# Can we play another round of "What the hell were Mom and Dad thinking when they named the kid?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572 "2014-03-01T02:19:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**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 18, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/281 "2014-04-18T15:03:59Z")
> [@Celidin](#): > > I went to high school with some twins - Princess and Precious. At least they were spelled like the way you’re supposed to spell those words. > > My favorite though comes from my uncle who was working IT in a school district when they got a new student transferring in. The name was pronounced /Luh dash uh/. > > It was written “La-a”. According to her, “The dash ain’t silent”. :dubious: > It caused some interesting problems for the software the were using, which (for whatever reason) didn’t accept hyphens in the first name field. Too bad for Jo-Anne, Mary-Kate and Billy-Ray, eh? Usually in the telling of that story, the mother says “The dash don’t be silent”. > **[FACT CHECK: Is This Child's Name for Real?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/le-a/)** > > The tale of a mother who names her child 'Le-a,' which she insists be pronounced 'Ledasha.' ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/282 "2014-04-18T15:16:22Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Too bad for Jo-Anne, Mary-Kate and Billy-Ray, eh? > > Usually in the telling of that story, the mother says “The dash don’t be silent”. > > [Is This Child's Name for Real? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp) The dash don’t be a dash, either. As written, that would be “La-hyphen-a.” To be “Ladasha,” it would have to be “La—a.” Well, that’d be “Laemdasha,” but that’s quibbling. Sorry, I’ll go now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/283 "2014-04-18T15:35:57Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Not sure I see a problem with that name, but then I have a cat named Allie. Yes, it’s just me thinking that a nickname isn’t a “real” name. That’s just my hangup though. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/284 "2014-04-18T17:37:39Z")
Ally probably will get pretty tired of people asking her what that’s short for, trying to rename her Allison, etc. At least naming pets allows more leeway before it sounds stupid, especially with cats, since cats don’t care anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![4thdentist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/a8b319/32.png) [@4thdentist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4thdentist)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/285 "2014-04-18T20:48:29Z")
My nephew named his sons Rowdee and Ryatt ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/286 "2014-04-18T21:36:36Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > more and more however, as the grammar nazi in me grew, i felt that creative names were perfectly reasonable. **shijinn** I don’t quite see the connection, but I agree with you. I think unusual and punny names should be enjoyed, not mocked and disparaged. No matter the race of the owner. And there is no excuse for any software to exclude any punctuation character from any name. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/287 "2014-04-18T22:10:28Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > At least naming pets allows more leeway before it sounds stupid, especially with cats, since cats don’t care anyway. 🙂 Hank Ketcham, original cartoonist of Dennis the Menace, played with this idea in a story arc many years ago. (circa early 1970s or so?) Dennis adopted a stray cat (who has appeared sporadically in the strip ever since), and named the cat Hotdog. The story arc examined the reactions of all the other people in the strip, who mostly couldn’t accept that a cat could be named Hotdog. Dennis argued that a name can be whatever you want it to be. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/288 "2014-04-18T22:27:46Z")
> [@j666](#): > > I don’t quite see the connection, but I agree with you. I think unusual and punny names should be enjoyed, not mocked and disparaged. > > No matter the race of the owner. > > And there is no excuse for any software to exclude any punctuation character from any name. I’ve gotten: Create username: \> Bob’s Login! Okay! Later… Login: \> Bob’s Login! ERROR! BAD LOGIN (but really it’s often a vague “error.”) ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/289 "2014-04-18T23:08:35Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > My wife (raised in Provo) was not given a middle name, nor were either of her two sisters. Way to tell your daughters their only purpose is to be married off to a man, MIL. :mad: To be fair, my wife’s parents are neither LDS nor at all conservative–her mother is quite feminist and one of the most liberal people I know–yet my wife was given one middle name, as was her sister, while her brothers each were given two. