# Unusual Name of The Week...or Mom, what were you thinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2007, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340 "2007-07-03T13:11:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/161 "2007-07-12T01:38:37Z")
My cashier today at K-Mart was named Enjoli. I wasn’t positive, and didn’t want to trust my aging memory, so I googled as soon as I got home…yep, it’s a perfume. Wonder if her boyfriend sings “It’s going to be an Enjoli night” every time they go out. Now that damn jingle is stuck in my head… ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/162 "2007-07-12T02:46:16Z")
Looking at CNN tonight, I have to ask: What kind of name is Lady Bird Johnson? ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/163 "2007-07-12T02:55:09Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] May be the general rule but I had Italian coworkers named Ciara and they didn’t pronounce it Chiara… [/quote] In Italian, “Chiara” is pronounced “Kee-ah-rah.” “Ciara” would be pronounced “Chee-ah-rah.” I don’t make the rules, I just report them. Her Italian parents went with the Gaelic spelling, apparently. > [@](#): > > I would’a noticed, specially given the names the CH in my lastname was having at the time with Philly coworkers who insist in pronouncing it K. Maybe your Philly co-workers were Italian. I always want to pronouce vowel-ending names that have a “ci” in them as a “ch” sound and those with a “ch” as a “k.” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/164 "2007-07-12T03:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] Looking at CNN tonight, I have to ask: What kind of name is Lady Bird Johnson? [/QUOTE] She was born [Claudia Alta Taylor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Bird_Johnson) - > [@](#): > > During her infancy, a nursemaid commented, “She’s as pretty as a ladybird”, and that nickname virtually replaced her given name for the rest of her life. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/165 "2007-07-12T03:07:02Z")
My boss named one of his sons Kein, pronounced just like the biblical Cain. I hear his ultra-Catholic family had a collective stroke when they first heard it. My son Jean-Luc is going to be a starship captain, achieving more than his father, who only reached the rank of space cadet. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/166 "2007-07-12T09:35:44Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] In Italian, “Chiara” is pronounced “Kee-ah-rah.” “Ciara” would be pronounced “Chee-ah-rah.” I don’t make the rules, I just report them. Her Italian parents went with the Gaelic spelling, apparently. [/QUOTE] Interesting. My best friend has a daughter, Ciara, and she pronounces it ‘See-ah-rah’. I guess that must technically be completely incorrect, but it sounds nicer IMO than the other two pronunciations listed here. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/167 "2007-07-12T10:07:34Z")
My son has a friend named Paris. Yes, Paris is a boy. No, Paris’s mother was not drugged. And Paris’s twin sister is named…Riley. (Y’know, I would probably have called her Brussels.) ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/168 "2007-07-12T10:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=kittenblue] My cashier today at K-Mart was named Enjoli. I wasn’t positive, and didn’t want to trust my aging memory, so I googled as soon as I got home…yep, it’s a perfume. Wonder if her boyfriend sings “It’s going to be an Enjoli night” every time they go out. Now that damn jingle is stuck in my head… [/QUOTE] That was Aviance. Wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/169 "2007-07-12T10:17:14Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] I knew a Loren at work (female) and then my health club hired a Loren (male) as a front desk person / trainer. I wonder if his parents meant to name him “Lorne” but didn’t know how how to spell it. It seemed a bit feminine for him too. [/QUOTE] Maybe not. Loren is a name that crops up in my husband’s family a lot, going back several generations. All the Lorens were male. ---
**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 12, 2007, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/170 "2007-07-12T10:37:24Z")
> [@](#): > > My mom and sister once met a guy who named his twin boys Waylon and Willie. As a collector of names, this just rocks. I look forward to seeing Waylon and Willie on Smoking Gun in the future. > [@](#): > > Imhotep Box And his sister: **Cleopatra** ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/171 "2007-07-12T11:45:50Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] That was Aviance. Wasn’t it? [/QUOTE] :smack: You’re right…so not only is the jingle stuck in my brain, it’s wrong! Though it’s entirely possible Enjoli has a sister named Aviance. Maybe I’ll ask her next time I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/172 "2007-07-12T13:16:21Z")
