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Free katsu for people named Kat and Sue

katsukare

Is your name Kat, Sue, or anything similar (e.g., Katie, Suzy, Katrina, Susan, Katherine, Suzanne)? Do you live in the UK?

If so, you can get a free Katsu-based dish (the Katsu Curry, the Katsu Burger, or the Katsu Carbonara) at participating Banana Tree restaurants from September 22 to 25.

To participate in the promotion, visit your local Banana Tree after 4pm on one of the above dates, purchase a drink of your choice, and present both your ID and your “Big Flavour Club” membership code.

The giveaway celebrates National Katsu Day (Sep. 27) — which was invented by a different UK restaurant several years ago. :)

P.S. The Japanese word katsu — which refers to a piece of meat that has been coated in panko, deep-fried, and cut into strips — is a shortened form of katsuretsu, a transliteration of the English word cutlet.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Koshien katsukare 2016 (25623057670) by Kanesue under CC BY 2.0.

Where did the baby name Trevino come from in 1969?

Professional golfer Lee Trevino
Lee Trevino

The surname-name Trevino first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1969. It reached peak usage two years later:

  • 1972: 12 baby boys named Trevino
  • 1971: 17 baby boys named Trevino [peak]
  • 1970: 5 baby boys named Trevino
  • 1969: 5 baby boys named Trevino [debut]
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

Where did the name come from?

Mexican-American professional golfer Lee Trevino, who was born in Texas in the late 1930s.

In the summer of 1968, Trevino won the U.S. Open. He finished five under par — four strokes ahead of defending champion Jack Nicklaus, who placed second.

In the summer of 1971, Trevino not only won the U.S. Open again, but also won the Canadian Open and the British Open — becoming the first golfer to win these three particular tournaments in the same year. (Tiger Woods would repeat the feat in 2000.) Trevino was named PGA Player of the Year, Associated Press Athlete of the Year, and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.

The Spanish surname Trevino can be traced back to either of two locations in northern Spain called Treviño. What are your thoughts on Trevino as a first name?

Sources:

  • Lee Trevino – Wikipedia
  • Hanks, Patrick, Simon Lenarcic and Peter McClure. (Eds.) Dictionary of American Family Names. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
  • SSA

Image: Clipping from the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine (19 Aug. 1974)

Popular baby names in France, 2024

Flag of France
Flag of France

Last year, the European country of France welcomed about 663,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Louise and Gabriel.

Here are France’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Louise, 3,125 baby girls (approx.)
  2. Jade, 3,055
  3. Ambre, 2,815
  4. Alba, 2,660
  5. Emma, 2,520
  6. Alma, 2,380
  7. Romy, 2,260
  8. Rose, 2,220
  9. Alice, 2,200
  10. Anna, 2,110
  11. Lou, 2,070
  12. Inaya, 1,990
  13. Mia, 1,945
  14. Adèle, 1,940
  15. Lina, 1,935
  16. Julia, 1,870
  17. Iris, 1,855
  18. Agathe, 1,845
  19. Giulia, 1,740
  20. Charlie, 1,725
  21. Eva, 1,680
  22. Jeanne, 1,635
  23. Olivia, 1,620
  24. Léna, 1,560
  25. Nour, 1,535
  26. Victoire, 1,535
  27. Juliette, 1,510
  28. Luna, 1,490
  29. Léonie, 1,445
  30. Zoé, 1,365
  31. Chloé, 1,360
  32. Nina, 1,345
  33. Sofia, 1,335
  34. Léa, 1,300
  35. Alya, 1,220
  36. Charlotte, 1,190
  37. Romane, 1,185
  38. Victoria, 1,180
  39. Elena, 1,080
  40. Ava, 1,060
  41. Esmée, 1,035
  42. Alix, 1,020
  43. Lucie, 1,015
  44. Lola, 980
  45. Lya, 965
  46. Albane, 925
  47. Margot, 905
  48. Mila, 905
  49. Lyna, 880
  50. Gabrielle, 875

