The Obama family recently received its new (and alliterative) names: “Renegade” (Barack), “Renaissance” (Michelle), “Radiance” (Malia) and “Rosebud” (Sasha).
These not-so-secret names are chosen by officials at the White House Communications Agency, which was not inclined to comment on the selection process. In a previous news report, an agency spokesman said the names are assigned by “sheer whim.”
Thus Ronald Reagan became “Rawhide” and Rosalynn Carter “Dancer,” Jacqueline Kennedy “Lace” and Caroline Kennedy “Lyric.”
Though not always perfectly fitting the individual, the White House Communications Agency does a commendable job generating names that carry a certain grace or gravitas, unlike, say, the meteorologists who name hurricanes.
Of course anything is a step up from the generic names: POTUS (President of the United States); FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States); and the barely pronounceable VPOTUS (Vice President of the United States).
