THE MEANING OF KEVIN

Turning 50 this week gives me the chance to reflect on the popular reaction to my name over half a century. When I was born in 1961, Kevin was a perfectly ordinary Celtic name, but in the last fifty years it has had some serious ups and downs.

1960s street cred rating: 7/10

The ridicule probably began in earnest with Kevin Keegan joining Liverpool in 1971, along with the world’s largest permed hairdo.

1970s street cred rating: 3/10

A decade later it sustained a near-fatal double blow with the unforgettable Undertones single My Perfect Cousin (1980), and TV-am’s launch of Kevin the Gerbil, number one fan of Roland Rat (1983).

1980s street cred rating: 1/10

Kevin Bacon’s performance in 1984’s Footloose perhaps reduced the piss-take level by a point or two but it was only when Kevin Costner starred in Dances With Wolves in 1990 that stock rose significantly and Kevins were cool again.

1990s street cred rating: 7/10

Something of a false dawn however, because in 2003 the book We Need To Talk About Kevin came out, and all Kevins were back where they started.

2000s street cred rating: 3/10

This week it was reported that there has been a 30% year-on-year rise in the number of people changing their names by deed poll, including a Dr. Pasty-Smasher Omelette.

Despite the ups and downs in The Meaning of Kevin, I have never felt quite that desperate. So I think we’ll humbly set this decade’s rating squarely in the middle.

2010s street cred rating: 5/10