# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![\_your\_name\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/919ad9/32.png) [@\_your\_name\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_your_name_here)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/121 "2002-04-19T00:57:03Z")
my name is rather weird. there’s only 2 others of me that i know of. one i saw in the intro of a book and the other is named after me. the name you ask? kelby. the kid was named after me when some person in my mom’s store heard her talking to me on the phone and my name was mentioned. i think my name is danish for something. i forget what exactly though. and yes, i do have alot of confused name calling. kelly, kelsey, and others i don’t remember. my friends have a ball with it too. i now answer to kelb, kleby, kelb-o, kelbah, and i punch them at kelly. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/122 "2002-04-19T01:33:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \* > \*\* > > Definitely not the best of names, especially not now! Then again, I heard a few months ago that some mothers in the Middle East are naming their newborn babies after Osama bin Laden! (yes, even some of the girl babies) :eek: \*\* What would you expect them to call their babies? George Bush? Colin Powell? ---
**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 19, 2002, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/123 "2002-04-19T01:39:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flamsterette\_X \* > That reminds me of a Family Circle article I was reading a long time ago, about what names people would give their children. Do not call your daughter **Amanda Lynn** , even though it may sound pretty… much better to change it to **Amanda Leigh**! If you put the two togetyher, they sound like “a mandolin”. I can’t wait to hear why it’s better to have a name that sounds like “a man to lay” than “a mandolin”… ---
**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 19, 2002, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/124 "2002-04-19T01:55:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by (your name here) \* > \*\*my name is rather weird. there’s only 2 others of me that i know of. one i saw in the intro of a book and the other is named after me. > > the name you ask? > > kelby. > > the kid was named after me when some person in my mom’s store heard her talking to me on the phone and my name was mentioned. i think my name is danish for something. i forget what exactly though. > > and yes, i do have alot of confused name calling. kelly, kelsey, and others i don’t remember. my friends have a ball with it too. i now answer to kelb, kleby, kelb-o, kelbah, and i punch them at kelly. \*\* Hold on a minute: someone named a kid after you based on what she heard in someone else’s phone conversation? :eek: Well, I guess there are worse ways to name your kid, but that is certainly something I’ve never heard of before. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if your name was confusing to others! But as long as they get it right in the end, I guess. I looked your real name up in a book I have of baby names and meanings (hope you don’t mind), and it was actually in there! > [@](#): > > \*\*Kelby[//B]: Old Norse. Place name: “The farm near the spring.” **Kelbey** , **Kelbie** , **Kellby** P.S. The book is _20,001 Names For Baby_ by Carol Wallace. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/125 "2002-04-19T01:57:31Z")
Hey, I had a coworker who named his kids after Star Trek (TNG/DS9) characters: Dax Deanna Kira and Jean-Luc (look, I’m a francophone, you don’t use that name for an anglophone boy who will end up pronouncing it Jah-n-loo-k.) Of course there was also the unfortunately named Korean boy in my mum’s school: Hei Suk (Hee Suck) ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/126 "2002-04-19T01:58:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t wait to hear why it’s better to have a name that sounds like “a man to lay” than “a mandolin”… Wouldn’t Amanda Leigh sound like “a man to lee”? I’ve never heard Leigh pronounced Lay, but maybe that’s just me. ---
**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 19, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/127 "2002-04-19T02:01:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > \*\* > > I can’t wait to hear why it’s better to have a name that sounds like “a man to lay” than “a mandolin”… \*\* Well, that’s what I remember the article as recommending… I don’t necessarily agree with it! Oh, and **Primaflora** … I have no idea what they would be expected to name their babies! ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/128 "2002-04-19T02:43:14Z")
I must defend the name Zoltan-- it’s actually a common traditional Hungarian name. Zardoz, though. that’s like Barbarella. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/129 "2002-04-19T02:46:56Z")
My best friend’s name is Scarlet (“Scarlett” on the birth certificate, but she dropped the last "t’). She hates her unsual name, yet when the time comes, wants to name her first kid “Noel Phelix”. Boy or girl, it don’t matter. I knew another girl named Margaux at one point. I’m close with a female Jaime whose newborn niece is named Cordelia Toni-Lyn or something like that. I know it’s Cordelia Toni-something. " Apparently her sister is a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fan - named the kid after a character. The actress who played her, incidentally, is named Charisma Carpenter. I think it’s her given name. Michaela/Makayla" & spelling variations thereof are apparently popular now. I’m a Kristin - up until 3rd grade, I was the only one I knew. Then I transferred to public school. In my grade were two "Kristen"s & a “Krystyn”. I get called Kristine/Kristina/Krista/Christian, etc. I took my confirmation name (starts with an “E” ) as my middle name. Hence, I brought “Kristine” on myself - I can see how “Kristin E.” can turn into “Kristine” if someone’s not paying attention. The Kristina/Krista/Krystal/ad infinitum stuff just happens on its’ own. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/130 "2002-04-19T02:47:38Z")
