The Weird, the Bad, and the Ugly: Name Discussion - Merge

[paganhomeschooler]

One of my great-grandma's sons was a junior, but instead of giving him his father's full name, they named him Father'sFirstName Junior LastName. His middle name was Junior.

My grandpa's middle name is Junior! He's not a junior, though. He shared no part of his name with my great-grandfather. They just gave him the middle name junior. He was the youngest boy in the family.

[yetanothermeg]

She's a fanny.

Love you!

[RachelB]

I think Otis IS a pretty cool name though :lol:

I think it's a splendid name for a cat or hamster, or possibly a boy. I imagine a girl with that name would have a rough time.

[PennySycamore]

About name ownership: We named our youngest daughter the same name that my husband's sister wanted to name the baby that she miscarried a few months before I got pregnant. That caused some hurt feelings for a while.

[Full enough quiver]

Names can definitely give people certain impressions. When i see a trendy name like Jaidyn or Kylynne, i usually think the mother is probably young, maybe not very educated. Young, uneducated mom sometimes equals bratty kid. But there are always exceptions, so I try to suspend judgement.

I got quite a bit of grief for my daughter's name. She is named after my great great grandmother, who died last year at age 95. Her middle name is Joy. There's nothing wrong with the name, it's just an old lady's name. My daughter loves it though. Nobody under 80 has her name, so it's pretty and quirky like her. She gave herself a nickname at 5, she goes by Enzie. It suits her with her green streaked hair and repurposed thrift store wardrobe. My stepdaughter has a super trendy name that I never would have chosen, (to me I've always found it to be "trashy") but knowing and loving her has given me a better impression of the name. It's still not what I would've picked, but now, instead of thinking "stripper" when I hear the name, I picture my bright, beautiful, and loving young lady.

[EyeQueue]

Names can definitely give people certain impressions. When i see a trendy name like Jaidyn or Kylynne, i usually think the mother is probably young, maybe not very educated. Young, uneducated mom sometimes equals bratty kid. But there are always exceptions, so I try to suspend judgement.

I got quite a bit of grief for my daughter's name. She is named after my great great grandmother, who died last year at age 95. Her middle name is Joy. There's nothing wrong with the name, it's just an old lady's name. My daughter loves it though. Nobody under 80 has her name, so it's pretty and quirky like her. She gave herself a nickname at 5, she goes by Enzie. It suits her with her green streaked hair and repurposed thrift store wardrobe. My stepdaughter has a super trendy name that I never would have chosen, (to me I've always found it to be "trashy") but knowing and loving her has given me a better impression of the name. It's still not what I would've picked, but now, instead of thinking "stripper" when I hear the name, I picture my bright, beautiful, and loving young lady.

My brother's girlfriend (who is pretty much no longer in the picture, and he's now raising the child on his own) named their daughter FIRST NAME Kayden. The first name is a pretty standard name (if a bit old-fashioned, and she did give it a speshul, yuneek spelling :roll: ), but she goes by Kayden.

The mother fit your suppositions here: she was quite young when she had her (19 or 20), and fairly uneducated. My niece (who is now 4) is not a brat, though, and is remarkably well-behaved, so hopefully the name won't immediately set off alarm bells for people when they first meet her. :lol: :lol:

[Edited to add unique spelling detail.]

[Cheetah]

My cousin's wife is due in September. Their top name right now: Messerschmitt. I can't even.

OMG, I'm 3 pages behind so can't see if this got picked up by anyone else... but... seriously??? In the US???

[crazyforkate]

OMG, I'm 3 pages behind so can't see if this got picked up by anyone else... but... seriously??? In the US???

Canada. My cousin is a major history buff who named the cats Von Schlieffen and ANZAC (and no, it's not making any kind of statement of Nazi support, though one could certainly read it that way). This is tame by his standards. We're hoping the family can talk them out of it.

[VodouDoll]

Names can definitely give people certain impressions. When i see a trendy name like Jaidyn or Kylynne, i usually think the mother is probably young, maybe not very educated. Young, uneducated mom sometimes equals bratty kid. But there are always exceptions, so I try to suspend judgement.

I've met bratty kids with parents of all age, income, and education levels. I don't think names correlate to children's behavior. They say more about the parents than they do about the children.

The Freakonomics podcast just had an episode about baby names a few weeks ago that I thought was really interesting. Here's the transcript, but for the tl;dr economists looked at forty years of naming data from California and found that baby names do tell people something about the mothers: they are "incredibly powerful indicators of status, of aspiration, of taste and identity." (I don't think they looked at data for fathers.)

