First there was a “Facebook.” Then there was a “Like.” And now there’s a “Hashtag.” A baby named Hashtag, that is.
My fiance often likes to tease me for my twitter addiction. I’m pretty sure he almost broke up with me in the first month of dating because of my obsession with my smartphone. Despite my love of social media, never, ever in a million years would I name our child, “Hashtag.”
Yet, that’s exactly what one couple did this weekend. The Daily Dot reports that a couple with the last name Jameson named their newborn “Hashtag” after the twitter symbol # Saturday evening.
Considering the longevity of other social media networks such as Xanga and MySpace, the likelihood of twitter and the # still being a ‘thing’ by the time Hashtag reaches an age where her generation begins actively using social media is slim. However, considering that other popular up and coming networks like Instagram also use the # to tag items, it’s possible that the # itself could still be in regular use in 10 to 15 years. And the word “tag” to describe the key words and phrases associated with topics on the web probably isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
While having a bizarre name could lead to endless teasing in grade school, there is something to be said for having a unique name. After all, former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has an unusual name and he went on to serve as Massachusetts Governor and nearly became President of the United States. Romney named his son Taggart – he goes by “Tagg” for short – and Tagg went on to get an MBA from Harvard and run the marketing departments of the Dodgers and Reebok.
Perhaps the name “Hashtag” isn’t such a terrible name after all. (Don’t worry, I’m still not going to name my child Hashtag. But Pinterest on the other hand . . . just kidding . . .)
