When Marie met Yanis

摘要

A FEW YEARS ago a French couple tried to name their baby girl Nutella. It had a ring to it, and the French state had in 1993 relaxed strict rules about registering names. But the chocolate spread was a step too far, and the parents were overruled. In recent times, though, the parents of little Chanel, Dior, Britney and Beyonce have all had their way. Two new studies suggest that such trends reflect deeper social change. One element is the waning influence of the Catholic church. Its grip on names was entrenched by Napoleon in 1803, who decreed that all babies should be named after a saint (or a figure from ancient history). A century ago one in eight girls born in France was named Marie; today the figure is less than 1%. Jerome Four-quet, author of one of the studies, says this reflects the "terminal stage of the dechristianisation" of France.