# Parents that are just askin' for it **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004 "2006-03-04T02:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/21 "2006-03-04T16:51:59Z")
When I was in second grade I knew 3 Storms. I thought it was a normal name. I also thought “Yugoslavia” was one of the largest countries in the world due to the large numbers of refugees where I lived, but that’s another story. None of the Storms were from former Yugoslavia, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/22 "2006-03-04T17:13:29Z")
Friend has a two year old named Arrayna. If they have a boy next it will be Kaegan. Odd names. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/23 "2006-03-04T17:34:45Z")
I’ve said it before, I went to school with a Binky and Diva who were best friends. Poor Binky, it’s not even like that was a cute nickname, that’s her proper First name. I also know a family who have 7 kids…the 3rd and 5th are both girls and are named Crystal and Jemima…the rest of the kids have slightly more normal names. When my sister was in Australia she met some guy from a large Byron Bay hippie family- he and all of his many siblings were named after elves in the Silmarillion…all of them, needless to say, go by nicknames. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/24 "2006-03-04T18:44:13Z")
> [@Burrido](#): > > Friend has a two year old named Arrayna. …Odd names. Odd spelling for Arianna, maybe? It took me a second to figure it out. Arianna isn’t all that odd, but ‘Arrayna’ is a complicated spelling. That’s what I hate - taking a regular name and mangling the spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/25 "2006-03-04T18:52:53Z")
My six-year-old daughter has a classmate named Peerless. I feel offended for my kid, somehow. BTW, I think it is telling that one of the ads is for a naked teenager with a webcam. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/26 "2006-03-04T19:05:47Z")
I don’t remeber if I got this link from this board or another, but it definitely is relevant to this discussion [Baby’s named a Bad, Bad Thing](http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/index.html) > [@](#): > > I once met a lady named Rodana. I think she runs a successful internet business. > [response] In her spare time she destroys Tokyo. > [@](#): > > This is for my niece, Dawn. She is expecting a baby girl in September. I suggested that they name her Dusk. What does everyone think? > > [response] hink her grand-daughter Nighttime would not approve. Or her grand-neices Afterhours and Graveyardshift. > [@](#): > > I was thinking of naming my son Toolio. Does anyone know the origin on that one? > —[Jane] DeSac > > [response] Toolio DeSac. Boy, can’t think of any way that kid’ll get picked on. That’s one taunt-proof name there! ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/27 "2006-03-04T19:06:10Z")
I once filled out a form for a perfectly normal and friendly 11 year old named Tommy, and when I asked him for his last name, he said “anus”. “What?” –“anus”, he says again. “Tommy Anus” “Uhh, how do you spell that,Tommy?” –and he answers: “A-n-n-e-s”. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/28 "2006-03-04T19:09:28Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > My wife worked at the local hospital when we lived on Kwajalein. Hey, I lived on Kwaj back in the 70’s, had a great time. Everything was sorta free. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/29 "2006-03-04T19:13:44Z")
I knew a family that had about five kids, and named two of their three sons John, no middle name. Thought this was odd, but in light of George Foreman, mebbe not. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/30 "2006-03-04T19:16:30Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I once knew a girl named Tigger, but it was short for Antigone, which I guess isn’t much better. My friend has a half-sister named Phaedra. Do these people just pick then names because they sound good, regardless of meaning? People my parents know named their daughter Sappho. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/31 "2006-03-04T19:17:39Z")
