I've been thinking about fashions in first names. Obviously these change all the time, but there seems to me that there may be a general trend towards

(a) abandoning the old custom of choosing at any rate one name which has already been used in the family, to emphasize family tradition. (To be fair, my own parents didn't use family names for me or my brother)

(b) using invented first names (sometimes with unfortunate results - I heard of one poor girl called 'Eurine')

(c ) a decline in the traditional shortened familiar forms of male names - Dick/Richard, Robin or Bob/Robert, Jack/John, Sandy/Alexander, Bill/William, Jim/James, Ted/Edward - in favour of what sound to me like rather more girly abbreviations ending in 'ie' or 'y' - Richie, Robby, Ali, Willy (or 'Will', for obvious reasons), Jamie, Eddie

(d) traditional shortened forms being used as 'official' first names - 'Jack' is perhaps the commonest example.

Am I right? If so, what does it say about the way our culture is changing?