Safety Carrot Dot Com is the official web site of Clare Stewart Dawson, a magnificent child who was born on April 4, 2001, a good two weeks later than her originally scheduled launch date of March 20.

Clare's parents, who were both very excited about her imminent arrival, used the affectionate nickname "Safety Carrot" throughout her fetushood.

They are still using it occasionally, although it is likely such usage will drop off sharply as adolescence approaches.

Some background: "Safety," because there is a long and proud history of names which reflect virtues (Prudence, Felicity, Hope, etc.), but there are very few 21st-century virtue names in circulation. Where, we ask, are the little kids named "Leverage" and "Quality"? Why is there no one called "Efficiency" in our neighbourhood?

"Carrot" is the kind of name that appears when a myopic parent-to-be misreads the word "Callum" in a baby-names book. It has a nice ring and people like it very much. Not quite the ring "Clare" has, but isn't that just the way with nicknames?

To those of you who really liked "Flossie," we are truly sorry.