# Who (or what) were you named after? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149 "2010-12-14T19:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/41 "2010-12-14T23:35:25Z")
I was named after either a brand of vinegar, or a brand of vacuum cleaner. I guess my parents had no idea how to name a child. Oh, I know what it’s _supposed_ to mean, but that doesn’t make it any better, because that’s stupid, too. The teasing I had to deal with growing up was unreal. In my opinion, it’s a horrible name, I absolutely detest it, and I’ll resent them until the day I die for giving me this ridiculous name. I only go by nicknames now, or a shortened version of my given name. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/42 "2010-12-14T23:37:17Z")
I’m Jr., so my Dad. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/43 "2010-12-14T23:45:39Z")
I’m another Jew, so I was named after my grandfather on my father’s side. He died a long time ago – my father was still a young child at the time, maybe ten or eleven years old. My grandfather was drafted by the Hungarian Army during WWII and sent to the Russian front. Shortly afterward he was captured by the Russians and never seen alive again. Before he was captured he sent one last letter home to my father. My father still has it; it is one of his most treasured possessions. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/44 "2010-12-15T00:27:42Z")
My father, grandfather, great-grandfather etc. My name’s a family one that’s been going for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/45 "2010-12-15T00:39:42Z")
I’m named after a [cousin of the Buddha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anuruddha). My parents liked the name quite a lot, but it does cause confusion since it’s very similar to a common girl’s name. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/46 "2010-12-15T00:52:29Z")
I usually see it spelled Aniruddha. That one’s a fave amongst Maharashtrians, along with Aniket. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/47 "2010-12-15T00:56:19Z")
My brother and I were named after the main characters of Gunsmoke and The Rifleman, respectively. The men in my mother’s life as a child were less than respectable specimens of the human race; Marshall Dillon and Mr. McCain are role models for her idea of how real men should behave. My brother-in-law is a III and recently had a son, but broke the tradition; my father-in-law was disappointed, but understood the reasoning. I (half-)jokingly offered to take my wife’s last name and pick up the torch if we have a boy, but my wife put a stop to that in a hurry. I’ve never personally known a IV. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/48 "2010-12-15T00:57:32Z")
I’m named after my grandfather, who was dead when I was born - he died, in fact, 4 or 5 years before, shortly before my parents got married. This is why I’m named for him. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/49 "2010-12-15T01:02:09Z")
I was named after a Beatles song. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/50 "2010-12-15T01:38:44Z")
I was named after Saint Claire of Assisi and the Virgin Mary. No, they were not alive when I was born. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/51 "2010-12-15T01:40:09Z")
After more than one relative. 😉 It’s a combo name. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/52 "2010-12-15T01:50:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Sweet! > > I think my oldest neice is named after the same song. Melissa, Jessica, or Desdemona? 😃 I was named after my Mom’s maid of honor who had been killed in a car accident before I was born. Her name was Terry Lynn, but my Mom thought it was too informal so I was named Lynn Theresa. There’s another girl I went to school with who was named Terry Lynn after the same lady. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/53 "2010-12-15T01:57:57Z")
My first name was for my g-g-grandmother. Dead. My second name was for St. Anne. Dead. My third name was the same as one of my maternal grandmother’s middle names. She was living when I was born. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/54 "2010-12-15T02:12:49Z")
First name is after my father, who was/is very much alive. Second name is after my grandfather, who was alive when I was born but passed away when I was thirteen. Third name is a family tradition on my father’s side, but I’m not sure that anybody knows where the name came from or why we do it, we just do. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/55 "2010-12-15T02:33:46Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > My brother-in-law is a III and recently had a son, but broke the tradition; my father-in-law was disappointed, but understood the reasoning. I (half-)jokingly offered to take my wife’s last name and pick up the torch if we have a boy, but my wife put a stop to that in a hurry. I’ve never personally known a IV. I have a first cousin who is a III, and a second cousin who is a IV. Both declined to name their own sons “IV” and “V.” Both decisions were wise, because both of my cousins have horrible names, and it would have been cruel to inflict those names on yet another generation… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/56 "2010-12-15T02:51:01Z")
Koreans traditionally consult shamans/soothsayers in order to name their kid. Some crazy lady I didn’t even know gave me my name. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I like the tradition of naming boys - in every family, each generation is given a syllable (a Chinese character), and every male must have a name that either starts or ends with this syllable. So all my male cousins have names that start with Joon. All my uncles have names that end in Poong. Nothing like that for the girls though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/57 "2010-12-15T03:03:06Z")
Something I just remembered: My brother is 3 years older then I am, and when I was born he was really into Winnie the Pooh. So my parents were considering naming me Christopher Robin. And I would always be called Christopher Robin, not just Christopher or Chris. But at the last minute they decided the name would be too long . . . and not very Jewish-sounding. At least they didn’t name me Eeyore or Piglet. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/58 "2010-12-15T04:10:59Z")
I don’t know where the idea for my first name came from. I got my middle name from my family’s religion, inspired by the fact that I was born on the date of the annual celebration of its founder’s death & resurrection. (It’s also a traditionally common name in our particular denomination.) ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/59 "2010-12-15T04:17:18Z")
I’m a twin, girl/boy combo. My Dad was an elementary school teacher, so they picked two names that DIDN’T belong to any kids that he had taught. Every time my mother came up with an idea he’d remember some horrible kid that he’d had! We only have one name each because he’d taught A LOT of kids by the time we came along… ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149/60 "2010-12-15T04:30:32Z")
I was named after two of my great grandmothers. I passed on my middle name to my daughter as her middle name, and she in turn made it my granddaughter’s middle name. I was on [geneology.com](http://geneology.com) (I think that’s the right name) the other day, and it turns out that it was passed on to my grandmother by one of several female relatives with that as either their middle or first name. It’s a common name, but has a “trendiegh” spelling going back a couple hundred years. 😃 Kinda cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-or-what-were-you-named-after/564149.md?page=4)