Suffer the Little Children

Fashions in names change as perceptibly as hemlines or tailfins, and more and more parental energy is being consumed in naming the baby -- a process once automatically determined by saints and ancestors. Some current fashions: P: For the boys,revived Celtic names seem to be the thing: Kevin. Sean, Colin, Brian, Keith. Lynn, a variation of the Gaelic word for waterfall, is a favorite for girls.

P: Variant spellings are riding high in pop larity as a way to give special distinction to familiar -- and some not so familiar --names. Anna becomes Annie or Annya, Laurie becomes Lori, Carrie becomes Cari. Billie becomes Billye. Cheryl is also spelled Sheryle. Cherol and Sheril.

P: The tradition of naming sons after fathers seems to be changing; a psychologically hip society has dampened the once-popular nickname "Junior." Parents who insist on carrying on the male name frequently use it as a second name or occasionally switch to II, III or IV as suffixes.

P: Moving out of the South, where it has always been popular, the double-barreled name is reaching into every part of the U.S.. usually for girls: Jo-Anne, Cynthia-Sue, Linda-Marie, Shirley-Lou, Mary-Lee.

P: And. of course. Caroline and Jackie have increased in popularity for babies, though the popularity of John Fitzgerald for boys is largely limited to Boston.

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