In their data, mothers with a high school education or less were more likely to make up a name for their baby or name their baby something with a unique spelling, like my former roommate who named her baby Brooklyn but spelled it Breucklynn. As a mother becomes becomes better educated she's more likely to give her baby a popular or common name, names that many would consider "regular" names. But then there comes a point again where a mother is even more highly educated, graduate school or more, where she becomes more likely to give her child a unique name again. Except now instead of making a name up or changing the spelling of an existing name, these women give their children names like Archimedes or Oliver or something, names that are literary or historical references to "signal great cultural capital" to others. The economist they interviewed said, for instance, that his wife named their daughter Esme after the JD Salinger story "To Esme With Love and Squalor."

Another interesting finding was that mothers with liberal and conservative ideologies tended to give their children different sorts of names. Conservative mothers tend toward names with lots of hard consonant sounds: Steven, Kurt, Margaret, Casey. Liberal mothers tend to favor names with soft sounds: Olivia, Emma, Joshua, Nathan.

YMMV, of course. These are the findings of a few economists who looked at a few decades of data showing naming trends in one US state and obviously won't cover every mother in every situation. But I thought it was interesting.

[Sparkle]

My cousin named her little girl Greenleigh-she loves soap operas, so went with a character's name but altered the spelling. The middle name is Kyndul. I think that part is T&T inspired :|

ETA: another cousin was set on naming her second daughter Gabriella-then said she couldn't bc her sister in law had named a miscarried baby Gabriella. Knowing this cousin, she probably changed the name bc she didn't like everyone planning to call her daughter "Gabby" instead of "Ella" like she wanted.

[2xx1xy1JD]

This has been making its rounds on my twitter and Fb today. Former UK Apprentice star talks about the correct way of naming your babies. Make sure you choose intelligent names because only lower class parents name their kids Tyler! Can't have Esmee playing with a Tyler in case he throws a book across the room, can we? :naughty:

Wow, her voice and manner were the perfect "snooty English snob" stereotype, weren't they?

Even though she'd apparently love my kid's name, she was just insufferable. Can't have her kids play with the riff-raff, can she?

I lived the Freakonomics bit. The explanation of the change in Black naming patterns in the 1970s helped solve a bit of a mystery for me: As a Canadian in my 40s, I had never really made the automatic association between odd names and Black naming patterns, while it seemed that everyone else on Babycenter did. Well, it turns out that I was just a bit older than them, and that made a difference, because among Black folks here who are my age, the names tend to be really ordinary and very Anglo - names like David, Chris, Michael, John, Donna, Valerie, Diane, Andrea, Elaine, etc. [i also realized that the Black population in Toronto isn't African-American, but is primarily Caribbean, and the British influence seems to be stronger.] There are 2 other ethnic trends at work in my area that alter what assumptions you can make about names. First - Chinese parents tend to give Anglo names to their children (sometimes in addition to Chinese names), and these names are often old-fashioned - either Hong Kong-born parents will give absurdly British names, or parents will simply look for names among their own Anglo co-workers. So, a formerly high-status name can either signal a current lower-status name OR a Chinese parent who has looked to other adults in naming their baby. So yes, I do know a few Charmaines and Tiffanys who are doctors, but they are Chinese. Second - there is the later generation ethnic pride trend. For example, my husband and his siblings all have very Anglo names - their parents were new immigrants who wanted their children to sound Canadian. However, we have friends with distinctly Hebrew names who have parents who were born in Canada but wanted to express ethnic pride.

I also stumbled on the "why is everyone suddenly using my unique baby name" with my middle child. I had read about it online, thought it was unique and meaningful, and suggested it to my husband. Neither of us had heard of it before, except from this one online reference. We had given baby #1 a name that was extremely common in the 1990s, so we were prepared to go with something less common. Guess what? Baby name #1 is sinking fast in popularity, but baby name #2 is skyrocketing, so the younger one is more likely to find that she's not the only one with her name and we look like we jumped on some trendy bandwagon.

[spookyginger]

Freakonomics is one of my favorites...the book and the movie. Watch Freakonomics and Idiocracy back to back and you have quite the saga of names....

I'm a teacher and have seen my fair share of weird names. I won't list them here because some are still students, and that just feels icky to me to list their names...but suffice it to say that crazy fan parents have given their kids all kinds of weird character names...sometimes combinations of names. BF and I have already named our future children (I know, seems weird)....and they're shockingly normal for people who are as crazy as we are. We just don't see the point in over the top names for kids.

