# Texas Dopers: Given Names of Teenagers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966 "2013-01-12T15:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/1 "2013-01-12T15:28:57Z")
I write textbooks for a living. That means I write a lot of word problems (e.g., “Billy and Susie are designing an experiment to determine blah blah blah.”) When writing word problems, I try to come up with names that aren’t bland and boring, that sound like names that students in the given age group have today, and that reflect the ethnic makeup of the nation as a whole. Except the program I’m currently working on is only going to be sold only in Texas. Which opens up lots of possibilities. I know there is a large Vietnamese minority in SE Texas, so I’ve thrown in a couple of Vietnamese names. And I used “Cord” once, based on the cowboy (not from Texas) who competed on _The Amazing Race_ a year or two ago. Long intro. Sorry. If anyone out there (a) lives in Texas and either (b1) teaches high school or (b2) has teenagers, could you please let me know of some first names that might be common in Texas but not in, say, Connecticut (where I live). Secondarily, do kids still have double names like “Jim Bob” or “Billie Jo”? Thank you for your help. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/2 "2013-01-12T15:46:48Z")
More an IMHO, imho Jesus, Hector, Maria, Juana for the hispanic crowd Caleb, Joshua, Esther, Ruth for the Biblers Jim, Steve, Nancy, Peggy for the old school crowd Remember, Texas has some large cities (Houston, Dallas). Lots of mixes of ethnicities. African & Asian (as your OP noted) names might be useful. I was born and raised in SE Texas 50 yrs ago, and double names were very rare in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/3 "2013-01-12T16:17:14Z")
Troy, Roger, Tom, Tony, Emmitt. ;)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/4 "2013-01-12T16:26:36Z")
Have you looked at the tools at [babynamewizard.com](http://babynamewizard.com)? There are a lot of fun things to poke around with, including some geographic breakdowns. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Troy, Roger, Tom, Tony, Emmitt. ;)😃 Those are typically Texan? ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/5 "2013-01-12T16:35:45Z")
Why not use names not common to Texas. Let them know the whole world does not revolve around them even if they won’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/6 "2013-01-12T16:37:17Z")
Moved to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/7 "2013-01-12T16:43:13Z")
I’m not arguing the forum change, **Colibri** , but I would like to emphasize that I’m looking for factual answers, not opinions. Not, “I think these are good names for you to use,” but rather, “These are the names of a couple of kids in my son’s 11th-grade class.” And thanks to **NoClue** , **Tom** , and **Rhythm** for the suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/8 "2013-01-12T16:44:10Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Those are typically Texan? Famous names from the Dallas Cowboys. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/9 "2013-01-12T17:10:53Z")
[This site](http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/state/index.html) might be useful. It has lists of the most popular baby names by state and year of birth. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/10 "2013-01-12T17:50:56Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Troy, Roger, Tom, Tony, Emmitt. ;)😃 Or… you could go the college route with: Johnny, Earl, Ricky, John David. Or other pros: Earl (same one), Warren, Nolan, Mike/Michael, Jose, Josh, Craig, Adrian, Hakeem, Clyde, Allen, Robert, Moses, Rolando, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/11 "2013-01-12T17:55:08Z")
Do the names need to be _distinctively_ Texan? I mean, “John” is surely a common name in Texas, but it’s a common name everywhere else in the English-speaking world, too. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/12 "2013-01-12T18:05:42Z")
Don’t know if it is popular in Texas, but Dallas seems to be a common first name - knew a guy in Illinois and there is an attorney who advertises here in Las Vegas and they both have the first name of Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/13 "2013-01-12T18:49:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Do the names need to be _distinctively_ Texan? I mean, “John” is surely a common name in Texas, but it’s a common name everywhere else in the English-speaking world, too. Yes, I’m hoping to pick up a few that are _distinctively_ Texan, so as to sound authentic to the ears of the Texas students reading the textbook.\* I mean, I know two different people from Alabama named Barbara Jean and Joe Bob (although they’re middle-aged adults, not teenagers). I’d love to be able to use a few names like that, if I could assure my client that each is an authentic name of at least one Texas high school student. Maybe no such thing exists in this day and age. I just thought I’d ask. \*Not that they read with their ears. You know what I mean. ETA: Cord (see earlier post) is another example of, if not Texan, at least a regional name. We don’t have a lot of them in New England. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/14 "2013-01-13T03:01:58Z")
Back in Texas, I knew a Jerl. Sort of pronounced like Gerald if you were to start choking as soon as you started saying the name. He was the only one I encountered though. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/15 "2013-01-13T03:35:50Z")
I’m a high school teacher in Texas. No one has those country sounding double names, they are silly, and they would make your text sound silly. I don’t know what to tell you. Texas is an urban state, it lost its country-western identity several generations ago. I can’t think of any uniquely Texan names that are common. The common names you hear in Texas are the common names you’d hear in New York, California, Pennsylvania, or Florida. The most common names in my school are Jose and Maria. There are a lot of Vietnamese people in Texas (more than anywhere other than Vietnam). But the school age kids are all 2nd or 3rd generation. They have such regular “white people” first names it must be a deliberate attempt at assimilation. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and never heard of anyone named Dallas outside of a “b” movie. Remember that Texas is 40% Hispanic and 12% black, so choosing country cracker sounding names isn’t exactly reaching out to the population. Especially since 88% of Texans live in large cities. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/16 "2013-01-13T03:44:43Z")
I did know a Joe Bob in Texas. We used to comment on his girlfriend giving him a “Joe Bob Blow Job.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/17 "2013-01-13T03:51:59Z")
You mean Steve Miller got it wrong with his story about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/18 "2013-01-13T04:03:32Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Have you looked at the tools at [babynamewizard.com](http://babynamewizard.com)? There are a lot of fun things to poke around with, including some geographic breakdowns. > > Those are typically Texan? It’s a sports reference, but even before I noticed that I’ll say that, I (a Texan) thought those names definitely connote Texas. ETA I think my subconscious picked up on the reference when they were all listed out like that. “Tony” in isolation doesn’t feel so texas to me. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/19 "2013-01-13T04:06:41Z")
My wife went to high school with someone named Cletus. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966/20 "2013-01-13T05:31:11Z")
Well, at my sister’s New Year’s Eve party (in Arlington) this year were Nick, Sara, Chase, Michael, Tanya, Brittany, Tyler, Dean, Carter, Zoe, Jamail, Sami, Thomas, Madison, Marcus, Johnny, and David. That’s about 80% traditional “white kids,” and one each Vietnamese, Korean, Kuwaiti, Mexican, Nigerian, and African-American. But why not just look at a recent yearbook from some Texas high school? They’re easy to find on eBay. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-dopers-given-names-of-teenagers/646966.md?page=2)