# Why would you name your child this??? I don't get it... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 17, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070 "2002-04-17T03:16:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/81 "2002-04-18T01:04:18Z")
Yeah…in fact, there’s a fairly well-known Hungarian composer named Zoltan Kodaly. (My choir is, in fact, rehearsing his _Te Deum_ – it’s very cool.) ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/82 "2002-04-18T01:10:05Z")
Has no one here yet come upon the [Utah Baby Namer](http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/3450/)? It’s quite something, and I’ve contributed a few myself. (Yes, I am the proud owner of “Elvoid.”) The most unusual name I can come up with right now is that of a neighbor kid when I was growing up. Cleopatrick J. Wartley III. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/83 "2002-04-18T01:14:47Z")
I am from rural Louisiana and I went to high school with Peaches and Pumpkin. They were twins. Big black male twins that were star basketball players. You can’t laugh at that. Then again, my real name is “Maverick” and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![RobGraham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e8cbc/32.png) [@RobGraham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobGraham)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/84 "2002-04-18T01:17:55Z")
We used some of the more interesting names as ‘in utero’ names. My two sons were named ‘Dingbang’ (found that in the baby name book) and ‘Splasny Nork’ (just cause we liked the sound) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Punkyova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@The\_Punkyova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Punkyova)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/85 "2002-04-18T01:45:30Z")
When I was in high school, the very nice family of Korean immigrants who lived next to us had a little boy, whom they named Joon. I think that someone explained to them that this is more often a girls name (June) in America. About a month later, the father told my father that his father in Korea (i.e., the baby’s grandfather) had decided that, since this boy was born in America, he should have an American name. They changed his name legally to Michael. My father was surprised. When he was growing up in Oklahoma in the 40s and 50s, there were lots of boys named June. Apparently it was a common nickname for Junior. The first year I taught undergraduates, I had an ethnic Korean girl in my class named Heidi. We got to talking about names, and she told me that when she first came to America as a toddler, her family became close friends with the American family across the street. When it came time to register her for kindergarden, her American auntie filled out the forms, using the accepted transliteration system. Thus, my student’s name, pronounced “Way,” was written as “Hue.” She didn’t speak any English, and when the teachers inevitably addressed her as “Hugh” she ignored them, as that wasn’t her name. The upshot of the whole thing was that her name was changed to Heidi. Obviously, at that time Asian names were too unusual to make it through the mill. Now, we have a girl in our neighborhood named Ya Fan, and no one blinks an eye. I think that’s a big step forward. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/86 "2002-04-18T02:04:39Z")
My mom named me a less-traditional girl’s name - Sarah - and luckily I have encountered very few Sarahs in my lifetime. I went by my middle name, Nicole, for the first 7 years of my life, but when I started school there were so many variations of it that we decided Sarah was prettier and easier. If I ever have a daughter, I will name her Lucinda and call her Lucy. It’s not very popular at all these days, but I think both versions are lovely and I would want her to be a comedic genius like her namesake. (Okay, it’s not Lucille, but I hate that name. Close enough.) I think Lucinda Elizabeth is beautiful and simple and classic, and most importantly, original without bordering on torturous. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/87 "2002-04-18T02:25:44Z")
I used to go to church with a girl named Candy Disch. It took me years before I realized that was funny…her mom was Mrs Disch, she was just Candy…never thought to put the two together. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/88 "2002-04-18T02:48:36Z")