oh yeah and my mom had students named Della and AfterDella. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/32 "2006-03-04T19:32:47Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Honestly, I can’t imagine what it must be like to be one of those kids. My grandparents had a hell of a time keeping all of their kids’/grandkids’ names straight. I would often hear, “Sara-Laurie-Megan-Lissa . . . whatever your name is-- come here!” My dad does this, but first syllables only until he reaches the name he wants. It wasn’t uncommon to hear “Sa-La-Me-_ **Lissa** _!” with increasing emphasis as he ran through the names. Our next door neighbors had five kids, all K names. We used to joke about what that sounded like in their house: “Ka-Ka-Kr-Ka-_Keith_!” I knew a girl named Serendipity – goes by Seren – who was conceived before her parents were married. I thought it was a nice way to make sure she knew that she was wanted. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/33 "2006-03-04T20:04:32Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > oh yeah and my mom had students named Della and AfterDella. Oh, my. In the data entry job I had last summer, I ran through lots of bizarre names. There was one woman who lived in northern Alaska named Future Blu’Silver. Her parents would have been the right age for hippies, so I guess that’s where that came from. There was also a woman named something like Zhhaniqua, I think I have that name wrong but the beginning was definitely “Zhh.” But my favorite name was Howard James. For a girl. A seven-year-old, cute as a button little blond girl. She’s gonna have issues. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/34 "2006-03-04T20:50:09Z")
I think I’ve posted this before, but here it is again. My mom and sister were on vacation when they encountered another man at their hotel. He had twin little boys, blond and cute and very well-mannered. My mentioned how nice they were and the guy replied, “Yeah, ol’ Willie and Waylon are two of the best boys you could want.” Mom and Sis quickly agreed and went about their business. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/35 "2006-03-04T20:53:02Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Poor Binky, it’s not even like that was a cute nickname, that’s her proper First name. Does “binky” in Ireland mean, as it does in the U.S., a rubber nipple that you use to pacify infants? Yeah, nobody’s gonna think of a way to make fun of a girl who’s named after something to be suckled. I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/36 "2006-03-04T21:02:51Z")
> [@Campion](#): > > My dad does this, but first syllables only until he reaches the name he wants. It wasn’t uncommon to hear “Sa-La-Me-_ **Lissa** _!” with increasing emphasis as he ran through the names. Our next door neighbors had five kids, all K names. We used to joke about what that sounded like in their house: “Ka-Ka-Kr-Ka-_Keith_!” For a short (but amusing!) time my twin brother and sister, Anna and Tommy, thought their names were Tanna and Ant-Tommy. At my last job I ran into an older couple from south California with two young boys named John Lynx LastName and Mark Possum LastName, and they called the kids by their middle names. They thought they would like to move to central Oregon because we’re “outdoorsy” here and their boys would fit in and not be teased so much. ☹ Outside of the metro areas Oregon is very rural and conservative and full of farmer/logger/fisherman hicks. Poor kids ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/37 "2006-03-04T21:07:21Z")
You know what makes it worse? Her name is Binky Moorehead. Yup. Binky. More. Head. I forsee a career in show business…well, a career performing on film anyway. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/38 "2006-03-04T21:28:14Z")
My daughter has students in her class named Divinity, Blessings, Unikue, and I don’t know what all else. I don’t mind the Divinity and Blessings ones so much. Unikue is anything but. What bothers me is the mis-spellings of common names: Katelyn, Caitlin; Ashleigh, Ashley etc. I know one Katelynne and two Caitlinns, one Meaghann and one Megan. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/39 "2006-03-04T21:35:39Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I once knew a girl named Tigger, but it was short for Antigone, which I guess isn’t much better. My friend has a half-sister named Phaedra. Do these people just pick then names because they sound good, regardless of meaning? Phaedra? _giggles_ (maybe asking **Phèdre nó Delaunay** would be in order) ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/40 "2006-03-04T21:38:58Z")
Hey, I used to work in a trophy shop. I saw every hackneyed and over-used child’s name a dozen times, often on the same Little League team. It got so bad we had to ask the parents to explicitly denote which Hunters, Dylans, Montanas, Madisons, Rileys, Alexes, Jadens, and Jameses were male and which were female. Then we had dozens of Calebs, Jacobs, Crystals, and Emmas to deal with. And after that we still had parents frantically correcting their lists like some modern-day “Who’s On First?”: “Okay, we have Kalleb Smith, Cayleb Jones, Caleb Brown, and Kailob French. That’s the infield. Oh, and Kalleb Smith is a girl.” Now I work in medical billing. Not as many Calebs or Emmas or Jacobs or Hunters, but (since this was a very popular name in 1950) about a thousand different ways to spell Katherine (Kathryn, Cathren, Khatheryne, etc). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004.md?page=3)