# Poor little me: My parents gave me a stupid name
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 1, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023 "2006-06-01T15:43:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/81 "2006-06-02T14:46:18Z")
I went to school (late 1960’s) with **Paisley Boney IV**.
What got me was there were three others before him. But this was a wealthy family in town, so I assume that’s why the name was passed down.
I also went to school with \*\*Mary Christmas \*\* and \*\*Penny Cash \*\* (who lived next door).
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### Author:  [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/82 "2006-06-02T14:48:00Z")
I went to school, also in the late '60s, with **Rose Bush**.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/83 "2006-06-02T14:59:35Z")
> [@Dervorin](#):
>
> Oops, wasn’t done. There’s an Indian movie star called Dimple Kapadia, and when she had a sister, her parents wanted a rhyming name, in ultra-cute fashion.
Dimple Kapadia’s daughter is Twinkle Khanna.
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/84 "2006-06-02T15:19:08Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#):
>
> […]the name Nancy supposedly started out as a diminutive of Anne, and Nancy has been the more popular of the two names in a number of years.
Several Nancys in my family were named in honor of an ancestor named Annunziata.
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### Author:  [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/85 "2006-06-02T16:58:12Z")
As timely as [today’s headlines](http://reuters.excite.com//article/20060602/2006-06-02T141112Z_01_N01398407_RTRIDST_0_ODD-LIFE-NAMES1-DC.html).
Do Reuters/AP reporters read the Dope? You decide…
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/86 "2006-06-02T17:11:52Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#):
>
> His name is spelt Jaykub but it is pronounced Dyslexia.
Actually, it’s pronounced “Throatwarbler-Mangrove.” 😃
I think Piper is an okay name, although it has an unpleasantly trendy vibe. “Gaby” is lame - just go for Gabrielle. But it could be worse.
> [@if6was9](#):
>
> As timely as [today’s headlines](http://reuters.excite.com//article/20060602/2006-06-02T141112Z_01_N01398407_RTRIDST_0_ODD-LIFE-NAMES1-DC.html).
Timely, although it’s sorta stupidly written. The list of names at the end helps show that not everybody gives a shit what celebrities call their kids. Celebrity baby names may be getting weirder (although I don’t think I believe that), but Emily has been the most popular girls’ name in the US for ten straight years.
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/87 "2006-06-02T17:51:30Z")
> [@Nava](#):
>
> Jorge is common throughout, Jordi only in the areas that speak Catalan. St George being the patron saint for all the Old Kingdom of Aragon (current regions of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia and Baleares), it’s even more common for all the northwest.
>
> Jordi sounds… like Geordi. In theory, the Catalan J and the Spanish Y are the same sound, a bit rougher than a Spanish LL and very similar to an English J, but lots of Spaniards pronounce the Y as if it was LL, so we turn the “Jordi” into “Llordi”. Heck, I pronounce Yale and Jail exactly the same way (I’ve had to learn to use “prison” instead, when I’m speaking).
The Catalan J and the Spanish Y are the same? I’ve heard Argentines (and maybe other South Americans) pronounce Y like that, but I’ve never heard it in Spain. The Catalan J - at least according to my Catalan class, which taught Barcelona dialect - sounds just like the French J. That’s not all that close to Y/LL (do you actually pronounce those differently? Because I’m not sure I’ve ever met a Spanish speaker who does.)
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/88 "2006-06-02T18:09:47Z")
> [@yellowval](#):
>
> Well, it isn’t a terrible name, but some friends of mine recently named their daughter Alivia. Now, Olivia is a lovely name. Why’d they have to go and butcher the spelling? When I see “Alivia,” I think “Alive-ee-ah.”
Alive, alive, ooh
Alive, alive, ooh
Singing cockels and mussels, alive, alive ooh!
> [@Dervorin](#):
>
> There’s an Indian movie star called Dimple Kapadia, and when she had a sister, her parents wanted a rhyming name, in ultra-cute fashion. So what did they settle on?
>
> Simple. I kid thee not. I’ve often wondered what would have happened if she had had yet another sister… there’s only really one option left which rhymes.
This reminds me of the Seinfeld when they are trying to figure out the woman’s name that rhymes with a body part…"Gipple? Hest? Celeste? "
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/89 "2006-06-02T18:49:05Z")
Madison.
Meaning “son of soldier” (Madi **son** … get it? 😉 ) it has been an increasingly popular girls name since 1984, when Darryl Hannah’s character took the name from a NYC street sign (Madison Ave, of course).