Here are some names I just found in there that I thought you all should know about: Boy, Girl, Brother, Sister, Dimples, and Two-Million… _sigh_ > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by heresiarch \* > \*\*“George” is a perfectly good name, but I think George Foreman took it a little too far when he named his five sons George Foreman Jr., George Foreman III, George Foreman IV, George Foreman V, and George Foreman VI. \ > > So, **Flamsterette\_X** , does this book just list names from the census? Maybe those cross-gender names are included because a few (one out of one hundred thousand) babies have been named that way. Nah, there _couldn’t_ possibly be 2,500 boys named “Katelin-Bradley.” \*\* Yes, I heard about what George Foreman did when he named his kids… I wouldn’t recommend that either. I would most certainly hope there aren’t 2,500 boys named Katelin-Bradley! :eek: For **heresiarch** and everyone else who asked, this is what the book has to say about where the names were taken from: > [@](#): > > All the names in this book are first names actually given to babies born in North America in recent years. These are some of the sources the author drew on for the list of names: [ul] [li]various U.S. centers for Health Statistics[/li][li]various U.S. departments of vital statistics and health policy[/li][li]various Canadian vital statistics agencies[/li][li]various offices of data, research, and vital statistics[/li][li]various offices of health care information[/li][li]various state health divisions[/li][/ul] > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Charmian \* > \*\*Beverly and Leslie (though possibly with “ey” rather than “ie”) were still common men’s names when my mom moved to Canada. Shannon and Jody are common for boys as well. > > I have an “unusual” name. As do some of my friends: Sunshine, Rio, Zoltan, Justice, Carroway and Sunflower (last name Seed). Were we traumatized as kids? No. Did we get teased a bit? Sometimes. Did any of us change our names as adults or use our middle names or any other alternatives? Absolutely NOT. > > Especially now that we’re adults, we carry our names with a bit more pride and distinction than most because we are not “just another Jennifer, just another Patrick.” \*\* It is true that the perceptions of what is an acceptable name for one gender have changed over the years… I know this first-hand. Which means that I had the exact same name (first and last) as a **guy** in my homeroom when I was in Gr. 8! :eek: (and yes, my real name happens to be Leslie) I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with those unusual names, **Charmian**. It’s a good thing you’re proud of them, that they make you unique, and that you continue to use them; however, there are names that are **too unusual**! Yours are not that unusual-sounding, at least. 🙂 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Neidhart \* > \*\*I was watching the Winter Olympians edition of Weakest Link, and one of the contestants was a young woman named Tristan. > > I couldn’t help wondering if she has a brother named Isolde. \*\* When my friend dragged me to see “Blair Witch 2”, I noticed that one of the actresses in the movie was named Tristan something-or-other. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > **Certain high-profile media types have a reputation for giving their kids [weird names](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_447000/447339.stm) - Bob Geldof and Paula Yates for instance on this side of the pond. Or maybe we just get to hear more about them?** Yes, I remember hearing about what Bob Geldof and Paula Yates named their kids: Peaches, Fifi Trixiebelle, and Pixie, wasn’t it? But what about Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates’ daughter? What a name to have: Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily! :eek: We probably get to hear a lot more about them, this is true. I remember hearing that Erykah Badu (an R&B singer) named her son **Seven** , of all things. Probably the number has certain properties, who knows? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShibbOleth \* > **This is what I was thinking when I saw those. Also, it wasn’t clear to me from the OP that these came from census data versus just suggestions from some nuts who wrote a book. If this comes from census data then some of the cross-over names could easily be people mis-coding the form. And some of the strange names could be people with a weird sense of humor making a joke.** Some of the names could very well come from human error; for example, I saw “Hocelyn”, which **has** to be a typo for Jocelyn! (I’d hope) And as for people with a weird sense of humor giving their kids strange names, that could very well be true! I don’t want to imagine: Husband: “Let’s give our kid a really weird name, honey!” Wife: “Okay, sweetie… we have lots of time to think of one since I’m only ten weeks pregnant!” :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Charmian \* > \*\*A couple of those also struck me as errors that occurred with the registry. \ I also know of a couple who let their kids name themselves when they were old enough (until then they were registered “Baby Jones” or “Female Infant Jones” etc.) The logistics of this puzzles me – neither kid chose a name until they were about 8. Have no idea what they called the kids until then, but the kids are thrilled with their names. > > Note: I do know a woman named Ryan. Has no problem with her name other than getting junk mail or work related mail addressed to “Mr.” But then, I don’t think my name sounds particularly masculine, but _I_ get mail addressed to “Mr.” too. > \*\* Letting your kids choose their own names when they got old enough??? :eek: That might work out, but what would the people at school, home, or various other places call them before they chose their name? Weird… By the way, **I** have gotten mail addressed to “Mr.”, as well. One of those things that comes with having a name like mine, I suppose! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > \*\*I’m sure I’ve mentioned a couple of my coworkers: One birthed Star and Sparkle, the other squeezed out Stormie and Summer (last name Winters). All girls, at least. \*\* Hmmm… **Summer Winters** … sounds good to me! :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CRorex \* > \*\*Zoltan! hehehehe 🙂 > > I have a good friend who’s middle name is Zardoz. \*\* I have a friend whose brother is named Czardos, but the family comes from the Philippines. (so it must be an ethnic name, no?) > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by throatshot \* > \*\*The main character in my latest novel is named Phaidra. Lovely Gaelic name, IIRC. \*\* Phaedre is the name of a character in some of the “Outlander” books by Diana Gabaldon. As I recall, she’s a body slave to Jocasta Cameron. I have no idea what the name means, but it is a nice name. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cazzle \* > \*\*Just recently I saw a local birth notice for Ruby Tuesday \_\_\_\_\_\_. It’s not shocking, it’s actually kind of cute, but it’s a funny little name. 🙂 > > And I had to laugh the other day. When looking up Christine on the Victorian birth records, I spotted one poor little soul named Christine Affrodity \_\_\_\_\_. Ugh! \*\* That little girl may be named after the Rolling Stones song “Ruby Tuesday”… just a thought. Certainly there are worse things to name your child after, if you must do so! 🙂 And as for that other name, maybe they were trying for “Aphrodite” (Greek or Roman goddess of love) and got it wrong. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*Maybe some of the ‘wrong gender’ names originated outside of the USA? In France and Russia there are plenty of boys’ names that would be given to girls in Anglo-Saxon countries (Valery, Camille, Lillian etc.) > > I’m confident that Alexis is _predominantly_ a male name outside of the US - I hadn’t heard of it used as a female name until I saw The Colbys. \*\* I tried hard not to include any “wrong-gender” names in my posted list that are perfectly acceptable names in other parts of the world. For instance, I know that in Russia, Alexis is a boy’s name (the only son of Nicholas II, for example); also, Nicola is a perfectly acceptable boy’s name in Italy. I’m sure there are many more examples, but those are the only two I could think of off the top of my head. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Charmian \* > \*\*But parent are inviting confusion when they write “Peter” and say “it’s pronounced ‘Robert’.” \*\* I definitely agree with you on this one! At my church, there used to be a girl named Janet; however, she pronounced it more like “Jeannette” or “Janette”. Apparently that’s how “Janet” is pronounced in Hong Kong, where she was born. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Katisha \* > \*\*Yeah…in fact, there’s a fairly well-known Hungarian composer named Zoltan Kodaly. (My choir is, in fact, rehearsing his _Te Deum_ – it’s very cool.) \*\* Yes, I remember Kodaly from my long-ago days of playing the piano; I wouldn’t consider that to be a weird name at all! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by genie \* > \*\*Has no one here yet come upon the [Utah Baby Namer](http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/3450/)? It’s quite something, and I’ve contributed a few myself. (Yes, I am the proud owner of “Elvoid.”) > > The most unusual name I can come up with right now is that of a neighbor kid when I was growing up. Cleopatrick J. Wartley III. \*\* I remember coming across that site a few years ago; I was quite surprised at some of the names in there! :eek: Cleopatrick, eh? Sounds much like Cleopatra, if you ask me. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shagnasty \* > \*\*Then again, my real name is “Maverick” and I love it. \*\* Interesting… last year, I came across a kid that was named Maverick. On the Facts About Multiples website, there is a kid named Maverick; he’s part of the Davis quadruplets. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RobGraham \* > **We used some of the more interesting names as ‘in utero’ names. My two sons were named ‘Dingbang’ (found that in the baby name book) and ‘Splasny Nork’ (just cause we liked the sound)** You found “Dingbang” in the baby name book?!? :eek: Please tell me you’re kidding! Luckily, it’s not in the book I have. As for some of the more unusual names I have encountered: [ul] [li]my brother went to school with a girl named Ganit (hopefully pronounced “Janet”)[/li][li]Zale (the father of one of my brother’s classmates)[/li][li]Winson (met this guy once or twice at Fellowhip a few years ago)[/li][li]a girl I used to know a few years ago was named Meloney (pronounced “Melanie”)[/li][li]Xanth (an online friend said a coworker of his named her baby boy this)[/li][li]Balkiz and Elif (a set of sisters at my junior high; these may be ethnic names, but unusual to me)[/li][li]my sister has a friend called Hermia… the thing is that