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/290 "2014-04-19T03:16:53Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > The worst offenders in this trend of “cutesy spellings of trendy names” have got to be the parents of McKayla, Makayla, Mikayla, etc. I bet most of these people don’t even know it started as Michaela, a feminine form of Michael. They just heard it, like the sound of it, and made up their own spelling. My cousin, who named her daughter Makayla was actually going to go with Michaela originally. But when she told people about it, some of them start pronouncing it – you guessed it – Michael-AH. So she said fuck it and just spelled it Makayla to make it easier on the poor kid. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/291 "2014-04-19T03:39:03Z")
Actress Rebel Wilson have a brother and sister, Ryot and Liberty, who appeared on Amazing Race Australia. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/292 "2014-04-19T10:34:11Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Odd names are one thing. “Unique” spellings of incredibly trendy names are just bizarre. Phonetically, the kid is just one of 15 “Payton’s” in her class. But she’s UNIQUE and gets to spell it Paiyten (an example I actually saw on Facebook). A very patient and kind kindergarten teacher I know almost wept when she saw her class list one year: the AM class has a Brittany, a Britny, and Britni, and a Britney, as well as a Bretta and a Brianna; the PM class had another Britney, another Brianna (but pronounced differently from the AM Brianna), a Bretagne (pronounced “Brittany”), another variation I’m not sure of, maybe Bretini, and a Briyona. The parents of these children expected the teacher to memorize all the different spellings, and remember which one went with which child, and never make a mistake. The parents got very irate when a mistake was made, in spite of the fact that they set this up for failure. > [@Alessan](#): > > That better be spelled with a “כ”. I wish my parents had spelled my middle name “Haya,” instead of “Chaya,” because no non-Jewish American pronounces it with a glottal fricative. I have a cousin whose name is Hava, spelled like that. She’s called to Torah as “Chava,” but even her parents call her Hava when they are speaking English. > [@Bozuit](#): > > Creative spelling or just made-up names that appear to be some sort of inappropriate compromise (like the aforementioned “Timberly”) irritate me a little more than is strictly justified. Sometimes it appears to be a genuine mistake. I’m constantly perplexed by people who would submit essays or print signs without checking their spelling, but it takes a completely incomprehensible level of casualness to misspell the name you chose for your baby. I saw a cashier whose nametag said “Chastady.” It’s like wearing a sign that says “My parents are semi-literate.” When your name is also an actual word, it really need to pass the spell-checker. I’ve seen a Jurnee (Journey) and Destanee (Destiny). Those are probably deliberately cre8tive, but they bug me. Chastady makes me wonder. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/293 "2014-04-19T10:38:02Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > The dash don’t be a dash, either. As written, that would be “La-hyphen-a.” Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/294 "2014-04-19T10:49:57Z")
> [@Athabasca](#): > > Trevin and Kevin, eh. My older sisters, who are twins, were named Maureen and Laureen. They were born in 1956. They have never been hassled for the rhyming aspect of their names but perhaps that was more common in the 50s, who knows. It was practically de rigueur, especially if the twins looked like they were going to be identical. My step-father has twin brothers born in the mid-1940s named Donald and Ronald. People used to dress twins alike as well, and I mean all the time. When I was a kid, and parents of identical twins treated them as individuals, with non-rhyming names, and different clothes, it was considered a bit radical, but there was a lot of emphasis on individuality then, and letting children make choices. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/295 "2014-04-19T15:37:16Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Yes, it’s just me thinking that a nickname isn’t a “real” name. That’s just my hangup though. Taught a one-week course, one of the students was pregnant. The subject of baby names came up; she said she’d bought the “_taco_” (a daily calendar published by the Jesuits which lists the saints for each day) and she and her husband were using it as a source of inspiration. One of the guys sneered that HE didn’t have no sain’t name, cos now thanks God you don’t need to put up with that superstition any more (there were a lot of :dubious: at that point, given the previous “thanks God”) cos religion is the opium of the people yanow. His name is Iñaki and that’s no saint’s name. Uh, dude, “Iñaki” is for Ignatius… you may have gotten the nickname directly but yes you bloody well have a saint’s name. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/296 "2014-04-19T19:54:34Z")
