# Stupid Baby Names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273 "2009-07-07T23:45:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/121 "2009-07-09T17:56:02Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > I have a friend who named his son Cash. If they have a girl baby next, I’m tempted to suggest that she be named Cari. Penny wouldn’t be as funny. > > Cash??? I had a co-worker who had a son named Sam. He and his wife came very close to naming their daughter “Ella” until the day they happened to say the names together: “Sam and Ella”. 😃 Good thing they figured this out before she was born. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Why\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@The\_Why\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Why_Bird)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/122 "2009-07-09T18:46:59Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _Who promoted Major Major Major?_ Ha! As I was reading this thread I turned to my husband and said ‘Remember that character in Catch 22?’ ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/123 "2009-07-09T19:47:14Z")
My daughter was in school with a kid named Isis. Unfortunately it was a boy. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/124 "2009-07-09T20:04:15Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Where? That just seems bizarre to me. I went to a university known for its engineering programs, was a writing tutor there and took physics classes, etc. Every single prof would insist you spelled it “gauge”. I worked as a machinist for 5 years, and it was always spelled “gage”, even on the packaging the gages came in. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/125 "2009-07-09T20:13:12Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I had a co-worker who had a son named Sam. He and his wife came very close to naming their daughter “Ella” until the day they happened to say the names together: “Sam and Ella”. 😃 > > Good thing they figured this out before she was born. 😉 I had a Sam and Ella in my preschool class this past year. Took me till nearly Christmas to make the connection. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/126 "2009-07-09T20:18:48Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > Wait, is the exclamation point part of her name? 🙂 > > I when to school with a \*\*guy \*\*named Shannon Quincannon. Shannon use to be a not that uncommon Guy’s first name. Kinda like Beverly, Shirley, Evelyn and Kim There use to be an NFL football player (Minnesota?) who was named Shannon Something. Retired due to a neck injury. Billy Ray Cyrus named one of his daughters **Noah** , which really bothers me for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/127 "2009-07-09T20:20:36Z")
> [@robby](#): > > I also got went to a university known for its engineering programs, and based on my experience there, I would agree with you. I only saw the spelling “gauge” in academia. > > Then I went into the Navy, where the word is universally spelled “gage.” And on submarines and engineering plants, the word shows up a **lot** (e.g. “depth gage”). It was spelled this way in procedures, manuals, schematics, etc. > > It took me a while to get used to it. In **knitting** you always check your guage. (Brit Knitting it is _tension_) ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/128 "2009-07-09T20:21:33Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > There use to be an NFL football player (Minnesota?) who was named Shannon Something. Retired due to a neck injury. > Billy Ray Cyrus named one of his daughters **Noah** , which really bothers me for some reason. Shannon Sharpe. Brother of Sterling Sharpe. What’s wrong with Noah Cyrus? I have a Jewish friend that has a daughter named Noa; I think it’s not uncommon in her faith. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/129 "2009-07-09T20:23:46Z")
The best source of bad baby names (and comments): [http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/](http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/130 "2009-07-09T20:23:59Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > There use to be an NFL football player (Minnesota?) who was named Shannon Something. Retired due to a neck injury. The only one I can think of is Shannon Sharpe, who played for Denver and Baltimore, and he didn’t retire because of a neck injury. He played until he was 35, which is about as old as receivers and tight ends get. ETA: Beaten to the punch. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/131 "2009-07-09T20:29:59Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Shannon Sharpe. Brother of Sterling Sharpe. > > What’s wrong with Noah Cyrus? I have a Jewish friend that has a daughter named Noa; I think it’s not uncommon in her faith. Billy Ray Cyrus is jewish? I’ve never encountered a Noa/h in the female sense. It was [Sterling Sharpe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Sharpe) who had the neck injury. Out of Green Bay. ( Close and yet, so far.) ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/132 "2009-07-09T21:11:23Z")