I collect (or at least notice) odd patient names. Yesterday there was a guy on the schedule whose name I read as “Honest Mojo” (at second glance, “Honest” was the correct first name - the last name was spelled a little differently). But “Honest Mojo” is a terrific name. I have toyed with the idea of changing my name to Buck Naked. Buck Naked, M.D. has a ring to it and would look nice on a plaque by my office door. Some vintage baseball player names are fun to think about: Fielder Jones Urban Shocker Germany Schaefer Mordecai Peter Centennial “Three-Finger” Brown Frank “Piano Mover”\* Smith \*that’s what he did in the offseason. And sometimes _during_ the season. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/173 "2007-07-12T17:09:17Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] My son has a friend named Paris. Yes, Paris is a boy. No, Paris’s mother was not drugged. And Paris’s twin sister is named…Riley. (Y’know, I would probably have called her Brussels.) [/QUOTE] Perhaps he was named after [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_(mythology)). Like my 30-year-old cousin. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/174 "2007-07-12T17:15:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] My boss named one of his sons Kein, pronounced just like the biblical Cain. I hear his ultra-Catholic family had a collective stroke when they first heard it. My son Jean-Luc is going to be a starship captain, achieving more than his father, who only reached the rank of space cadet. [/QUOTE] I used to baby-sit a Jon-Luc. They used “Jon” instead of “Jean” because they didn’t want people calling him “Gene”. ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/175 "2007-07-12T17:48:28Z")
I grew up around a girl named Iawanna, pronounced “Iwanna.” Unfortunately, her family name was Bone. I think she later changed her name to “Sue” or the like. Testy ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/176 "2007-07-12T18:33:02Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Utahan Mormon given names have a [creative tradition](http://wesclark.com/ubn/) all their own. La- prefixes are important, as are blended and gender-bent names. [/QUOTE] So how does one pronounce Abcde? Absidee? A freinds dad worked in Berkeley as a firefighter, and supposedly met people named Freakus Bolikas, and his sister, Groovy-Tits, Female Pyjama (that’s fehMALay pajaMAY) Orange and Lemon Jello (orANgello and leMONgello), and, last but not least, Gonnorhea and Syphilis (gaNOReah and siFILus). Of course, firefighters have a lot of time on their hands. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/177 "2007-07-13T03:48:35Z")
Today’s contribution is more annoying than unusual, and involves the pronunciation not matching the spelling…in two cases. First one, a woman named Camellia…ka-meal-ya…except she spells it Camilla…ka-mill-uh. And then there is Qiania…which I wanted to pronounce Key-ahn-ya, but the customer insisted was Key-ahn-uh. Why do people put in an “i” if they don’t intend to pronounce it, or add one when it isn’t there? If you make up a spelling, don’t expect me to figure out which rules of probunciation you are also flouting. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/178 "2007-07-13T04:43:38Z")
[QUOTE=Great Dave] A freinds dad worked in Berkeley as a firefighter, and supposedly met people named Freakus Bolikas, and his sister, Groovy-Tits, Female Pyjama (that’s fehMALay pajaMAY) Orange and Lemon Jello (orANgello and leMONgello), and, last but not least, Gonnorhea and Syphilis (gaNOReah and siFILus). Of course, firefighters have a lot of time on their hands. [/QUOTE] Apocryphal, urban legendy, and unlikely. Also, [covered by Snopes.](http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/179 "2007-07-13T06:18:14Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] My son has a friend named Paris. Yes, Paris is a boy. No, Paris’s mother was not drugged. And Paris’s twin sister is named…Riley. (Y’know, I would probably have called her Brussels.) [/QUOTE] I think Paris as a girl’s name is a relatively recent thing, before Hilton it was probably more likely to be found on boys. I knew a family that had a son named Paris and a daughter named Helen, which is pretty disturbing for siblings. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340/180 "2007-07-13T06:42:14Z")
I’ve shared this before in these threads… The eldest son of a good friend of mine is a Navy photog. He recently sent his dad some photos he’d done in a military mag of some planes and personnel working on them. In one of the photos was a young lady named “Jinxqueen Jennifer…Hispaniclastname”. Did her mom NOT ever hear the “and now, coming to the dance stage” rule of thumb? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-name-of-the-week-or-mom-what-were-you-thinking/410340.md?page=10)