Purple Cows: Good for marketing, bad for babies.

Babycenter has released their top 10 names of 2006.  Seth Godin’s advice for creating great marketing?  Create a purple cow.  This means something that’s outstanding, remarkable, unforgettable.

You’d think that parents would want this for their kids – unless you’ve read Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner.  According to their research, today’s most popular "high-end" names are the next decade’s most popular "low-end" names.  So don’t turn your baby into a purple cow, lest you brand her/him for unintended bias.

BTW, I had to go back to the 1960’s to even crack the "most popular" list.  I think I’m due for a comeback at some point this century.