# Baby name questions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378 "2005-04-02T06:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/61 "2005-04-03T23:29:10Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Just out of pure curiosity, do you have a back up name in case this #3 boy turns out to be the superior sex and be a female? CVS has eliminated this possiblity. But assuming that science is fallible, we’re holding in reserve my son’s suggestion from upthread. (OK, pick up your jaw: believe me, “Vagina” was never a possiblity. The girl name that we’ve had picked out since birth number one was Mallory Jane). ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Wind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Broken\_Wind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Wind)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/62 "2005-04-03T23:45:36Z")
> [@Miss Purl McKnittington](#): > > Although, if you wanted to go Shakespearean, you could name him Francis. “Francis”, a.k.a. “Kiss of Death”. Why not just tatoo “Kick Me” on the back of his head when he’s born? Same net effect. Oh the humanity… ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/63 "2005-04-03T23:48:59Z")
> [@Manatee](#): > > (OK, pick up your jaw: believe me, “Vagina” was never a possiblity. The police spokeswoman here (she talks to reporters for local TV news reports about crimes) is named Ragina. Not “Ra-geena;” it’s pronounced so it rhymes with vagina. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Wind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Broken\_Wind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Wind)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/64 "2005-04-03T23:59:05Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > The police spokeswoman here (she talks to reporters for local TV news reports about crimes) is named Ragina. Not “Ra-geena;” it’s pronounced so it rhymes with vagina. :eek: I think I’ve seen her in several adult films. She was always the ‘bad’ cop… So I’m told. :o ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/65 "2005-04-04T00:05:14Z")
> [@Broken Wind](#): > > “Francis”, a.k.a. “Kiss of Death”. > > Why not just tatoo “Kick Me” on the back of his head when he’s born? Same net effect. > > Oh the humanity… I was kidding! English major humor . . . so lost on the “lesser” members of society. 😃 If I really wanted to suggest the kiss of death, I would’ve suggested Melvin Delbert, after my great-uncle and grandfather. Francis can at least be Frankie. ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Wind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Broken\_Wind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Wind)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/66 "2005-04-04T00:11:02Z")
> [@Miss Purl McKnittington](#): > > I was kidding! English major humor . . . so lost on the “lesser” members of society. 😃 > > If I really wanted to suggest the kiss of death, I would’ve suggested Melvin Delbert, after my great-uncle and grandfather. Francis can at least be Frankie. Or Humbert Humbert. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/67 "2005-04-04T02:47:14Z")
Robert, Richard, and Benjamin. He gets an extra syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/68 "2005-04-04T02:52:26Z")
> [@Broken Wind](#): > > “Francis”, a.k.a. “Kiss of Death”. > > Why not just tatoo “Kick Me” on the back of his head when he’s born? Same net effect. > > Oh the humanity… Hey! Five Francis Yearlurker is quite upset now. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/69 "2005-04-04T05:04:20Z")
How about Ryder, Reed/Reid, Reilly, Royce, Rory/Rorie, or Eric? ---
**Author:** ![Broken\_Wind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Broken\_Wind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broken_Wind)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/70 "2005-04-04T14:35:40Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Hey! > > Five Francis Yearlurker is quite upset now. Sorry! ::kicking self:: :wally ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/71 "2005-04-04T15:44:27Z")
Riley’s a dog’s name. Don’t name him that. (Yes, my dog was named Riley. Neener.) You know, if the new boy’s a non-R, I don’t think he’ll ever really notice, unless someone idiotic points it out. However, if he’s an R, you can be pretty sure that he’ll notice at some point that his parents were constrained to one letter (as well as everyone else around). Yeah, it’s too precious. So, unless you really fall in love with an R name, I’d go with another choice. How 'bout mine: Nathan. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/72 "2005-04-04T15:49:39Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > Ryder, Reed/Reid, Reilly, Royce Wow, five surnames-as-first-names in a row! ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/73 "2005-04-04T21:12:45Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Wow, five surnames-as-first-names in a row! I was looking at the meanings of the names, and whether or not people would know how to pronounce them right away, didn’t hit me that they were also surnames. Though around here **Reed** is used as a first name, so is **Riley**. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/74 "2005-04-04T21:39:36Z")
