# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/81 "2004-10-24T07:12:31Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > This, quite frankly, would be a good time to be named Jennifer. So do it! In Michigan, you use [this form](http://forms.lp.findlaw.com/form/courtforms/state/mi/mi000470.pdf). You must file this with the local Clerk of Court and pay a filing fee; that’s usually $25-$35. Generally the Judge just approves it without any questions. If you want a new Birth Certificate, Drivers License, etc. with your new name, you will have to pay the appropriate fees to get a new one issued. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/82 "2004-10-24T07:35:25Z")
> [@Harimad-sol](#): > > I personally love the name Ciara, but the poor girl would have to correct people’s pronunciation for the rest of her life. If ever I have a daughter, I might name her that anyway, though, as it’s one of my all-time favorite names. It’s my sister’s name, and she actually doesn’t seem to get many mispronunciations - if people don’t know, they _really_ don’t know and just ask. Of course, she gets plenty of misspelling… ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/83 "2004-10-24T07:41:07Z")
It probably depends on where one lives, **GorillaMan**. Explaining it to my relatives alone would take quite some time. I do imagine it’s a spelling problem for a lot of people, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/84 "2004-10-25T02:08:49Z")
I go to an inner city high school, and I’ve been around kids with made-up names my entire life. There’s DuJuan, Tekiah, Thashe, LaTina, Shanelle, Demarco, Crecia, and Chuancherae, among others. (A girl who graduated a couple years ago was named Pookisha.) My name is Lindsay, which is a good name: not too common, but rare enough so that I’m the only one in a school of about 500 kids. My little brother is Peter (never Pete), which is about as common as Lindsay is. My dad is named Ivan, which was a weird name when he was growing up, but he seems to be okay with it now. If anyone wants, I’ll go through my yearbook and the contact list from my brother’s school, and post any particularly terrible or amusing names. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/85 "2004-10-25T03:12:04Z")
> [@iwakura43](#): > > What do people think of the name Lazarus? (as in, Lazarus Long, though I understand it’s a Bible reference). I think that “z” sound is the coolest. I know someone who insists he must name his son Lazarus (not that he’s about to reproduce or anything, barring diving intervention). I’ll tell you what I told him: first of all, Lazarus was dead, then brought back to life. He is described in John 11:39 as someone who “stinketh, having been dead four days.” Also, the name Lazarus has become [url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09182a.htm]associated with leprosy[/url]. Leper hospitals and asylums are often called “lazaries.” Rotting corpses reanimated and leprosaria are not the two things I want people to think of first when they meet my son. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/86 "2004-10-25T06:50:24Z")
I don’t really have a beef with new names: I have a beef with: a) Names that are not pronounced like they are spelled and b) “New” names that are just like old names, but spelled differently. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had kids (I work mostly with kids) irritated with me because I pronounced their name “Brendon” when it’s “Brandon,” but _spelled with an “e”_?! (Actual example from last week) And I’m not convinced that any originality is shown by names like Krystal - just bad spelling. I feel bad for the kids because they have to put up with all the mispronunciations and misspelling by people who assume the name will be spelled/pronounced just like the other 500 Crystals they’ve encountered. The parents don’t have to put up with it at all. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/87 "2004-10-25T09:17:05Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > I don’t really have a beef with new names: I have a beef with: > > a) Names that are not pronounced like they are spelled Well I have a beef with people who assume that Irish names aren’t spelt as they’re pronounced - unlike English, it’s a phonetic language. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/88 "2004-10-25T09:37:25Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Well I have a beef with people who assume that Irish names aren’t spelt as they’re pronounced - unlike English, it’s a phonetic language. I don’t understand this. Caitlin would definitely not be pronounced “Kathleen” in English. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/89 "2004-10-25T09:39:28Z")
Didn’t say it was: [http://www.standingstones.com/gaelpron.html](http://www.standingstones.com/gaelpron.html) (You try putting a complete explanation of _English_ pronunciation onto a single page!) ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/90 "2004-10-25T20:03:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t understand this. Caitlin would definitely not be pronounced “Kathleen” in English. Cf. Baile Atha Cliath=buh-CLEE-uh Dun Laoghaire=Dun Leh-ree Laoghis=LEY-ish Seosmh=SHO-siff Amen=Oh-MY-in And if English pronunciation is as intricate as GorillaMan says, I don’t see why people want to promote English as the international language… ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/91 "2004-10-25T23:30:58Z")
When my daughter was born, we wanted to give her a name which was not too common, and not outlandish … and it had to suit a grown woman, with a nice shortened version for childhood. So we called her Eloise, shortened to Ellie. She’s now 14, and universally known as Elz. Ya never can tell … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/92 "2004-10-25T23:54:23Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Cf. Baile Atha Cliath=buh-CLEE-uh > Dun Laoghaire=Dun Leh-ree > Laoghis=LEY-ish > Seosmh=SHO-siff > Amen=Oh-MY-in Slight quibble over ‘amen’ being a Latin import, but toher than that… > [@](#): > > And if English pronunciation is as intricate as GorillaMan says, I don’t see why people want to promote English as the international language… Well, it _is_ a very difficult and intricate language. (Show me a quote that says it’s logical and straightforward.) The reasons for being an or the international language are very different. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/93 "2004-10-26T01:23:49Z")
Once I get the rules down, I should be able to pronounce Irish names correctly every time. Imagine my expression when I said “Seosamh” aloud. It doesn’t look like “Joseph,” but it sounds almost exactly the same. Nifty. The pronunciation rules don’t change the way English does. That’s a great link, **GorillaMan**. > [@GorillaMan](#): > > Well, it is a very difficult and intricate language. (Show me a quote that says it’s logical and straightforward.) And then I’ll laugh myself sick. English is a minefield of a language at times. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/94 "2004-10-26T05:43:58Z")
Trendy names are dull. But I love unusual names. Maybe because my name is so plain. I’m neutral about unusual spellings; they don’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/95 "2004-10-26T05:49:31Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > I’m guessing (Newt Gingrich’s) name is probably “Newton” and “Newt” is just a nickname. Your gues is correct – the former Speaker of the House was originally named [Newton McPherson](http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Newt_Gingrich) after his father. After his parents separated, the boy stayed with his mother, who remarried. Her new husband, Robert Gingrich (whose Pennsylvania Dutch family, incidentally, pronounces the name’s “ch” as “k”), subsequently adopted Newton Leroy. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567/96 "2004-10-26T06:09:37Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Oh, and **Mr. Finch**? How are the kids, Jem and Scout, doing? Do they suffer as much as you have? 😉 Well, I called them Jeremy and Jean Louise, and I guess there’s no trouble spelling those names. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-new-or-different-names/270567.md?page=4)