I broke my wrist this weekend in karate class, which makes it sound cool…but tripping while sparring, which makes it sound a little less cool. (Though Jennifer Lawrence tripping at the Oscars makes tripping seem cooler, right?) So needless to say, I have had some time this weekend to ruminate about potential cool names of the week. And I've picked one that seems ubiquitous, but is on its way onto the endangered name list. Is it too late to save Jennifer? And could Oscar winner (and fellow tripper) Jennifer Lawrence help lead the Jen-aissance?
Nameberry actually posted about what they coined the "Jennifer Jauggernaut" last week, and how Jennifer went from obscurity to the top spot in less than 30 years. Jennifer, along with my name, Lisa, were THE names for Generation X girls, to the point where there are Jennifer support groups online….as if the name was some sort of child abuse. Which explains why few people are currently naming their kids Jennifer (currently #134 on the the baby name list) or especially, Lisa (#703 on the U.S. lists), and they are picking names like Brooklinne instead. (Because the name HAS to be unique…even if it is just a made-up spelling.)
Jennifer is based on the old name Guinevere, and means "white wave." It comes with a few potential nicknames, including Jen, Jenna and Jenny. Another variant that's on the rise is Genevieve, which is currently #232 and climbing.
There's a whole slew of famous Jennifers for name inspiration…Aniston, Lopez, Lawrence, Garner, Hudson, Love Hewitt, Jones and Connelly.
if you're thinking of Jennifer, consider an offbeat middle name to freshen it up: Lark, Snow or Belle would be my choices. Or put Jen in the middle and use a short-and-sweet first name, like Zoe, Rose or Maeve.
Do you think Jen's been around the block too often to make it a serious name contender? Would you ever consider a name that was hot when you were a kid, like Lisa, Jessica, Jason, or Mike?
Oh, and congrats to my fellow tripper Jennifer Lawrence on her Oscar win!
Photo: Pregnant woman via Ronald Summers/Shutterstock.com
