# How common a name is "JonBenet" anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677 "2006-08-22T00:44:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/21 "2006-08-22T16:50:29Z")
[QUOTE=severus] That’s not quite how you would pronounce “Forget” in French. The “et” isn’t pronounced “ay”, but closer to how you would say “get”, except without the “t” sound. As well, both syllables are equally accented. [/QUOTE] I stand corrected. (Must resume studying French…) ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/22 "2006-08-22T16:51:22Z")
My own rather unique first name is a combination of my mother’s middle name and her mother’s first name, but spelled slightly differently. None of my three siblings has a “made up” name. Midwestern middle-European Catholic background. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/23 "2006-08-22T17:05:31Z")
[QUOTE=severus] That’s not quite how you would pronounce “Forget” in French. The “et” isn’t pronounced “ay”, but closer to how you would say “get”, except without the “t” sound. As well, both syllables are equally accented. [/QUOTE] It’s not similar to how _I_ would say “get”. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/24 "2006-08-22T17:07:26Z")
[QUOTE=BMax] Not that I’m aware and they’re certainly not black. Are there other subcultures in the US that give their kids foriegn sounding names? [/QUOTE] Yeah, middle-upper class white people do. Delaney? Elise? Demetrius? Ok those are REAL names, but as is Jean Bene, it just happens to be a spelled/combined name which is not too rare in of itself. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/25 "2006-08-22T17:32:57Z")
What about Nigella Lawson? And her sister Thomasina? If I’m not mistaken, there was a third sister, also with a feminized man’s name. And they’re British, not American. They were a pretty prominent family, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/26 "2006-08-22T17:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] Any man who names his daughter after himself has serious boundary issues. [/QUOTE] My, what a broad brush you wield. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/27 "2006-08-22T18:01:46Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] It’s not similar to how _I_ would say “get”. [/QUOTE] No, in the name “Forget” you don’t pronounce the “t”, as I said. (And of course the “g” are different too.) I guess I explained myself badly. What I meant was that in the name “Forget”, the “e” is more open than **Sunspace** seemed to think. It is [this vowel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel), while if I understand him right, he claimed that it was [this vowel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel). ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/28 "2006-08-22T18:04:47Z")
Oh, and in some dialects of French, the “t” of “Forget” is pronounced. Not in the one I use, though. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/29 "2006-08-22T18:11:17Z")
See Freakonomics for a more thorough study of how different classes of Americans name their children. My take on the name JonBenet is that it is more typical of a name given by a lower socioeconomic class than the Ramseys. With wealth like theirs it is usually not felt “necessary” to give the child such a fancy, unique name. Celebrity parents are an exception. My take is that the Ramseys made a bad impression giving a name like that, because it is more typical of a lower-middle class family or of a genuine celebrity couple, neither of which describes them. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/30 "2006-08-22T18:15:41Z")
[QUOTE=severus] No, in the name “Forget” you don’t pronounce the “t”, as I said. (And of course the “g” are different too.) I guess I explained myself badly. What I meant was that in the name “Forget”, the “e” is more open than **Sunspace** seemed to think. It is [this vowel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel), while if I understand him right, he claimed that it was [this vowel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel). [/QUOTE] I suspect the issue is with which dialect of English is in question. I knew that you were referring to the vowel in “get”, but I don’t think the vowel in the French “Forget” matches the vowel I’d use in the English “get”. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/31 "2006-08-22T18:17:05Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I suspect the issue is with which dialect of English is in question. I knew that you were referring to the vowel in “get”, but I don’t think the vowel in the French “Forget” matches the vowel I’d use in the English “get”. [/QUOTE] And of course it depends on the dialect of French, as well. In Southern France, I think you _would_ get a close-mid front vowel, since an open-mid vowel wouldn’t be permitted in an open syllable in French dialects influenced by Occitan. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/32 "2006-08-22T18:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] What about Nigella Lawson? And her sister Thomasina? If I’m not mistaken, there was a third sister, also with a feminized man’s name. And they’re British, not American. They were a pretty prominent family, though. [/QUOTE] I had a lower middle class farmer uncle named Marvin who named his daughter Marvina. Poor girl. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/33 "2006-08-22T18:57:58Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I suspect the issue is with which dialect of English is in question. I knew that you were referring to the vowel in “get”, but I don’t think the vowel in the French “Forget” matches the vowel I’d use in the English “get”. [/QUOTE] That’s certainly possible. In my case, I use the same vowel in French “Forget” and in English “get”, but other people may not do the same. Out of curiosity, how would you pronounce these two words? ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/34 "2006-08-22T19:04:04Z")
[QUOTE=severus] That’s certainly possible. In my case, I use the same vowel in French “Forget” and in English “get”, but other people may not do the same. Out of curiosity, how would you pronounce these two words? [/QUOTE] I don’t know how to explain, because I think the differences are smaller than what could be captured by spelling the words phonetically. It’s just that the mid-open front vowel and mid-close front vowel of English don’t correspond precisely to the French ones, at least to my ear. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/35 "2006-08-22T19:04:08Z")
Just another data point from a non-mormon white girl who knows people who fall into the same category. They had a girl and named her for her father, Don, and the most favorite aunt, Juanita. This resulted in the moniker of Donita. Everyone else can decide on if whether or not that was a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/36 "2006-08-22T19:05:47Z")
[QUOTE=severus] That’s certainly possible. In my case, I use the same vowel in French “Forget” and in English “get”, but other people may not do the same. Out of curiosity, how would you pronounce these two words? [/QUOTE] I would say “Forget” in French as for-'zhay and “get” in English like “let”, “pet”, “et” "cet"era… “-et” in French as -ay: cachet, buffet,… > [@RickJay](#): > > The thing is, I’ve actually heard at least two people say “Tar-JHAY” and mean it seriously. Including the French designer on their commercials who says “Do you Tar-zhay?” ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/37 "2006-08-22T19:06:27Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] Just another data point from a non-mormon white girl who knows people who fall into the same category. They had a girl and named her for her father, Don, and the most favorite aunt, Juanita. This resulted in the moniker of Donita. Everyone else can decide on if whether or not that was a good idea. [/QUOTE] At least that one sounds like a name. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/38 "2006-08-22T19:06:49Z")
Oh, and when I have heard reporters refer to Jon Benet, they say “John Ben-ay”, not “Zhan Ben-ay”. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/39 "2006-08-22T19:34:32Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] She’s probably the only person in the world to have that name. [/QUOTE] Sort of. I once saw a picture of a little girl online that had been named Jona Benet. The picture showed the girl all dressed up in a pageant type gown. I’m guessing the parents knew very early on that they would be putting her in pageants since they chose that name for their newborn. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/40 "2006-08-22T19:51:46Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I don’t know how to explain, because I think the differences are smaller than what could be captured by spelling the words phonetically. It’s just that the mid-open front vowel and mid-close front vowel of English don’t correspond precisely to the French ones, at least to my ear. [/QUOTE] To my ear they are so close that I couldn’t distinguish them. Again, maybe it depends on the dialect used. Or maybe your ear has just more training than mine. > [@gigi](#): > > I would say “Forget” in French as for-'zhay and “get” in English like “let”, “pet”, “et” "cet"era… “-et” in French as -ay: cachet, buffet,… I know for sure that this is not how these words are pronounced in _my_ dialect of French. I’d be curious to know if there are dialects of French where this is the usual pronounciation, which would explain how anglophones came into contact with it. Maybe, as **Excalibre** suggested, the Occitan-influenced dialects of Southern France do use this pronounciation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677.md?page=3)