# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/61 "2006-03-05T10:09:18Z")
When I was working a call center I got a call from a customer named Shitonya. [But Shirley Q Liquor has the definitive say.](http://www.sendthisnow.com/html/babydaddy.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/62 "2006-03-05T13:20:13Z")
> [@MrJackboots](#): > > My dad would’ve been one of these parents if it weren’t for my mom. He wanted to name me Bruce. As is I just got off being named afte a semi-obscure sixties musician. > My last name is Lee, incidentally. > Oh, yeah, Dad, like that wouldn’t have gotten me beaten senseless. I, too, dodged a major bullet. My dad wanted to name me Gilligan. Funny thing is, I don’t think he ever watched the show, let alone liked it. Fortunately, mom was a bit more pop-culture-savvy. As much crap as I got over my real name, I can only shudder at the thought of what life would have been like with **that** name. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/63 "2006-03-05T13:34:31Z")
Yesterday as we strolled through the neighborhood, we were informed by some sidewalk chalk that the residents at that house had named their kid **Baileigh**. I can kind of see Bailey, but Jeez, they really wanted to make sure the child was in for a lifetime of torture. Why, why, why, do people feel the need to tart up names so that no one will ever be able to spell (or perhaps even pronounce) them correctly? The first time I ran across this was when watching the credits for \*Head of the Class \* and seeing \*\*Khrystyne \*\* Haje. Oy. I met sisters this week named \*\*Maya \*\* (not too bad) and **Azaria**. An acquaintance has a new baby \*girl \* named **Ezra**. A neighbor girl is named **Caitrin**. Well, it may be Kateryn or Kaitrin or something, I haven’t seen it written. Point is, it sounds like the American Caitlin, but with an R, guaranteeing that most people will think it is in fact Caitlin. I was engaging in the Jeffrey phenomenon\* at the store the other day, and at some point shortened Chloe to Chlo. A lady asked if my daughter’s name was Chlo, because that’s what they named their daughter. Only it’s spelled \*\*Chloe, rhymes with “go.” \*\* She gaily said the daughter always has to correct people on the pronunciation. :rolleyes: I’ve lately been pondering the tradition of naming girls after virtues: Grace, Charity, Patience, hell, even Temperance and Chastity. Why not other good qualities? Why no girls named Perseverance or Creativity? \*For the confused, from Bill Cosby’s routine. Everyone on the plane knew Jeffrey’s name, because his mom had a constant monologue: “Jeffrey, stop; Jeffrey, Jeffrey, don’t do that; Jeffrey come here, Jeffrey.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/64 "2006-03-05T14:03:23Z")
My somewhat chavvy ex has named her two kids Shannon and Jordan. I jokingly said to her “what are you going to call the next one? Nile? Mississippi? Shatt-al-Arab?” She looked at me blankly. She honestly had no idea that she’d named her kids after rivers. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/65 "2006-03-05T14:05:09Z")
Another one I recall - someone I know had to deal with a woman whose child’s name was pronounced **Wivunnee**. That’s Wivunnee, spelled “Yvonne”. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/66 "2006-03-05T14:29:32Z")
Years ago I met a woman (she was from the US, of Latino origin) called _Kaylib_. Very odd. The other day, here in the Dominican Republic, I came across a _Hanoi_. Also female. Even odder. And what’s this with giving girls _male_ biblical names like _Elisha, Azaria_ and now, _Ezra_ (see post above by **AerynSun** )??? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/67 "2006-03-05T14:42:43Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > What, no Dustin? Heh. My ex dated a woman with a kid named Dustin. Our son’s name is Justin. Eeew. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/68 "2006-03-05T15:24:15Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Another one I recall - someone I know had to deal with a woman whose child’s name was pronounced **Wivunnee**. > > That’s Wivunnee, spelled “Yvonne”. Someone I know has the name Yvonne and she constantly gets junk mail address to Evan [LastName]. Even funnier, since the last name can also be a woman’s first name, more junk mail comes addressed to [LastName] Evan. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/69 "2006-03-05T15:44:48Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > 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. Aye, sounds like that but spelled Arrayna. Forgot they also have a younger girl named Jillian. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/70 "2006-03-05T15:48:59Z")
> [@Harriet the Spry](#): > > I am 99% sure your friend is related to me. How many 2 year old Arraynas can there be in Minnesota? I had no idea about the plans for Kaegan. > > _It’s a small Dope after all…It’s a small Dope after all …_ 2 older step brothers, one younger sister in your case as well? ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/71 "2006-03-05T16:19:23Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > My somewhat chavvy ex has named her two kids Shannon and Jordan. I jokingly said to her “what are you going to call the next one? Nile? Mississippi? Shatt-al-Arab?” She looked at me blankly. > > She honestly had no idea that she’d named her kids after rivers. If the next one is a girl, I’d suggest Amazon. Or Dee. Actually this mother might go for Dee. If it’s a boy, how about Hudson? ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/72 "2006-03-05T16:25:11Z")