Noa is a Jewish name that is spelled differently than Noah, both in English and Hebrew. I have never met a girl named N-O-A-H. Also, Yonah (Jonah) is usually male, while Yona is usually female. I think. They’re identical in Hebrew, though. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/133 "2009-07-09T22:42:32Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Noa is a Jewish name that is spelled differently than Noah, both in English and Hebrew. I have never met a girl named N-O-A-H. > > Also, Yonah (Jonah) is usually male, while Yona is usually female. I think. They’re identical in Hebrew, though. Right, Noa (with three letters) is a Hebrew girl’s name. I’ve known several Jewish girls with that name. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/134 "2009-07-09T23:12:47Z")
A friend of one of my children had a baby recently, and named her Cadence (or so I thought). My first reaction: that’s stupid. But then… it does trip nicely off the tongue. And I like marching bands and drum lines…and it makes me think of marching up to the stadium with the Cal Band on football game day. (dat dat dat. Dat-ta-da-dat-dat-dat.) (It turns out that it’s spelled “Caydence”, which just ruins the whole thing for me.) ---
**Author:** ![silvermist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvermist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silvermist)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/135 "2009-07-10T00:10:45Z")
I like the name Gage. If I were going to have a boy I think I would name him that. Can’t think of a middle name to go with it though. It sounds good by itself. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/136 "2009-07-10T00:11:44Z")
Deepender is an Indian name? Then why did that guy include it in his list? Names from other cultures are exempt from being called “stupid.” Apologies for insulting the name–if I knew the guy was a Sikh, I wouldn’t have given it another thought. (I knew an Anandeep. Anyone know what that one means?) You know what I dislike most about these “unique” spellings? So many of them just don’t make phonetic sense. A non-current example that I think will illustrate the point: There there 3 girls named Alyssa in my high school. They were all pronounced the same. One was Alyssa–the classic spelling. One was Elissa, which makes sense if you pronounce the E like in Elizabeth. One was Ilissa. _Ilissa_? That would be pronounced “ILL-issa” or something. It’s just not right. (Again, foreign names are exempted from this.) ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/137 "2009-07-10T00:49:38Z")
:rolleyes: > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Deepender is an Indian name? Then why did that guy include it in his list? Names from other cultures are exempt from being called “stupid.” Apologies for insulting the name–if I knew the guy was a Sikh, I wouldn’t have given it another thought. (I knew an Anandeep. Anyone know what that one means?) > You know what I dislike most about these “unique” spellings? So many of them just don’t make phonetic sense. A non-current example that I think will illustrate the point: There there 3 girls named Alyssa in my high school. They were all pronounced the same. One was Alyssa–the classic spelling. One was Elissa, which makes sense if you pronounce the E like in Elizabeth. One was Ilissa. _Ilissa_? That would be pronounced “ILL-issa” or something. It’s just not right. > > (Again, foreign names are exempted from this.) I used to work in a job scheduling patients for a clinic. We had a number of different ways to look people up: SSN, Name, date of birth, patient number, etc. One day a girl called and I could not find her anywhere. Her name was “Elizabeth.” After much frustration I ask her how to spell it. Her: ::heavy sigh:: A-l-y-z- Me: :rolleyes:. Here is your patient number. Please refer to this when you call. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/138 "2009-07-10T01:32:56Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Deepender is an Indian name? Then why did that guy include it in his list? Names from other cultures are exempt from being called “stupid.” Apologies for insulting the name–if I knew the guy was a Sikh, I wouldn’t have given it another thought. (I knew an Anandeep. Anyone know what that one means? _Anand_ means “happiness” or “joy”. _A **m** andeep_ is a girls’ name, and means peaceful light or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/139 "2009-07-10T02:25:52Z")
The following is a list of male first names that I can personally vouch for as being authentic. The spelling is as found on government documents. I’ve excluded the more typical first names from the african-american community, foreign first names which are combined with foreign last names, and most others which didn’t tickle my fancy. OKEYTHANN HUK FENTRIESS LAQUEITON LERVON MENDELL ROBRESE ACE TRIRU ANTWARN LAROYMEL SCHEROCKO MONTREAVOUS ANTAVIUS SHYWAN HORACTIO CARNELLIUS DIONICIO JUBA TILAN SYMWONE JOREL KENYACIES TERION OLU VERSIE AUNTRAY TREVOCEAN TARRICK DEZMEN DENERAL TREON DERMITRE ORLIN LEVAVIUM ALGENONE ODIA TRAMMELL ORAN Oh, and who can forget one of my faves, OG? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/140 "2009-07-10T02:26:29Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > Her: ::heavy sigh:: A-l-y-z- > Me: :rolleyes:. Here is your patient number. Please refer to this when you call. I’ll bet the heavy sigh was directed toward her parents. 🙂 My first married name was unusual, and I just automatically spelled it or pronounced it when appropriate. I figure why waste time waiting to be asked, when I know they’re not gonna get it right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273.md?page=8)