Not any place I’ve ever lived (east, west, and central US). It’s always pronounced “SAIR-uh,” whether spelled Sara or Sarah. (I can see why some might try to pronounce “Sara” like “Tara,” but AFAIK they’d be wrong – that’s not how the Sara in question herself pronounces it.)
Last week I was checking a mailing list at work and spotted someone with the first name Minus. Who does that to a baby?
On a more amusing note, I’ve also seen a listing for Bruce Wayne {Lastname} Jr.
My mom is a teacher and she has a family with three kids
Porsche (girl)
Mercedes (girl)
Beemer (boy)
Interesting names yes, but I don’t think they’re the worst in the world.
I had thought the yuppie thing was over by now.
Had a piece of misdirected mail in my box yesterday. The intended recipient has the first name Aashit.
Perhaps an unintended pregnancy…
Mariwanda.
Well, if “Porsche” is pronounced “Portia,” that could be all right. And I believe Mercedes is actually a legit girls’ name. Dunno how I feel about Beemer though.
Mercedes is named after Mercédès Jellinek, daughter of the designer. Legit name in many languages.
Porsche after the founder, Ferdinand Porsche. Yes, pour-sh is right out. I don’t think Portia (pour-shuh) would be homophonous in German but it pretty much is in English. The last sound is a schwa (ə).
Beemer/Beamer. Just no. Some would also insist on “Bimmer” for the car apparently, and say the former is wrong and only for motorcycles, apparently.
The next kid should be named Bentley. I believe that it is a very unpopular name lately. :dubious:
Sir T-Cups:
I guess she’s training them for a career at Raisins, in South Park, CO.
I’ve always associated Mercedes (as a first name) with the spoiled young woman of the same name who makes a brief appearance in * Call of the Wild*.
This is all correct. Also putting Bentley in there is hilarious, I should ask her if the family ever had another kid…
ETA: I’m watching the Xavier Marquette game right now and I’m reminded that one of Xavier’s stars is named Semaj (pronounced se-mah-jay) which to the keen eye is James backwards
This calls to mind a specific instance of the “Daddy really wanted a son but got a daughter” phenomenon.
My wife worked with a woman named Jamesa (pronounced Ja-mee-sa). Absolutely lovely, beautiful person. And come to think of it, she went with another naming convention…all of her six children have names that start with “J.”
IIRC, one daughter is named Janess, and her youngest (a boy) is named Journey.
IMO, you really need to consider the last name together with the first name.
I just don’t think you can consider the first name in a vacuum.
For example,
Mazzy Jones doesn’t sound at all silly. But consider any of the following:
Mazzy Molasses, Mazzy Conazzy, Mazzy Spitazzy, etc. These all sound quite ridiculous.
grape mine. which is what bothers me. i should mention that i too, scoffed at odd names which i assumed was unintentionally misspelt, or be easily amused by weird names that were punny.
more and more however, as the grammar nazi in me grew, i felt that creative names were perfectly reasonable. especially with the advent of the internet, where you quickly learn that you cannot sign up for a service without fighting hordes of others for your given name.
what makes a name okay? that it has been around for a long time and widely accepted by other people? why should that be a prerequisite for something as personal as naming your child? the prejudices that is a cause for concern for teasing in school is also the very same ones when we reject odd or creative names.
there is justification in resisting change in language, we need to adhere to a certain standard for clear communications. the same is not true for names. the onus to getting a name correct comes together with getting to know someone new. putting an assumption or even judgement on how someone’s name should be spelt is just that.
i was first introduced to racism on the internet. i am fortunate to not experience that in real life. i was ridiculed, verbally abused, attacked, shunned; not for the colour of my skin, not for the language i spoke, not for any actions i did. (i actually verified it by running with a common, western name.) it was all simply because i used a Chinese name. that is it. it couldn’t get any more superficial than that.
i was shocked at first, and i considered simply using the alt instead, but i chose to stick with it as a sieve out of stubbornness. if you cannot look past a name, you do not need to look at all.
shijinn
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.
I live in Canada so the naming conventions of African Americans, particularly in the last 20 or so years, has me a bit puzzled. There are some truly weird names, such as Treshaun, which I don’t see being anything other than someone taking random syllable and putting them together because they sound nice. The aforementioned Treshaun is also manifest as Trashawn, which means that spelling can be pretty awful as well. Poor kid being named Trash.
The also random use of apostrophes, such as T’Keylah --why? Is it because it looks prestigious? Special?
Last, the placing of emphasis on a syllable other than where it should go. The name Devon, at least where I live, has the stress on the first syllable. Elsewhere it is pronounced DeVON.
As with the apostrophe above, does DeVON confer some status higher than DEvon?
Thoughts?
It’s DeVON Ave. in Chicago, FWIW. But then Goethe St. is pronounced GO-thee. Go figure 
Here’s another fun crop! These are from a parenting forum online. All self-reported.
Stevie-Leigh, Alexis-Jorja, Brogan-Storm
Shawnnamay Lynn
Koal
Azura, Cazmeira
Ja’Havah, Ja’Marcus
Makaylynn Monroe
Khodionna Chevelle
Nizhoney
Kale Talon
Daybreon
Jedzeia
Kaylib Kaine
Graycin, Matana, Hatcher
J’niya
Gage Eryx and Ace Halyn
Jakayla DaNae
Brexton Kye, Kelby Jo
Nayeli
Jezaiyah, Anjanae
Kyan Josiah, Jorryn Dane, Karlis, Judah Del
Shaina Ann, Shane Jr, Shanice Eva Mae, Shanea Illiana Hope
Sa’nora, A’layah, Ma’lique
Ozell Lee,Sshantazia Leigh
JyKerah
Travis-Tyleque, Tayler -Tiara
Kingsaiah Nasir
Legacy Nehemiah
Jaxxon Raydain
Milan Nehemiah, My’Kenzie Sol
Malik Senial
Mystquic, Anghelicila, Raiven
Milani Naydalese
Are parents getting kid names out of alphabet soup these days?