Indeed, Everton. Jocelyn and René are also men’s names in French (the female equivalents are Jocelyne and Renée), and Andrea is a man’s name in Italian. I once heard the rule that the key to choosing a good name was to make sure you could precede it with the title Chief Justice without cracking up. Leaves Moon Unit and Beneatha out; unfortunately, leaves Thurgood and Learned in. :rolleyes: Anyway, **Hamish** has the problem that something like 1/2 of his friends are Matt or Mat. He’s resorted to the grade school method of keeping us apart (Matt, Matrim\*, Matthias, and Matthew) with various degrees of nonsuccess. \*a self-chosen name, from a sci-fi story. I like the practice of self-chosen names. I knew a woman who called herself Vishnu (Vish for short), which was cool. My parents went with the boring name/odd name combo with my brother and me (I’m Matthew Wesley, he’s Theodore David). We both use our first names, which we shorten to Matt and Theo. I use Matt almost exclusively - only my parents call me Matthew - and nobody ever calls my brother Theodore. I hate my middle name, and I think “Matthew” is kind of geeky. I sometimes go by Mathieu, although not spelled that way, when I’m speaking French. ---
**Author:** ![yarwitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/da6949/32.png) [@yarwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yarwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/131 "2002-04-19T02:55:38Z")
i know someone named hridayam (sp?) his parents were serious hippies and it means cave of swirling lights. as far as names not sounding the way theyre spelt how about siobahn, pronounced shivahn. i happen to like the name but the spelling… ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/132 "2002-04-19T02:55:47Z")
I work in a call center, and I speak to random people from across the country all day long and I have come across many unfortunately named people. - **Crystal Pitcher** (Did her parents think it would be funny?) - **OJ Simpson** (Yes, OJ Simpson…not initials, either. This guy’s first name was OJ. Interestingly enough, his mother’s name is Lisa Simpson) - **Fanny Wang** (Just spoke to her today! I’m sure it was unintentional.) The best (worst?) one ever was the man who I used to work with. His first name was **Semen**. I also knew a boy named **Zoe** in high school. He pronounced like Joe. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/133 "2002-04-19T03:25:51Z")
I forgot some: When I was in elementary school, I went to summer camp with a (black) girl named Kefilwe (keh-FEEL-wee). Went to junior high & high school with a (Thai) girl named Komkwuan (COM-kwhan). Had a class last summer with a (black) guy named Nduka (the “n” sound - DUKA). The professor couldn’t get her tongue around it -kept calling him ‘en-DUKA’. Finally, he asked her to simply call him by his nickname - Nuka (NUKE-ah). ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/134 "2002-04-19T03:26:27Z")
My mom once knew a girl named Crystal Lear. Middle name Shanda. :eek: Kelly is a pretty common boy’s name in Canada. **Hamish** is Geoffrey Hamish Lastname, with initials conforming to family tradition for the second child, and fitting in nicely with the whole normal/odd idea. Only his parents call him Geoff; he used to go by James, but now goes by Hamish (I still call him James because I met him while he was still calling himself that.) In re. birth certificate typos: Our other roommate, Moishe, was also a typo - he was supposed to be Moshe - but since Moishe is a derivative of the same name, they decided to roll with it, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Truth\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Truth\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truth_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/135 "2002-04-19T03:43:54Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by matt-mcl_ > \*\*I once heard the rule that the key to choosing a good name was to make sure you could precede it with the title Chief Justice without cracking up. \*\* Probably the best suggestion yet. It’s bad enough when a kid gets tagged with an unusual name because of a family tradition. At least it says something. “Yes, my name is “Snodgrass”. There have been Snodgrasses in my family since my great-great-great grandfather, Snodgrass Smith, invented the disposable toothpick.” Unfortunately, many trendy names say, “My parents were shallow twits without a lick of sense between them who thought naming me “Pop-Tart” would, somehow, confer an advantage on me later in life.” There are certain names that definitely ought to be avoided. There is a widely-credited rumour that children named “Crystal” are named after their parent’s drug of choice - crystal meth. Obviously this isn’t true in every case. Nonetheless, that’s not really what you want people thinking when they hear your child’s name. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/136 "2002-04-19T04:54:53Z")
