# Given names these days **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424 "2017-10-10T00:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/41 "2017-10-12T12:52:52Z")
As far as I’m concerned, you can open the dictionary to a random page, and throw a dart at it. If you kid gets named Drain, Cashew, Fuchsia, Prostate, or Yeoman, so be it, but spell the damn thing right. I feel sorry for the kids I meet named Kortnee, Khessenndra, Leighah, Emmaleigh, and my “favorite” (:dubious:) Krystiyan. For cripes sake, there is a right way to spell “Christian.” I felt very sorry for a kindergarten teacher I knew who one year had something like this on her roster: Brittany, Britney, Bretagne, Brittni, and Britnie, plus two Briannas pronounced differently, and a Briyona, and just to make it crazier, a boy named Brian. She had to remember each spelling, and which one went with which child, and parents got really mad if she screwed up. You aren’t allowed to go around spelling other words just any old way you want, and that goes for the names of your children too. Aside from a few names that have variants because they have come from different countries, names have fixed spellings. Don’t go mucking with them. That goes double for people who don’t understand the rules of orthography. “Lisa” cannot be spelled “Leca,” because a C followed by an A is a hard C. Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/42 "2017-10-12T12:58:20Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I have three great nieces (ages ten and under)- Ione, Fiona, and Matilda. Just more names I’d associate with my grandmother’s generation. > > The strangest names of people I have personally met have to include Maleria (she said it was pronounced Mallory, but it sure didn’t read that way on her cashier’s name tag), Euretha, and Chimera (pr. Sha-mare-uh). Euretha? Sounds like another misguided soul who knows just enough anatomy to be dangerous. I am a RN and worked in Labor & Delivery early in my career. I had a patient in the early 90s who named her daughter Placenta. 😕 How do you gently and tactfully talk a new mom out of doing that to her kid? It crosses my mind occasionally that there is a young woman walking around somewhere stuck with that. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/43 "2017-10-12T13:11:30Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Euretha? Sounds like another misguided soul who knows just enough anatomy to be dangerous. > > I am a RN and worked in Labor & Delivery early in my career. I had a patient in the early 90s who named her daughter Placenta. 😕 How do you gently and tactfully talk a new mom out of doing that to her kid? It crosses my mind occasionally that there is a young woman walking around somewhere stuck with that. Hee! The thing is, as has been said by others, it’s the association that dictates what names are “good” or “bad”. To me, the actual sound of the word _placenta_ is kind of pretty, as if it were the Spanish word for pleasant or something. However, since we know what it actually means, um, just no. Ditto diarrhea (band name!). It’s not bad sounding at all, in and of itself, but obviously you’re not going to be encountering a Miss Diarrhea Jones out in the wild any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/44 "2017-10-12T13:12:08Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > When a co-worker told us his newborn’s name was Samuel, I had to suppress the urge to say “your wife gave birth to an 80 year old man?” . And it’s _Samuel_!!NOT Sam! Oh, please :rolleyes: Actually Samuel is more popular than it has been in the 116 years in [this Social Security search](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). (I can’t seem to be able to link to a specific search, but you can do a new one.) In 2016, it was in 21st place. 80 years ago it was in 67th place. (I blame _Supernatural_.) Lots of my relatives have biblical names such as Sarah, David, Matthew, James, etc. Other biblical names seem less popular–none of my relatives are named Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Abednigo, or Melchizedek. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/45 "2017-10-12T13:14:19Z")
My cousin’s new baby is named Levi. Fine, but we’re not Jewish. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/46 "2017-10-12T13:18:49Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > I am a RN and worked in Labor & Delivery early in my career. I had a patient in the early 90s who named her daughter Placenta. 😕 How do you gently and tactfully talk a new mom out of doing that to her kid? It crosses my mind occasionally that there is a young woman walking around somewhere stuck with that. Save your pity for her younger sister, Umbilical Cordelia. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/47 "2017-10-12T13:23:55Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My cousin’s new baby is named Levi. Fine, but we’re not Jewish. 😕 I know more Fundamental Christians with that name than I know Jews with that name, and I know more Jews than Fundies. I do, however, know a few kids with the lesser prophets like Zephaniah and Hosea as middle names, and Israel is full of people with really obscure biblical names. I also have a cousin named Malachi who goes by “Malky” in the US. He has lived a good deal of his life in Israel, and I don’t actually know what he was called there. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/48 "2017-10-12T13:29:35Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Actually Samuel is more popular than it has been in the 116 years in [this Social Security search](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). (I can’t seem to be able to link to a specific search, but you can do a new one.) In 2016, it was in 21st place. 80 years ago it was in 67th place. (I blame _Supernatural_.) > > Lots of my relatives have biblical names such as Sarah, David, Matthew, James, etc. Other biblical names seem less popular–none of my relatives are named Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Abednigo, or Melchizedek. I figured it must be popular in some circles, which doesn’t make it any better. Old man association aside, it’s just not a pleasant sounding name. We all refer to him as Sam, or Baby Sam, or Sammy D. Nobody uses his full name when they ask about him. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/49 "2017-10-12T13:34:11Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I figured it must be popular in some circles, which doesn’t make it any better. Old man association aside, it’s just not a pleasant sounding name. Say that to L. Jackson’s face, I dare you! ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/50 "2017-10-12T13:51:07Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > You aren’t allowed to go around spelling other words just any old way you want, and that goes for the names of your children too. Grrrr. My kids have three female friends named Karly, Carlee and Carly. And Emily and Emilee. But these variants are mild compared to what people are coming up with now. I realize this isn’t entirely new, as I know a few Marcs in addition to lots of Marks. But some of the spellings are just ridiculous. > [@](#): > > I am a RN and worked in Labor & Delivery early in my career. I had a patient in the early 90s who named her daughter Placenta. When we had our oldest, one of the other new mothers-to-be at the birthing classes looked at a poster and said “Hmm, Chlamydia would make a pretty name.” And, no, she was not joking. I’m hoping someone talked her out of it. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/51 "2017-10-12T13:53:08Z")
