Briefly noted, two pieces of news about names: the annual report on the year’s most popular baby names; and the uniqueness of the name Jong-Un in North Korea.
Baby names. Widely reported on, for instance by Business Insider here: ” ‘Sophia’ And ‘Jackson’ Are The Most Popular Baby Names Of 2014″.
Jong-Un. From the NYT today: “North Korea Has Room for Only One Jong-un” by Choe Sang-Hun:
Seoul, South Korea — Plenty is off limits to North Koreans. Televisions that receive anything other than government broadcasts. Traveling outside their hometowns without official permission. And Bibles.
Add the name Jong-un to the list.
The given name of North Korea’s young and capricious leader, Kim Jong-un, now appears to be reserved only for him, carrying on a tradition started by his grandfather, the founder of one of the world’s most brutal police states. And those North Koreans who had the name when the young Mr. Kim came to power in 2011 have had to give it up.
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