Maybe we’re in for a future of solemn, near-sighted, fair-minded lawyers, all named Atticus.
Well, they won’t all be lawyers. “I hope not,” said Susan Barrett with a laugh.
But she does hope her little Atticus, just 4, grows up with a strong sense of justice.
“I hope he will be a person who is just and fair and empathetic and has a good moral compass.” The qualities of Atticus Finch.
With a name that’s grown in popularity over the last 10 years, today’s Atticuses big and small descend from one mighty forebearer — the hero of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” published 55 years ago.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, beloved by many readers, is back in the news because its literary predecessor hits stores Tuesday. Some bookstores are holding readings of “Mockingbird.”
The announcement that Lee, whose only previous book was the beloved “Mockingbird,” had another manuscript — called “Go Set a Watchman” — stunned the literary world earlier this year. Nelle Harper Lee (Lee’s full name), 89, lives in an assisted living facility in Monroeville, Alabama. She is not expected to do many, if any, new interviews or public signings of the more than 2 million copies of “Watchman” that go on sale Tuesday.
As fans eagerly await the publishing event of the summer, hundreds of little Atticuses and Harpers — and even a Scout or two — are still playing with blocks or sounding out Dr. Seuss rhymes.
Harper Lee (don’t call her just “Harper”) lives with her parents Christina and Ryan Parker in Maryland Heights, Missouri. At 5, she’s too young to have read “To Kill a Mockingbird” but knows she’s named after an author and carries a bookstore tote with the famous title on it.
Her parents both loved “Mockingbird,” and Christina Parker says she plans on reading the new “Go Set a Watchman,” which will feature some of the same characters as “Mockingbird.” “Watchman” was written first, but is set two decades later, in the 1950s.
Parker hopes to instill a passion for reading in her own Harper Lee, who, when asked about her favorite book, says she loves “all the books” she has from the “library and the store.”
Heidi Langston of Jackson, Mo., also thinks her daughter Scout will love books. Scout is the nickname of Atticus Finch’s youngest in “Mockingbird,” and Langston says she detects the fictional character’s tomboy feistiness in her daughter.
Scout is one of three — her brother is named Salinger and her sister Hadley.
Not everyone who finds out the 3-year-old triplets’ names knows that Scout is a nod to “Mockingbird,” but others understand that “we’re a literary family,” Langston says. Hadley doesn’t have a novel namesake, but Salinger is inspired by the author of “The Catcher in the Rye.”
Scout is still an unusual name, according to Social Security figures. Last year, only nine newborn girls in the state of Missouri were named Scout.
But over the last decade, both Harper and Atticus have skyrocketed in popularity. Harper, which nationwide ranked 887 for newborn girls in 2004, actually ranked 11th in 2014. Atticus rose from 937 in 2004 to rank 370 in popularity for male babies in 2014.
Barrett, of Webster Groves, Mo., said she always liked the name “Atticus,” “but more importantly I loved the character in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.'” The fact that Gregory Peck played the genial lawyer in the movie version didn’t hurt either.
Barrett said that in high school, she didn’t really appreciate the fictional characters: “But as I grew older and re-read the book, I thought that this is a really good character.”
“Everyone completely identifies (her son Atticus) with that character, which is perfect.” But she’s sad that it has become a trendy name.
At Tillman Elementary School in Kirkwood, Mo., Atticus McDowell is one of two Atticuses (plural Attici?). At 10, he still hasn’t read the story of the Alabama lawyer who defends an unjustly accused black man against a rape charge. But his mother, Julie McDowell, says her son is a “very earnest kid,” honest and serious.
He doesn’t mind his somewhat old-fashioned moniker: “Atticus never complains about anything. People will often comment about it, and he just kind of smiles.”
Mary Badham, the actress who played Scout in the movie, autographed a copy of herself with Gregory Peck for young Atticus when she was in town several years ago. (Incidentally, Peck, who himself had relatives named Atticus and Harper, was born with a name virtually unknown to the Social Security Administration these days: Eldred.)
Julie McDowell hopes her Atticus grows up with a sense of social justice, but as for his current personality resemblance to the character, “it’s probably just a coincidence.”
McDowell does think everyone should read “To Kill a Mockingbird”:
“The social justice issues are still alive and well today, unfortunately.”
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