# Irksome names for children **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434 "2003-04-13T15:04:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/61 "2003-04-14T06:34:02Z")
Count me in as part of the growing movement (I didn’t even know there Was one) of people going back to older traditional names. My little girl is named Matilda and I’ve gotten many compliments on it with very few negatives. ---
**Author:** ![AfterAugust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AfterAugust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AfterAugust)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/62 "2003-04-14T06:55:13Z")
My name’s Taylor…and I’ve always had issues with it. My mom liked the name because she never ran into many girls with that name. As a kid, I was constantly teased for having a boy name - and I’ve grown to hate any form of roll call. “Oh, I was expecting a boy,” got too old. I was usually the only Taylor in class, but if there were others, they were always boys. When I was around 8, I tried desperately to get people to call me by my middle name, Michelle…but it never stuck. Also, nobody can say my name right. It’s TAYLOR…like the fucking LAST NAME! It’s almost as if people are convinced it much be pronounced differently because it’s a first name instead of a last. Oh yes, it’s spelled “T-a-y-l-o-r” but pronounced “Emily.” _rolls eyes_ I’ve decided, for my own personal reasons, that “Tyler” is my least favorite name. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/63 "2003-04-14T07:01:38Z")
Well, I just snuck in slightly at the front of the “traditional” trend. I’ve got a 17 year-old Daniel James and a 14 year-old Joshua Christopher Randol. The Randol is short for Randolph, Mr zoogirl’s name. He flat out refused to name any kid of his Randolph, so we compromised. Our first son, who passed away, was John Lesley after his grandfather’s. My own name is kind of a funny story. When Mom was a teenager, there was a popular actress named Joan Leslie. Mom decided that Leslie was a great name and she’d just have to use it when she had a little girl. Flash forward several years. Mom meets Dad. And his name is…Leslie! I ended up Lesley Ann, but no one has ever actually used the Lesley, except to confuse teachers every September! 😃 Everyone always assumes I was named after Dad too, which isn’t helped by the fact that I’m an only child. :rolleyes: It’s also let to some interesting mixups. For instance, I went to renew my driver’s licence a few years ago after letting it lapse for a number of years. I was informed that there was indeed a Leslie A K— on their records, but the birthdate was in 1913 - that wasn’t right, was it? Uh, no! ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/64 "2003-04-14T07:15:07Z")
I am naming my child Loren Quinn. Loren was my grandfather’s name and is currently in about 650 for boys and 700 for girls. Unfortunately, Lauren is 14th for girs, so I have been accused of using a misspelling of that name. I liked Emily and Emma for a long while, but I prefer either way names. I really hope she likes the name more than my grandpa liked his. ---
**Author:** ![BytopianDream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9de0a6/32.png) [@BytopianDream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BytopianDream)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/65 "2003-04-14T07:15:32Z")
My parents love non-traitional names Older brother: Coley Robert- Native American Chief Me: Demian Jamal- Name of book, Persian for beauty Sister: Caitreona Deeyan- Gaelicish for Kate and Cherokee for calm I hated my name as a kid, but now that I’ve grown up with it, I love it. I figure I’m going to make up names for my children. I disallow all family names ever. I will certainly take names from other cultures. I was supposed to be Micah Jerimiah per my Great-grandmother. I’m thinking: Yunalesca Aerie for a girl. Scipio Flavius for a boy. (Okay, joking for the boy.) ---
**Author:** ![Mgcklmoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Mgcklmoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mgcklmoon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/66 "2003-04-14T07:38:46Z")
My friend’s daughter goes to school with a girl whose name is pronouced She-tonya, but spelled Shitonya. Now what were her parents thinking? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/67 "2003-04-14T07:58:18Z")
I used to frequent one of those places where you put on vests and shoot one another with laser guns. The guns had a little display in the back that showed the name of whoever had shot you when you were hit. A friend of mine would always sign up as Shy Tony A., which would show up on the gun as SHYTONYA. They eventually caught on and made him get a new handle. I can’t believe someone would be so clueless as to name their child that, though. Although an attending did tell me a story about a woman who named her child Chlamydia. She heard it while she was in the hospital, and thought it was pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Mgcklmoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Mgcklmoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mgcklmoon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/68 "2003-04-14T08:08:35Z")
I heard about the Chlamydia name too. I always thought if it was true, some poor girl, somewhere would be slapping her mother. BUt then I have also heard of twins that the mother named: Lemonjello and Orangejello Yeesh… ---
**Author:** ![Loneraven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c0e974/32.png) [@Loneraven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loneraven)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/69 "2003-04-14T09:50:50Z")
My name is unusual, and up until a couple of years ago I’d never met anyone else with it. And then, suddenly, there seem to be so many babies in possession of it. My name is Iona, and it’s further complicated by the fact it’s not my real name, it’s a nick, but we won’t go into that. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/70 "2003-04-14T12:05:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Frostillicus \* > \*\*This reminds me of the Simpson’s episode where Marge became the “pretzel lady”. Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel saved up 300 coupons for free pretzels and then called for his numerous children to come outside for a free meal. They were named just about every name you have listed above (Tiffany, Caitlin, etc.) My two favorite names amongst his children were Rumor and Scout.😃 \*\* Rumer and Scout are the names of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s two eldest daughters. Rumer is named after English novelist Rumer Godden (Black Narcissus, The River) and Scout is named after Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. But if you already knew all that, then consider me whooshed.🙂 DEVA, I’m thinking of Donald or Derek or Richard for your kid. Am I anywhere near close? ---
