# What's wrong with new or different names? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567 "2004-10-22T06:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/41 "2004-10-22T16:42:55Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Giving your offspring an unusual name tends to be attention drawing. The more unusual and made-up, the more it screams “Look at me! I’m extra-special, unique and extraordinary!” In general people don’t like those who feel a need to proclaim how special they are. If you’re a particularly unique person it’s up to everyone else to decide that, not you. They also strongly suspect that Ms/Mr Special-Name thinks they’re better than everyone else with their boring, everyday names. I disagree. My child has an unusual name because I thought it was a beautful and unique name and I didn’t see any reason to go along with the crowd and give her a name that dozens of other children would have. My whole family has unusual names, and I think they’re all rather beautiful. I wouldn’t call it attention-seeking behavior on the part of my grandparents, parents, or myself. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/42 "2004-10-22T17:07:35Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > “Susan” and “Joan” aren’t boring, they’re classic. I far prefer those to Jennifer and Heather. I’ll take that into consideration, actually. The names aren’t bad for adults, but for a little girl, they’re dull. However, since they eventually become adults anyway, I guess that point is moot. 🙂 If we do end up using one as a first name, I think I prefer Susan. If it’s a boy, then I’m off the hook. He’ll be named Robert John, after my father and my husband, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/43 "2004-10-22T17:40:39Z")
I always wonder what a little baby Dagmar looks like. It’s a perfectly normal grown up name, but for a baby it seems odd. I dunno - I still like the name though. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/44 "2004-10-22T18:01:17Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > The names aren’t bad for adults, but for a little girl, they’re dull. Argh! :smack: **That** is exactly where so many people go wrong! Little LaBeautamé will be a “little girl” for about 15 per cent of her life. For the remaining 85%, she will be saddled with a ridiculous and inappropriate name. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/45 "2004-10-22T18:13:59Z")
I’m at school today. In my class, at this very instant are: Rainey (girl), Winter (girl), Sunshine (girl), Stoney (boy) and Tristan (boy.) Tristan has told me before he got teased about his name “a lot” when he was younger. He’s 14 now. :rolleyes: Not sarcastic, just eye rolling as in “can you believe this crap?” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/46 "2004-10-22T18:29:18Z")
I have an unusual name for the culture I live in. I used to hate it, but then I grew up! I think different names are nice, I’d hate to be JOhn or Mary. Apologies if you are John or Mary. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/47 "2004-10-22T18:29:20Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Argh! :smack: **That** is exactly where so many people go wrong! Little LaBeautamé will be a “little girl” for about 15 per cent of her life. For the remaining 85%, she will be saddled with a ridiculous and inappropriate name. You must have missed the sentence immediately following the one you quoted, in which I said: “However, since they eventually become adults anyway, I guess that point is moot.” Unless you were just speaking about other people who use that logic, then ignore this post. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/48 "2004-10-22T18:38:18Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I just hate people that give their kids Celtic names period. > > I am \*\*\*NOT \*\* \* one of those scary LARP or Ren Fair people, nor am I trying to “get back to my roots” – my last name’s Irish but I’m more Italian than anything – but I just happen to like a couple, very Celtic names, like Colm, Errol, Colin (my favorite), Ian, etc. > > But since they’re so damnably trendy, I might have to name my future son, if I am (un?)lucky enough to have one something else and I don’t like having to settle. LOL - I’ve got a Celtic name, too. But it’s because I’m celtic 😃 > [@Cub Mistress](#): > > The other way around is horrible too, torturing the spelling so a stranger struggles to pronounce it: Kortnee, Necole, and Ciarah leap to mind here. I know a Fairy, a Precious and a Princess, and none of them is appropriately named. Do some parents not think at all? ‘Ciarah’ is a misspelling. But of ‘Ciara’. ‘Keira’ (which I’m presuming you’re alluding to) is the real bastardisation, now presumed to be the ‘correct’ spelling by many people, thanks to Miss Knightley. (And it’s one of the names I was thinking of when I mentioned wrong pronunciation, after hearing an American Ciara call herself “See-ar-rah”. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/49 "2004-10-22T18:39:39Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m at school today. In my class, at this very instant are: Rainey (girl), Winter (girl), Sunshine (girl), **Stoney (boy)** and Tristan (boy.) Stoney: doomed to the life of the Big Lebowski People get annoyed with me at work when I ask them to spell their name. I don’t care if your name is Mary, I’m going to ask you to spell it because of all the idiot parents who misspell their children’s names. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/50 "2004-10-22T19:32:57Z")
I guess I’m one of those people - I’m having a baby next month and we’re naming him Zayden. Yes, I know it’s weird. No, I’m not changing it. No, I didn’t make it up. We’re giving him a normal dull middle name that he can switch to if we have truely burdened him but I just like the name. It’s a little weird like his parents, easy to pronounce, and flows well with the rest of his name. Am I heading for a huge mistake and just don’t see it? ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/51 "2004-10-22T20:50:55Z")
