# What's In A Name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 4, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935 "2015-08-04T00:17:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/21 "2015-08-06T02:07:46Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Well “melody medley” is a thing, first of all. So it’s a cutesy name by itself. Their parents obviously couldn’t come up with another cutesy name to go with Medley, so they went with Melody and Melony. They rhyme. It’s like naming your twins Rod and Todd or Sasha and Tasha or Daisy and Maisy. Double cutesy. > > And yes, that’s how they spelled Melony. The twins that I grew up with were named Jack and Jill. Flaming orange hair and billions of freckles, and both homely as mud. But smart. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/22 "2015-08-06T02:31:54Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I knew this guy in the Air Force whose name was Major Major Major. And he was a Major. So he was Major Major Major Major. > > No wait. That’s from a book. Sorry. When I was stationed at Ft. Bliss in the early 80’s the commander of the hospital had the last name Major. He was a one star so Brigadier General Major. Had been a major earlier in his career so at one time Major Major. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/23 "2015-08-06T14:55:52Z")
I look at the stories my fellow Dopers have posted here, and I have to wonder about some of the parents out there. Spending one’s childhood catching flak about one’s name can have a deleterious effect on the adult one will become. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/24 "2015-08-06T14:59:55Z")
I’m still waiting to hear about girls named **Chlamydia** and **Placenta**. One thing that grates on me is when someone names a daughter Porsche instead of Portia. Who names a kid after a car? ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/25 "2015-08-06T15:06:07Z")
People who can’t spell, and people with a weird sense of what is valuable. I am certain that before I retire, I will wind up teaching a child named Bling. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/26 "2015-08-06T15:25:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Who names somebody after a car? Well,…Shakespeare did. But yeah, he did get the spelling wrong. I dunno why. But then, who names a prince after a small village\*? \*Hamlet… Get it? Huh? Well, did ya get it? now please click on: [www.instantRimshot.com](http://www.instantRimshot.com) ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/27 "2015-08-06T15:58:46Z")
I noticed the name tag on a server one time, and her name was _Shampaine_. I didn’t say anything. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/28 "2015-08-06T19:20:20Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > I noticed the name tag on a server one time, and her name was _Shampaine_. I didn’t say anything. On the other hand, I once saw a name tag on a woman named Sue. Except it was spelled “Sioux”. But in her case, it was appropriate— she had Native American ancestry. Still, I think it must have been a pain in the neck to live with a name that gets misspelled every single time. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/29 "2015-08-06T20:16:32Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Well “melody medley” is a thing, first of all. > > And yes, that’s how they spelled Melony. Facebook checks out! They don’t look like I expected though. I should add that my brother in law was a major. But with a last name like Jones, he always used his name or initials to differentiate himself. So he was known as: Major C. A. Jones He looked forward to that promotion for a long time and _his Spanish speaking friends were amused too._ ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/30 "2015-08-07T10:28:45Z")
I went to school with a brother and sister named Forest and Kelly. Last name Green. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/31 "2015-08-07T11:00:29Z")
I had two students one year who were Ahmed Ahmed and Mohammed Mohammed. This year’s favourite is Shaven Bonsangu. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/32 "2015-08-07T19:05:08Z")
Surly Chick’s story is proof that some people should not be allowed to reproduce. Or at least they shouldn’t name their own children. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/33 "2015-08-07T19:45:56Z")
I knew a girl named Melanie once. She had _enormous_ breasts. I thought her name was fitting. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/34 "2015-08-07T21:02:45Z")
I knew a girl named Jesse James. I also went to college with a black girl named, “La Sonya”. However, she herself pronounced it like “Lasagna”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/35 "2015-08-08T04:12:53Z")
My XO in the Navy was Commander Major. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/36 "2015-08-08T05:29:04Z")
Grade school had two sisters named Wood. Holly and Myrtle. Luckily, they were expected to take husband’s name _when_\* they married. - - at the time, there was no such option of “if” unless you wanted to become that most pathetic of creatures, an “old maid”. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/37 "2015-08-08T05:29:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The twins that I grew up with were named Jack and Jill. Flaming orange hair and billions of freckles, and both homely as mud. But smart. Jill Hennessy, of Law & Order fame, has a twin sister who has occasionally filled in as her double. Her name is Jacqueline. The family apparently calls her Jacq. One of my college friends once dated a young man named Adric. The name his parents had picked out in the event of getting a girl-child was Nyssa. I felt substantially less geeky by comparison. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/38 "2015-08-08T16:57:19Z")
> [@Mr.Goob](#): > > My XO in the Navy was Commander Major. Lt. Dad used to work with Commander Darling. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/39 "2015-08-08T17:16:07Z")
On shore duty in Japan, one of the young petty officers at out base came into the PSD to update his dependent data so that his newborn baby would be covered by the military’s insurance. You see, the PO’s wife had just given birth in an emergency room in a civilian hospital in Japan and the wife was in a bit of a coma. I was the unlucky sod to help this particular PO update his record. When I asked him the child’s name, he said, “Rat”. I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly, maybe he gave the kid a Japanese name and I just didn’t catch the whole thing. Nope. Rat. R-A-T. When I asked him if he was sure, he said, “Yeah. That was my nickname in school.” About a week later, same petty officer came into the PSD to change the dependent’s data. You guessed it: name correction. The wife came out of the coma and was none too happy with her husband’s child naming skills. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935/40 "2015-08-08T17:18:38Z")
> [@Mr.Goob](#): > > My XO in the Navy was Commander Major. I had a First Sergeant in the USAR named Major. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-a-name/726935.md?page=3)