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Help[Facts] Re: Valentin (attn Cleveland Kent Evans)
in reply to a message by Lea M
Most names which suddenly surge like this have a popular culture celebrity connection behind them, and these days when the celebrity connection isn't obvious to the majority, it's probably because the celebrity is Hispanic.
I think the main cause of this is Valentín Elizalde. He was a popular Mexican singer who was murdered in Reynosa, Mexico on November 26, 2006. The sudden surge in babies named Valentin came immediately after this.
Hispanic-American parents seem more likely to memoralize recently tragically deceased celebrities in their children's names than other Americans are. Most of the surge in babies named Diana in the USA right after Princess Diana's death was in the Hispanic community. More recently, you had a huge surge in babies named Selena in 1995 right after the singer of that name was tragically murdered.
Since Valentín Elizalde, unlike Diana and Selena, was largely unknown outside of the Mexican-American community, many other people wouldn't have heard of him. But he had many fans who may have wanted to memorialize him.
http://music.aol.com/artist/Valentin-Elizalde/biography/1469115
http://www.valentin-elizalde.com/
There may also have been a secondary influence in a character from a telenovela. Telenovelas are a very popular Latin American form of television. They are a cross between what Anglo-Americans think of as a miniseries and a soap opera; the run five nights a week, but are designed to only run between six months and two years and then end. There was a telenovela made in Colombia but co-produced by the USA Spanish language TV network Telemunda called Madre Luna which aired originally between July 2007 and January 2008. It featured a character named Valentin, one of two sons of the title character; both of these sons were in love with the same woman. It may be significant that although this show was made in Colombia, Valentin was played by a Mexican actor, Alex Sirvent. Of course, it's possible that the writers of the TV series were inspired to name the character because of Valentin Elizalde's death.
From the synopses of the telenovela I can quickly find on the Web, it doesn't seem like Valentin was one of the most prominent characters, so I think Elizalde was probably the bigger influence. But the telenovela character probably didn't hurt the name, either.
http://www.mundoandino.com/Colombia/Madre-Luna
http://www.mostbeautifulman.com/actors/alexsirvent/bio.shtml
I think the main cause of this is Valentín Elizalde. He was a popular Mexican singer who was murdered in Reynosa, Mexico on November 26, 2006. The sudden surge in babies named Valentin came immediately after this.
Hispanic-American parents seem more likely to memoralize recently tragically deceased celebrities in their children's names than other Americans are. Most of the surge in babies named Diana in the USA right after Princess Diana's death was in the Hispanic community. More recently, you had a huge surge in babies named Selena in 1995 right after the singer of that name was tragically murdered.
Since Valentín Elizalde, unlike Diana and Selena, was largely unknown outside of the Mexican-American community, many other people wouldn't have heard of him. But he had many fans who may have wanted to memorialize him.
http://music.aol.com/artist/Valentin-Elizalde/biography/1469115
http://www.valentin-elizalde.com/
There may also have been a secondary influence in a character from a telenovela. Telenovelas are a very popular Latin American form of television. They are a cross between what Anglo-Americans think of as a miniseries and a soap opera; the run five nights a week, but are designed to only run between six months and two years and then end. There was a telenovela made in Colombia but co-produced by the USA Spanish language TV network Telemunda called Madre Luna which aired originally between July 2007 and January 2008. It featured a character named Valentin, one of two sons of the title character; both of these sons were in love with the same woman. It may be significant that although this show was made in Colombia, Valentin was played by a Mexican actor, Alex Sirvent. Of course, it's possible that the writers of the TV series were inspired to name the character because of Valentin Elizalde's death.
From the synopses of the telenovela I can quickly find on the Web, it doesn't seem like Valentin was one of the most prominent characters, so I think Elizalde was probably the bigger influence. But the telenovela character probably didn't hurt the name, either.
http://www.mundoandino.com/Colombia/Madre-Luna
http://www.mostbeautifulman.com/actors/alexsirvent/bio.shtml
This message was edited 11/20/2009, 9:53 PM
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