An outbreak of silly names

In My Humble Opinion
101

And let’s not forget that the original Bambi was not just a deer, but a BUCK. That is, a boy. If we’re going to name kids after Disney characters, shouldn’t we name the girls after Falene, the doe?

To the point about using popular culture names - not only is it silly, but it also dates a person, and, when they’re “of a certain age,” really advertises to everyone who meets them just what that certain age is. (Example - it’s going to be pretty easy forty years from now to get within a couple years of any woman named Xena’s age.)

102

My second cousins are named Thor and Vorsha. Last name? Armbruster. I also have uncles named Pearl (goes by Nib) and Ivan. My mom went to high school with a guy named Ben Dover, and I went to summer camp with a girl named Pepsi.

I can’t wait to see the tombstones of the future…“Here lies Heaven Leigh Angel Galicewitz. God forgive her parents for her stupid name.”

103

I think having an unusual name is wonderful. Although my name, Alyse, has become more popular, I still love it. I remeber as a kid in elementary school hearing how the substitute teacher would pronounce it. It really made me feel special and give me confidence. My mother is hispanic and also has an awesome name Marquita, spun off from the word meaning “Lady Bug” in spanish. And I still love to tell everyone my families names they are all unusual. I know my kids will have unusual names. It shows thought was put into the name.

I would DREAD having the name Mary or Elizabeth. It is so normal.

104

How nice [:rolleyes:] to know that Green Bean objects to “Monique” & “Sable”–although the WWF may now have lent “Sable” a low-class reputation.

Ah, well, some of us apparently never outgrow a childish objection to “strange” (or “foreign-sounding”) names. Ex gratia:

I don’t find “Cindy Goldstein” strange in the least, nor would I expect anyone in the USA who knows anyone Jewish to find it strange. “Stanislaus O’Reilly” is quite plausibly Irish. I don’t know what Stella*Fantasia’s problem is.

Gee, what would Stella*F. make of this lad I know called Misty Talavera? See, his father is a Mexican named Pedro Talavera, and his mother is a Russian named Tatiana Karmanova. They gave him a Russian first name–I’m not sure of the exact spelling, but it’s some form of Mistsislav. He lives in Missouri, & goes by “Misty” for short–wouldn’t you? And yes, “Misty” is a girls’ name around here. That’s OK. People understand it’s a nickname. If they’re reasonably smart, & reasonably understanding. (Of course, we asked Misty once what his name meant. He said, “Revenge.”)

Please understand. I’m not happy about boy’s names turning into girl’s names, children being named for occupational surnames, or respellings of familiar names. But when it turns into people mocking any name with which they are unfamiliar, I think, “how ignorant & closed-minded!”

Sometimes it’s not the parent’s weirdness, but the mocker’s ignorance, at play. Like people thinking, “Sean,” is pronounced “seen.”

My name is Philip. I live in a part of the Midwest where the name is usually spelled “Phillip.” Even though my name is spelled in the classic & standard manner, I have had to respell it for people my whole life. Once, someone saw me in a–properly-spelled–name tag, & said, “Isn’t that supposed to be spelled with two L’s?” It’s annoying! And I know that my name is spelled “right.”

But you know what? That’s OK. In the history of speech and writing, variants have evolved and become standard. That’s why we have multiple languages now. “Monique” is as normal as “Monica” or “Mona.” Congrats, Green Bean, you just accused 80,000 or so (warning: number I picked out of thin air) Frenchwomen of being strippers!

OK, once again, I will submit my list of odd names which I would consider for my hypothetical children (if I ever have any, which isn’t happenin’ soon). And you can tell me exactly what you think wrong with them. No, really! I want feedback! But I think I’ll start a new thread for it.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60131

It’s still in IMHO, so while I welcome constructive criticism, flames are out. Basically, I want to hear what people think about these names, and how badly they’ll get mangled.

