As a Liverpudlian Father Christmas, I’m starting to notice that every child has one of a small selection of names.
Why is nearly every boy called Ethan? Are they named after Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible character? When they’re not Ethan, they are Nathan, Alfie, Mason, Thomas, Joshua, Jack, Charlie, Harry, Lewis or Oliver.
Speaking of Oliver, when it comes to girls they’re all Olivia. Or Lily, Amelia, Isabella, Emily, Sophie, Ava, or Niamh (pronounced ‘neev’).
There may be other names, but very rarely. The above selection just keeps cycling around and around.
It’s an odd collection of names, too. Some quite old fashioned, others quite Celtic in origin. Maybe Liverpool, with its population being largely ex-Irish keeps ties with those traditional names. Having said that, there seems to be a lack of Biblical names like David, Matthew, John, etc.
And, since 99% of the children who visit are white, there are no incidences when I am sitting with a Mohamed, Ahmed or Mustafa.
Having said that, do Muslim parents actually bring their kids to see Santa? Hmmm. Maybe not.
Or do they?
My experience, of course, is limited to the suburbs of Liverpool and the predominantly white breeding stock that inhabits here.
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