What's In A Name?
 

So it seems there is a trend these past few years of naming kids non-traditional names. While I'm all for self-identity and individual expression, I do feel it goes too far at times. I realize it is subjective, but it is one of the things the kid doesn't have much control over. What do you think? Do some kids naming go to far or should we let the kid deal with it? Is naming your kid Satan or World B Free quirky and unique or child abuse? Well apparently they are trying to do something about it in New Zealand.

Judge: Girl's name, Talula Does The Hula, won't do - Yahoo! News

So Skylen, Cachelle, Chaser, and Apple are out?

The child should be able to sue as an adult.

Don't forget Pilot Inspector...

I actually have a running joke with my sister, who despises those kind of names almost as much as I do. Whenever I hear one of those names I add it to to the list of names for my kids.

My all-time favorites: D'Brickeshaw (after the Jets' offensive lineman), and Yotonya (a person she worked with, which sounds so much funnier when you say it like Rocky Balboa).

I suppose Helen in a Handbasket would go over very well. Darn.

Too bad though. I like Talula Does the Hula. In fact, I love it.

I wish it were my name. Darn it.

How are acceptable names determined by the state?

I like "Moon Unit" and "Dweezil" (for a girl and a boy respectively).

OK, that name takes the cake. I've had some students with crazy names. I got a bit immune to the 'ghetto' type names after awhile, but when I'd talk to someone and mention a student's name, I'd get that funny look.

Here's a list of some of the best names:

Mister
Y'mUnique (I'm unique), I also had an Unique in this class too. It got confusing at times.
Tomeka
Marquita
Siblings: Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer
Gabriel Ray (nickname GayRay)

I'm glad that judge helped that girl. I can't even imagine what she went through at school. Not to mention having to learn to write that crazy name.

I know a nurse who works in a neonatal unit on the west coast and she swears this is true:
A patient declared her newborn daughter's name to be Areola. The nurses tried to explain what it was, but the woman was adamant because she liked the way it sounded.

Poor poor Areola....let's hope she never has a sister named Labia.

I worked with a woman who named her son "Sir". She said that she chose the name so that he would always get respect.

I could name my next born Mystery Solved. I like it!

just for a laugh...
http://www.ethanwiner.com/drew_peacock.jpg

i think a parent should have the right to name their child whatever the fuck they want...

...sometimes.

oh well, if she liked the name she could always change it back when she's older.

My ex-husband originally had a strange name. His mother tired over 'the family' fighting over what to name him. As if they had any say in it. She decided to get back at them.

She named him Guppy.

She changed it a few years later, to a traditional name that she had been calling him.

If you pm me, I'll tell you the last name, but I won't post it here.

I think parents should be able to name their kids whatever they want BUT, they need to give them a middle name or a nick name that is workable.

For example, I don't see a problem with Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii per se. After all, the name Talula is a perfectly fine name in and of itself. My wife and I gave our son a relatively different name (which most people who hear it like) but just in case, gave him a more traditional name as his middle name.

Has anyone ever read "Freakonomics", specifically the chapter on names? The researcher found Lemonjello, Orangello, and Shithead (rhymes with Rasheed) to name a few.

What about ethnic names? Sure naming your kid Satan or Skip to My Lou or Hometown Buffet maybe odd and downright abusive, but what about ethnic kids with unpronounceable names? Should they be "forced" to adopt Englishy names?

I came across an interesting site last week regarding baby names. The Baby Name Wizard | The Art and Science of Baby Names This woman has tracked baby names since the late 1880s. It is highly interactive.

one of my workers name is Prince.

i dont mind the autumn and summer names..but spring and winter dont go down well with me.

sometimes adults can be so damn stubborn

Interestingly, one of the case studies in the book talks about the fact that people's names often result in opposite behaviour. I forget the names he used, but I'm sure someone else can find their copy and remind us.

Basically, if you call your child "Hope" or "Winner", they'll have a shitty life, but if you call them "Struggle" or "Despair" they'll work harder to get out from under the shadow. Or something.

I think Areola is at least a somewhat traditional Spanish name. I know that I've spoken with more than one Latin woman with that name.

Then again, I've also spoken with Harry Dyke and Phuc Yu. And that's not really a big deal. I mean, unintentionally odd ethnic names happen, and they're not just for foreigners either.

