# 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:** 2
**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, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/21 "2008-12-10T21:53:21Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > 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. There are places where it is. France and Denmark (and probably others), for example, have laws against choosing names for children that may be used against them later in life, or which are just generally poor choices of names. It seems a bit fascist, but when I see some of the names parents come up with, I can’t help but wonder if we wouldn’t be better off after all. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/22 "2008-12-10T21:54:26Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > 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. Cheerios? No! Bran Flakes. ---
**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, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/23 "2008-12-10T22:01:26Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > Wait, how does “Harry” sound in your part of the world? Harry sounds like Harry and hairy sounds like hairy. 😃 But seriously; they are different. I am not equipped with the know-how to show you in text, but your mission, should you choose to accept it is to find yourself a person who is a native English speaker from Ireland or England or Scotland or Wales or Australia. Not sure about New Zealand, I don’t know many Kiwis and the ones I have seen on the television do some fairly mesmerising things with vowels. And I’ve only ever met one Canadian. She was as mad as a box of cats, so I wouldn’t feel confident extrapolating anything she ever said or did to a whole country. It wouldn’t be fair to Canada. She was just an out and out weirdo. Of course Irish, English, Welsh, Scottish and Australian people do not pronounce those words the same as each other. But for all of them there is a difference between hairy and Harry that is hard to find in any American speech I’ve ever heard. It’s to do with the oft-heard refrain that in some (all?) American accents, merry, marry and Mary sound the same, where as people from other places have different pronunciations for all three. It’s why English speakers who aren’t American always mangle Maryland, until an American explains it to them. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/24 "2008-12-10T22:13:42Z")
> [@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… How about Precious Blueyes Jones? Or T9C Baby Smith? Yes, spelled with the number. I’ve also seen it spelled out as Tininecy. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/25 "2008-12-10T22:22:51Z")
To be fair if you have some of these last names you will be made fun of no matter what your parents do to help you out. I went to high school with a kid named Chris Head. He picked up the unfortunate nickname of Givesgood, which was perfectly polite and could be used around teachers and coaches. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/26 "2008-12-10T22:37:39Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > It’s not so bad if he’s got a friend like Ben Dover to help spread the teasing. Or Peter Gozinia. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/27 "2008-12-10T22:47:52Z")
There was a Michael Hunt at my highschool. There really was no winning for the prinicpal, because he couldn’t say “Michael Hunt” without putting improper emphasis on it to make us all start giggling like teenagers. I wanted to name a kid “Erlyn” which wouldn’t amuse anyone until lab class. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/28 "2008-12-10T23:05:44Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > Wait, how does “Harry” sound in your part of the world? Hairy rhymes with airy, fairy, etc. Harry rhymes with Barry, carry, tarry, and so forth. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/29 "2008-12-10T23:19:25Z")
[Harry/Hairy](http://www.box.net/shared/0c9bz742tn) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/30 "2008-12-10T23:22:47Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Hairy rhymes with airy, fairy, etc. Harry rhymes with Barry, carry, tarry, and so forth. These words all rhyme to the vast majority of Americans. I understand New Yorkers distinguish, but it’s such a subtle distinction that I don’t get the fuss. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/31 "2008-12-10T23:24:24Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Hairy rhymes with airy, fairy, etc. Harry rhymes with Barry, carry, tarry, and so forth. Those all rhyme when I say them, except for “so forth.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/32 "2008-12-10T23:36:37Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Those all rhyme when I say them, except for “so forth.” So how do you pronounce all those words? ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/33 "2008-12-10T23:55:07Z")
Harry is pronounced like “har har har”, except with a -ry in place of the last two hars. Think of a pirate named Harry. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/34 "2008-12-11T00:17:39Z")
> [@1010011010](#): > > Harry is pronounced like “har har har”, except with a -ry in place of the last two hars. > > Think of a pirate named Harry. “Har”, rhyming with “car” and “star”? You say “HARree”? ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/35 "2008-12-11T00:23:39Z")
I have a normal last name, but it begins with one of last four letters in the alphabet. I got tired of being one of the last, if not the last to be called in stuff by aplphabetical order. I told my wife that I thought of changing my name to “ **Zippo Aardvark** ”. With two a’s in the last name I’d be first but to make it fair I picked up a Z last name. She didn’t want to be Mrs. Aardvark. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/36 "2008-12-11T00:29:38Z")
I went to college with a Rusty Dick. At the same university, I also knew a Paula Law. Everyone called her Pa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la (as in Deck the halls…) But at least Paula could get married and drop the Law. Poor Rusty… ---
**Author:** ![timbicile59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@timbicile59](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timbicile59)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/37 "2008-12-11T00:58:46Z")
I used to work with a guy who got paged over the loud speaker often. Dick Cole to the front office please. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/38 "2008-12-11T01:21:55Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > “Har”, rhyming with “car” and “star”? You say “HARree”? I don’t. I’m explaining the difference in pronunciation between /Harry/ and /hairy/ mentioned higher in the threat. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/39 "2008-12-11T01:27:19Z")
The lastest idiotic name I ran into was a poor kid named Duncan Xavier Hines. One day I realized why he spelled his name D. Xavier Hines. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559/40 "2008-12-11T01:43:43Z")
> [@1010011010](#): > > There was a Michael Hunt at my highschool. There really was no winning for the prinicpal, because he couldn’t say “Michael Hunt” without putting improper emphasis on it to make us all start giggling like teenagers. Mine too, actually. Nice guy. We also have a kid named Evan Evans. Parents really went the extra mile there, huh? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-you-name-your-kid/476559.md?page=3)