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ArchivesMy column on Claire
Here is the link to today's column:
https://omaha.com/lifestyles/its-clear-why-claire-remains-a-popular-name/article_59f0e558-489b-11ec-8f85-d782f597bec0.html
Claire would have quite different age connotations in the UK vs. the USA. The average Claire in England & Wales is now 46, while the average American Claire is still a child.
Since Claire reached #1 status in England & Wales in 1975, I also would assume that it is not as "class-marked" in Britain as it is in the USA. To be #1 must mean Claire had more appeal to working class parents there than it has in the United States the last 40 years. Among fairly common names, Claire is clearly one of the most "class-marked" names in the USA, with college-educated parents very fond of it while those with only a high school diploma or less avoid it. I think Claire probably has a somewhat "stuck-up" image for blue collar Americans.
https://omaha.com/lifestyles/its-clear-why-claire-remains-a-popular-name/article_59f0e558-489b-11ec-8f85-d782f597bec0.html
Claire would have quite different age connotations in the UK vs. the USA. The average Claire in England & Wales is now 46, while the average American Claire is still a child.
Since Claire reached #1 status in England & Wales in 1975, I also would assume that it is not as "class-marked" in Britain as it is in the USA. To be #1 must mean Claire had more appeal to working class parents there than it has in the United States the last 40 years. Among fairly common names, Claire is clearly one of the most "class-marked" names in the USA, with college-educated parents very fond of it while those with only a high school diploma or less avoid it. I think Claire probably has a somewhat "stuck-up" image for blue collar Americans.
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Replies
I love Claire. I will have to disagree about "blue collar" Americans thinking it's stuck up. I think it's more of a generational thing than an income thing. I was born in the era of Jessica, Brittany, Jennifer, etc. My name is Diana Renée and I can promise you, my named me that because that's what they liked rather than what was popular or "related" to their income. I was NOT named after Princess Diana, as many people have assumed over the years. I was named for my mom's best friend (Diane) who passed away in a car wreck in the mid 1960s. My mom doesn't even remember when or where she heard Renée for the first time. She just liked it.
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These correlations don't happen because people consciously realize how their tastes are shaped by their social class, education, generation, ethnic group, etc. You develop your taste in names unconsciously by being raised in a certain time and place. The fact that your mother liked Renee as a middle name didn't develop out of thin air. No one really "just" likes something -- one's tastes are developed from one's life experiences. :)
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