@ the Name of Jesus

A couple in China wants to name their baby @. What’s next? You having an unexpected child? A surprise, as it were? You could call the child *.

Late last year a Chinese couple attempted to name their baby “@.”

That isn’t a typo. The kid’s name is “At.” The couple cited deep meaning in the child’s name. When combined, the pronunciation of the Chinese characters for “a” and “t” sounds like a phrase that would pay homage to the baby’s father. Explaining the symbol-name, baby @’s dad says, “The whole world uses it to write e-mails and, translated into Chinese, it means ‘love him.’”

Given that we’ve become a nation of thumb-twitching text techies, let’s hope that baby @ is an anomaly. Like, if the pregnancy is a surprise, why not name the child “?” or “!” or even “!!!” or perhaps “%&#@”!!

Teacher says, “What’s your name, little boy?”

Little boy says, “My name is Percent Ampersand PoundSign At.” Okaaaay.

Since you realize the huge costs of raising...