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/71 "2003-04-14T12:17:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > \*\*My favorite was “Q-bert”. > > What I really hate is the current trend of “last names given as first names”. My own brother is guilty of this: three of his four kids are named Beck, **Bailey** , and Jackson. The fourth, I’m not even sure if they’ve settled on a spelling for yet. \*\* My parents named me Bailie 19 years ago (waaaaaay before it became a trendy name). Bailey is my mother’s maiden name, so at least they had the decency to change the spelling just a bit to make it not look so much like a last name. I’ve never met another Bailie/ey anywhere near my age. They’re all under 5 years old and their name is spelled wrong. You don’t know how crazy it makes me to see Baylee, Bailea, Bayleigh, Baylie, and Bailee all running around. Everyone they ever meet in their entire lives will spell their names wrong. I know, I’ve lived with it my whole life and my spelling isn’t that weird at all. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/72 "2003-04-14T12:41:54Z")
I’m not fond of last name-y names, but damn if my sons didn’t end up with them. Bennett and Owen. Bennett was the name of my GGGG grandfather; my wife saw it on the family tree and liked it. It goes well with my French last name. I picked Owen out of a book. I liked it because it was simple, rolled off the tongue easily and reflected the Welsh ancestry on my mom’s side. One thing that would-be parents run into is that brainstoming for names often devolves into a joke; kind of like band naming. ---
**Author:** ![Daftbugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Daftbugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daftbugger)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/73 "2003-04-14T13:04:37Z")
What’s the problem with Jennifer’s? When I was at school there wasn’t any other Jennifer’s. When I was born (1978) the midwife told my mother that I was the first Jennifer that she’d help birth in over 20 years! OK, I live in England, I didn’t realise that Jennifer’s were taking over the USA! ---
**Author:** ![DEVA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@DEVA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DEVA)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/74 "2003-04-14T13:50:37Z")
> [@](#): > > DEVA, I’m thinking of Donald or Derek or Richard for your kid. Am I anywhere near close? \*\* “Donald” was close (well sorta). His name is Donovan Armand. I work in a child-care learning center with about 140 kids and my son is one of two Donovans. Our oldest son is named Devan. He was named after a street in the college town that my husband and I met (but the street was spelled with an “o”). Boy was I pissed to learn that we were unwittingly part of a “Devin/Devon” movement. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Summertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Summertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Summertime)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/75 "2003-04-14T13:52:30Z")
I’ve seen an abundance of Tylers (for boys) and Autumns (girls). Could be worse. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/76 "2003-04-14T13:58:48Z")
Allegedly heard shouted from a window on a Dublin housing estate, in a very strong Dublin accent: “Come in Elvis Presley Byrne, your dinner’s ready!” ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/77 "2003-04-14T14:15:45Z")
My son was Justin before the invasion started. He’s 26. A friend of mine is having a baby boy. She’s named him Jerry after her father. My family and friends are just overflowing with Jerrys. My husband, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and two friends are all Jerry’s. Sometimes we have JerryFest! Very freaky. ---
**Author:** ![AntaresJB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@AntaresJB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AntaresJB)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/78 "2003-04-14T14:33:23Z")
I think my brother and sister and I got pretty decently unusual names. My sister’s name has gotten a lot more popular now, but when we were growing up she was the only one around. Sister(22) - Morgan Caldwell - Morgan for my mother’s middle name, Caldwell for my grandmother’s maiden name (I think). Me(19) - Antares Janeva - Antares for the star (if I was a boy I would have been Orion) and Janeva for my two great grandmas, Jane and Eva. Brother(17) - Clayton Rocco McCullough - Clayton for a grandfather somewhere, I forget which (they both died before I was born) Rocco for my grandma’s best friend, McCullough for my dad’s best friend. The two middle names thing really confused the hell out of the IRS one year, when they decided that McCullough was his last name, therefore he wasn’t my dad’s son and therfore he coudln’t claim him as a dependent. So according to the SSA now, he’s just Clayton Rocco. And my parents are a James Patrick and a Cornelia Morgan. I’m not planning on having children, but if I ever do have a daughter, she’s going to be Cornelia. Whatever you people do, don’t ever ever ever name your child Antares. Even if you do give him/her a nickname, like Tara, and just call her that all her life. Your just dooming her to a life of having to listen to people mangle the pronunciation and then having to correct them and say “but everyone calls me Tara”. It’s a pain in the arse, believe me. 🙂 Plus, I wanna be the only one. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MSU\_1978](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@MSU\_1978](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MSU_1978)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/79 "2003-04-14T14:42:42Z")
Our high school had twin girls whose last name was Piggie. They were named Ima and Eura. Really. Any trendy name drives me bats. Caitlyn, Megan, Cody, Hunter, Trent, Brittany. Let’s go back to John, Mary, and George. My kids are Jeff and Maria. Some were taken a little aback by Maria because they associate it with Hispanic culture, but most think it’s pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/80 "2003-04-14T14:54:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MSU 1978 \* > \*\*Our high school had twin girls whose last name was Piggie. They were named Ima and Eura. Really. > > \*\* About 100 years ago, Texas had a very popular governor named Jim Hogg, and he really did have a daughter whom he named Ima. Ima Hogg was a real person, but somehow, a legend arose that she had a sister named Ura. But there was no Ura Hogg. THAT would have made sense only if Governor Hogg was a wise guy who’d DELIBERATELY give his kids laughable names. In reality, Governor Hogg’s wife named their daughter after a character in a poem she liked. Apparently, it just never dawned on either of them that the name might sound silly. But, despite her problematic name, Ima Hogg grew up to be a much admired beloved philanthropist here in Texas (there are museums and concert halls named after her all over the state). So, the moral is, don’t worry too much about names. Even people with the (seemingly) worst imaginable names can and will thrive, if they’re made of the right stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434.md?page=5)