Emory & Norman

History tells us that when American Girl trademarks a first and last name together we can usually expect to see a character with that name sometime in the future. Well, ladies and gentleman, it looks like we can expect someone named Emory Van Zant at some point in the American Girl lineup. 

Now the big question is who will Emory be? Traditionally, Emory is a masculine name that hit it's peak of popularity in the early 1900s. Could this mean that American Girl is preparing it's first historical boy doll? Anything is possible, though I'm not sure that it would be a very wise move on their part. Of course, recent trends certainly support the argument that previously masculine names can enjoy amazing popularity when used for little girls too. After completely falling off the charts in the 1970s, Emory started to resurface in the top 1,000 names in America in 2012 making it on both the boy's and girl's list. Since then it has steadily climbed both lists, though it is enjoying more popularity as a girl's name these days. It seems more likely to me, though I could be very wrong, that Emory will be a new Contemporary Character debuting at some point in the next year to 18 months.  

Van Zant looks to be of Dutch, Belgian, and/or German decent depending on which website I punched it into and the spelling variations I found, and there were several. Van Zandt, Vanzant, Vanderzanden...And as much as I love researching names, I didn't find a lot on this one with this particular spelling. I will certainly look into it when I have more time. Regardless, it is exciting to see that there will be another character in the works, though my bank account is hoping that she or he isn't one that has to come home with us. 

Another slightly less mysterious trademark is for a little critter known as Norman the Gopher.

I think it's pretty obvious that Norman will in some way be a part of the Wellie Wisher line, though I could be wrong. It has happened before. Either way, I could see AG coming out with a pretty cute little gopher plush, and I hope it isn't too expensive to warrant coming home with us. I am a sucker for plush animals!

So, what do you think? Who are you hoping that Emory Van Zant will be? Do you think Norman will be a friend for our little Wellie Wishers. Let me know.

~Mrs. D