One set of parents is taking name recognition to another level by naming its newborn twins Covid and Corona.
The couple, from Chhattisgarh, India, welcomed their son and daughter early March 27 in the middle of the nation's lockdown. The twins' pandemic-inspired names represent triumph over hardships, according to Press Trust of India.
"As no vehicular movement was allowed on roads due to the lockdown, we were stopped by police at various places but they let us go after noticing my condition," said Preeti Verma, the 27-year-old mother.
"The delivery happened after facing several difficulties, and therefore my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable."
According to reports, the hospital staff started referring to the twins as Covid and Corona after the birth, and the names stuck.
The mother and babies were discharged in good health, according to Dr. BR Ambedkar of Memorial Hospital, where the twins were born.
»RELATED: Survey shows 38% of beer drinkers would not buy Corona in light of coronavirus
While the twins and their names were the “center of attention” at their local hospital, other reports of COVID-19 inspired names have been circulating on Twitter.
One person on Twitter said she knew a mother who named her child Covid Bryant after not one but two breaking news moments from 2020, ABS-CBN News reported.
An Australian news station found examples of Covid Rose as a supposedly used newborn name, followed by Coviduvidapdap.
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Others who have had the name Corona for years are finding name-related comments have taken a different turn from the usual beer or hotel jokes.
"A few days ago, I went to buy something at the store. The seller asked me what my name was, and I said 'Maya Corona.' She looked at me, and I said, 'Yes, like the virus.' Then she told me, 'I have such mercy on you,' and I was in shock. I didn't feel like anyone had to feel that way toward me," said 39-year-old Maya Corona.
Corona's family name comes from her Polish heritage, she said in an interview with the Jerusalem Press.
»RELATED: Here's why it's called coronavirus
“Now there is an over-interest in my family. Even coming from people who know me, there are a lot of jokes. I am interested in what’s going on with the virus in the world today, but that [has nothing] to do with my name.”
Ya’akov Corona, who lives in Israel but thinks the name originated in Spain, agrees that sharing a name with a pandemic has its repercussions.
"Until now, I've been used to the name being associated with different businesses around the world – for example, hotels. With the eruption of the outbreak of the virus, people who had never heard of my name before – like those whom I told what my name is – suddenly became interested and went wild, and even thought momentarily that I was joking with them," said Corona in an interview with the Jerusalem Press.
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