Kevinismus

Kevinismus ("Kevinism") is a German term for the practice of giving children trendy, exotic-sounding names as opposed to traditional German ones. It is often considered to be an indicator of low social class. The prototypical example is Kevin, which like most such names came to Germany from Anglo-American culture. Specifically, Kevin McCallister, the protagonist of the 1990 comedy film Home Alone (titled Kevin – Allein zu Haus in the German release) is credited with making Kevin the most popular boys' name chosen in Germany in 1991. Kevin Costner's 1990 film Dances with Wolves is often cited as an additional factor. Both films were released in Germany in 1991 and were the two most successful films there in that year. However, the name had already been introduced to Germany and achieved brief popularity in the late 1970s, during English footballer Kevin Keegan's spell with Hamburger SV. Sometimes Chantalismus ("Chantalism") is used as a female equivalent, from the French name Chantal.