kimmy except my closest friends, or else I've resented them terribly for presuming to be so familiar. But here it's okay. In fact, I kind of like it.

I think it's because almost everyone gets nicknames here, even if their name's short. Generally you get an -y, -o or -z added to the end -- Australians instinctively know which name gets which ending. (Hence, Matt, Steve and Sharon become Matty, Steve-o and Shaz.)

It's all so relaxed and casual -- like you're permanently on vacation. It's nice, at least for now. And so I am a happy Kimmy, glad to be included in the de-naming fun.