Pardon me for bringing this up, but how is the gene pool?
Odd names for gorgeous children and young adults are “cool”, but for kids who might not be drop dead gorgeous, odd names make kids odder.
If Angelina Jolie were named Brunhilde Jolie, she would still be gorgeous and kids all over the world would now be named Brunhilde.
My ex-boss years ago went to a private boys school out East and he told me about some guy who had some weird-ass name…I don’t remember, but let’s say it was Grizwaldo…at any rate, this guy was the best looking kid on campus and not one person made fun of his name.
However, any kid who might be pale, short, heavy and/or have to wear glasses at age 5 is not going to be thrilled with also having to live with the name Sagan.
People will find something else to rag on your kid about, if not for the name, and if the kid hates the name they’ll find a nickname they like. If you really like it, then don’t worry about what other people think.
Really, I’ve seen enough “Aymiee” and “Jesykah” names to make ‘Sagan’ seem like a refreshing change.
It seems to me that you’re putting too much of yourself into the name. It’s like using your kid as an advertisement for your intellectual pursuits. Look at me I’ve named my kid Sagan, ain’t I smart.
I dislike people making statements by using their kids. Carl/Carla are cool as you could tell your kid who Sagan was and why they were named that way. They can then tell other people.
No, she would have just changed her name to Angelina.
Angelina Jolie herself changed her name from Angelina Voight. She claims she did it to distance herself from her father’s acting career and make her own way, but the truth of the matter is that Voight is an ugly-sounding name. There’s nothing sexy about it. “Jolie” on the other hand is extremely sensual and feminine sounding, so naturally it’d be the better choice for an aspiring actress.
Congratulations Dio! I love Carl Sagan too. His efforts brought science to the masses and you do him great honor by this gesture. My father named me after a judge he knew, as he was a police officer, but I have a first name that is also sometimes used for girls. It made growing up a little rougher than need be but in the end it turned out all right as I am known to a few people here in Vegas by my first name alone. I’m sure with your guidance and the support that having an open mind like yours provides, he will grow up to be a good man just like you. So don’t let the naysayers dissuade you, I’m sure you’ll know if it’s right or not.
How 'bout Huxley Anne, after that kid in Jitterbug Perfume?
Seriously, this. I’m reminded of the tattoo discussion elsewhere in this forum. Your child’s name is permanent as well, and in both cases, it’s not always the best idea to commit to something ostentatious that you can’t easily change.
That said, it is cool when people really choose a name for their child, instead of saying “Eh, we’ll call him James.” (Unless, of course, James is someone you want to honor.)
What I envision though, more than teasing at school (and I tend to agree that a kid will get teased with any name), is a lifetime of well-meaning people saying “Sagan? Oh, like Carl Sagan?”
Even if they think it’s the coolest name ever, I can’t imagine how tiresome it will be for a person to have to politely nod and say “Yes, like Carl Sagan.” Well actually, yes, I can imagine it – I’m imagining it right now, and it’s awful.
Makes me think of these comic-book artists who named their kid Kal-El… only, they had the good taste to put it after a Benjamin (and yes, the Ben is after Grimm). Or of the Phoenix family… it’s like a terribly nerdy version of hippy names.
How common of a name will Carl Sagan be in 30 years? 50? As much as I liked the man, I don’t think he’s so famous that he will stay a household name for another generation.
He could certainly get less famous, this is true. I think there are two factors here – one, people who like Carl Sagan are going to mention it, and there’s an increased risk of recognition due to the uniqueness of the name. Jack London (about 50 years earlier than Sagan) is not as famous these days, but still known … however, “London” could refer to a million things so you wouldn’t get the instant association.
Going back even farther, if you name your child Poe, I bet a lot of people would still say “You mean like Edgar Allan Poe?”
My name was OK–just a little teasing on that point, and I like my name. I was really bullied for other reasons. My husband, however, regularly got into fistfights over this tiny point–his name was once ordinary, but now has connotations of stupidity and other things. If your name is easily teasable, it turns into a big reason for torment. Luckily for my husband, they moved right before high school, so he could start going by his middle name. He’s the fourth of his name in his line, but he swore up and down that the name stopped with him.
I agree with the “look how smart I am” problem as well.
I don’t like it or hate it, but my first thought was “oh, you thought Logan was too common and wanted the same sound.”
I’m less fond of it for a girl than for a boy.
Ripley is horrible. Never name a child something that has an “ie” sound at the end of their name - eternal childhood. Nancy, Sandy, and Jessie are horrible names (Anne, Sandra and Jessica are fine names and if you then want to call your daughter Nancy, Sandy or Jessie, that’s up to you). At some point in time your daughter will be trying to be taken seriously in something - and someone named Ripley is not making partner in the CPA firm unless she works harder than someone named Melissa.
(I spent years shaking “Chrissy” - fortunately, my parents gave me something to work with).
I’ve heard worse names, but I don’t think it’s great. It wouldn’t be too terrible for a girl–there are lots of girls named Reagan, after all, but I think Carl would be a much better choice for a boy.
And as others have pointed out, the kid will be called “Satan.” By other kids and, if s/he turns out to be handful, in the teacher’s lounge as well.
I think Ripley will make partner in the CPA firm sooner than Melissa, all other things being equal. It’s just not on the same level as the Jessie, Tiffany, Courtney names; it fits in more with the last-names-as-first-names style and appears more serious. Melissa is a very feminine name which doesn’t appear to synch with the fact-based world of accounting. (And I say this as a Melissa who is an auditor as part of the job.) I also would like to mention that I find the name Nancy (as in Pelosi) no less credible and adult than a hypothetical Anne (Pelosi). The name Nancy is just from a different era.
Still, I dislike the names Ripley and Sagan equally, for both boys and girls. Having been a Melissa in a time when the name wasn’t widely used, having an odd name if you’re an odd kid doesn’t work well. Also, I’m pretty much against the whole I’m-unique-and-different-just-like-everybody-else trends in general.
But if it seems right to you and your wife, and you believe your child will handle any negative connotations, go for it.
My name ends in -ey, and I don’t have a problem with people taking me seriously. Well, not because of the way my name sounds. Of course, I have no intentions of making partner in a CPA firm, but when my associates hear my “eternal childhood” name, they don’t mock it. I even get the occasional compliment.
I have my own problems with my names, including it being fairly unusual (or it was, it’s more popular now), people constantly misspelling it, people mispronouncing it, etc. I still think getting hung up over the potential of being bullied (or not making CPA partner…) is mostly silly.