Keeping Up With The Smiths
Last night, my fiancee informed me that she was going from obscurity to popularity. At least in terms of last names. I'd never really put much thought of it myself; Smith has always been an incredibly popular last name. I've lived with it my entire life.
I'd like to think that at one point in history, there was an Empire of the Smiths, where we ruled as a powerful, wise and adored utopia. Those of you realists who can't help but rain on any sort of parade will be quick to point out that such a society of Smiths has never existed. My answer to you is one, simple word:
WAIT.
Truth be told, the etymology of the name 'Smith' dates back to the decline of the Feudal era, where the buy-and-trade bartering system of merchantism began to rise in popularity. 'Smith' became a shortened form for specialised craftsmen (i.e.: blacksmiths), and stuck as a last name for those in the trade. Now consider for a moment how many were the smithing trade way back when; ever wonder why there are so many of us?
But I digress.
Getting back to my gorgeous, sexy and intelligent fiancee (who is no doubt blushing furiously as she reads this, and ruefully shakes her fist at the computer screen while threatening gratuitous bodily harm to her groom-to-be, namely me), she mentioned that she was going from having the 1,284th common last name to having the #1 common last name. She will soon be joining the ranks of the few, the proud, the Smiths. Okay, so obviously we're not 'the few', but two out of three's not bad at all.
Now Melissa can become unique & special, just like all the rest of us Smiths!
In similar news, I have discovered that my first name is the 87th most-common name for boys, and apparently a very rare name for girls. Though I'm not entirely sure that any girl should, as the website advocates, be proud of having as unique a name as "Phillip."
Today's Lesson: What's in a name? Find out. http://www.namestatistics.com/
posted by Phillip at 5:45 PM