Now people who intentionally give their kids strange names are a whole different issue. It reeks of Hot Topic Individuality to me. Naming your daughter something goofy does not strike a blow against The Man and does not make you unique and creative either. In fact, all it really does is saddle the poor girl with a shitty name. Do it if you feel you must, but I personally subscribe to Charlatan's train of thought; at least have the decency to provide a normal middle name to fall back on, lest there be more little girls calling themselves K.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to call it child abuse, although I also think that if the poor girl was clearly so distressed by her name that she wouldn't even tell her friends what it was, the judge acted rightly. It makes me wonder why her parents never cottoned on to how much she hated it. Too busy congratulating themselves on being individuals, I suppose.

Strange. I met a Guppy in Texas. I thought that name was quite rad.

The middle name thing works for me. I personally dont like my real name, so ive always gone by C.J. It seems to work for me. But then again, my name isnt strange at all.

Most people don't pronounce my name correctly, so I just go by a shorter nickname. And I've never met another person with my sister's name. I wish people who love names like Talula Does The Hula would just change their own name, instead of naming their kids things like that.

daniel i have many friends and aquaintences whith the name Jihad. literally in arabic it means 'struggle'.

I know a few people with the name Jihad as well. It makes travelling to the US rather difficult for them.

Everyone wants to be different, I suppose. I think it's sad that sometimes parents don't think about the repercussions the child may suffer.

Eurethra? :hmm: C'mon now.

id hate to have the name Test if my last name was Tickle.

charl - shame about that.

Sounds like the "Boy Named Sue" theory.
(BTW, I found out recently that "Boy Named Sue" was written by the great children's author Shel Silverstein, and he also wrote a sequel written from the dad's view, "The Father of a Boy Named Sue". It's a very different take. If you find the first inspirational, don't seek out the second.)

I have a difficult to spell/pronounce last name (if you get one, you won't get the other on the first try). Because of this, I made sure that my son had a simple first name.

My experience is that ghetto names can be absurd or hilarious. Unique (you-nee-kwah) is pretty common, as are a few others, then you have the weird one like B'Honda (parents must have really liked their cars, I guess.) Some lead to hilarious situations, like a young kid in the hair care aisle of Wal Mart walking along a shelf pointing and saying "and that's my name, and thta's my name, and ..." The confusion was cleared up when his mother yelled from the next aisle over, "Yo Revlon, get yo' black ass over here."

The only name annoyance I have right now is how so many kids after 2000 are named after last names. As in their first names are Connor, Jackson, Mason, Hunter, etc. And all the girls are Mackenzie, McKenzie, Mickenzie, McKayla, M'Kayla, the list goes on. I can't believe that people would name their kid after what's popular that year......

Giving your kid a unique or interesting name does not guarantee that your kid will be unique or interesting.

That's actually been big for a while here south of the Mason-Dixon line. I know many people, including one of my cousins, who have a last name as a first name. I've found it's usually their mother's maiden name or something of the sort.

Ohhhh, this is why Ratbastid told me to wander in here. Shesus, I feel your pain. We've got an Anakin Skywalker (lastname). There's Malaria, and Lasagna, and sweet little girl Anxious. I've got a few dozen Uniques, a Miracle, another Myracle... oh, and the sisters Myrykyl, Uneeq, and Nylydge. Let's not forget Jazzquinque and Jazzunique- sadly not related to each other.

Sometimes, I want to shake the parents. "Nylydge"? Spell it right- I deal with a few kids named Knowledge and it's a lot less ironic when it's spelled right.

Well, it's a ridiculous name... but couldn't she have just gone by Talula or Lu or something?

It does bother me, though, when people name their kids as if they're nothing more than accessories. And giving them "alternate" spellings bother me as well (think Kortney, Britney, Tyfani.)

haha, that's so sad.

Yes, we had this discussion over burgers when ratbastid was in town. He was telling us about a few of those. Poor kids. Not only the spellings, which are insane, but Lasagna?

Also, they don't think about when they are going to have to apply for jobs. When I was a head hunter, I took those names less seriously. I know that's wrong, but there is a lot of weight in a name. I'd rather hire a Nicole or Susan over Nylydge or Anxious. Yes, I'm a horrible person. :p

Talula sounds like a reasonable name, especially for New Zealand. But, I feel sorry for the kids that get teased because of their name. My parents were nice to me and gave me a normal name. But there can be more child abuse from peers than adults growing up. And finding a job with a weird name is another thing that makes life harder. Life is hard enough already.