In short: there are many little girls running around who’s first name was _meant_ to be a [joke in a movie](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=133866).
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/90 "2006-06-02T19:08:51Z")
It doesn’t matter which direction you go. Even old names will suddenly become popular and then you look like you’re trying to be trendy.
My maiden name is long and German. Not especially common.
My brother named his first daughter Olivia Marie.
Later that week, another Olivia Marie LastName was born, in the same hospital.
And now Olivia seems to crop up everywhere.
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/91 "2006-06-02T19:51:51Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> It doesn’t matter which direction you go. Even old names will suddenly become popular and then you look like you’re trying to be trendy.
>
> My maiden name is long and German. Not especially common.
>
> My brother named his first daughter Olivia Marie.
>
> Later that week, another Olivia Marie LastName was born, in the same hospital.
>
> And now Olivia seems to crop up everywhere.
Olivia’s been on the trendy list for a few years now. It’s a very nice name, but it just seems to happen that everyone notices that at the same time . . .
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/92 "2006-06-02T19:57:08Z")
> [@Excalibre](#):
>
> Olivia’s been on the trendy list for a few years now. It’s a very nice name, but it just seems to happen that everyone notices that at the same time . . .
Yep. Olivia is (I think) 6 now. And I think my brother said that before she was born the name was barely on people’s radar. The year after she was born it was in the top 10. Or something like that. My numbers are pulled out of the aether.
What causes that? Did a famous Olivia make news that year or something?
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### Author:  [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/93 "2006-06-02T20:25:01Z")
My sister was born in Louisiana, mere days after Hurrican Camille struck. My parents have joked ever since (and there is much truth to what they say) that Camille would have been an appropriate name.
My daughter, however, who is seven, has a different take on it. Her name is Katrina. And is she ever sick of the phrase “Katrina victims”. Every time she hears the phrase it sends her into a rant about how the people in charge of naming storms are cruel and heartless, dooming her to a lifetime of ridicule. I think she’ll get over it someday.
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/94 "2006-06-02T20:56:12Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> What causes that? Did a famous Olivia make news that year or something?
At least according to the authors of _Freakonomics_, there’s not much evidence that famous people’s names influence common baby names all that much - it’s more the case that names given by upper-class people sort of filter down to their poorer acquaintances.
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### Author:  [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/95 "2006-06-02T21:01:43Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#):
>
> My daughter, however, who is seven, has a different take on it. Her name is Katrina. And is she ever sick of the phrase “Katrina victims”. Every time she hears the phrase it sends her into a rant about how the people in charge of naming storms are cruel and heartless, dooming her to a lifetime of ridicule. I think she’ll get over it someday.
My cousin Andrew had a similar problem after Hurricane Andrew. It eventually passes.
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### Author:  [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/96 "2006-06-02T21:06:51Z")
I once taught at a school where they were twin boys names Cu and Cu-Cu, just like the clock, only a different spelling.
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/97 "2006-06-02T21:14:41Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#):
>
> What causes that? Did a famous Olivia make news that year or something?
I don’t think anything really triggers most name fads. People just decide it’s a nice name and they all decide it at the same time. Frex, my parents named me Sarah Elizabeth. I was born in 1984 and (at the time) they didn’t know of a single other baby named Sarah. There have been at least three other Sarahs on my _floor_ every year of college so far. So goddamn many Sarahs, many of whom sport Elizabeth as a middle name. The thing is, my parents thought they were just giving me a lovely name that nothing offensive rhymed with and that would serve me well as an adult. (And it has so far.) Other than Andrew Lloyd Webber divorcing his wife Sarah and marrying another one in 1984, I’m not aware of any news event presaging the popularity of the name.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/98 "2006-06-02T21:30:38Z")
> [@DoperChic](#):
>
> I once taught at a school where they were twin boys names Cu and Cu-Cu, just like the clock, only a different spelling.
I went to kindergarten with triplet sisters named Nina, Pinta, and Maria.
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### Author:  [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/99 "2006-06-02T21:57:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#):
>
> I went to kindergarten with triplet sisters named Nina, Pinta, and Maria.
That’s kind of cute, actually. But Pinta is not such a great name on its own.
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### Author:  [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-little-me-my-parents-gave-me-a-stupid-name/359023/100 "2006-06-02T21:58:03Z")
At my elementary school, there was two brothers who were called Frankie and Ricky. I once got a look at the official class list and discovered that one of them was actually named Toffee. Yes, the kid was a fighter, likely as a result of teasing he had received from others who had learned the sordid truth.
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