I recommend against another “R” name. My dad’s parents named all five of their children (four boys, one girl) starting with “D”. It has made it difficult for Mr Neville to keep the names of my uncles straight. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/75 "2005-04-04T22:42:31Z")
Had to ask my youngest brother his opinion, and since y’all ended up discussing his actual name as well, I’m going to give him his say… "Ah yes, as a child I sort of did feel left out, but also because Dad was also a J name and the three of you all had blue eyes. Mostly I just didn’t like my name, and I figured if it were to change, why not make it a J name like you guys. But Mom and I both had brown eyes and non-J names, so that helped. In retrospect, having three children with all their names having the same first letter would be a bit much. I think the fellow is better off naming his last son with a non-R name. It did no long-term damage to me that I’m aware of. Here’s a quote from that thread which I can identify with: "“Francis”, a.k.a. “Kiss of Death”. Why not just tatoo “Kick Me” on the back of his head when he’s born? Same net effect. Oh the humanity…" ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/76 "2005-04-04T22:51:54Z")
You don’t even need to find a different name for the new kid. Recycle. George Foreman named all of his five children George. (And yes, they’re from the same mother!) ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/77 "2005-04-05T05:11:32Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > You don’t even need to find a different name for the new kid. Recycle. George Foreman named all of his five children George. (And yes, they’re from the same mother!) I’d love to see people’s faces when I introduce my sons: “This is Ricky, here’s Bobbby, and here’s Bobby2. No, they’re not twins; actually they’re two years apart. We just liked the name so much we had to use it again!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/78 "2005-04-05T12:05:51Z")
I don’t think it matters, as long as you choose a name you love, and one that suits him. I’m a firm believer in waiting to see the baby before you make the final decision. My parents had names all picked for my sister and I, but when our baby sister arrived they rejected the name they had chosen for her (Rachel) and chose Lucy instead. Apparently she screwed up her face and yelled every time they said “Rachel”, which was taken as a fairly good sign she wanted to be called something else. Perhaps a middle name (if you do middle names) with an R? Rory (or Ruari, or Ruadhri, depending how Irish you want to make it) is one of my favourite boy’s names, but apparently Americans are turning it into a girl’s name as well. James (Jamie) Jacob (Jake) Daniel (Danny, Dan) Michael (Mikey, Mickey, Mike, Mick) Patrick (Paddy, Pat) Joseph (Joey, Joe) Samuel (Sam, Sammy) Brian (Bry) Jonathan (Jon, Jonny) Matthew (Matt, Matty) All give you obvious nicknames to fit in with your other sons. I love Irish names for boys, but I doubt you’d get away with most of them in the USA.The easiest to pronounce and spell are probably ones like Cormac, Lorcan, Declan, Dermot, Ailill, Colm, Sean and Ciaran. It all gets a bit difficult when you move over into names like Caomhan (Kwee-Von) and Donncha (Don-ack-uh…sort-of). ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/79 "2005-04-05T14:29:54Z")
> [@Manatee](#): > > I’d love to see people’s faces when I introduce my sons: “This is Ricky, here’s Bobbby, and here’s Bobby2. No, they’re not twins; actually they’re two years apart. We just liked the name so much we had to use it again!” 🙂 If it’s good enough for Michael Jackson’s kids… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378/80 "2005-04-05T14:41:17Z")
My two oldest brothers had different initials, then my mother gave the next two sibs (a sister and brother) the same initials, K.G… Nice Irish names, too. When she got to me she decided against naming me Kelly or Karrie like she had planned and took the “G” middle name and fashioned a first name for me. I hated my name. I only use my full first name for official things, I usually go by the shortened nickname. It didn’t help that it was often mistaken for another name which was even worse. I don’t mind the nickname as much but as a child I did feel left out and resentful for not getting the “K” name, but as I said most of that was probably due to hating the “G” name. Later I realized it was kind of nice having my own initials. So despite my resentment as a child I got over it. I’d say stay away from another “R” name unless you find an “R” name you absolutely love. Otherwise just choose a nice normal name, if you must go with unique make sure it won’t cause gender confusion or easily be made fun of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-name-questions/297378.md?page=5)