Since moving to the middle of the USA I have observed a shift in common given names. In Oregon I never once encountered someone named Keith or someone named Troy, but they abound here.
Do others observe this phenomenon when traveling within a single country?

Keith is certainly common in this country, but I don't know if there are regional variations.

One claim I read somewhere recently was "there are no famous Americans called Simon". Is this true?

(Warning: this is all going to sound appallingly prejudiced.)

As Guy said, Keith is a common enough English name. Troy is less common though I have encountered it once or twice in my life. There is more of a perception here of names corresponding to social classes.

On the lower end of the council sink estates where teen pregnancy rates are high and many people are suffering from degrees social deprivation you can't move for Waynes and Jasons or Kylies and Cheryls. Often this is driven by whichever popular figure aiming at that demographic (be it pop star, footballer or celebrity nonentity*) is around when mum gets pregnant.

No one in in my own, moderately higher, social stratum would use these names and none of the people higher up the ladder than me in the middle or upper classes would give them a second thought.

The better educated end of to the working class and the middle classes tend towards more traditional names, Robert, David, Brian, Susan, Mary, Ann etc.

There is also an element among some sectors of choosing more obscure religious names - Joshua, Eli, Noah and lthe like.

This of course also extends into specific religions. There are traditional faith names that are used almost solely within the communities from which they derive.

I haven't noticed in the UK any specific geographic patterns but I'll bet if someone digs they will find research papers on both social naming and geographical naming trends.

(* by celebrity nonentity I mean the kind of people who become massively famous for a fortnight after being on Big Brother or Britain's Got Talent. I know I'll be castigated for speaking ill of the dead but the biggest example of it was probably Jade Goody - famous solely for a) winning Big Brother and b) subsequently, and very publicly, dying) There are lots of kids running around the streets called Jade, a name that was only rarely heard before her sudden inexplicable fame.)

The ONS website has some data on popular British names in 2009, with a small section on regional variations.

It should be mentioned that each spelling of a name is counted separately, so a name like Mohammed, which has lots of variants, is a lot more common than it might appear.

quote:

Originally posted by BobHale:
I know I'll be castigated for speaking ill of the dead but the biggest example of it was probably Jade Goody - famous solely for a) winning Big Brother and b) subsequently, and very publicly, dying

Just for the record, Jade Goody in fact came fourth in Big Brother. (And no, I've never watched it.)

There are some things I'm proud of getting wrong.
That's one of them.

I do know she appeared in it twice and then a third time in the Indian version.

According to wikipedia she was also voted the fourth worst person in Britain which seems rather a harsh judgement.

Interesting question, Geoff. We host our members from all over the country, and I suppose it's true to a point. However, I often think of it being more generational than anything.

When Ken was in college he knew a southern girl who was Jewish...Georgia June Goldberg. Just didn't seem to work!

Regarding really rotten names, it has been postulated of late that Sarah Palin named her son with Downs syndrome "Trig" because the genetic abnormality that causes it is known as Tri-G, short for trisomy g. Weird coincidence, or does she have a bilious humour?

There's a pretty big star in hockey named Alex Ovechkin. Because of the checking we see in hockey, I think that name is hilarious.

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff:
Regarding really rotten names, it has been postulated of late that Sarah Palin named her son with Downs syndrome "Trig" because the genetic abnormality that causes it is known as Tri-G, short for trisomy g. Weird coincidence, or does she have a bilious humour?

I'm no Sarah Palin fan. I'd rather vote for Howdy Doody. But I believe whoever came up with that ridiculous and hateful suggestion was just being mean and petty and was politically motivated.