About all the truly odd spellings, are they deliberate, or do the parents have a less than firm grasp of orthographics? Does the kid usually go along with it? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/52 "2017-10-12T13:58:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Say that to L. Jackson’s face, I dare you! Actually, I’ve _always_ referred to him as “Samuel L.” But you’re right; he can call himself anything he wants 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/53 "2017-10-12T14:21:57Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I don’t really care what people name their kids, but I do feel bad that these new people will spend their entire lives having to enunciate and spell their names over and over and over. I think it amounts to a mild form of torture. Or the kids grow up and legally change their names - it is, after all, an option for any of us to do that at least in the US (Presumably other places, too, but I’ve only lived here). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/54 "2017-10-12T15:48:22Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My cousin’s new baby is named Levi. Fine, but we’re not Jewish. 😕 Maybe he was named after the jeans that got him conceived? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/55 "2017-10-12T15:56:04Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > I don’t really care what people name their kids, but I do feel bad that these new people will spend their entire lives having to enunciate and spell their names over and over and over. I think it amounts to a mild form of torture. I have a surname that isn’t intuitive to spell nor pronounce, and I’ve spent my entire life having to do just that. it’s a mild inconvenience, at most, and “mild form of torture” overstates things, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/56 "2017-10-12T15:57:28Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > About all the truly odd spellings, are they deliberate, or do the parents have a less than firm grasp of orthographics? Does the kid usually go along with it? The sense I’ve gotten is that parents like the sound of a particular name, but want to give their child a unique spelling of it. So, I suspect, it’s deliberate in most cases. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/57 "2017-10-12T16:09:39Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t really care what people name their kids, but I do feel bad that these new people will spend their entire lives having to enunciate and spell their names over and over and over. I think it amounts to a mild form of torture. The Japanese have it worse–knowing how their names are “spelled” doesn’t lead to knowing how they are pronounced, and knowing how they are pronounced doesn’t lead to knowing how they are “spelled.” Imagine every time that you meet someone that the “O” in your name is the “O” from “ostrich”, not the “O” from “orange”… ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/58 "2017-10-12T16:18:11Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The Japanese have it worse–knowing how their names are “spelled” doesn’t lead to knowing how they are pronounced, and knowing how they are pronounced doesn’t lead to knowing how they are “spelled.” Imagine every time that you meet someone that the “O” in your name is the “O” from “ostrich”, not the “O” from “orange”… This is untrue. Japanese syllables are always pronounced the same. Otoko, onna, otearai the O’s are all pronounced the same. Spelling you might have a point because they can be written in kanji or hiragana or katakana. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/59 "2017-10-12T16:26:09Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > I hear ya, but some names just sound old. Who would look down at a newborn and say they want to call their kid Gladys? Or Ralph, Agnes or Stanley. I think Agnes is a beautiful name. It always make me think of _David Copperfield_. Stanley Ann was the name of Barack Obama’s mother. I could go for a fad of female Stanleys. > [@](#): > > I taught at a Technical College for a number of years, and I encountered 3 girls’ names over and over. Ashley. Tiffany. Brittany. The really amusing part is that in 80 years or so, Ashley, Tiffany and Brittany will be the names that sound like old women. > [@SDMB Poster in 2097](#): > > Seriously, who would look down at a newborn and want to call their kid Tiffany? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424/60 "2017-10-12T16:28:33Z")
> [@papaw](#): > > Without any disrespect to African-Americans, the names I am asking about are the ones that in the last 25 years or so have surfaced with odd to me spellings and unknown origins. > Some examples are- > Jedeveoon, Bonquisha,Tanisha, T’a nay, Deshaun, Tayshaun, Deron, Rau’shee, Raynell, Deontay, Taraje, Jozy, Kerron, Hyleas, Chaunte, Bershawn, Lashawn, Sanya, Trevell, Sheena, Ogonna, Dremiel , and many others. Very much not African-Americans, but right know there are quite a few guys in any Hispanic country you care to name and in their 20s named Yerái (including several footballers). It’s the transcription to Spanish of the word Jedi, as it was pronounced in the Spanish dubbing of Star Wars (Chapter IV), which tried to reproduce the English pronunciation; later dubbings changed the pronunciation to match what people had reconverted it to (the Spanish transcription of this new pronunciation would be Yédi). And I know of at least two little girls called Arya-with-a-y. Names evolve, as do any other words. Firstnames and brands, even more often than other nouns. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I know more Fundamental Christians with that name than I know Jews with that name, and I know more Jews than Fundies. Rebecas my age, their mother liked the song “_Sombra de Rebeca_”. Rebecas under 20, parents are involved in neochatecumenate. Esthers my age, I know one and she was born on March 23rd, feast of St. Esther, Queen (yes, the same Esther celebrated in Purim). There are two among the children in my brother’s neochatecumenate group (Esther and Ana Esther). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-these-days/798424.md?page=4)