What's in a Name?

Dear Brixton~

There are a few things you should know about your name.  First of all, some people (particularly from England) are going to hate it.  In fact, they might make fun of Mommy and Daddy for giving you that name.  Brixton is the name of a tough, poverty-stricken neighborhood in south London that is most infamously known for some race riots that occurred in 1981 (with other events happening in 1985, 1995 and 1999).  So, a lot of people have a negative connotation with the name Brixton.

Of course, we didn't name you after the neighborhood and living in America, we don't have the connotation that most English people have.  So when English people (inparticular) make fun, just point out how long ago the riots were, talk about connotation and ask if the English are known for holding on to their patches of violence like medallions in a chest.  Also, you could ask if the name Jack underwent a similar persecution after "Jack the Ripper," or if Henry declined in popularity during the reign of Henry the 8th who, by most accounts, was a big jerk.  If all else fails, you can point out that we didn't name you Adolf.  

Just be aware, to them, it's kind of like we named you Compton.  

We also didn't name you after The Clash song, The Guns of Brixton. (Or the Nouvelle Vague version, which Mommy likes better).


You aren't named after the hat company, Brixton, either.  Though we do really like their hats and Daddy knows them and they were stoked when he told them what we were naming you.  

Your name doesn't have a listing in those "what does my name mean" lists, so you can't go around saying your name means "Loyal Defender" or reciting that your name is Hebrew for "Rising Sun".   

That would be kinda cool though.   


Pregnant women might think your name is Braxton, but that's just because they are having Braxton-Hicks contractions and are so focused on their pregnancies that their brains change the /I/ to the /ae/ sound.  Mommy just busted out her linguistics there...hope I got it right with the phonetic alphabet. 

Kids might call you 'brickhead' or something on the playground.  I knew a boy once named Tucker, so we'll just say he has it a lot worse than you. 

So sorry, my sweetpea, we have no real connection to your name.  When people ask "How'd you come up with that?" our story is weak.  We heard it years ago, liked it and even discussed naming a dog it.  But Mommy thought it was too good of a name, so even though she didn't want any kids, she plucked it out of the options for dog names and named you all that time ago.  

I love you Brixton.