That’s my son’s name. It’s worked out very well in that we’ve only ever met one other Graham (and his was spelled Graeme). yes, we do get the occasional person calling him Graham Cracker, but even he thinks that’s funny.
I’ve never been a fan of “creative” misspellings. (Don’t even get me started about Gregg.) So if you’re going with Norah, do everyone a favor and make it Nora. I think Norah [sic] is trending now though, so it might be too late. You could just embrace the trend and go with Knoragh.
My brother’s name is Graham, chosen to go alliterate with Greg. He endured Graham Cracker jokes throughout grade school nearly prompting him to change his name, but in college and beyond found it had a certain cachet.
Rats… good way to ruin a good name like Jonas. Didn’t think of that gimmicky avenue. My wife will see this thread and… BOOM… goodbye Jonas.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I actually find it funny… a good reason to get rid of it for sure but you like it so much you can hold on to the “dream” for a little while longer 
You still need to come up with 1-2 other names you like though (ideally not within the top 100 baby names if possible of each gender). Musician/music history related, 1950s names or nicknames, and country but not redneck names get preference in my book too.
What about Tuck instead of Tucker? any better or just worse?
edit I am more upset to have learned you were on the straight dope boards still at 1030am when you should have been sleeping…:mad:
Some unique names from the world of professional baseball:
Alcides
Ambiorix
Asdrubal
Runelvys
Ugueth
Yadier
I have an acquaintance whose recently-born girl is named Bess. That’s 50s-ish, isn’t it?
Is Bess her proper name? I would have assumed anyone called Bess was actually named Elizabeth.
Had our littlest Matata been a boy, he would have had an old fashioned name: Stewart Henry, in honor of Mr. M’s dad and mine. Instead, our daughter has an old fashioned name: Lily Katherine, after his mother and grandmother and my grandmother. I guess all of my kids have classic/outdated names: William Russell, Erin Elizabeth, Zachary Robert, and Alana Nancy, in addition to Miss Lily. To my way of thinking, I didn’t “cripple” my kids with odd, trendy, or weirdly-spelled names. They all sound suitable for adults, offer plenty of nickname options, and aren’t so trendy as to immediately peg their ages. ( And all are named in honor of family members. To me, that’s a nice way to keep alive memories of people I have loved.)
Is Bess short for Bessie? That’s my Gran’s name, and I’ve always thought it a nice name. That being said tho, Gran nearly saddled my youngest cousin with Jehosephat if he had been a girl. She thought it was a good name and my aunt was starting to agree with her! Taylor should be very thankful he’s a boy…
I think Bess is a nickname for Elizabeth. ETA: missed your post Rhiannon! Doh!
Ebenezer. You could call him Neezer for short.
Seven.
I’ve always wanted to name a boy Zane Anson.
For a boy: Dulcian, Ames, Illien, Ivan, Cerun,
For a girl: Laurean, Nila, Lailah (or some variant thereof), Iris, Shula, Izana, Janelle, Jacaranda (after the flower), Marla, Ixchel, Delia
For either: Vega (after the former & future north star)
Except for Jacaranda and Vega, these are all names I heard when I worked at a call center, but most of them only once.
I had a coworker of about 19 named Ghazal (she pronounced it like “Jizell”) and I’ve always thought that was a particularly beautiful and unique name. I later found out it’s a also the name of a particular format in poetry.
Asmodius.
OK, for a boy I always liked Jacob and for a girl I’m partial to Julia.
Ugueth Urbina is currently in a Venezuelan prison for attacking some guys with a machete and then lighting them on fire. Ambiorix Burgos is in prison in the Dominican Republic for kidnapping and attempted murder. I wouldn’t pick those names. How about some slightly less strange ones not associated with psychopaths, like Jacoby or Huston?
Bess is actually the baby’s given name. I have another acquaintance whose girl is named Sadie. I understand that that’s also generally a shortened version of a name, but that’s her proper name.
I will share my current list of names, or at least the ones that have not been mentioned already.
Girl
Veronica
Paige
Elora
Myla
Cecily
Boy
Emmitt (then I could call him Doc)
Toby
When was this kid born? Jehosephat is traditionally a boys’ name, and for the last couple of decades Taylors have been female far more often than male - you have to go back to the early 80s before Taylors were usually boys.
Cora, Cori, Nell, and Nelly are probably the most common ones.
As a general rule, I think it’s a bad idea to choose any name that is either intended or readily understood as a reference to a single now-living person. Among other reasons, there’s always the possibility that such a person will dishonor the name.