I went to high school with a girl whose parents named her Penelope and abbreviated it to Penny. Which would have been OK, except the family name was Royal. My mother knew a family that had three sons named Donnie (after his father), Ronnie and Johnny. Finally they had a girl. And named her Bonnie. In her librarian days, my mother once encountered three small sisters in the children’s section of the library, and asked the oldest her name. “Faith.” And the baby’s name? “Chawwity.” My mother, catching on, pointed to the middle-sized girl and said, “And I suppose that’s Hope.” And of course it was. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/73 "2006-03-05T16:37:22Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > I, too, dodged a major bullet. > > My dad wanted to name me Gilligan. Funny thing is, I don’t think he ever watched the show, let alone liked it. Fortunately, mom was a bit more pop-culture-savvy. > > As much crap as I got over my real name, I can only shudder at the thought of what life would have been like with **that** name. You know, by the time you were twenty-five, no jury in the world would convict you for killing every person who called you “little buddy”. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/74 "2006-03-05T16:58:21Z")
My husband went to school with Misti, Stormi, and Sunni - the Morning sisters. Our property management company deals with mostly lower-income clients, so we get some doozies. Recently, we had a “Diemund” on an application. Some of them I can’t even begin to pronounce (I was thrilled to see that Johnny’s son was named “Quentin”). But my two all-time favorites are KuFanya and Angernetta. Valencia is up there, too. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/75 "2006-03-05T17:11:25Z")
> [@ryobserver](#): > > I went to high school with a girl whose parents named her Penelope and abbreviated it to Penny. Which would have been OK, except the family name was Royal. They gave their daughter a name with strong associations with _abortion?_ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/76 "2006-03-05T17:16:47Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > Phaedra? _giggles_ > > (maybe asking **Phèdre nó Delaunay** would be in order) Oh wow, and here I thought I’d been flying under everyone’s radar by mostly lurking. I guess I should have expected Kushiel to notice me! My weird name story? There was a girl working in a local fast food restaurant whose nametag proclaimed her to be “Avarice.” ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/77 "2006-03-05T17:24:24Z")
My first name is Holly. 99% of the other hollys I’ve met spell it like me, yet I’m always getting asked how I spell it. So I was on the phone to some customer service dept the other day with a really nice guy on the other end. We had been talking for about 10 minutes about my problem and commiserating about the wonders of the computer age when he asked me what my name is Me: Holly Really Nice Guy: OK, and how do you spell that? Me. H…O…L…L…E…I…G…H…W (The w is silent, by the way) RNG: Really? Me: No. It’s Holly, just like the plant. Am I going to CustomerService hell for that? He seemed like he appreciated the joke, but who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/78 "2006-03-05T19:23:08Z")
My SIL told me yesterday about a new student in her school named Anakin Luke. No reports yet on whether he’s started turning to the Dark Side. ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/79 "2006-03-05T19:44:38Z")
> [@MrJackboots](#): > > My dad would’ve been one of these parents if it weren’t for my mom. He wanted to name me Bruce. As is I just got off being named afte a semi-obscure sixties musician. > My last name is Lee, incidentally. > Oh, yeah, Dad, like that wouldn’t have gotten me beaten senseless. I have a boy named BruceLee in my class (that’s his whole first name, capital letter in the middle and all). His brother’s name is Steven Segal (Segal is the middle name). The older brother’s name is Chuck - not sure of the middle name, but I can only assume Norris… :rolleyes: As for someone asking if Female for a girl’s name is an urban myth, I can confirm that my sister has had 2 “Females” in her class over the years. I’m not sure if it’s because they saw the word on the birth certificate, or if they just liked the sound of it. Both of the girls pronounced their names as “Fuh-malee”. -Wallet- ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004/80 "2006-03-05T20:17:06Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > My first name is Holly. 99% of the other hollys I’ve met spell it like me, yet I’m always getting asked how I spell it. > > So I was on the phone to some customer service dept the other day with a really nice guy on the other end. We had been talking for about 10 minutes about my problem and commiserating about the wonders of the computer age when he asked me what my name is > > Me: Holly > Really Nice Guy: OK, and how do you spell that? > Me. H…O…L…L…E…I…G…H…W (The w is silent, by the way) > RNG: Really? > Me: No. It’s Holly, just like the plant. > > Am I going to CustomerService hell for that? He seemed like he appreciated the joke, but who knows. My name has several popular spellings, none of which might even have a Q. Whenever people ask me how to spell it…I answer casually “with the Q” The confused pause is priceless. Sometimes I throw in “the Q is silent” if they look to be on the verge of believing me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-that-are-just-askin-for-it/347004.md?page=5)