her last name is Ting, so all the subs invariably combine the two and pronounce it “hermiating” (yes, I’m well aware that Hermia was a mythological figure, but the side story is funny)[/li][li]Gayden (someone I once knew; she said her parents named her after some neighborhood kid)[/li][li]Aura (a girl in my old elementary school)[/li][li]Pinky, Stellar (both girls in my sister’s friend’s high school)[/li][li]Rigel (a guy in my high school)[/li][li]Rennis (someone who used to live around my old neighborhood)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/89 "2002-04-18T02:55:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kittenblue \* > \*\*I used to go to church with a girl named Candy Disch. It took me years before I realized that was funny…her mom was Mrs Disch, she was just Candy…never thought to put the two together. \*\* That is funny, but most kids wouldn’t really put the two together… unless you werre bent on bullying the poor girl! :eek: Maybe Candy was short for Candace, and it didn’t occur to the parents how it would sound if it were shortened to Candy? Who knows… ---
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/90 "2002-04-18T03:04:31Z")
The author of a recent article I read in the paper was Candida Someoneorother. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/91 "2002-04-18T03:10:34Z")
I always love these name threads. Obsessing over names is a micro past time for me. My name is Joan. Joan is not a peppy name. Joan is the steady reliable girl who always shows up to work on time, gets the job done and who, well, the boss always trusts with the keys to the office. Joan is a woman who can make a nice blue berry pie. Joan is perpetually sixty yearing a beehive and polyester pants. Joan is neither a fashionably, trendy or cutting edge name. It hasn’t been in in over sixty years and will never make a come back. Prudence has a better shot at a come back than Joan. A woman named Joan will never be confused with a girl named Tiffany-Brittany-Amber. Joan is not a good blind date name. There were several Joan’s in my school. All of us were the tail end caboose kids of the baby boom generation. By the time our parents got to naming us, they just plum gave up. We named our daughter Teagan O’Hara LastName. It is a good blind date name. Not too perky, not Cheerleader From The Deeps Of Hell ™ and not too trendy. (my side of the family is Irish (O’Hara, a family name) and UK-ish, which is what Teagan is, from Wales. Our Son is Carsten Siegfried LastName. ( Carsten is northern european and hubby’s family is from N. Germany. His middle name is my FIL’s name and hubby’s middle name.) If we ever had a third child: Josephine is a top contender to complete throw off everyone and for a boy, Oliver (calling him Ollie.) ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/92 "2002-04-18T03:22:11Z")
Buck Wolf gave this subject the treatment in a recent ABCNews [column](http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/wolffiles/wolffiles213.html). I feel sorry for the girls named Wisdom or the boys named Truth. Apparently it’s a form of child abuse to have two children with the same name in a class. I was one of anywhere from 2-5 Mike’s in the same class, but you know what? It forced me to develop my own unique identity, rather than having only a name that made me unique. Too bad there was no one in my class named Espn… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/93 "2002-04-18T03:24:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \* > \*\* Maybe Candy was short for Candace, and it didn’t occur to the parents how it would sound if it were shortened to Candy? Who knows… \*\* Yes, it was short for Candace, and yes, they knew exactly what they were doing. Had a friend in high school named Bevelyn…her mom’s two best friends were Beverly & Evelyn. Then there were Pepper and Cappie…brother and sister…but their names were sort of amagrams…Patricia Elizabeth P\*\*\* and Charles Arthur P\*\*\*\*\*…PEPper and CAPpie. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/94 "2002-04-18T03:40:21Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Flamsterette\_X** _ > On the Facts About Multiples website, there is a kid named Maverick; he’s part of the Davis quadruplets. Haha! > [@](#): > > For instance, I know that in Russia, Alexis is a boy’s name Alexis is not a typical name in Russian, for either males or females. I believe the popular spelling of his name is an Anglicization of the name Alexei (akin to referring to the author as ‘Theodor’ Dostoevsky as opposed to his actual name which was Fyodor). I could be wrong about this however, but I do know that Alexis is not traditionally a common name in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/95 "2002-04-18T03:42:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OxyMoron \* > \*\* Your brother named his child after an _Oldsmobile_? > > Pretty low-rent yuppie, if ya ask me. > > (And I distinctly recall that when GM started marketing the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera in the 80s, they announced that “Ciera” was a made-up name - sorry, no cite. > > Christ-almighty, what was your brother thinking? Does he think? Ever?) \*\* Jury’s still out on that last question. heh. It was my sister’s doing, really. I think she wanted to go with “Sierra” initially, but even _that_ weird name wasn’t quite weird enough, so she misspelled it. ta da! Unique new name! