# Weird first or middle names in your family **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 5, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622 "2007-07-05T18:13:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/1 "2007-07-05T18:13:20Z")
In my family we have (or rather, had) people with the first names of: Rufus (male) Alcus (male) Vallie (female) Geechee (male) Are you related to any wackily-named people? ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/2 "2007-07-05T18:16:27Z")
My Catholic grandparents dealt out mostly normal names to my aunts and uncles except for one. His middle name’s Malachi, pronounced (by us, anyway) “Mal-uh-kee.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/3 "2007-07-05T18:19:44Z")
Just thought of another-- Uncle Delano. There may be still others…when you hear them all your life you kind of forget how weird they are. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/4 "2007-07-05T18:20:09Z")
My sister’s first name is Andra. Not entirely unheard of, but rare. Her middle name is Shell. My mother literally dreamed it up. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/5 "2007-07-05T18:26:56Z")
Let’s see… My grandmother gave birth to 15 kids, 12 of them lived. You run out of names at that point. One of the stillborn boys was just named “Brother.” Kind of has that West Virginia feel to it, had he lived…“hey Uncle Brother…” Of course, until someone told me about Cecil Adams, I thought my dad’s name was very unusual – he was also a Cecil. It was kind of handy in dealing with phone solicitors, as they always asked for “sessul” or “cecelia” – never “seesul.” I also have (had, she’s dead, ya know) an aunt named Joseph Allen Jr – my grandfather said that the next child would be a junior _no matter what_. We just called her “Aunt Jo.” Now, not a first or middle name, but my Grandma Weinke’s first husband’s last name was “Husband.” I would have had entirely too much fun with that one. “This is my husband, Mr. Husband.” My oldest brother’s middle name is “Reed.” Kind of an odd name, but not too bad. I have a niece whose middle name is “Island.” That’s the worst of it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/6 "2007-07-05T18:30:00Z")
My nephews are named Montana (not all that odd) and Gunner (as in someone who shoots). My brother is an ex-marine that loves to hunt and his wife’s mother makes squirrel every Thanksgiving. They wanted the kids name to reflect the hard, outdoorsy side. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/7 "2007-07-05T18:39:08Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] I also have (had, she’s dead, ya know) an aunt named Joseph Allen Jr – my grandfather said that the next child would be a junior _no matter what_. We just called her “Aunt Jo.” [/QUOTE] That reminds me of one of my mother’s relatives. It her her aunt or great-aunt. Her name was William Thomas. Same thing as with **Litoris** ’s aunt, her parents decided that this baby’s name was William Thomas, no matter what. Everyone called her Aunt Willie T. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/8 "2007-07-05T18:40:28Z")
I forgot, my BIL’s middle name is painter. I often wonder why people with unusual names seem to be from the south. You don’t hear of many northerners named Lyndon, Strom, or Elvis. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/9 "2007-07-05T18:48:59Z")
My great-aunt on my father’s side was “Liv,” pronounced “leave.” Other than that, a few odd middle names – but they’re all surnamed used as middle names (Sharp, Atwood, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Barrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Barrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrington)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/10 "2007-07-05T18:51:32Z")
My paternal grandparents gave my father a middle name which was my grandmother’s maiden name. It’s clearly a surname, and a very rare and localised one at that. My parents gave me the same middle name. My ex-wife and I gave the same middle name to our son. If and when he has a son himself, it’s up to him whether he continues the tradition, and if he didn’t, it wouldn’t bother me much - it’s not that important. The only reason I mention this is that it’s an unusual practice in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![rucciface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@rucciface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rucciface)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/11 "2007-07-05T18:54:49Z")
Flavius (my grandfather) has always gone by his more vanilla middle name. Can ya blame him? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/12 "2007-07-05T19:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Just thought of another-- Uncle Delano. [/QUOTE] Aha! I’ve been racking my brain for his brother’s name because I knew it was bad too, and finally came up with it- Lurie. ---
**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 5, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/13 "2007-07-05T19:15:32Z")
My grandmother’s name was Desdemona. She was called Des or Desi, or sometimes Dizzy (by her old college friends). I had a great-aunt, Aunt Fanny. Until she died I didn’t know her real name was Epiphany. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/14 "2007-07-05T19:31:35Z")
My sister has a weird name. Gotten from a baby name book. The French version of the Spanish name Juanita. Her middle name is also odd because it is an old-fashion little used Hawaii name which most people take to be Filipino. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/15 "2007-07-05T19:32:58Z")
My grandfather got both! Ney Napolian. What the hell were his parents thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/16 "2007-07-05T19:39:53Z")
Another Napoleon (middle name Bonaparte) here. Plus a Sylvanus. And then there’s Cupid, my grandad. My dad’s first name was pretty common, but his middle name was Omar. This branch of the family is Irish, and never set foot in the Southern US. I have no idea where they came up with this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/17 "2007-07-05T19:42:30Z")
My mom, named after her aunt, is named Edwenna. (ed-WEEN-uh). In college, she somtimes went by “eddie”. So my parents would introduce themselves as “Mike and Eddie”, and people would ask which one was which. Her father and brother are both named John Barkley, but go by “Barkley”. I have a branch of hippie cousins who have two daughters named Sierra Wildrose (goes by “Sierra”) and Alanna Joyful Raven (goes by “Joyful”, which I think is a lovely name). Another fork of the hippie branch has girl Sienna and boy Skye. And one other oddity… my mom’s side of the family is old south stock, pure whitebread for many generations back on both sides… but one of her ancestors (maybe her grandfather?) was named Carlo, a name I think of solely as Latino. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/18 "2007-07-05T19:49:15Z")
Three or four generations back, I had some relatives named Indiana John and America Arminta. Their parents had come to Indiana from England so I guess that’s where the names came from. (Indiana’s birth preceded Harrison Ford’s by probably 70 years, but I still think it’s pretty cool.) ---
**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 5, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/19 "2007-07-05T19:51:14Z")
In my family: Osmore Mehitable Josephine Silas Lamberta Fridfrod Gandalf Uthyr ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622/20 "2007-07-05T19:52:27Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t Call Me Shirley] Three or four generations back, I had some relatives named Indiana John and America Arminta. Their parents had come to Indiana from England so I guess that’s where the names came from. (Indiana’s birth preceded Harrison Ford’s by probably 70 years, but I still think it’s pretty cool.) [/QUOTE] Those are wonderful! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-first-or-middle-names-in-your-family/410622.md?page=2)