My SIL had neighbors years ago who named their twins Orlando and Orlandis. Which was probably not quite as confusing as a guy I knew whose name was Chris (short for Christopher, I assume) and his twin sister’s name was Christy. I don’t know if hers was actually Christine. To make things worse, he married a woman name Christine. The strangest name I have ever seen has to be one that was in the birth announcements in our local paper. These come straight from the hospitals, so I have to think it was real. The family name looked to be middle eastern or Indian, so maybe there was a reason that I didn’t know about, but the baby’s name was Pingpangtennisracquet. Still makes me shudder. ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/137 "2002-04-19T05:06:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thirdwarning \* > \*\*… Pingpangtennisracquet. \*\* I just spat Pepsi all over my keyboard.😃 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/138 "2002-04-19T05:58:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > \*\*I guess neither of his parents are of [Hungarian](http://www.babynamer.com/Content.cfm?ContentTypeID=1000&NameID=802899&BabySiteID=14735268) heritage, then. \*\* Zoltan Karpathy was the name of the “dreadful Hungarian” who “uses the science of speech / more to blackmail and swindle than teach” in _My Fair Lady._ At the royal ball Professor Hill takes Eliza to, “he made it the devilish business of his / to find out who this ‘Miss Doolittle’ is.” ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/139 "2002-04-19T06:02:39Z")
I haven’t met too many people with my name (Haley) though I have met quite a few who can’t pronounce and or spell it, oddly enough. Unfortunately though, it’s becoming more popular. I like having a name that is unique but not _odd_. You know, I’ve been going by “Pepper” for over two years now, both OL and even IRL a bit! And quite frankly, I’ve grown to like it. I could even see myself naming a child Pepper (as a middle name.) However, nobody can talk me out of naming my first 3 children Angel Lennon (I like the name Angel, Lennon is obvious) Besides Angel wouldn’t sound too bad since his last name would be hispanic. McCartney Lynne (McCartney is obvious, the kid can go by Mick or Micky, or Lynne if he/she wants. I just like the name Lynne) Jakob Toiyabe _prounounced Toy-ah-bee_ (My husband’s name is Jaime which means Jacob or James, but I like “Jakob” and his middle name is Toiyabe, which is Piute Indian for Mountain.) ---
**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 19, 2002, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070/140 "2002-04-19T06:33:40Z")
I forgot some more: In high school, there were these guys named Pepsi and Poppy. :eek: There is this sister/brother combination at the church: Sylver and Golden. Their mother is named Moni, but I don’t think it’s pronounced “Money”; it’s probably more like “Moanie.” I remember reading a story on Ananova quite some time ago about a couple who named their three kids after the room of the house in which they were conceived: Kitchen, Bedroom, and Garage. :eek: Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find the story; maybe the search parameters I’m using are a little off. I have this book called _The Odd Index_ by Stephen J. Spignesi, and it lists 329 pretty odd names; here are some of the highlights: [ul] [li]Immaculate Conception[/li][li]Strawberry Commode[/li][li]Rimmer[/li][li]Strange Odor[/li][li]League of Nations[/li][li]Let’s Stay Here[/li][li]Beautiful Swindler[/li][li]Urine[/li][li]Toilet Preparations[/li][li]Chloroform[/li][li]Castor Oil[/li][li]Ammonia[/li][li]Thyroid[/li][li]Syphilis[/li][li]Kotex[/li][li]Iodine[/li][li]Granuloma[/li][li]Vagina[/li][li]Valve[/li][li]Vomita[/li][li]Listerine[/li][li]Meconium[/li][li]Nausea[/li][li]Unexpected[/li][li]Oatmeal[/li][li]Summer Butter[/li][/ul] > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*Indeed, Everton. Jocelyn and René are also men’s names in French (the female equivalents are Jocelyne and Renée), and Andrea is a man’s name in Italian… Kelly is a pretty common boy’s name in Canada. \*\* I knew this from my siblings being in French Immerson, and if that weren’t enough, there is also the NHL goalie Jocelyn Thibault. You just reminded me of what happned on the first day of school in my Gr. 8 Band class. The teacher was doing a roll call going by the attendance list, and he paused at one name on the list: “Are any of you girls named Andrea?” We all shook our heads; finally, this guy spoke up: “It’s Ahn-dre-ah.” That story reminds me of what someone in high school once told me: her name is Aliza (pronounced “Ah-lee-za”), but all the subs were constantly calling her “Eliza”! There was another girl in high school whose name was Leda (pronounced “Leh-da”; any subs she had were constantly calling her “Lee-dah”! I remember a boy named Kelly in my elementary school; there was also a boy named Stacey. As for trendy names, one of my mother’s co-workers had a baby boy in August of 200: the baby was named Parker Shaw. (first name, last name) Sounded trendy to me! (not that there’s much wrong with the name Parker, per se) **thirdwarning** , if you want twin names that have the potential to confuse, look on the Facts About Multiples website under “Twins”: on that page is a blurb on a woman who had four sets of twins and named them things like Raymond and Raymonde. **pepperlandgirl** , these days people spell names just about any which way they want, unfortunately. I’ve seen Haley, Halee, Haleigh, Hailey, Hayley, etc. As for the name “Pepper”, I remember reading a book when I was a kid in which one of the main characters had that name. The book was about a family of five children and their friends: I think one of the younger siblings had the name Sophronia, but went by Phronsie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-child-this-i-dont-get-it/104070.md?page=8)