I have the same “hang-up” about nicknames, because the person as no choices as an adult. I knew a corporate lawyer whose parents named her after the character Buffy on Family Affair (probably before Anissa Jones died of the most massive drug overdose\* in California history), but instead of naming her Elizabeth, which was the character Buffy’s real name, they just named her Buffy. Buffy Cohen. Westinghouse Corp. in the class action suit will be defended by Buffy Cohen. It makes you think her parents either didn’t have a lot of aspirations for her, or didn’t really think she’d grow up one day. You have to try thew name out in all sorts of contexts: Dr. Name, Sen. Name, SGT Name, Name, Esq., Name is on deck, the new bestseller by Name, Comedy Central presents Name. If it only sounds right as “Name is on the middle pole,” or “We find Name guilty,” keep looking. \*Yes, the ME said that. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/297 "2014-04-20T15:33:39Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I have the same “hang-up” about nicknames, because the person as no choices as an adult. I knew a corporate lawyer whose parents named her after the character Buffy on Family Affair (probably before Anissa Jones died of the most massive drug overdose\* in California history), but instead of naming her Elizabeth, which was the character Buffy’s real name, they just named her Buffy. Buffy Cohen. Westinghouse Corp. in the class action suit will be defended by Buffy Cohen. Buffy is short for Elizabeth!? I never knew that. I always thought it was just a name on it’s own. Isn’t Buffy like one of those stereotypical wealthy upper class preppy names? I can picture someone like Thurston Howell III saying “and my wife, Buffy.” > [@gigi](#): > > This isn’t as “different” as some of those upthread, but a friend told me he and his wife plan to name their baby Jax if it is a boy. “Or maybe Jackson”. As much as I think Jackson is too trendy, it’s better than Jax. My cousin is called Jax, however it’s short for two regular names (Jonathan Max.) He’s been called Jax for 26 years, so I never thought anything odd about it. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/298 "2014-04-20T17:23:07Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Buffy is short for Elizabeth!? I never knew that. I always thought it was just a name on it’s own. Isn’t Buffy like one of those stereotypical wealthy upper class preppy names? I can picture someone like Thurston Howell III saying “and my wife, Buffy.” [Here’s the IMDb page](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059982/?ref_=nv_sr_1). Buffy was “Ava Elizabeth,” Cissy was “Catherine,” and Jody was “Jonathan.” I remember knowing this long before there was an IMDb, so someone didn’t just make this up for the page-- it must have been mentioned in an ep. somewhere. BTW: OT, but watch an episode of this show as an adult. It’s creepy in a way I can’t quite put my finger on, and I don’t think it has anything to do with knowing how some of the actors’ lives turned out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/299 "2014-04-20T19:40:33Z")
> [@turtlescanfly](#): > > That should be considered child abuse. I’m not even kidding. My maiden name is Old Irish. In the US it’s a word for love bite. I suffered many giggles in high school. Married name is so commonly misspelled I used to keep a list, so I went from Miss Heehehheehhhe to Mrs What? Local dentist here, recently retired, must have learned fortitude very early. Honkin big sign outside his office- Jack A Hardie, DDS. No record of fratricide. Naming a child something like that is just plain mean. We went for names from several generations back, British Isles based. No objections to old forgotten gods, either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572/300 "2014-04-20T19:51:08Z")
[QUOTE I wish my parents had spelled my middle name “Haya,” instead of “Chaya,” because no non-Jewish American pronounces it with a glottal fricative. I have a cousin whose name is Hava, spelled like that. She’s called to Torah as “Chava,” but even her parents call her Hava when they are speaking English."] There are a few. My father grew up in the Bronx in a rather diverse neighborhood, and all the grandkids (myself among them) learned a bit of Yiddish. I’m fond of glottal fricatives, meself. It’s a quirk at this point in time, but I also like pronouncing place names as do the locals, and personal names as the person wishes. I’d have more trouble with the v in your name until I heard it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-play-another-round-of-what-the-hell-were-mom-and-dad-thinking-when-they-named-the-kid/682572.md?page=16)