> [@Rez](#): > > I guess I’m one of those people - I’m having a baby next month and we’re naming him Zayden. Yes, I know it’s weird. No, I’m not changing it. No, I didn’t make it up. > We’re giving him a normal dull middle name that he can switch to if we have truely burdened him but I just like the name. It’s a little weird like his parents, easy to pronounce, and flows well with the rest of his name. > > Am I heading for a huge mistake and just don’t see it? It’s a fine line. I’m Amy Lynn (like SO many other girls in the late 70s/early 80s), and while I’d love a more exotic name, mine has never attracted much attention. I think unusual names are okay, but names that sound made up (like Zayden) are just asking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/52 "2004-10-22T21:40:35Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I always wonder what a little baby Dagmar looks like. It’s a perfectly normal grown up name, but for a baby it seems odd. I dunno - I still like the name though. I met a Dagmar the other day. I didn’t know that it was a woman’s name (glad I didn’t say anything). She seemed perfectly normal, but for all I know she likes to put on Viking horns and sing opera in her room. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/53 "2004-10-22T21:45:41Z")
> [@NotWithoutRage](#): > > I think unusual names are okay, but names that sound made up (like Zayden) are just asking for trouble. I think that’s objectionable. Just because a name is unusual or from an unfamiliar culture doesn’t excuse any ‘trouble’ it causes. (My name would probably look ‘made up’ to many people. But it’s not.) (And FWIW, Zayden sounded neither familiar nor odd to me - I had to Google to find out its origin, but I wouldn’t have thought twice about it if I’d seen it on paper in a normal context.) ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/54 "2004-10-22T21:48:15Z")
> [@Rez](#): > > I guess I’m one of those people - I’m having a baby next month and we’re naming him Zayden. Yes, I know it’s weird. No, I’m not changing it. No, I didn’t make it up. > We’re giving him a normal dull middle name that he can switch to if we have truely burdened him but I just like the name. It’s a little weird like his parents, easy to pronounce, and flows well with the rest of his name. > > Am I heading for a huge mistake and just don’t see it? Now, what would make you do something like that, Rez? I think you need to look deeeeep inside yourself and think just what that might be…Hmmmm… _taps chin_ …What could it be? What could it be? Could it be…ZAYDEN?!! I mean…SATAN?!! ach…I never did do a very good church lady impression. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/55 "2004-10-22T21:54:37Z")
Hee - yes, we’ve already had the bystander say “Did you say you were going to name your child Satan!?!?!” To which I replied. “Yes. Yes we are. We are devout Satanists and thought it was the best way to repay the favor of conception.” 😃 It’s gotten to where it doesn’t even seem weird to me or my friends or workmates anymore. But between Zayden, Keaton, Joshua and James, James seems the most left out. (It’s a mix of step and half brothers. We’re like the Brady Bunch with only boys.) ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/56 "2004-10-22T22:09:56Z")
Which one is Marsha? ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/57 "2004-10-22T22:11:37Z")
As a Jennifer, I can certainly appreciate the desire to come up with an original name. It’s just that you have to avoid the pitfalls. Like for example, in Oakland, it seems that many, many people gave their daughters names ending in -eeka or -eesha. As in Tamika, Monika, Shireesha, Taneesha, Clonika, Moneesha, etc. You get the picture. While technically these names are original, in reality they are about as original as Jennifer spelled with one “n”. That is to say, not really original at all. Same with names like Caitlin. And Savannah. They seem original, but when you look more closely, you realize they’re actually just trendy. At one point just a few years ago, I knew three Savannahs all born within the same year. I was convinced that “Savannah” is the “Jennifer” of the future. So go ahead and name your kid something original, but exercise caution. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/58 "2004-10-22T22:49:40Z")
The bizarre spellings just for the sake of being different really aren’t doing the kids any favor. I write kids’ books, and when I do a book signing, I am often asked to personalize the books. You’d be amazed how many grandparents ask each other, “how do they spell that?” I have to wonder how many kids are getting personalized presents with their names spelled wrong. I know some names have a lot of variant spellings (Aron, Aaron, Erin…), but making up strange new spellings of common names (Soo, Dav, Aimie…) just causes trouble for the kids. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/59 "2004-10-22T23:02:43Z")
> [@](#): > > This is the thing: there are so many children now with “new” or “different” sounding names. I personally grew up with a Starr, an Orly (Orlando), several hundred spellings of Crystals, Kathleens, or Christinas, all kinds of new and unusual names. My name is uncommon, and I had an old lady say to me, upon hearing my name: “Oh, you poor dear!” WHY? No one bothered me about it, or the other kids with unusual names. I wonder if it’s just because I’m from a younger generation? Most of us as kids, we didn’t care. My name is Christina. Perhaps you aren’t aware, but it is neither new: [Queen Christina of Sweden](http://www.windweaver.com/christina/christina.htm) nor uncommon (in 1960s when I was born it was the 75th most popular name). By the way, despite this, I have spent my life being called Christine, having my name spelled Kristine. I love my name, and like it a lot better than Christine, but its been a pain in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/60 "2004-10-22T23:25:56Z")
I don’t much care for made up names, but I think it’s mostly because they aren’t crafted very well, and just sound hideously ugly to my ears. Some real names irritate me, too, so it’s not a specific beef with their “fake” nature. Inglebert? Ruprecht? Gaylord? These are very real names I’d never give my kid. Tolkien made up a lot of names that I find quite euphonious, but they’re completely the product of his imagination. It’s an aesthetic thing, for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567.md?page=4)