I was told by someone early in my library career about her days in the children’s room, signing little kids up for library cards. She signed up one child name Shi’Tonya.
Now look at it without the apostrophe in all caps, as it went into the computer: SHITONYA.
One of my friends’ mother was named Cleda (her twin was Cloda) after her father Cletus. There are a lot of mangled men’s names like that among old southern women.
With or without the apostrophe, and no matter how it’s pronounced, you’d think the parents would realize that their kid’s name has the word “shit” in it. :smack:
Herr Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm
In the old Long Beach phone book, we once found the name Elspeth M. Lightbody.
I’ve found a T. Shirt and a P. Nutt in an online phone directory.
I learned about St. Barbara in Space Cadet, one of Heinlein’s juveniles. The protagonist witnesses a training accident, in which a small rocket crashes and burns, killing all aboard.
One of his classmates says it wasn’t really manned, and it was a setup to shake out weaklings. The young protagonist speaks to one of his superiors, who tells him that a mass has been scheduled, in which St. Barbara will be asked to intercede for the souls of those who were lost. She’s mentioned as being the patron of those who deal with high explosives, rocketmen amongst others.
In my brother’s high school yearbook one page showed Kathy Love and Kathy Loveless.
A number of years ago, there was a story in the WaPo about a kid named Malice who came to an unfortunate end.
I have a feeling there are parents who decide a word has a nice ring to it, but are too dumb to know what it means, and don’t bother to look it up in the dictionary.
Maybe her parents really liked that Jimmy Carter speech.
OK, maybe not.
A long while back I was introduced to a young man whose first name seemed to be ‘Estrus’…I even made him say it twice. Which is a hell of a moniker, really. Only later did it occur to me that mom had given her son the biblical name ‘Esdras’.
My wife was on a tour bus and they where doing a head count. Calling out names to make sure everyone was accounted for.
Tim?
yep.
Sally?
here!
Fred?
Hi
ummm… Maryme?? (guessing the spelling) but pronounced merry me.
Poor girl.
But not before the Book came out …
I went to College with a fellow, named…
Russell Russell
Was he that Brown Paper Cowboy I’ve heard so much about?
Dude, I love that one.
[spoiler]THE BROWN PAPER COWBOY
A sheriff walks into a saloon, and shouts for everyone’s
attention. “Has anyone seen Brown Paper Jake?”, he asks.
“What’s he look like?”, asks one shoddy looking cowboy.
“Well”, replies the Sheriff. “He wears a brown paper hat,
a brown paper waistcoat, a brown paper shirt, brown paper
boots, brown paper pants, and a brown paper jacket.”
“So what’s he wanted for?”, asks the same cowboy.
“Rustlin’…”, replies the Sheriff. [/spoiler]
That’s so bad, it’s good.
Well, I have a Swedish ancestor whose name was Mayalisa, which does sound very cool when you say it. Maybe that was where they were going with “Malaise” but lost track of the letters.
Just like George Costanza’s “manure.”
Along these lines, I’ve got to wonder who, in any culture, would name their daughter Ursula. Doesn’t it mean “bear-like”? I can’t imagine there are too many girls would would appreciate the comparison.
Just the other day my wife, who is a substitute teacher, mentioned that she’d taught a student named Precious.
Precious is a boy.
A boy who, I’m sure, gets teased incessantly.
I knew a little girl named Ursulina, who wen by Lina. It was a sweet name and she liked it. The name evoked images of teddy bears and playful cubs.