That’s also a popular trend among African-Americans. In fact, I see some of those exact same names on your list. I wonder if one preceded the other or if it’s a simultaneous generational thing.

Well, yes, but most people are unaware of the literal meanings of both their given and family names. In that way, it’s no weirder as a given name than as a family name. I suppose the fact that Scotch-Irish surnames seem to be considered feminine is weird in itself, but that’s another issue.

At this late date, after literal patronymics have long been converted to lineage surnames, not so much. But given that first names are supposed to be an individual designation, it’s a lot more in-your-face to me. (I tell people, “Imagine how you’d react to a girl whose first name was ‘Robertson.'”)

Is that actually any stranger than a girl having a *surname* that literally means “son of X”?