# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/161 "2009-07-10T19:27:36Z")
> [@KRC](#): > > Locally there’s a kid named Casanova and another one named Severin. (Pity poor Severin–is his Mommy a dominatrix?) Unless you’re in the Olympia area, I think I know a different kid named Casanova. Sadly, he is a homely child. (I think the name Casanova is stupid for a different reason: it means new house, which makes me think of the Seattle Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus. I love Dave, but I wouldn’t want to name a kid after him.) ---
**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 10, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/162 "2009-07-10T20:46:38Z")
There was a mom in our school who had two kids, Jack and Jillian. I swear to the FSM that it took every thing I had not to point out the obvious to her every time I saw her kids. Her third is named Miya. Two white names from nursery rhymes to odd spelling third name. ---
**Author:** ![bathsheba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@bathsheba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bathsheba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/163 "2009-07-10T22:38:22Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I wonder if **Qadgop the Mercotan** can serve as a data point for this finding in some of the social science literature - that having an unusual name is a common trait among delinquents. I’ve heard them referred to as “future dead kids’ names”. > [@emcee2k](#): > > Blade, on the other hand, is an awesome name. I wish I was named Blade. Lots of Blades around here. After the footballer [Brendon Lade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendon_Lade). Sad but true. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_B.Itt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@Al\_B.Itt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_B.Itt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/164 "2009-07-10T23:06:32Z")
> [@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 always liked the pairing of Sam with Janet, because they then have a ready-made favorite song. Sam and Janet Evening. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![D.Fenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@D.Fenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.Fenestrator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/165 "2009-07-11T01:52:31Z")
… you will meet a stranger… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/166 "2009-07-11T04:08:25Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > That’s a new one. I used to look at NFL rosters every preseason, before first cuts, and see how many spellings of the name Antoine I could find. The record was 11, and that’s not counting Antonio, which is a totally separate name. I would have considered this one close enough. Was any of the eleven perchance “Antjuan?” I had a kid in my Cub Scout den with that name. And thinking about it, I guess I answered my own question. With eleven spellings, surely Antjuan must be among them. So what were the other ten? It would certainly be interesting if “Antoine” was not among them. ---
**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 11, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/167 "2009-07-11T13:31:40Z")
[Antwaan](http://www.nfl.com/players/antwaanrandleel/profile?id=RAN399604), [Antwan](http://www.nfl.com/players/antwanapplewhite/profile?id=APP629310), [Antwone](http://football.about.com/cs/antwonesavage/), [Antwon](http://www.nfl.com/players/antwonburton/profile?id=BUR753059), [Antwain](http://www.nfl.com/players/antwainspann/profile?id=SPA462616), [Antwaun](http://www.nfl.com/players/antwaunmolden/profile?id=MOL131680), [Antowain](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/3894), [Antione](http://footballjabber.com/2008/02/17/2008-nfl-draft-prospects-antoine-cason/), [Antuan](http://www.nfl.com/players/antuanedwards/profile?id=EDW108786), [Antwoine](http://www.nfl.com/players/antwoinewomack/profile?id=WOM154866)… and that’s _just_ in the NFL. [thinkbabynames.com](http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Antoine) lists 17 variations in total, not including Antoine. ETA: There’s no Antjuan currently in the NFL but there is one on the Texas Tech basketball roster. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/168 "2009-07-11T15:43:57Z")
There was an Antoine, Winfield to be exact…and I think he was the only one to spell it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/169 "2009-07-11T16:36:31Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > 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. I knew a girl in college who went by “Kelli”. I’ve never liked the “I” instead of “Y” spellings for girls names, but I can see why she found “Kelli” preferable to the spelling her parents stuck her with as her legal first name…“Kelleigh”. Google tells me that Kelleigh is sometimes encountered as a last name so it may have been a family name for her, but I suspect her parents just wanted something fancier or more pseudo-Gaelic sounding. Either way, I guess they didn’t think about how their daughter would be forced to spell out her whole name in all official situations for the rest of her life. I’m sure anyone named Kelly/Kelli gets “Is that Kelly with a Y or Kelli with an I?” a lot, but it must get pretty old having to always say “No, it’s Kelleigh with an E-I-G-H!” ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/170 "2009-07-11T20:32:17Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I wonder if **Qadgop the Mercotan** can serve as a data point for this finding in some of the social science literature - that having an unusual name is a common trait among delinquents. That is, the Kenyacies are represented at a higher proportion in prison than say, the Edwards? > > Personally I suspect it has to do with a socioeconomic distribution. I knew a number of folks at Harvard pursuing advanced degrees with what I would consider to be… er, _non-standard_ names. These folks, to a person, were very self-confident - having an odd name seemed to give them something. But it was hard to imagine Dr. Precious Williams not getting crap for her name, no matter where she went to school… I don’t have a link to the entire article, but [here is a relevant cite](http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1874955,00.html) from _Time_ magazine. Airman had this professor for econ, so the study has kind of stuck with me. ---
