Well, it finally happened . . . I have a student with the same name as a very famous female porn star whose name is well-known even outside of adult films. The student is 18-years-old, so she would have been named at a time said star was very active. Even if her parents were ignorant of this, you’d think SOMEONE would have said “y’know, that’s the name of an incredibly famous porn star – sure you wanna do this?”
I think it’s a really, *really *cruddy thing to saddle your kid with a name that invites teasing and derision. Why would someone do this to their kid?
Unless it’s a stage name like Stormy Davis, I don’t see a problem. I can’t think of a porn star by name other than Ron Jeremy. If you want to name your kid (picking random name) Melinda Johnson, and that’s also the name of “an incredibly famous porn star,” go ahead and do it.
I know you need to protect the student’s identity, but I’m curious, did she already share the last name of the porn star, and the parents gave her the unfortunate first name? Like, her last name is Jameson, and the parents named her Jenna or something? Or is her first name really unique and shared with a porn star? If the first, is it possible that no one caught it?
I agree that it’s kind of a crummy thing to do in either case. Does the student catch shit over it?
I agree that it does depend on the name. However, there are some names that are just going to lead a not insignificant amount of people to think of the porn star. I’m guessing the name is likely Jenna Jameson or Stormy Daniels (who is even more famous nowadays)?
Yup, last name Jameson - she seems very purposefully named. I don’t know if she gets peer crap, it’s been remarked upon by other campus folk (in the vein of: wtf were the parents thinking, not in a mean way).
Hmm. I have to say I know the names of precious few porn stars. Not because I never watch porn, but I don;t know the names.
I have heard of Jameson and Daniels, but Jameson only very vaguely, but not sure I would associate the name with the “celebrity”…and more specifically Linda Lovelace. And that’s about it.
I’d guess that a lot of people are in my shoes. So I think it’s quite possible that no one said anything to them because…nobody close to them recognized the name?
I suppose if it’s Lovelace I might take it back. But is she well known among people under a certain age?
ETA: Now I see the name. As I said, not at all sure I’d make the connection. It’s interesting how what seems obvious to some people is completely un-obvious to others.
Her peers are mostly too young to know names of pornstars who were famous around the time she was born. Unless that pornstar had an unusually long career.
I thought maybe your student was Kylie Jenner who wins all my derision for naming her new daughter Stormi (because it’s so much less strippertastic with an “I”).
I told my oldest daughter to Google any name she was considering for her boys. They are both named unusual names. One is in the name of 2 movies, the other is a semi-famous car racers name.
I have a friend with a similar name of a porn star ( so she says), she thinks it’s hilarious.
Has anyone else noticed there are 3 convicted wife murderers with the last name of Peterson?
When you say, "you’d think SOMEONE would have said ", you’re assuming they told anyone before it was a done deal. It only takes one half-year fight over what the baby’s name should be for anyone else in the family to stick with “we haven’t decided yet” until it’s too late to comment.
According to the Social Security index, the name Jenna first jumped in popularity in 1984 (after Priscilla Presley began playing the character Jenna Wade in Dallas). After that it declined until 1996-1997, started increasing in popularity again, peaking in 2001-2002, then dropping rapidly after 2006.
Jenna Elfman was a regular in the series Townies in 1996, then starred in Dharma & Greg from 1997-2002.
Jenna Jameson, IIRC, was a pretty run-of-the-mill porn actress until she became a web entrepreneur in 2000.
I just wish people around here would quit with the Alex, Alexis, Zander and Xander. There are way too many. It’s like Jennifer in the 80s. I have noticed a few Jadyns and Jalyns lately too. .
There are a seemingly disproportionate number of serial killers with the middle name Wayne. That’s my dad’s middle name, and I know he’s never killed anyone.
When I was in college in the early 1990s, a woman who was a couple years ahead of me got married and considered keeping her maiden name, because her married name would be Cindy Crawford, who was one of the top 10 most famous women in the world at the time. However, she did change it anyway.
