# Let's help people choose unusual baby names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 17, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665 "2008-05-17T17:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![paffinity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@paffinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paffinity)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/21 "2008-05-17T21:52:52Z")
My biology teacher’s first name is **Celestinus**. Apparently his parents were uneducated and dirt-poor, and wanted to give him a very classical sounding name. Everybody who knows him on a first-name basis just calls him Buddy. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/22 "2008-05-17T21:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I’ve always wondered how Ngaio is pronounced. I say “na-ow” in my head, but that can’t be right. [/QUOTE] Ngaio is Maori, pronounced Nigh-o - it’s a suburb in Wellington NZ, and not an uncommon name in NZ - although personally I’ve never met anyone called that. I taught a kid called Merlin - previous to that only the character out of the Arthur legends and my cat were called Merlin. Also know a kid called Griffin, but I guess that may be more common - and my ex’s boss named her kid Aragorn (before the LOTR movies came out) - bet it’s more common now. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/23 "2008-05-17T22:00:00Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Oooh, I’ll have to tell my neighbor there’s another Ginevra in the world – different spelling. She said she’s never known another and she doesn’t know where her parents got the name. She goes by Ginny. Is Alease pronounced like Elise? Pretty name. [/QUOTE] There’s a fairly major character called Ginevra in Charlotte Bronte’s _Villette._ That’s the only Ginevra I ever heard of until very recently. I know a girl named Treasure and a guy named Ori. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/24 "2008-05-17T22:06:39Z")
A Google search on Ginevra reveals that this is Ginny Weasley’s name! (She’s a major character in the Harry Potter books, in case there’s anyone left in the world who doesn’t know.) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/25 "2008-05-17T22:21:15Z")
I once knew someone whose first name was “E”. It didn’t stand for anything; that was it; just “E”. ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/26 "2008-05-17T22:26:10Z")
Asenath and Eliphalet Those are actually Biblical, but how many do you know? Curtisteen When I was in second grade, my teacher told me my mother’s name could not be Curtisteen, because it “wasn’t a name.” She took my paper, crossed it out, and wrote Christine. My mother sent her a note and signed her full name. The teacher apologized. To her, but not to me. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/27 "2008-05-17T22:38:27Z")
Lebee Broadus Bennen J’Nai ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/28 "2008-05-17T22:39:52Z")
Soda! ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/29 "2008-05-17T22:42:06Z")
[QUOTE=SparrowHawk] When I was in second grade, my teacher told me my mother’s name could not be Curtisteen, because it “wasn’t a name.” She took my paper, crossed it out, and wrote Christine. My mother sent her a note and signed her full name. The teacher apologized. To her, but not to me. [/QUOTE] That happened to a friend’s daughter. Her middle name is Skeie, pronounced Shaya (it’s Norwegian) and her teacher insisted she was spelling it wrong. Another friend had the same problem with Siobhan. ---
**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/30 "2008-05-17T23:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] I once knew someone whose first name was “E”. It didn’t stand for anything; that was it; just “E”. [/QUOTE] I once knew a ‘D’. He went by his middle name. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/31 "2008-05-17T23:23:32Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] A Google search on Ginevra reveals that this is Ginny Weasley’s name! (She’s a major character in the Harry Potter books, in case there’s anyone left in the world who doesn’t know.) [/QUOTE] She’s the other one I meant, and I was incredibly confused the first time she was referred to that way. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/32 "2008-05-17T23:26:12Z")
I once met an elderly man named “Cephus” which is Hebrew for rock. His last name? “Melon”\*. His parents did it for a joke. \*rockmelon = canteloupe for the mercans. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/33 "2008-05-17T23:40:57Z")
I saw a woman calling after a daughter named… well - I have no idea how she spelt it - but she was calling the kid “Ayn-gee-ah” Aingea? Ayngia? (it wasn’t Angela, that’s for sure) ---
**Author:** ![Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Public_Animal_No.9)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/34 "2008-05-17T23:49:39Z")
I worked with a woman whose husband was named “Mach.” I’ve lost touch with them, but I’ve always wondered if they had sons whether the first would be named “Mach II”. Dad would be “Mach I” and the ensuing generations could be “Mach III,” “Mach IV,” and so on, with increasing speed, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/35 "2008-05-18T00:01:56Z")
This is a little convoluted, but my husband’s ex-wife’s sister (got that?) is named Itka. Apparently her father dreamed the name. My grandmother’s name was Rowena Wadena Hand. ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/36 "2008-05-18T00:03:19Z")
My mother’s name is Ethelyne, which I’ve never seen anywhere else. Since I work in education, I have seen a lot of unusual names. Some winners this year are: Zakiyyah, Hyshyna, Oriyunna, Erijontae, Stevevontae, Dra’Quiesha, Thadneisha, Dequjuan (pronounced de-quan), Ever (who is a Jr!), Everyell (av-ry-ell), Natiuska, Antwanique, Undrasia, Uqulvia, Brykael, X’Lanna, and Dywone (di-juan). They are all in the 6th grade. Best original name I think I have ever seen for a girl is Saber. Worst combination of first and middle name: Justin Tyme ---
**Author:** ![pipperroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@pipperroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipperroo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/37 "2008-05-18T00:32:50Z")
I have an Aunt Eunah and an Aunt Wellma. I have an inlaw named Cleone. I’ve never meet anyone else with those names. Someone posted Ocean and Dakota, these were sisters I knew in elementary school. I also went to highschool with a woman named Honey. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/38 "2008-05-18T01:15:50Z")
Lulubelle Eugenia Tasker Thais (pronounced Ty/ees) Osean–a female, who says her parents misspelled a male Irish name and gave it to her. (pronounced O/sheen) Tyranny–she has a sister named Liberty. Fola–Nigerian nurse Yaa–Ghananian (?) nurse Bobatunde (pronounced bob/a/tune/day)–not sure of country of origin. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/39 "2008-05-18T01:38:59Z")
Bevelyn, my back-door neighbor, named after her mom’s two best friends, Beverly and Evelyn Velinda, my co-worker…when I ask her about her name, she shrugs and says her folks are hillbillies Quasar, a former co-worker…said her parents are hippies Jonva Sabrina…classmate in high school… Petreena…another classmate… Those are just people I actually know…in my job, like the teacher above, I come across a lot of original and unique names…most unpronounceable or with punctuation in strange places or with letters that are silent or pronounced oddly… ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665/40 "2008-05-18T02:03:24Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] That happened to a friend’s daughter. Her middle name is Skeie, pronounced Shaya (it’s Norwegian) and her teacher insisted she was spelling it wrong. Another friend had the same problem with Siobhan. [/QUOTE] I’ve had people “correct” the spelling of my middle name (Finnish version of Eileen) and my surname (bastardized Ellis Island Slavic name) on forms so often that I automatically write my full name in block letters on anything official. It didn’t prevent me from having to have my voter’s registration corrected three times because of the spelling when I first got it, though. My Icelandic family has a lot of relatively common Icelandic names that are anathema to just about any English speaker who views or hears them. It’s always “fun” when dealing with people who’ve never been exposed to Scandinavian names beyond Sven and Ingrid. :rolleyes: Growing up, I knew two girls who were sisters whose names I’ve never come across since: Starshika and Zharisma. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-help-people-choose-unusual-baby-names/449665.md?page=3)