# What awful baby name could this have been? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771 "2017-05-03T12:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/41 "2017-05-03T18:08:32Z")
Tyrion was my first thought as I was reading the column. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/42 "2017-05-03T18:20:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Googling “Fictional bookworms” brings up Tyrion Lannister, from _The Game of Thrones_, and the books it was based on. I have not watched the show nor read the books, but this is a terrible name, and **sounds like a name that even young people who are accustomed to cre8tiv names might dislike**. It also sounds like the kind of name a young mother-to-be might get attached to. > > If I’d had a baby in my 20s, she probably would had gotten saddled with “Dorothy Parker Lastname.” Psh. There are people naming their baby girls Khaleesi, and that’s not even a name, it’s a title. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/43 "2017-05-03T18:43:42Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The letter writer says the name is from “literature” and I wouldn’t call a stage play literature. Aside from that, it fits. The sitcom character is definitely a reader. And from the phrasing, it sounds like the same character in both literature and television. I was an English major in college, and the professors referred to plays as literature. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/44 "2017-05-03T18:47:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The letter writer says the name is from “literature” and I wouldn’t call a stage play literature. Aside from that, it fits. The sitcom character is definitely a reader. And from the phrasing, it sounds like the same character in both literature and television. In “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, isn’t “Brick” supposed to be a nickname or short for something else? Back in the 1950s when the play was written, I can’t see anyone naming their son simply “Brick” unless it was a Southern thing. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/45 "2017-05-03T20:08:59Z")
I bet it’s Ignatius. Poor kid. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/46 "2017-05-03T20:36:35Z")
I think i would be upset too, if you wanted to name a boy Hermione :eek: Dear Parents Give your children normal names. Your personal feelings really dont really matter, it’s a child not property. You dont have to grow up with the name, they do. If it wants a crazy name, it can grow up and Happily change it’s name to one. It can NOT on the other hand get a time machine and try to erase a childhood of being picked on etc because mum or dad insisted on chain the kid down with a ludicrous name. If you are not sure if the name you pick is bad or not, go ask people. Preferably people you do not know you and will have no qualms about hurting your feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/47 "2017-05-03T20:36:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Psh. There are people naming their baby girls Khaleesi, and that’s not even a name, it’s a title. Back in the eighties there were supposedly people naming the sons Rambo after the Stallone character. I’m assuming they were unaware Rambo was the character’s last name; his first name was John. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/48 "2017-05-03T20:50:07Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Dear Parents > > Give your children normal names. > > Your personal feelings really dont really matter, it’s a child not property. I disagree with all of this but I’m not going to get into this because I don’t want this to be yet another thread about weird names and the awful parents who choose them. I just want to employ the collective cultural expertise of the Dope to try to solve this little cultural puzzle. Keep it fun, I plead. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/49 "2017-05-04T00:21:03Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > In “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, isn’t “Brick” supposed to be a nickname or short for something else? Back in the 1950s when the play was written, I can’t see anyone naming their son simply “Brick” unless it was a Southern thing. I know someone who had an “Uncle Brick” who was really Darrell, or something, but he had brick-red hair. Apparently for people who were anywhere between about 5-35 in the 50s, “Brick” was the go-to nickname for a redhead. For men, anyway. I wasn’t around then, it’s just how “Uncle Brick” was explained to me. People are naming their kids Brick now, though. I know a guy with two boys named Brick and Oscar. The name couldn’t be Oscar, could it? It’s literary, after Oscar Wilde, and TV has had Oscar the Grouch for nearly 50 years. Is there another Oscar on TV now? It’s actually a name that people have been using. I know 3 Oscars under the age of 18. One is in high school, one is my son’s age, and one is a preschooler. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/50 "2017-05-04T00:28:01Z")
I also immediately thought of Samwell. Tyrion was my second thought. And I have Game of Thrones on the brain. I read that there was a large uptick (probably from zero) of girls named Khaleesi. I bet all their mother’s names was Sussudio. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/51 "2017-05-04T00:31:08Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I also immediately thought of Samwell. Tyrion was my second thought. And I have Game of Thrones on the brain. I read that there was a large uptick (probably from zero) of girls named Khaleesi. I bet all their mother’s names was Sussudio. Mackenzie. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/52 "2017-05-04T03:19:48Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Mackenzie. How does Mackenzie fit the parameters? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/53 "2017-05-04T04:22:26Z")
Right now I see Brick and Samwell as the front runners. Quentin might have got, but it seems rather innocuous to me and unlikely to engender hatred. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/54 "2017-05-04T17:26:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > In a recent “Dear Prudence” column on Slate, the following item appeared: > > [Dear Prudence: My brother wants me to donate sperm a second time.](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2017/05/dear_prudence_my_brother_wants_me_to_donate_sperm_a_second_time.html) — > > The column never reveals the name, but I bet, given the pop culture and classical literature expertise of this board, we could figure it out. > > The only possibility that I have come up with so far is “Hermione,” but that doesn’t seem quite right. > > What else could it be? It’s got to be “from literature,” “recently TV,” the name of a character who is “a reader,” and a name that people “really, really” hate. > > Thoughts? Just chiming in to say that I personally know someone who named their now-teenage daughter “Hermione.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/55 "2017-05-05T00:19:44Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Just chiming in to say that I personally know someone who named their now-teenage daughter “Hermione.” It used to be a relatively common name, and now the preschools are full of Stellas, Emmas, Louises, Graces, Sadies and Sophias. Hermione isn’t that out-of-place. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/56 "2017-05-05T01:09:00Z")
Gotta be “Hannibal.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/57 "2017-05-05T02:22:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I’m torn between Sherlock and Tyrion now. On one hand, GOT seems like the kind of thing that would have “personal meaning” for someone without a lot of life experience. I can’t imagine someone being sentimentally attached to Sherlock-- it sounds more like the kind of name someone would give to make a point about people naming their kids “Faith,” “Hope,” “Angel,” and “Heaven-spelled-backwards,” instead of “Wisdom,” “Logic,” “Darwin,” or after a fictional character like Sherlock Holmes. There’s a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu :: Pauses to take a breath :: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Sherlock fandom out there, especially girls/women in their 20s-30s. Benedict Cumberbatch is Sherlock in, uh, Sherlock: [KOITOTO: Situs Toto Togel Resmi Viral Bisa Menang Bet 100 Perak](http://www.benedictcumberbatch.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sherlock_benedictcumberbatch_652_gallery_primary.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/58 "2017-05-05T06:24:33Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > The name couldn’t be Oscar, could it? It’s literary, after Oscar Wilde, and TV has had Oscar the Grouch for nearly 50 years. Is there another Oscar on TV now? It’s actually a name that people have been using. I know 3 Oscars under the age of 18. One is in high school, one is my son’s age, and one is a preschooler. I feel it’s a poor fit. Oscar Wilde was an actual person and the woman referred to the namesake as a character. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/59 "2017-05-05T12:10:40Z")
Dumbledore? “Dumb” for short. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771/60 "2017-05-05T18:27:35Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I have a friend who recently named her child Damian. I believe that was the name of a character in Homeland. I can assure you that all of us cringed when we heard the name. I’m not sure about the literary tie in… Spelled “Damien,” it was also the name of the little-boy-Antichrist in the Seventies movie _The Omen_. Also no particular literary tie-in that I can think of. Thorin Oakenshield wasn’t much of a reader, either: [I just met Thorin Oakenshield, believe it or not - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=437116) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-awful-baby-name-could-this-have-been/785771.md?page=4)