What's in a name?

A new, peculiar trend is afflicting an increasing number of our contemporaries, who are naming their children after luxury brands and multinationals. That's right, there are some tragic cases out there called Armani, Nike, Pepsi and Lexus! Dr Jui-shan Chang at the University of Melbourne describes the trend as a bizarre symptom of a postmodern consumer culture. The names Armani, Chanel, Versace and Diesel were popular in the 1990s, according to the state's birth registry.

"This is self-identity defined by consumerism and parents want their children to have top brand names," said Dr Chang. "People's self-worth is tied to consumerism now. Self-identity has become constructed from consumerism and that is different to anything we have seen before." Instead of driving a Lexus, people nowadays prefer to give birth to one.