Kevin

[WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant]

Due a come-back, or not?

Caminante in Ireland the name Kevin does not have chavvy association.
In the past most Kevins would have been named after St. Kevin whose ancient monastic site/ church ruin is at Glendalough in Wicklow, a magical place and worth a visit if in the area.

How could we forget?

Just makes me think of this

My son whose 21 is called Kevin , I like it obviously lol

Kevin is a solidly middle class name in the US.

I love the name Roy.

Yes, Mathanxiety, I can imagine. Catholic schools are so well-respected there. And I say this as an Irish person who is not Catholic, I hear longevity/respectability (perceived :-p ) and solidity in popes' names and catholic saints names.

But in the same way that Americans can be very insular, The British can be too. Or the ones who post on mumsnet can be! I think they honestly forget sometimes that there are other perspectives. European. Catholic. Celtic. American. There are other cultures that can be drawn on or looked to for inspiration when picking names.

I agree, but a glance at names on the old photos of graduating classes reveals that while some families had generation after generation of Toms, Patricks, Michaels, Martins and Johns and lots of William Patricks in families with identifiable Irish surnames, others had names of the decade Marvin, Floyd, Gary. The first Kevin made his appearance in the late 50s, when Irish-Americans first stopped trying to seem Anglo and the Kennedys geared up to run for the presidency.

Girls' names like Erin and Shannon appeared at that point too. In general girls' names on the old photos tended to be more fashionable and less classic lots of Myrtles and Mabels from the early years, followed by LaVernes and Joyces and Normas and then Donnas, Carolyns, Susans, Brendas, and on into the 70s. You can also see the influence of various Catholic cultures other than Irish all the way through Victor, Anthony, Frederick, Herman, Manuel.

The current student directory features names like Finnegan, Finley, Isobel, Carter, Miranda, Madison, Kyle, Mason, Brayden, Chloe, and Payton as well as Kevin and Liam (a relative newcomer to the US) and Marek, Weronika, Marco, Gianna -- Americans are using names from their immigrant cultures with much more confidence than they did in decades past, if the school directory is anything to go by. Plus old standbys like Grace and Rachel and Sarah, Tom, Jack, Michael, etc.

I often see hyphenated names pooh poohed here but they are very much alive and kicking in Europe and acceptable in RC culture generally.

Ah right. good point about the kennedys, making it 'ok' to be Irish again.

(However, I saw in the news this morning that a fox anchor called Rory McElroy a leprechaun, and then said she hated him! Makes me wonder if it is ok to be Irish in America. The Berkeley incident also made it seem like the Americans regurgitate stereotypes about the Irish in their mainstream media. The Americans do like to cling to a stereotype. I realise that that in itself is a bit of a stereotype!)

Yes, I agree, hyphenated names from a catholic background are confused on mn with names like Billie-mae. I see them as different.

The remark re Rory Mc Ilroy was (supposedly) because of the way he treated his ex fiancèe, Caroline Wozniaski - ending the engagement via text.

yeh, but........ leprechaun!

I doubt anyone of another nationality who did the same (ghastly) thing would be called a leprechaun. It's not a term for people who do this. Jerk would suffice.

However, the mascot of the University of Notre Dame is a leprechaun. Their football team is known as the Fighting Irish or more often, the Fightin' Irish. I understand this name is something akin to reclamation of the N word, but it makes me cringe every single time I hear it. When DD1 was small, she said it should be the Readingandwriting Irish since it was a university and all...

your daughter is funny ! while making a very good point.