My new column in Taki's Magazine begins:

The first time I saw the name “Trayvon Martin” was on March 16 while reading an arguable but intelligent New York Times op-ed. Entitled “As Black As We Wish to Be,” it was by Thomas Chatterton Williams, who authored Losing My Cool: How a Father’s Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip-hop Culture.

Out of the corner of my eye while reading Williams’s essay, I saw a link entitled “Charles M. Blow: Trayvon Martin.” My immediate thought was, “Oh, good, Trayvon sounds like a black name. This must be about another intelligent African-American writing or doing something interesting.”

But my brain answered back: “Nope, it’s about a Trayvon, not a Thomas Chatterton. It’s not on the sports page, so it’s going to be messed-up and miserable. And because it’s in the Times, not the Post, Trayvon’s going to be the victim, not the victimizer.”

Was that stereotyping?

Read the whole thing there.

By the way, another group addicted to, uh, creative first names is the Mormons, who, historically, have had a penchant for strange, even sci-fi sounding names like D'Loaf and ElVoid.

I bet Mitt Romney would be running a couple of points better in the primaries if he were named Mike Romney. His odd first name is a constant subliminal reminder that he comes from a group somewhat separated from the main currents in American life.