[Haligh the Liar]

I stopped lurking today, and the timing couldn't be better, as I received the newsletter from my Catholic girls' high school. Included was an announcement submitted by a member of the class of 2009, proudly sharing the birth of her baby, Leehym. I'm assuming it's boy, and produced Liam, though the y makes me think it could be a feminized (ugh) version. The announcement doesn't say boy or girl, and the picture shows a baby all in white, so no clues there.

Sadly, little Leehym still doesn't win the extraneous Y award- I think that one goes to my classmate's daughter Rylynn.

[JesusFightClub]

That is madness. *shudders*

Liam's an OK name by itself, why not just use that? A girl baby could get Leanne.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Oh I'm so glad this thread was bumped because I forgot to share my favorite name of all time with you guys. It's Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, the given name of Paracelsus, a 16th century occultist/natural scientist/literal Renaissance man. IS THAT NOT A BADASS NAME.

When my partner finally relents and lets me get a cat, that will be the cat's name. (Or Theophrastia for a girl cat. :lol:)

[Savoring Samsara]

Oh I'm so glad this thread was bumped because I forgot to share my favorite name of all time with you guys. It's Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, the given name of Paracelsus, a 16th century occultist/natural scientist/literal Renaissance man. IS THAT NOT A BADASS NAME.

When my partner finally relents and lets me get a cat, that will be the cat's name. (Or Theophrastia for a girl cat. :lol:)

That's incredible.

If any of you are reading the Quinn Eaker thread ("Here's my Prediction"), there is a doozy of a baby name in there. The person under discussion, Quinn, has a daughter with a woman named Inok - the name is Inoquinn. Apparently they have a second baby on the way. I wonder if they will name that one Quinnok?

[Shirley MacLaine]

Growing up, I knew two boys named E Bradley Dedicated God [Lastname] and Mighty-Warrior Ed [Lastname.] I knew them as Bradley and Ed and never knew their actual names until I was doing timecards for swim team. I am pretty sure E was actually the E kids first name and it wasn't short for anything, but I could be wrong.

I just did a search for them on facebook and there are plenty of Brad [Lastname]s and Edward [Lastnames] but no sign of Mighty-Warrior or Dedicated God...

[RachelB]

Oh I'm so glad this thread was bumped because I forgot to share my favorite name of all time with you guys. It's Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, the given name of Paracelsus, a 16th century occultist/natural scientist/literal Renaissance man. IS THAT NOT A BADASS NAME.

When my partner finally relents and lets me get a cat, that will be the cat's name. (Or Theophrastia for a girl cat. :lol:)

That is indeed a badass name!

I had a college classmate with a very big personality, with the middle name Theophilus. Whenever he introduced himself, he used his full name and a flourishy arm gesture. A name like that is kind of like being born with a built-in pair of spats. You can either feel silly all the time because who on earth wears spats when they're not welding?, or you can wear your spats with pride.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

My friend named her son Theophrastus!

[Kiracee]

My niece does pageants with a girl named Krynlyn. I live in a very Mormon city, so weird names usually don't faze me, but Krynlyn is just absolutely horrible!

[moodygirl86]

I had a college classmate with a very big personality, with the middle name Theophilus. Whenever he introduced himself, he used his full name and a flourishy arm gesture. A name like that is kind of like being born with a built-in pair of spats. You can either feel silly all the time because who on earth wears spats when they're not welding?, or you can wear your spats with pride.

That reminds me of a customer who rang in when I worked for a credit card company about five years ago. He wanted to make a payment and I asked him to spell out his name as it read on the card. It wasn't a particularly funny name but it was the way he said it: "David W-A-T-T Watt, hyphen Prrringle!" Like, that's my name and I'm proud!

[Artemis]

Wow, her voice and manner were the perfect "snooty English snob" stereotype, weren't they?

{snip for brevity}

Yes, they were, and her attitude is reprehensible. People should be assessed on their behaviour, not their name, which has nothing to do with them and everything to do with the choices their parent make.

Having said that, in classes I've taught there is a clear correlation between types of bad behaviour/social status/appearance and names.

An India, an Allegra, a Tristan, an Oliver, might prove to be an arrogant spoilt brat, a prize queen bee, a snobbish little stirrer, but they are unlikely to throw chairs, tell you to fuck off, or threaten to have Dad beat you up. Instead they'll quiz you about your type of car, tell you about their swimming pool and their many holidays, and complain to Mummy if you discipline them. They will, however arrive in school clean, fed, rested, with the correct equipment, and having been read to since the age of 0, so they are articulate and have a certain level of knowledge.

