# Why would you name your kid... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559 "2008-12-10T15:33:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WillSantini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@WillSantini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillSantini)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/1 "2008-12-10T15:33:28Z")
My son had a doctor’s appointment this morning, after the appt I drove him to school. At the school, I walked him to the office and had to sign him in. In the sign-in book, above the space I was using, a parent had signed in his/her child. I noticed the name and thought, “Why would you name your kid _Holden Butts_”? Was Grabin already taken? What about Spankin? Or Pinchin? I hope that kid has a good sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/2 "2008-12-10T15:44:14Z")
Maybe the kid was there because of unstoppable diarrhea. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/3 "2008-12-10T15:50:51Z")
Is his dad named Seymour? ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/4 "2008-12-10T16:01:18Z")
Heh. One of my best friends has that last name. It has produced challenges. However, I cannot imagine her going that route in naming her child (who ended up with a perfectly normal name, BTW). Why would they do that? Because when you have a name like Butts or Dick or McPenisgrabber it just becomes part of your name and you don’t think about it the way an outsider would. But they still should have thought about the unfortunate funnies that will follow this kid his whole life. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/5 "2008-12-10T17:33:07Z")
Isn’t the most likely explanation that some wise guy wrote that name in the book and there is no child by that name in the school? Was Michael Hunt also late for school today? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/6 "2008-12-10T17:38:03Z")
The creator of AMC’s Mad Men named his son, who acts on the show, Marten Holden Wiener. The kid plays his role well, but damn - “THANKS, DAD”. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/7 "2008-12-10T18:25:07Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > Why would they do that? Because when you have a name like Butts or Dick or McPenisgrabber it just becomes part of your name and you don’t think about it the way an outsider would. See, I always thought it would be the exact opposite… anyone with a name that made their childhood hell would probably try extra-hard not to choose a first name that makes their kid even easier to pick on, no? Like if my last name was Dick or Butts, I’d probably avoid naming my child Harold just to spare them the extra childhood trauma. That excuse probably holds up better for people whose last names aren’t easy pickings until you pick the wrong first name. I have a former colleague whose married name ended with “head” and whose husband was very nearly named BJ by his clueless parents, until a teenage relative pointed out the obvious (poor kid would’ve been nicknamed BJ Giveshead for the rest of his life otherwise). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/8 "2008-12-10T18:40:00Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > Like if my last name was Dick or Butts, I’d probably avoid naming my child Harold just to spare them the extra childhood trauma. Funny you should say that. My first college roommate had the last name Dick, and he swore he’d never name his kid Harold. His first name was Peter. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/9 "2008-12-10T18:42:46Z")
You are probably right. I was just thinking about the times we would talk about stuff (for ex, discussing how our kids kept saying butt all the time) where the word butt would come up and I never made the connect that we were talking about her name and it seemed neither did she. I’ll see her this weekend. I may ask her about this. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/10 "2008-12-10T20:07:58Z")
I was watching The First 48 (fun show, btw) the other night and they showed a female detective’s name. It was C’mon Wingo. As in “c’mon with us.” Later someone pronounced it like “Simone.” Cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/11 "2008-12-10T20:18:50Z")
No discussion of strange names would be complete without [Urhines Kendall Icy Eight Special K](http://www.newbabynews.net/hospitals/stf33/public/stf33birthannouncement.pl?babyID=h33-440). (The first name is pronounced “yer highness”.) If ever you think _your_ parents were cruel… ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/12 "2008-12-10T21:08:49Z")
What am I missing with the name ‘Harold Dick’? ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/13 "2008-12-10T21:14:01Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > What am I missing with the name ‘Harold Dick’? If Harold gets shortened to Harry, you’d be Harry Dick. This would not be a problem for people who live where you live or where I live, but in some parts of America Harry and hairy sound the same. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/14 "2008-12-10T21:15:30Z")
If my last name was Butts, I would CHANGE my last name. To something really extra cool to make up for the generations of poor sob’s that came before me. Like KillerNinja or Awesome. Johnny Awesome. I likes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/15 "2008-12-10T21:16:11Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > What am I missing with the name ‘Harold Dick’? His friends call him Harry. Reminds me of the renowned educator named Harry Wong. That guy had to be a good teacher just to survive. Just don’t name your kid Phil if your last name is McCracken(say it like you are Irish). ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/16 "2008-12-10T21:18:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > His friends call him Harry. > > Just don’t name your kid Phil if your last name is McCracken(say it like you are Irish). I didn’t get it. Then I said it with the accent and burst out laughing dude. thanks, I needed that. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/17 "2008-12-10T21:23:08Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Just don’t name your kid Phil if your last name is McCracken(say it like you are Irish). It’s not so bad if he’s got a friend like Ben Dover to help spread the teasing. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/18 "2008-12-10T21:25:06Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > It’s not so bad if he’s got a friend like Ben Dover to help spread the teasing. Oh, God, why did you have to say “spread”? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/19 "2008-12-10T21:27:34Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > If Harold gets shortened to Harry, you’d be Harry Dick. > This would not be a problem for people who live where you live or where I live, but in some parts of America Harry and hairy sound the same. Wait, how does “Harry” sound in your part of the world? ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/20 "2008-12-10T21:38:18Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > No discussion of strange names would be complete without [Urhines Kendall Icy Eight Special K](http://www.newbabynews.net/hospitals/stf33/public/stf33birthannouncement.pl?babyID=h33-440). (The first name is pronounced “yer highness”.) > > If ever you think _your_ parents were cruel… Oh my. I suppose their next child will be named Prynz Kendall Foggy Nine Cheerios. That’s just all kinds of not nice. In fact, I firmly believe that giving your kid a name like borders on child abuse, and that the parents ought to be punished somehow. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559.md?page=2)