# Given Names -- What were they thinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 14, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759 "2012-04-14T14:32:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/201 "2012-04-19T13:39:28Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It takes an unfortunate last name for Dick- a word with no positive associations that manages to mean both penis and jerk- to make the list. > > Latrina, however, is apparently worthy of ridicule on its owns, despite its negative association being that it sounds a little bit like a rarely used word. Latrina Digger? Sure. > > But just Latrina? I’d argue that the real gaffaw people get out of this name, which shows up in every thread like this, is that it falls do neatly into African American naming practices, which are becoming less and less acceptable to make fun of on their own. Huh? I have to say that it has never occurred to me while reading this thread to think of Latrina as an African American name! (Just a name I am glad I do not have.) Really and truly, sometimes I go through entire days without thinking of what race someone belongs to. ETA I wish I could figure out some way to avoid ending that sentence with a preposition. ---
**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 19, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/202 "2012-04-19T14:37:34Z")
A stupid-looking name is a stupid-looking name, doesn’t matter what you look like. Madysynnne is just as eye-rolling as Sha’Quandla. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/203 "2012-04-19T15:14:42Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Latrina, however, is apparently worthy of ridicule on its owns, despite its negative association being that it sounds a little bit like a rarely used word. Rarely used? Most of my ex-military and ex-Peace Corps buddies use it pretty routinely (the former, at least, are doing so as a shibboleth), but it’s not uncommon by any stretch to hear or know the word “latrine”. Race has nothing to do with it. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > A stupid-looking name is a stupid-looking name, doesn’t matter what you look like. Madysynnne is just as eye-rolling as Sha’Quandla. In exactly the same way that neither “Madison” nor “Shaquanda” are eye-rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/204 "2012-04-19T16:00:15Z")
My totally white bread cousin named his daughter ShyAnne. Yes, spelled exactly like that. He’s from the Denver area; he knows how to spell Cheyenne. Drives me nuts. They call her ShyShy. We figure she’ll go by Anne in the future. Totally obnoxious. My brother knows a guy who’s given name is Quasar. He goes by Q, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/205 "2012-04-19T17:41:30Z")
I forgot to mention my daughter’s schoolmate in grammar school – Brandy Coffee. Yeah, name you child as an after-dinner drink. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/206 "2012-04-19T18:40:18Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > In exactly the same way that neither “Madison” nor “Shaquanda” are eye-rolling. Okay, but Latrina _isn’t_ a mispelling or “weird” version of another name. It’s not, on its own, bizarre or misspelled. It’s apparently the 2313th name in the US (1990)- so not hugely popular, but not unheard of. It sounds a little bit like another word, but so do plenty of other names. I don’t parse my friend Amanda’s name as “A man, duh” or squick out that my friend Steph sounds like a staph infection…both of which are associations that are about as direct as Latrina and latrine. What Latrina _does_ do is use the common African American naming convention of using “Le” or “La” (probably a nod to French) to another name, such as Trina. Far too often, “bad baby name” conversations end up ultimately being about making fun of other naming conventions. And when it comes to African American names, this dialog is often about “They are too ignorant to know what words mean/sound like.” See the persistent urban legends about Orangello and Female. Anyway, my ultimate point is that what makes a “good” name and a “bad” name is pretty arbitrary. Or rather, it’s rarely arbitrary at all and wrapped up in race and class issues. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/207 "2012-04-19T18:50:07Z")
I know a guy named Nimrod. He goes by Nim…I wonder why. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/208 "2012-04-19T19:52:09Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > My totally white bread cousin named his daughter ShyAnne. Yes, spelled exactly like that. He’s from the Denver area; he knows how to spell Cheyenne. Drives me nuts. They call her ShyShy. We figure she’ll go by Anne in the future. Totally obnoxious. > > My brother knows a guy who’s given name is Quasar. He goes by Q, mostly. \*Too shy-shy, hush hush, eye to eye. Too shy-shy, hush hush! Eye to eye! \* Arrgh, earworm! I remember seeing a birth announcement in the paper a couple years ago, where a poor innocent little girl was saddled with “Aibiegieiel.” ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/209 "2012-04-19T20:11:39Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Latrina? Hahah, sounds like latrine. Those people don’t know how to give real names to their kids. > > I’ve got to go tell that to my buddy Dick. If your Dick isn’t available, you’re welcome to tell it to mine. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/210 "2012-04-19T21:24:52Z")
