This is actually one of the things I’m researching right now - names and naming pratices over time. True there are a lot of oddballs out there but have you ever heard the hortatory names the Puritans used? There are records for Kill-sin Pemble, Safely-on-high Snat, and my personal favorite (poor girl) was ffly fornication Bull - who got knocked up by someone named Goodman Woodman, oy.
(See: Albion’s Seed, D. Fischer)
As for modern parents, yikes, I actually knew a girl called Shanda - not so bad until you get her last name - Lear.
Why do parents think its okay to make a joke out of their child?
I was a little worried about using the family name Aubrey for my son’s middle name, but since his grandfather was Morgan Aubrey and his great-grandfather was Aubrey Everett, I bit the bullet. It is only a middle name and it does have a cool definition - rular of the elves.
My own name isn’t so much unusual as extremely uncommon. And that is just the way I like it. If you all are interested the top names being used in the US right now are Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, Christopher, Emily, Hannah, alexis, Samantha, and Sarah. Things like Savannah and Tanner don’t show up until much further down the list - but they are still top 100.
I always question parents’ thinking when naming their son Simian, especially since said parents are usually of the African-American persuasion…
sim·i·an
adj. Relating to, characteristic of, or resembling an ape or a monkey.
n. An ape or a monkey.
(www.dictionary.com)
Isn’t that exactly the kind of etymology they’d like to get away from? Like an African-American named Chuck Spears or something.
And I’ve suffered my share of name misspellings. A lot of people seem to think Brian is the best way to spell it, but apparently not my parents. I love it though when the few thoughtful people in the world actually ask, “Is that with an I or a Y?”
“It’s with a B.”
OK, as a parent who twice has gone through the name game, I can testify that we took weeks and weeks of searching through every name-the-baby book that we could find, as well as geneologies, literature, etc.
In 1977, we decided to name our daughter Amanda after her great-great grandmother, reasoning that it was an easy enough name to say and spell but slightly unusual (at the time). I hadn’t seen an Amanda in years who wasn’t past 70. But wouldn’t you know it, when she got to school, there was another one in her grade and two behind her.
We looked even harder in 1983 for our son’s name. Finally found an obscure name that I’d never even seen used as a first name before, and yet was easy to spell and pronounce.
You guessed it…Tyler. And there must be 6 of them in his high school these days.
So I submit that there is some vast collective unconscious out there that taps into people looking for names and links them in such a way that when someone finds a good name, others pick up on it immediately.
My favorite name fitted the guy’s profession. In the little Oregon town where I grew up, a used car lot was owned by one Otto Byers…
And I used to date a Macy Guppy. The only time I’d ever seen that first name until Macy Gray came along
I went to school with a Frodo. And a Cloud. Might as well have tattooed HIPPIE PARENTS on their foreheads.
I’ve often wondered myself about why certain names come into fashion without parents actually consulting each other. My mother says when she named me Amy she had no idea there were 20 million other mothers at the same time doing the same thing. It seems there’s a certain length of time before a name gets its “turn”–my name has been around for centuries, but it didn’t get very common until my generation. But some names seem to be common forever, like John.
Did your mom listen to Pure Prarie League? Though I believe that was “Amie.”
I know a lot of Jarrods born in 1965-68 came from the eldest son on “The Big Valley.” I knew a kid named Cameron Mitchell after the character actor who was best know for “The High Chapparal” (late 60s).
I bet a lot of kids were named for TV shows and songs that seem obscure to us now.
Don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t sound like something she’d listen to. My mother did name my sister after an author, but I don’t think I was named after anyone in particular.
The trend toward silly names may be getting stronger, but it definitely has long historical roots. I’m doing some genealogical research that involves poring over old census records, and today I ran across (from the 1900 Kentucky census):
Elexzander Walker
brothers named Junior and Senior Smith (Junior was much older than Senior!)
My teacher told me how she once taught a girl named, Kishma Ash. Seriously.
How fucked up of a parent do you have to be to name your daughter that?
I will never name my daughter “Anita” for fear she will marry some guy wil the last name Cox or Dick or anything else that would screw her over.
Ok, I joined this board just so that I could post to this thread. Last week we got a new girl in the 3-5 year olds gymnastics class. Her name is Trivia. Like Trivial Pursuit, Trivia. She is the cutest little thing, but she certainly has an odd name. At first we thought that we heard wrong and that it was Olivia, but no, it’s Trivia. My roommate said that her uncle is a Dick Johnson…
I went to school with two sisters. The older of the two was born in April and was therefore named April (which I actually kind of like). The younger was born in May so she was named… Echo.
I used to live in Chicago and worked for a high-tech firm there that had a fair number of Indians on staff. One of the women had the name Vijaya, and you can bet we were very careful in pronouncing that name!
One of the men was named Hari; not too bad, but in a rather unfortunate instance we were introducing all the people in the office to a new employee and this guy and the woman mentioned above just happened to be sitting next to each other.
Death notice in the paper the other day referred to the man’s granddaughter, Kayzar. Sounds like the alien mother ship to me, but there you go.
Met a cute little baby boy named D’artagnan. Somehow seems more appropriate for someone with, oh, say, French heritage and a degree in swashbuckling.
Went to school with a girl named Sharnadei (nicknamed Sharni). Since she was in my class from day one, I never even stopped to think that it was an unusual name until a few years back. Checking out the Victorian names database, I see she’s the only Sharnadei ever born in Victoria (well, between 1929 and 2000 anyway).
Looking up the correct spelling for the last name, I see there was a little boy born in Victoria in the 90’s called Sharwind… different…
Unusual names and spellings plucked from the family tree (surnames in capital letters) include:
***Alpha Aimee Elizabeth HIGGINBOTTOM ***Arvo *Ashton-Dael *Bathsheba BAILEY *Conley Wescar *Deal *Dinny *Ellen Vosper Ferret Wilton *Foss Orloff MALLORY *Fountain *Fridoline *Gambetta Clifford *Geraint *Hegwig Emma *Jacquab *Lore *Louiesa *Loveday *Mannasses MUDGE *Masil Olive *Narcisse *Ordenea William *Orestes *Petroc *Reavie Zelda Merle *Rubena Rae Smith *Samsey *Shavorn *Shayreen *Tyyra *Wadham WILTON *Wanzy *Youany
I don’t even have to climb too far up in my family tree, since my father’s mother had some very definite ideas about names. I forget her original name, but at some point she decided she was Leita Orpah. Her children were Cleatus Vernon, Quane Lavern, Thale Hebron, Cleo Montoya, and Loris Le Roy–who is my dad, and it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I learned his middle name was NOT “Leroy”.
One of the first girls I met during Ohio State’s freshman orientation was named Azure. She was pre-law. I wonder if anyone will ever take her seriously? She was cool about it, though. I actually think it’s a pretty name (although I’d never give it to a kid of mine) and said as much. She shrugged and said, “I blame the hippie parents.”
Worst name I’ve ever heard…back when I was in high school, I got to meet my boyfriend’s entire family, including his 20-year-old cousin, his wife, and their new baby son…
Talon Force Ely.
Talon Force. Talon fucking Force. First name Talon, middle name Force. They’d better hope that boy ends up being big enough to kick EVERYONE’S ass in school, because he’s going to get picked on a lot if he’s not. I mean, fuck–what do they want that kid to grow up to be? A professional wrestler? An American Gladiator?
I always heard that you should take any name you’re thinking of giving to a child and tack on “The Honorable Judge” to the beginning of it. If it sounds ridiculous, maybe the name’s not the best idea.