Interesting! I'm still trying to decide where I stand on this, since I'd never really thought about it in these terms before. Though it does clarify for me why I'm never quite convinced by the idea of a lady named Bryce Banner, lol.
On the other hand - how not-rare does a name have to be in a character's birth year to not distract you from the fic? (This is a genuine thing I'm curious about, not a rhetorical gotcha, ps.) Is there a minimum ranking you wish authors would be aiming for?
Stephanie was rare in 1918, but it wasn't literally unheard of. I'm working on a genderswap for an Avengers character with no female analog for their name, and the name I've been going with so far isn't significantly more popular in that character's approximate birth year than Stephanie in Steve's. But again, not literally unheard of, or even at a number in the single digits like girl!Bryce pre-1980. Also, my character's name was probably being perceived as old-fashioned at the time, rather than being a name that had never really had any kind of popularity - so does that make a difference in the perception of period anachronism? I'm wondering about these types of (mitigating?) details. Stephanie was significantly rising in popularity around the years of Steve's birth, so people were hearing of it somehow.
I'm also wondering if it's like mpreg or souldbonding, where that's just the trope and that's that. :)
(still avoiding spoilers for Winter Soldier tbh, but risking diving in bc I find the topic interesting.)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2014-05-07 07:39 pm (UTC)On the other hand - how not-rare does a name have to be in a character's birth year to not distract you from the fic? (This is a genuine thing I'm curious about, not a rhetorical gotcha, ps.) Is there a minimum ranking you wish authors would be aiming for?
Stephanie was rare in 1918, but it wasn't literally unheard of. I'm working on a genderswap for an Avengers character with no female analog for their name, and the name I've been going with so far isn't significantly more popular in that character's approximate birth year than Stephanie in Steve's. But again, not literally unheard of, or even at a number in the single digits like girl!Bryce pre-1980. Also, my character's name was probably being perceived as old-fashioned at the time, rather than being a name that had never really had any kind of popularity - so does that make a difference in the perception of period anachronism? I'm wondering about these types of (mitigating?) details. Stephanie was significantly rising in popularity around the years of Steve's birth, so people were hearing of it somehow.
I'm also wondering if it's like mpreg or souldbonding, where that's just the trope and that's that. :)
(still avoiding spoilers for Winter Soldier tbh, but risking diving in bc I find the topic interesting.)