Goodbye to "Gary": The death of a Christian name
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
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When I was at primary school in the 1960s (jumpers for goalposts, isn't it?), the most popular Christian name among my fellow pupils (at least the boys) was Gary.
At least that is what I recall. The truth may be different, even accounting for regional differences. (I went to primary school in the Hertfordshire new town of Hemel Hempstead.
For the Independent tells us that Gary peaked in popularity in Britain in1964, when it was only the 16th most common name.
It also tells us that only 28 British-born boys were named Gary in 2013.
The reason for this rapid decline? The Indy suggests we look no further than the fall of the glam rock star Gary Glitter. We certainly don't want to be in his gang any more.
There remain two mysteries.
The first is that some point in the recent past, a sort of orthographical inflation took place. "Gary" turned into "Garry" and "Denis" turned into "Dennis".
It may be that the Independent has overestimated the decline of "Gary" by failing to search for "Garry" too.
The second mystery involves another Christian name. When I was at primary school, not only were there a lot of Garys: there were a lot of Darrens too.
But today you hardly meet a Darren. Why is this?
A friend and I once agreed, in a pub conversation, that they had all killed themselves in their Ford Escorts when they were 18, but there may be more to it than that.
For the Independent tells us that Gary peaked in popularity in Britain in1964, when it was only the 16th most common name.
It also tells us that only 28 British-born boys were named Gary in 2013.
The reason for this rapid decline? The Indy suggests we look no further than the fall of the glam rock star Gary Glitter. We certainly don't want to be in his gang any more.
There remain two mysteries.
The first is that some point in the recent past, a sort of orthographical inflation took place. "Gary" turned into "Garry" and "Denis" turned into "Dennis".
It may be that the Independent has overestimated the decline of "Gary" by failing to search for "Garry" too.
The second mystery involves another Christian name. When I was at primary school, not only were there a lot of Garys: there were a lot of Darrens too.
But today you hardly meet a Darren. Why is this?
A friend and I once agreed, in a pub conversation, that they had all killed themselves in their Ford Escorts when they were 18, but there may be more to it than that.
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