105

I don’t think all unusual names are bad. I have a distant cousin who I tracked down recently in the course of the family tree called “Elliana”. Personally, I think that is one of the most beautiful names I’ve ever heard, and I hope it becomes more popular in the years to come. However, people with downright weird, badly thought-out names do provoke a “What were they thinking?!” reaction.
I am also from the school of thought that says “Common names are bad” - I went to school with so many Michaels and Michelles that I am completely put off at the thought of my children going through life being called by their first name and last initial. That said, I believe that girls with unusual names have an easier time of it than boys with unusual names. With girls, people say “That’s pretty!”. With boys, they don’t. I hope to strike a happy medium when I have kids - names unusual enough that they don’t share them with 5 other children in their classroom, but common enough for people to have heard the name before.
Always at the back of my mind is Mikaylah, a cousin’s cousin born before her time. While the name Mikaylah (through a thousand different spellings) is enjoying a surge in popularity at the moment, when our Mikaylah was born, the name was quite unusual. She hated it! As a child, she always swore she’d change it as soon as she was old enough. She certainly didn’t enjoy people commenting on how unusual it was, and didn’t care if they thought it pretty - she wanted a name like everyone else had, simple and common.
I was on the other side of the fence. My name (Carol) peaked in the 50’s, so when I came along in the 70’s it was on its way out. Thus, everyone knew the name, but very few people my age shared it. The only other Carol I ever went to school with was in my class, and it caused a lot of confusion - not only did we share the same last initial, but her identical twin sister was in our class too :slight_smile:
I’m not sure where my “happy medium” will go at this point in time. I like the name James, but it is surely one of the most overused names in English speaking countries. I dare say I will be a tad more daring with girls names than with boys. After all, the child has to live with the name. There are enough obstacles in life without crippling a child by giving him or her a stupid name.

106

Cameron – My uncle was born in the late 30s and that’s his name, it’s been in the family for ages. I don’t think until recently has it been introduced as a cross gender name. My brother and sis-in-law were going to name my nephew Cameron but because of some dear friends of theirs who beat them to the punch he’s Micheal Cameron so the name will stick in the family.

Rhys – My other nephew’s name (he’ll be a year old this year) but according to my brother, an English major, Rhys is a common English name used. It’s said “Reese” like Reeses Pieces. I just call him “The Rhyster”, thanks to an SDMBer that said that when I announced the birth of my nephew last year.

107

From the unusual spellings department: I have a fellow tutor named Myke, and my friend Cherie was supposed to have been Leesa.

From the interesting names department: I had not one, but two classmates named Sterling Silva. I don’t think they were related, and IIRC, they both graduated the same year I did.

108

OK, now that I’ve stood up for odd names, let me add…
[ul]
[li]DO NOT give your child a title of rank as his/her legal name. “Prince,” “Major,” or “King,” are unacceptable, just as “Doctor” would be. Yes, I know these are all surnames. Doesn’t matter. In given names, it’s wrong to assume a title that is not yours. Admittedly, this may be mitigated in certain subcultures. “Earl” is a common name in parts of the USA. But I would be highly wary of giving my child a name that is, in English, a legal term for a peer of the British throne. You could get in trouble if you ever visit, oh, ANYWHERE IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH!![/li]
[li]Many names have etymological meanings. You might want to look into the root of a name before you decide on it. Not that too many people will care if you name your chocolate-brown daughter “Bronwen,” but it’s nice to know why people are laughing at you.[sup]*[/sup][/li]
[li]While I’m on the subject, prefixes like De- and La- actually mean something, too. It’s a small point, but if you use these, it’s nice to seem like you know what you’re doing.[/li]
[li]Most of the time, if there is a conventional spelling for the name, you might as well go ahead and use it. I’m pretty non-conformist myself, but recognizable names are a sort of cultural connecting tissue, that helps us know where we are. Funky spelling for its own sake is overrated.[/li]
[li]CAN WE PLEASE HAVE A MORATORIUM ON GIRLS NAMED McKENNA??!!?!?!?!?[/li][/ul]
*[sup]“Bronwen” means “white-bosomed”.[/sup]

109

In the worst case of ill-conceived naming that I’ve encountered, there wasn’t actually anything wrong with the individual names, just when you put the siblings’ names together.