Boy names

  1. Gabriel, 4,550 baby boys (approx.)
  2. Raphaël, 3,470
  3. Louis, 3,335
  4. Léo, 3,325
  5. Noah, 3,260
  6. Arthur, 3,085
  7. Adam, 3,045
  8. Jules, 3,030
  9. Maël, 2,830
  10. Léon, 2,570
  11. Liam, 2,500
  12. Isaac, 2,480
  13. Eden, 2,460
  14. Sacha, 2,420
  15. Marceau, 2,290
  16. Lucas, 2,165
  17. Noé, 2125
  18. Gabin, 2,,025
  19. Mohamed, 1,995
  20. Aaron, 1,975
  21. Ayden, 1,845
  22. Malo, 1,830
  23. Paul, 1,800
  24. Hugo, 1,710
  25. Elio, 1,700
  26. Ethan, 1,660
  27. Ibrahim, 1,600
  28. Marius, 1,595
  29. Nathan, 1,430
  30. Naël, 1,425
  31. Victor, 1,410
  32. Eliott, 1,390
  33. Imran, 1,370
  34. Martin, 1,355
  35. Théo, 1,345
  36. Tom, 1,300
  37. Gaspard, 1,245
  38. Mathis, 1,235
  39. Côme, 1,215
  40. Léandre, 1,185
  41. Amir, 1,175
  42. Augustin, 1,145
  43. Lyam, 1,145
  44. Aylan, 1,120
  45. Nino, 1,120
  46. Ezio, 1,110
  47. Antoine, 1,090
  48. Milo, 1,065
  49. Robin, 1,060
  50. Andrea, 1,045
  51. Valentin, 1,045
  52. Zayn, 1,045

Interestingly, France did not reveal precisely how many babies were given each name this time around. Instead, totals were “rounded to the nearest multiple of 5” and ties were listed in alphabetical order.

The girls’ top 100 included Emy (57th), Ella (69th), Jannah (77th), and Judith (94th).

The boys’ top 100 included Timéo (55th), Pablo (75th), Anas (85th), and Lenny (97th).

Finally, here are France’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Classement des prénoms en France depuis 1900 – Insee, Demographic report 2024 – Insee

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

What gave the baby name Pauline a boost in 1915?

The character Pauline from the film serial "The Perils of Pauline" (1914)
Pauline from “The Perils of Pauline“

The rise of the baby name Pauline during the early decades of the 20th century accelerated in the mid-1910s. Pauline reached its highest-ever ranking in 1915, in fact:

  • 1917: 6,896 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 33rd]
  • 1916: 6,655 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 33rd]
  • 1915: 6,334 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 32nd]
  • 1914: 4,698 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 34th]
  • 1913: 3,636 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 35th]
  • 1912: 3,163 baby girls named Pauline [rank: 38th]

What was drawing attention to the name around that time?

Fictional character Pauline Marvin, protagonist of the story The Perils of Pauline, which was serialized in print and on film concurrently throughout most of 1914 (from March to December).

The co-serialization came about through a collaboration between newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and motion picture company Pathé.

Hearst had commissioned Charles Goddard to write the story, in which the main character, a young heiress, set out to “have thrills, adventures, see people, [and] do daring things” before settling down with her sweetheart, Harry. Pauline’s escapades kept going awry, though, due to the scheming of a murderous man intent on stealing her fortune.

The serial’s twenty installments were released biweekly — every other Sunday in the newspapers, and every other Monday in the motion picture houses.

Notably, marketing for the serial included a weekly contest in which Hearst newspaper readers could win sizeable cash prizes for correctly guessing upcoming plot twists.

"The Perils of Pauline" advertisement (Mar. 1914)
“The Perils of Pauline” advertisement

The motion picture version of The Perils of Pauline quickly became the most famous of all movie serials. It didn’t utilize cliffhangers to the degree that The Adventures of Kathlyn did, but each episode featured exciting footage such as “the wrecking of a real aeroplane” (in episode 2), a ride in a sabotaged hot air balloon (episode 6), a car crash during a cross-country automobile race (episode 15), and an escape from a sunken submarine (episode 18).

The star of the picture was Missouri-born actress Pearl White, who performed most of her own stunts. The worldwide success of The Perils of Pauline turned White into one of the first international movie stars.

What are your thoughts on the name Pauline? (Do you like it more or less than Pearl?)

P.S. The Perils of Pauline was published as a standalone book in early 1915.

Sources:

Images: Screenshot of The Perils of Pauline (1914), clipping from the New York Times (14 Mar. 1914)