**Author:** ![toadflaxxed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@toadflaxxed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadflaxxed)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/171 "2009-07-12T23:19:12Z")
You know a kid named Nevaeh has had parents who guested on the Maury Povich show. Arguing about her legitimacy. And has had a grandmother who vehemently denied both her AND her whore mother, only to have to apologize to “10 milllion viewers.” When in the hospital after the birth of my own daughter +30 years ago the woman in the bed next to me was having to tell the vital records department at the hospital what her child’s name was to be for his birth certificate. She said, “Le Cleveland Jamar” but when asked, didn’t know how the name should be spelled. “I just going to call him 'Little Cleve,” was her reasoning as not knowing how to spell the kid’s name. \ ---
**Author:** ![Myrrajh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@Myrrajh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrrajh)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/172 "2009-07-13T00:35:56Z")
I know someone who named their daughter Monet (moh-NAY). I think it sounds really classy. The only hate-inspiring ones I cand think of are jokes, I’m sure. Lemonjello (le-MON-juh-lo) and Orangejello (o-RON-juh-lo), and Nosmo King (from the “No Smoking” sign in the maternity ward). Oh, but there is the one guy from my high school, William Williams. He went by Bill. But still… ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/173 "2009-07-13T00:38:41Z")
I’ve known some Hong Kong people who have given themselves some weird names. I’ve met Weeping, Smiling, Protoss, and Squall. Protoss and Squall??? They named themselves after video game characters? I also think it’s weird when parents name their kid John Michael Smith XVIII or something. Please, how hard is it to come up with a different name? ---
**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 13, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/174 "2009-07-13T00:38:51Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > There was an Antoine, Winfield to be exact…and I think he was the only one to spell it that way. Nah, there are lots of regular Antoines. Winfield, Bethea, Cason, Caldwell, Harris and Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/175 "2009-07-13T00:42:57Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’m sure anyone named Kelly/Kelli gets “Is that Kelly with a Y or Kelli with an I?” a lot, but it must get pretty old having to always say “No, it’s Kelleigh with an E-I-G-H!” There’s a woman working in town whose name tag proclaims her to be “Lesleigh”. In the same shopping mall, there’s an Amba (keep in mind Australians tend to swallow their Rs, so that’s an alternative spelling for Amber). The mall in the next town over has a Maranda. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/176 "2009-07-13T10:46:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Nah, there are lots of regular Antoines. Winfield, Bethea, Cason, Caldwell, Harris and Holmes. The last time I did this was when Winfield hadn’t been in the league all that long. There may have been many fewer then. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/177 "2009-07-13T18:29:49Z")
> [@SweetLucy](#): > > “Angel” and “Heaven” are beautiful words, but whenever I hear someone with either of these names, I assume she (or he) is an exotic dancer :rolleyes: When I hear Angel as the first name, I pray that the last name will be Hispanic. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/178 "2009-07-13T18:54:22Z")
My son’s soccer coach named his two daughters Stormy and Sunny. Here’s one of many stories about a dad [naming his kid ESPN.](http://www.parentsbehavingbadly.com/2006/10/08/bad-baby-names-dad-names-child-espn/) I haven’t checked to see if this is an urban legend, but there’s the email floating around about a mom who [named her baby Le-a](http://community.babycenter.com/post/a4719585/just_for_grins..._worst_baby_name_ever)(It’s pronounced Ledasha, the ‘dash’ isn’t silent). Speaking of urban legends, there’s always the one about the twins named Orange’ jello and Le’ monjello (Orange Jello and Lemon Jello). ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/179 "2009-07-13T22:47:50Z")
> [@bathsheba](#): > > I know some-one who named their kid Beejay. Like BJ Honeycutt on Mash. Named after his mother, Bea, and his father, Jay. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273/180 "2009-07-13T22:48:59Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There are an awful lot of Nils Nilssons and Lars Larssons in Sweden. Yeah, but that’s like naming a child after yourself. “You know Lars, Lars’ son?” I don’t think that’s quite the same as Evan Evans. Or Bob Roberts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-baby-names/502273.md?page=10)