About 10 years ago, I worked as a teacher assistant in an elementary school. There was a student there named “Chi-Town.” Supposedly (and I heard this second- or third-hand) he was so named because he was conceived in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/211 "2012-04-20T05:25:48Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It takes an unfortunate last name for Dick- a word with no positive associations that manages to mean both penis and jerk- to make the list. > > Latrina, however, is apparently worthy of ridicule on its owns, despite its negative association being that it sounds a little bit like a rarely used word. Latrina Digger? Sure. > > But just Latrina? I’d argue that the real gaffaw people get out of this name, which shows up in every thread like this, is that it falls do neatly into African American naming practices, which are becoming less and less acceptable to make fun of on their own. That’s odd, because the LaDreen I ran across isn’t black. I guess I’m doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/212 "2012-04-20T05:32:00Z")
I know a DeWeerd. Not black. Okay to make fun of? ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/213 "2012-04-20T05:58:54Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Latrina? Hahah, sounds like latrine. Those people don’t know how to give real names to their kids. I think your own prejudices are showing, darling: you are the first person in this thread to assume that these names are African-American. Still, nice that “those people” have you to explain them to rest of the unwashed bigots. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/215 "2012-04-20T06:09:06Z")
Uh, yeah… reported. ---
**Author:** ![SticksAndString](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@SticksAndString](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SticksAndString)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/216 "2012-04-20T10:55:47Z")
There was a story on the news a day or so ago about some mom who’d something really stupid with her kids in the car. One of the little girls was named Tey-Anna, pronounced “Tea-Ah-Nah”. I felt bad for the poor kid–not only did her mom do something incredibly dumb and cause her and her siblings to be in a car accident, but her parents saddled her with that name. Bleh. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/217 "2012-04-20T14:00:55Z")
As usual, I’ll mention this one: I had a protective order hearing against a guy some years back, filed by his wife and on behalf of their two children, both little girls. Their daughters’ names were Eboknea and Ivoreah (pronounced eb-oh-NEE-uh and eye-vo-REE-uh). Obviously, at the time, they were not living in perfect harmony. ---
**Author:** ![UncleMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e0b2c6/32.png) [@UncleMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleMoose)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/218 "2012-04-20T14:45:34Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > Ilaria makes me think of malaria…which reminds me of the people I know who named their kids Sam and Ella. (Salmonella.) Yeesh - either this is more common than you would think, or we have a two degrees of separation thing going on, as Sam(antha) and Ella were the flower girls at my daughter’s wedding last year (twin girls, cute as anything). ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/219 "2012-04-20T15:56:35Z")
> [@SticksAndString](#): > > There was a story on the news a day or so ago about some mom who’d something really stupid with her kids in the car. > > One of the little girls was named Tey-Anna, pronounced “Tea-Ah-Nah”. I felt bad for the poor kid–not only did her mom do something incredibly dumb and cause her and her siblings to be in a car accident, but her parents saddled her with that name. Bleh. Tey-Anna isn’t that bad, but the counterintuitive pronunciation is going to guarantee that no one says the poor kid’s name right, ever. It’s like naming a kid Mike and insisting that it’s pronounced “Mah-ee-keh” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/220 "2012-04-20T16:15:54Z")
I’ve long kept a list of offbeat names, because I see a lot of them in the court where I serve. Some recent winners, all 100% guaranteed real: Marielle Furr Burkes Swoope Weary Clyburn Donell Funderbunk Ola Popoola Qvz Head Wulfgar Darkenwald Jr. Durwin McGlumphy Massai Fluker Dyenexxus Linson Littleton T. Organ Jr. Javaughaon D. Whattey Chiahui Mixon But my alltime favorites are Imhotep Box and Daphne Threat Medley (band names!). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759/221 "2012-04-20T16:20:10Z")
It probably says more about the region than anything, but there were twins in my high school named Aaron and Marion. Marion is pronounced as May-ron there. Jordan is Jer-dun. I suspect most regions have quirky pronunciations of some names. Got any jewels where you’re from? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/given-names-what-were-they-thinking/618759.md?page=12)