Cat Bytes: The Jenny-Ration

The Jenny-ration

A Generation of Jennifers Grows Up

By Jennifer Moyle

Yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre is illegal.
     Yelling "Jenny!" in a crowded theatre should be illegal too.
     It may not cause panic, but it will cause whiplash.
     My generation is not Generation X or Y; I am rather a part of the Jennifer generation.
     In the 1960s, a phenomenon began. A relatively unique name started climbing the charts of popularity.
     By 1970, it hit its peak at No. 1, where it stayed until 1984. Jennifer had 14 years of being the most common first name given to baby girls.
     That generation is now of age-- from 30 to 16 years old-- we are no testament to an icon or namesakes of loved ones, we are merely a trend. One trend that never quite knew when to end.
     Even today, Jennifer ranks 14th on the Social Security's ranking of most popular names.
     This generation has never been studied as a phenomenon for the effects of being duplicated en masse. No one has ever discovered the full implications of naming a child Jennifer. Until now.

Putting a number to the name:
Statistics on Jennifer

Could this happen again?:
There are already enough Jennifers
to populate an entire country

What triggered the trend:
Jennifer in movies and on television

The Jennifer Generation Speaks:
Voices in chat rooms

To contribute to the Jennifer Profiles:
Fill out this questionnaire
and e-mail your results

Where Jens Gather:
An interview with Jen Hammond

Links:
Check out cool Jennifer sites

You can reach Jennifer Moyle at: jenmole@mail.csuchico.edu