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/96 "2002-04-18T03:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OxyMoron \* > \*\* Your brother named his child after an _Oldsmobile_? > > Pretty low-rent yuppie, if ya ask me. > > (And I distinctly recall that when GM started marketing the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera in the 80s, they announced that “Ciera” was a made-up name - sorry, no cite. > > Christ-almighty, what was your brother thinking? Does he think? Ever?) \*\* Jury’s still out on that last question. heh. It was my sister’s doing, really. I think she wanted to go with “Sierra” initially, but even _that_ weird name wasn’t quite weird enough, so she misspelled it. ta da! Unique new name! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/97 "2002-04-18T04:45:32Z")
Yesterday I saw a birth notice for a little girl with the middle name Pepper. It was not her mother’s maiden name, so I still wonder what the significance was. Maddison Pepper \_\_\_\_\_. And **Flamsterette\_X** , I figured that Ruby Tuesday was after the song. It would be a strange coincidence indeed if they’d chosen the name without ever hearing the song. Affrodity does indeed appear to be a corruption of Aphrodite. Poor little soul is walking around with a middle name that screams “My parents are stupid!”. In honor of the child, I started a Sims family named Affrodity, Zhoose, Neptoon, Tyten and Perseffeny. Locally, my mother’s karate instructor has just had a son named Montel, brother to Darnell. Both names are unusual around here. Oh, and my cousin is expecting a son that she plans to name Utah. Unusual choice for an Australian, non-Mormon child, but there you go. He’s the younger brother of Maximillian Ian, and the son of Koa (Ko-ah). ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/98 "2002-04-18T05:27:11Z")
**White Lightning** , it may appear that I am overly interested in that kind of thing, but it’s a good thing, really. 🙂 After I posted, I realized that it was most probably an Anglicization of the name Alexei. Oh well, what can you do? I posted it already… oops! :o **kittenblue** , the parents knew exactly what they were doing? That’s so cruel! (or bad, in the very least; my massive vocabulary has seemed to desert me for the moment) **cazzle** , the only thing that the name Montel is associated with in my mind is that talk show host Montel Willliams; or even the inger Montell Jordan. And as for the name Utah, I guess it’s your cousin’s decision, but it still sounds a bit strange. ---
**Author:** ![SkorpKing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SkorpKing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkorpKing)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/99 "2002-04-18T07:04:59Z")
When I was in high school I knew two middle eastern kids named Asheesh and Akosh. They both were tormented with names like Ashit and Acunt. I never engaged in name calling, and it made me angry that others would do so even in the 11th and 12th grade! Now later in life I know three fairly young Oriental people, (all siblings) named Lam Dang Wei Dang and Gei Dang, no one, that I know of, has yet to make fun of them. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/100 "2002-04-18T07:43:13Z")
**Ell** , I’ve heard of the name Candida; quite some time ago too! I think the person with that name went to our church to speak to the kids about something; of course, I no longer remember what it was! But I’ll always remember that name… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caught@Work \* > \*\*Hey **Gorgon Heap** WRT \*\*“Zork! My underwear fell down again” \*\* I did think that one up. It was one of my rare moments of brilliance. Please use it as you see fit. \*\* Can anyone tell me what WRT means? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smashed Ice Cream \* > \*\*I grew up with girls named: > > Alpha Gaylord and Eros Gilrobin (first and middle names, they were sisters) I’m pretty sure their mom’s name was Ping. \*\* I once met an Oriental girl named Ping a few years ago at a camp; now I know a woman named Ping, who’s also Oriental. (she goes to my church, and is really nice; the mother of my favorite kid!) Also, I remember seeing the name Alpha in one of my brother’s concert programs. It seems to me that some Oriental people choose funny names for their children; nothing against that, of course. A few Oriental people that my brother and I (used to) know were named Ophelia, Prudence, Charity, and Mavis. Nothing wrong with these names at all, of course. I’m just pointing them out. I just remembered: my brother used to go to high school with a girl named Cambie. That’s not bizarre or anything like that, but certainly a little out of the ordinary without being too out there! Oh, and make that “the **singer** Montell Jordan” in my last post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070.md?page=6)