When Chinese English-learners ponder the choice of a Western name for themselves, the first thing they normally want to know is what each possible name means. Oddly, of all the factors governing the selection of names in the West, meaning is probably the least important. This curiosity is exercised mainly by Westerners interested in knowing what their name happens to signify, and much less by parents seeking a good name for a child.

　　当中国的英语爱好者考虑给自己起个英文名字时，他们首先想知道的就是那些可选的名字所代表的意义。但是挺怪的是，在西方，在选择名字时要考虑的诸多因素中，意义恐怕是最不重要的一点。只是那些对自己名字的意义感兴趣的西方人才有探究的好奇心，而父母在给孩子 起名时则很少考虑名字的意义。

　　The factors that weigh most heavily in the choice of a name are sound, fashion, mental associations and family habit. Sound is preeminent: Nobody wants to impose a clumsy-sounding name on a child. Thus parents seek personal names that go well with the child's surname, making a euphonious whole. This involves not only consideration of the full form of the personal name, but also of the likely nickname. After all, that is the name the child will hear most frequently in casual modern American life, often to the virtual exclusion at the official full form.

　　西方人起名时最重要的考虑因素是发音、时尚、联和和家庭习惯。发音是最重要的：没有人想给孩子起个拗口的名字。于是家长就会挑个与姓搭救得很好，整体听起来很悦耳的名字，这不仅在起全名时这样考虑，起爱称时也是如此。毕竟，爱称是孩子在现代美国生活非正式场合中最经常听到的，而正式的全称几乎根本听不到。

　　In America fashion is also extraordinarily important. The basic names that people give their children remain fairly stable from century to century, but in recent decades certain names have appeared suddenly, become amazingly common, and then after a few short years have fallen almost entirely out of use. A couple of current examples are the name "Brandon" for boys and "Ashley" for girls--wildly popular names that have no history in America. Very often names of such meteoric popularity spring from Hollywood or the silly daytime soap operas that so many Americans follow from day to day. Such fashionable new girls' names as Kimberly, Tiffany, Britany, Megan, Heather and Kayla are widely thought to sound good, though some people, obviously not the majority, regard them as minor but disquieting evidence of how deep the impact of TV and films has been on modern Americans. It is interesting that boys are much less likely to receive this sort of briefly fashionable name.

　　在美国，时尚也特别重要。人们给孩子起的一些基本名字多少个世纪以来相当稳定，但在最迫几十年，有些名字突然出现了，令人吃惊地普及开来，而短短几年以后，又几乎完全不用了。当前流行的几个名字，比如，布兰登是男孩名，阿诗丽是女孩名----这些名字非常流行，但在美国历史上并没有用过。这类昙花一现的名字往往来自好莱坞或是无聊的每日肥皂剧，很多美国人一天天跟着看。金伯丽、蒂芬妮、布丽特妮、梅根、海瑟尔、凯拉这类时髦的新的女孩名字被广泛地认为很好听，虽说有些人，显然是数数人，认为这些名字事虽小，但却是令人担心的一个例证：电视和电影对现代美国人的冲击有多深。有趣的是，男孩的这类名字要少得多。

　　The associations a name has in the mind of parents are also of capital importance. A certain name may call up an image of a beloved or loathed relative or public figure. The name Adolf or Adolph, fairly common among Roman Catholic German-and French-Americans early in this century, disappeared from birth certificates after the 1930s. Bernard, though the name of a great saint, makes poorly educated Americans think of a breed of large dog. Such associations are especially influential in defining the popularity of boys' names. Quite a few frequently encountered male names evoke a positive masculine image. The name Matthew, and even more its nickname Matt, for instance, suggest a trustworthy, responsible, honest man.

　　名字在父母心中所具有的联想在起名时也很重要。某个名字可能会让你想起一个所爱的或讨厌的亲友或是一个公众人物。在本世纪初，阿道夫这个名字在信奉天主教的德国人和法裔美国人中用得相当普遍，但在30年代后， 这个名字就从出征证上消失了（阿道夫是希特勒的名）。伯纳德，这个名字虽然是一个伟大的圣徒的名字，但是文化不高的美国人会由此想到某一品种的大狗，这类的联想在决定男孩的名字是否受欢迎时特别重要。不少经常见到的男性名字能唤起正面的男性形象。比如，马修这个名字，及至其爱称马特，会让你想起值得信任的、负责任的、诚实的男人。

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