A Kane, a Jayden, Kayleigh or Jade may well enter school speaking in inarticulate grunts, as does their mother (thinking of specific children here, ok, this is not theoretical). They will already be filled with rage at the unfairness of life, hyped on sugar to the point they can't sit still, undisciplined in any appropriate social behaviours, and already behind their more fortunate peers. If they are five, they may still be in diapers. They may be dirty, malnourished as well as excessively fat, and they may smell because although they are washed, their clothes are marinated in cigarette smoke. When they behave badly, it's not the privileged acting out of the Indias and Olivers, it's the raw fury of being unloved, uncared for, and unprivileged. They will throw chairs, they will curse you out, and they will fight like tigers.

However when you intervene kindly with these children, when you educate their parents and educate them, when you show love and compassion coupled with common sense and targeted financial support, you can change them into people that spoilt brats may never become.

The British class system stinks.

[Patsy]

Her children are India, Poppy and Maximillian, right? I hear those names and I think of a full-of-herself rich mother with no perspective, so there you go. (That's not just a dig at her, I'm saying those are some of the names that are honestly associated with that sort of person to me.)

[bluelady]

Wow, her voice and manner were the perfect "snooty English snob" stereotype, weren't they?

{snip for brevity}

Yes, they were, and her attitude is reprehensible. People should be assessed on their behaviour, not their name, which has nothing to do with them and everything to do with the choices their parent make.

Having said that, in classes I've taught there is a clear correlation between types of bad behaviour/social status/appearance and names.

An India, an Allegra, a Tristan, an Oliver, might prove to be an arrogant spoilt brat, a prize queen bee, a snobbish little stirrer, but they are unlikely to throw chairs, tell you to fuck off, or threaten to have Dad beat you up. Instead they'll quiz you about your type of car, tell you about their swimming pool and their many holidays, and complain to Mummy if you discipline them. They will, however arrive in school clean, fed, rested, with the correct equipment, and having been read to since the age of 0, so they are articulate and have a certain level of knowledge.

A Kane, a Jayden, Kayleigh or Jade may well enter school speaking in inarticulate grunts, as does their mother (thinking of specific children here, ok, this is not theoretical). They will already be filled with rage at the unfairness of life, hyped on sugar to the point they can't sit still, undisciplined in any appropriate social behaviours, and already behind their more fortunate peers. If they are five, they may still be in diapers. They may be dirty, malnourished as well as excessively fat, and they may smell because although they are washed, their clothes are marinated in cigarette smoke. When they behave badly, it's not the privileged acting out of the Indias and Olivers, it's the raw fury of being unloved, uncared for, and unprivileged. They will throw chairs, they will curse you out, and they will fight like tigers.

However when you intervene kindly with these children, when you educate their parents and educate them, when you show love and compassion coupled with common sense and targeted financial support, you can change them into people that spoilt brats may never become.

The British class system stinks.

Interesting. Of the names you've mentioned, I've taught a Tristan, an Oliver and two Jades.

My Tristan was lazy. Capable, but lazy. His home life was not good. His step-father was in jail and his mother was open about the fact that she couldn't control him, so she didn't try. He was caught having sex with his girlfriend in one of the bathrooms at school and eventually dropped out to sell drugs.

The Oliver I taught was high-functioning ASD, so some of his behaviours were understandable, but not all of them, IMO. He would have needed to learn the inappropriate words he was saying from somewhere - my guess is home. Teaching him sexual health was...interesting. He did come to school well fed and appropriately dressed.

Now, the two Jades that I taught couldn't have been more different. One was not a good student. She never gave me issues in class, but she also did no work. This is the student who was surprised when she failed my class even though she hadn't handed anything in all term and refused extra help. I believe her words were "I can't believe you'd actually fail me". She dropped out of school and had two children by the time her former classmates graduated. I could never reach her mother for conferences. Notes, phone calls and emails home would go unanswered.

My other Jade is the complete opposite. A hard worker, very intelligent and driven. Never a problem in class. Her parents are very involved and show appropriate concern for her academic and social life. She was probably the top student in her class - if not her grade.

I don't think you can tell anything by a name. I joke that because I'm a teacher, there are names I would never give to my kids - Austin, Brennan and Chessa are examples. But that's not because all children with these names are bad kids. It's because I've had ONE Austin, ONE Brennan and ONE Chessa who gave me such a hard time, the mention of those names brings their faces to my mind.

[Artemis]

Bluelady, are you in the UK or USA?

I'm in the UK. I've no idea what names are like/mean/indicate/say about you in the USA.