Babies Making Headlines

Was it just two days ago that I typed "[a]fter thousands of babies are named after our first non-white President, my name may even become a commonplace"? It was! And now look:

Sunday's New York Times is already trumpeting the dawning of this blessed new era with a story by Jennifer 8. Lee entitled: "Like the Dwights and Lyndons of Old, Baby Baracks All Over." (Interesting for a web pro that the story has two titles: the above headline for human readers, and a simpler, blunter one for search engines ("Barack a Hot Name for New Babies").)

And here's a choice nugget:

“Honoring new presidents with baby namesakes used to be an American tradition,” said Laura Wattenberg, author of “The Baby Name Wizard.” But she pointed out that the custom faded around the time of Watergate, in part because people became more cynical about the presidency.

The gist of the story: Now that hope has replaced cynicism as a default attitude, gird yourself for a rash of presidentially monickered infants. And for names borrowed from Barack Obama's immediate family. And when that puppy finally shows up, you can bet dogs from coast to coast and Kenya too will answer to the same call ... whatever it is.

And finally, it's almost worth noting that this story about the number of kids named Barack was written by a woman with a number for a middle name.