The 22-year old twins at the center of my 1999 TV show D.C. were named Mason and Finley. I picked those names because they sounded like a brother and sister who came from some money — or at least the kids of English professors. I pictured them solving mysteries as teenagers.
I also picked those names because they were rare. I’d never encountered any actual people with those names.
Now the country is lousy with Masons. For 2012, it’s the #2 name in America, steadily climbing from #64 in 2000.
And while Finley isn’t exactly common, it has grown quite a bit. In 2005, it was the #986 name. For 2012, it’s #349. (Still, the only Finley I’ve met in real life is an eight-year old boy in my daughter’s French class.)
D.C. lasted only seven low-rated episodes, so I can’t take any credit for these names rising in popularity. But it’s interesting to realize that names chosen for their relative obscurity may not stay that way.
For the hero of Chosen, I picked Asha. Right now, it’s ranked #978, but in a world full of Emmas and Ellas, it feels like the kind of name that has room to grow.
(The scripts for D.C. are available in the Library.)