# Unique or odd names kids come up with **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656 "2013-11-11T17:44:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/1 "2013-11-11T17:44:57Z")
In the thread [What do you call your grandmother?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=707478) there are many names that kids make up for those relatives. Rather than hijack that thread, let’s mention some of the names that kids have come up with, usually from mishearing, mispronouncing or otherwise confusing what they heard with something they say instaed. An example in my family was what an older cousin did to the name “Isaac” and which was taken up by all of use younger cousins as “Igate.” (Pronounced eye-get.) Bubba for Brother is probably too common to deserve special treatment, but maybe “Sookie” for Sister isn’t all that common. What are some you’ve heard (or even made up yourself) for family names. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/2 "2013-11-11T17:50:13Z")
My 4yo daughter named the new Scottish Terrier puppy “Mackie.” It’s a great name, useful in many circumstances and permutations. Not at all what you wanted, OP, but it’s what I got. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/3 "2013-11-11T17:57:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > My 4yo daughter named the new Scottish Terrier puppy “Mackie.” > > It’s a great name, useful in many circumstances and permutations. > > Not at all what you wanted, OP, but it’s what I got. 😉 That’s fine, **JohnT** , and I’m not all that picky. Pet names are whole nuther can of worms and their origins probably stretch to the ends of the earth. Some I can report are: Spot, Poochie, Zero, Phantom, Chief, and my favorite of them all was a cat I named Blotharta.) ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/4 "2013-11-11T18:12:43Z")
Boy 2.0 is named Zack. When he was 11 or so, one of my cousins jokingly began calling him Zackie Pooh. Naturally, we taught the now-3.5-year-old to call him that, because it was funny. (Zackie Pooh is now 16 and six feet tall, 200 pounds.) Littlest Miss, at 20 months, can’t quite manage that nickname, so she has abbreviated to Pooh, which is very very funny. Husband’s mother is Mimi, because she referred to herself as Memaw, and the oldest granddaughter managed to get Mimi out of her mouth. It just stuck, and it’s easy for little kids to say. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/5 "2013-11-11T18:17:33Z")
When my daughter was a toddler she called my mom’s house “huh-house”…short for “Gram-huh’s-house”. Kind of hard to put it in writing. I still call it that (and in fact programmed it into the phone for the talking caller ID) but now she rolls her eyes at me. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/6 "2013-11-11T20:01:31Z")
A few more “out of the mouths of babes” names from my family: Vera became Beba Stewart became Toopie Yulin became Yalla Virgil became Buh-i-jah (one word, two syllables at most) ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/7 "2013-11-11T20:06:51Z")
The first-born grandchild for my parents, my sister’s daughter, was trying to say “Grandpop” or some such thing, and it came out “Gre-gre.” So that was his name for all subsequent grandchildren. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/8 "2013-11-11T20:06:53Z")
Baby Sophia went through a month-long EXTREMELY CUTE phase where she would identify animals by the sound they made. This was before she learned to talk, but long after she thought that she was talking… if that makes any sense. So she would ask if we were having some chicken by saying something like… “Mumble-mumble, ming-a-wing, the bawk-bawk-bawk?” Or if the dog did something she didn’t like… “Bow wow! mumble-mumble-mumble!” We had one dog, a scottish terrier named Fergie. For some reason, she kept calling him “Sait-ko.” Have no idea where that came from. OTOH, I have her beat - when I was 3, 4 yo, I had my own language that only my brother understood. I would say something, the family would turn to Jim, and he’d say “John wants milk” (or whatever.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/9 "2013-11-12T00:27:59Z")
There was a cute fictional one (specifically, in Dennis The Menace) some years ago. Dennis finds and adopts a stray cat, which he names Hotdog. It was all very meta. The gist of the story arc for the next couple of weeks was that nobody else in the strip could accept that a cat could be named Hotdog. Everybody argues with Dennis that you can’t name a cat Hotdog, and Dennis argues back with everybody, to the effect that a name is just a name and he can name a cat any name he wants. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/10 "2013-11-12T05:53:57Z")
