by any other name
TownOnline.com - Sports: Punting, passing and kicking their way to glory
On the boys side, Evan Morris took first place in the 10 to 11-year-old division, while Ryan Mahoney placed third in the 8 to 9-year-old age group.
See, this is weird. I was in my 20s before I met anyone else named "Evan." I even had a teacher in grade school once insist that I was confused and my name must actually be "Kevin." Almost every teacher pronounced my name "Evon" on the first day of class, even in college.
I was named, btw, for my maternal great-grandfather, Col. Evan Nathanael Jones, a stalwart abolitionist. My full name is Evan Nathanael Charles William Morris. What can I say? I was the last of six kids and there were names left over.
Anyway, I actually enjoyed being, at least locally, unique in the moniker department. It drew folks' attention away from my strangely-shaped ears.
In the mid-90s I ran into one other Evan Morris, I think from California, on usenet.
Then Bruce Springsteen named his kid Evan.
Soon thereafter, I heard mothers calling "Evan!" in malls and supermarkets. My name had become a yuppie fad.
According to this, Evan was ranked the 427th most popular male baby name in the 1950s. As of 2005, it's 38th.
And now I'm told it's becoming a popular girls' name. Bizarre. It's the Welsh equivalent of "John," incidentally, first cousin of "Ian."
Anyway, my Google Alert for "Evan Morris" churns out a least one not-me hit per day.
Hmmph. Sic transit novelty.
But hey, I've got the domain. Maybe one of those little trust-fund Evan Morrises will grow up prepared to pay big bucks for it. It's a better bet than Social Security.