# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/61 "2006-08-22T23:19:21Z")
JonBenet’s name squicked me out when I heard it, too. Most dads probably name their SONS after themselves, not their daughters… Just icky and a bit wierd, considering the whole “sex up your six year old” thing… Granted, I believe she was named after BOTH parents- isn’t her full name JonBenet Patricia Ramsey? It sounds more like a parental ego thing, more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/62 "2006-08-23T00:58:52Z")
quite right, ejsgirl. she is named for both parents. and she does have an older brother that could have been a junior. i figured on it being a southern 2 name thing. john and bennet really don’t leave a lot of feminine room, so jonbenet with a french twist would work. a boy could have been jon-ben, so you would know which was being referenced. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/63 "2006-08-23T01:05:52Z")
The boy could have been John Bennett, Jr. Would have made perfect sense, and made the parents seem less… odd. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/64 "2006-08-23T01:57:12Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] sorry, but the three is the only way I can make that IPA symbol [/QUOTE] Go to the SIL website and download both keyman and the IPA fonts. That way you can type the IPA symbols. Of course, the machine your reader’s using must have the IPA font to see them correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/65 "2006-08-23T02:30:52Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] I’ve never heard it before. Is this an American thing? [/QUOTE] You may be interested to know that **Jon-Benet Julie Edwards** was born in Liverpool, England, in April 2002. Two others, born in Texas: **Destinie Jon’benet Easley** (1997) and **Jonbenet Betsai Moreno** (1997). Of course, all three could have been influenced by the name of JonBenét Ramsey, who died in 1996. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/66 "2006-08-23T02:35:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Destinie Jon’benet Easley (a) Done-to-death first name (b) Pointless cutsie alternate spelling (c) Middle name for a murdered child (assumably no relation) (d) Complete with pointless accent/apostrophe. IMO, egregious offenses in child-naming such as this should be punished by jail time. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/67 "2006-08-23T02:50:32Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] You don’t really expect it outside of certain subcultures, though. Is her family Mormon? [/QUOTE] The Ramseys were members of [St. John’s Episcopal Church](http://www.stjohnsboulder.org/) of Boulder, Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/68 "2006-08-23T03:17:50Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] (a) Done-to-death first name (b) Pointless cutsie alternate spelling (c) Middle name for a murdered child (assumably no relation) (d) Complete with pointless accent/apostrophe. IMO, egregious offenses in child-naming such as this should be punished by jail time. [/QUOTE] Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/69 "2006-08-23T10:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] My friends John and Stacy named their son Johstan, a combination of both of their first names. [/QUOTE] A former teacher of mine made up and took the last name Haskå for herself as an adult. Why? Well, her mother was from the province of _Ha_lland and her father from the province of _Skå_ne. As a classmate of mine put it: “So that’s what’s special about you, is it?”. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/70 "2006-08-23T10:57:28Z")
I have to say some of the comments in this thread are eerily glib considering we’re talking about a 6 year old girl who was raped and murdered. I imagine its simply reflective of societies response to 10 years of tabloid coverage and rampant speculation. I cant even imagine something that horrible happening to my own daughter, who also has an unusual name. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/71 "2006-08-23T12:33:05Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] You may be interested to know that **Jon-Benet Julie Edwards** was born in Liverpool, England, in April 2002. Two others, born in Texas: **Destinie Jon’benet Easley** (1997) and **Jonbenet Betsai Moreno** (1997). Of course, all three could have been influenced by the name of JonBenét Ramsey, who died in 1996. [/QUOTE] WTF … are these parents trying to choose the most ridiculous names for their kids - Destinie…Betsai?? They probably heard the name Jonbenet in the media and thought .. hmmm there’s a stupid name, let’s use that as well. When we were kids, friends and I would crack up laughing at the names in the credits of American TV shows. Verb-names … Skip, Chuck, Flip, Buzz, Chip, etc were always good for a laugh - but that’s nothing compared to now. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/72 "2006-08-23T13:20:18Z")
[QUOTE=antechinus] are these parents trying to choose the most ridiculous names for their kids - Destinie…Betsai?? [/QUOTE] Betsai (also spelled Besai) is a name from the Bible. See Nehemiah 10:18. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/73 "2006-08-23T13:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] and yet another data point: My friends John and Stacy named their son Johstan, a combination of both of their first names. [/QUOTE] When I was in school, there was a brother and sister named Jeryl and Sherry. They were named after their parents, Jerry and Cheryl. They would have been born circa 1970. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/74 "2006-08-23T13:58:28Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] Did you at least try to talk them out of it? [/QUOTE] Unfortunately, I was so stunned when I heard I temporarily lost my super-powers. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/75 "2006-08-23T20:42:39Z")
Of course, [Australians don’t engage odd or silly nicknames](http://www.abc.net.au/sa/stories/s881913.htm), do they? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/76 "2006-08-23T22:49:09Z")
[QUOTE=AwSnappity] I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here. Roget’s is named after Dr. Peter Roget, an English physician. Since he lived in a country that is not primarily francophone, it’s understandable that the standard pronunciation of his name would get changed through diphthongs and relaxing the tongue. [/QUOTE] So Roget rhymes with “logic”? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/77 "2006-08-23T22:52:00Z")
[QUOTE=AwSnappity] . . . it’s understandable that the standard pronunciation of his name would get changed through diphthongs and relaxing the tongue. [/QUOTE] Which are the dipthongs in “Roget” the rhyme with “logic”? ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/78 "2006-08-23T23:07:44Z")
I didn’t say anywhere that Roget should rhyme with “logic”, and rereading my posts I have absolutely no clue where you got that I did. When you said that you’d only ever heard it pronounced _[ro:∙ 3ai]_ (copying & pasting your own text), I interpreted the [ai] to be a diphthong, on par with the “ay” ending many anglophones use when they encounter a word with an /e/ (or an /ε/, for that matter). I interpreted your post to mean that you thought [my post on /ε/, /e/, and their common spellings](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7706288&postcount=51) was incorrect. I responded by saying that the anglophone pronunciation of Roget was irrelevent, since we were talking about the francophone pronunciation of Forget. So now it’s your turn to explain yourself, because I have no idea where you’re coming from. Are you reading secet parts of posts that I don’t have access to? Why did you bring up Roget in the first place, and where did you get that I thought it rhymed with “logic”? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677/79 "2006-08-24T05:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Of course, [Australians don’t engage odd or silly nicknames](http://www.abc.net.au/sa/stories/s881913.htm), do they? [/QUOTE] A thread on nicknames would be interesting. I wonder what other cultures and languages use for nicknames? I know now that Skip, Chuck etc are nicknames, but since they appeared in credits, I previously assumed they where real christian names. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-a-name-is-jonbenet-anyway/369677.md?page=3)