TheKid renamed my parents Bama and Bampa. I don’t remember when they became the usual Grandma and Grandpa - probably around the same time she realized Bampa sounded too much like bumpah, the family name for buttocks. My grandnephew is overly blessed with grand, great grand, and great great grand parents. My nephew and his wife tried to get him to call my mom “Grandma (first name)”, but he was having none of it. She became Gramma Blue Truck. I became Treety. He couldn’t say the initials of my first name (what my family calls me), it came out as TT. Auntie TT became Treety. ---
**Author:** ![Happyasaclam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7c8e57/32.png) [@Happyasaclam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happyasaclam)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/11 "2013-11-12T06:45:55Z")
When my kid was 4-5 she had huge adenoids and ear problems. (We didn’t know) " mommy, I have a beaver in my mouth" " don’t blow out the candle bire" " I want bive brench bies" My poor kid couldn’t hear!!! A trip to the ears nose and throat dr. And a huge falling out with her previous pediatrician we find out she needs her adenoids taken out and ear tubes put in. She went through a portion of her young life hearing like she was under water. She had a fever in her mouth. don’t blow out the candle fire. I want five French fries. We still call a fever a beaver. “honey can you check if she has a beaver’ she feels hot” She’s fine now. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/12 "2013-11-12T11:40:15Z")
My great-grandparents were: Gingo, Grandy, Old Oma and Old Opa. I named them myself. 🆒 Draught = giraffe We call draughts “giraffes”, because my little sister misheard my mum and for years thought a giraffe would come into the room if she didn’t close the door. “Close the door because of the giraffe” and “is there a giraffe in here?” are perfectly normal things to say. Stork = Oliver We call all storks Oliver, because in Dutch it’s “ooievaar”, which troubled my youngest sister when she was learning Dutch. She knew someone called Oliver, so she decided that all storks must be called Oliver. Now we say: have you seen Oliver sitting on that nest up there? And going to our local pub The Stork: I’m going to see Oliver. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/13 "2013-11-12T13:11:07Z")
For a few weeks I would hear my three year old mention that she saw Scottie Pippen at school. So of course I was like, “Is Pippen doing a goodwill tour of schools?” I heard it again and again, thinking there must be a kid named Scottie Pipken or something. Finally after a month, I unearthed the Scottie Pippen mystery. The gerbil in the classroom was named Scottie Pippen by the class… Wha…? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/14 "2013-11-12T14:21:11Z")
Bandoom became balooma and finally we made it to balloon. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/15 "2013-11-12T14:29:13Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Draught = giraffe > We call draughts “giraffes”, because my little sister misheard my mum and for years thought a giraffe would come into the room if she didn’t close the door. “Close the door because of the giraffe” and “is there a giraffe in here?” are perfectly normal things to say. Doris = door. My mum used to say to us in Irish “don an doras” - to get us to shut the door, I thought a particular door was called Doris, Doris Door. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/16 "2013-11-12T14:55:54Z")
My friend’s daughter called balloons “mancas” for some unexplained reason. My nephew couldn’t quite get “Grandpa” down, so he became Bumpa. My brother Chris had a girlfriend many years ago - her kid couldn’t pronounce his name, so called him “Piss”. Good for many laughs! Needless to say, that didn’t last. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/17 "2013-11-12T16:35:08Z")
When my brother was 3 he drove my mother to distraction by crying for “bollos” (sounds like BALL-ohs) the whole way through the grocery store. She went up and down the aisles picking up random items, asking him if this was bollos. Finally, he pointed out a can of black olives. Yep, we call them bollos to this day, and he’s now 39. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/18 "2013-11-12T17:00:27Z")
Tollbooths are _paga-paga_ (“pay-pay”); bikini tops are _tapatetas_ (“titcovers”) rather than the official _sujetadores_ (lit. “holders”) because as my then-5-yo brother reasoned “that’s not trying to hold anything anywhere”. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/19 "2013-11-12T18:18:31Z")
My granddaughter calls toll booths “toll closets” (toll plazas). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656/20 "2013-11-12T18:25:02Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > My granddaughter calls toll booths “toll closets” (toll plazas). Nice. They do look like phone booths, and those are like Superman closets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unique-or-odd-names-kids-come-up-with/673656.md?page=2)