Following on from Clair’s “stupid kids’ names” post earlier this week, I spotted a billboard poster for the new Philip Pullman adaptation The Golden Compass*
Walking past this billboard, I was looking at the star names appearing in the movie. And one name in particular stood out: ‘Dakota Blue Richards’.
Yup, this is the girl who plays Lyra Belacqua in the film and, contrary to my original assumption that she was American, actually comes from deepest, darkest, err, Brighton.
Her British origin aside, she surely joins the list of people who were born to be famous. I mean, if you’re born with first names ‘Dakota’ and ‘Blue’, you’re going to look pretty silly, if you end up working in a solicitor’s.
With a name like that, she was destined to be a movie star. Other stars who fall into the same camp include Haley Joel Osment and Dakota Fanning – names that are impossible to forget, either by the general cinema-going public, or casting directors.
Then there’s the Phoenix family. All five of the siblings were given a great start: River, Joaquin, Summer, Rain and (the forgotten) Liberty.
In their case, they were onto a winner with a surname like that, but how different it would have been, if they’d try to get somewhere with their birth name: Joaquin Bottom doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it?
Anyway, with genetic testing moving forward apace, surely there’s something to be said for having in mind the career you want your child to take, when it comes to naming them.
* I could Google it, but why has this been changed from the original novel’s title ‘The Amber Spyglass’? Surely, it’s not to do with the American market again, is it?
I’ve never actually tried this to someone’s face, but I’ve often thought it must be possible to guess a person’s name by simple observing them for a few minutes. I experienced just such a moment on holiday.