The parents of two of my students had named their son Yuki, and their daughter Yuuki (pronounced the same, just hold the vowel sound for an extra beat). And lord, would Yuuki throw a screaming fit if she thought you were calling her Yuki.

And seeing as how my children are probably going to be French-Japanese, I have no objection whatsoever to ethnically mixing names. My personal favorite is the Scottish/Japanese daughter of my friend, Tomoe Lumsden.

–sublight.

110

Re. “ethnically mxed” names, the cousin of a friend is named Mario Macnamara, which I think is wonderful.

111

LOL! - I went to school (in England) with a guy called “Viscount”, (for those unfamiliar with British aristocratic titles , a viscount is the eldest son of an earl)

BTW this reminds me of a quote by a woman who recently split from a “real” Earl, saying that she would only date an Earl in future if he was black …

112

At least her first name isn’t “Muskrat.”

I went to school with a kid named Evans. First name? Evan. Evan Evans. His parents should have been shot.

Unusual names are bad, but when I went to Queen’s University in Kingston in the early 90’s, at one point ONE SIXTH of all the female students were named Jennifer or some variation thereof. I’m just appreciateive of anyone who isn’t named Jennifer. When you’re surrounded by Jennifers, you start to appreciate the Montanas and the Latieshas and the girls named MacKenzie.

113

Yeah. But the MacKenzies of today are the Jennifers of yesterday. Many of these “unusual” names are no longer unulual. Soon they will seem trendy and dated. In 20 years, 1/2 of the female population of Queens University will be named either MacKenzie, Kayla, or Brittany (choose your own spelling).

There will be no Janets, Susans, or Donnas, though.

114

I can’t remember if I posted this here or in another forum, but I worked with a woman whose last name is Winters. Her daughters are named Stormie and Summer. Every time I hear the names, I think “stripper” and I wonder what will become of them.

My unprofessional and unsubstantiated opinion is that people look at a cute, adorable baby and name it accordingly… not thinking about the hairy adult that will have to be introduced as “Skippie” or “Bitsy”.

115

The Utah Baby Namer is a priceless site

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/3450/

116

Oh, I should have put “(in my opinion)” on my last post. I’m just ranting. And it’s not like anyone will bust you for this stuff. Although, in some countries, you can be told to change your child’s name if it’s, say, “Princess”, I doubt you’ll suffer much.

Was the guy’s name really “Viscount”?

117

At my last job I had to look at a lot of checks, and subsequently, I saw a lot of unusual names. Some of the strangest ones that I personally saw:

Mary Juana-can’t remember the last name.
Peter Peter-that’s the first and last names there
Harold Richard Head never found out if this guy had a nickname…I hope he didn’t.

I’m a fan of traditional names, but the ones that don’t get a lot of use anymore. The new spellings turn me off. I don’t have kids, and at the current time I have no intentions of having children, but I would avoid spellings like Kayleigh because they are so trendy. Think about having that name as a 40 or 50 year old.

118

Friend’s daughter is Destiny. Destiny’s best friend is Chaos. “Chaos and Destiny are at the mall, think you can pick them up later?”

New a guy last name Red, named his son Panama. (It’s a variety of marijuana.)

I do insurance enrollments at work – I wish folks would ask me before naming their kids, but ah well. :slight_smile:

Amilayah – pronounced Amelia.

Aleasha – not Alicia. Learn to spell before you breed, for pete’s sake!

Another woman named her son after his father, but backward – Navi.

Dakota and Montana in one family. Are we talking states or SUVs? Is the next one Illinois or 4-Runner?

Twin boys – Colt and Wesson.

119

When I lived in New Mexico about ten years ago, many young, Generation Xis Hispanic women had Anglo names that were straight out of the 1920s. I knew young Hispanic women named Agnes, Esther, Eleanor, and Millicent. Never came up with a suitable explanation for the phenomenon.

120

How about “Tondelaia Lipschitz”

Also, I saw a storage locker in a college library that was marked “Reserved for Ping Pong Yang”, and some guy had written “Cool name!” near it.