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

[miffy]

Somebody posted photos of their new niece on fb yesterday, the girl is saddled with 'Malaya'. Great choice when you live in Australasia.

[happy atheist]

Speaking of Robin Williams, I went to school with her. And also Dawn Johnson.

But unluckiest of all was Pebbles, named by her siblings, natch.

[Mary C Doates]

When the NY Mets acquired the pitcher J.J. Putz, one intrepid reporter interviewed men and women leaving a Jewish senior citizen's center. They were appalled, chastising his parents for not changing their last name and speculating about how many bad jokes would be made about it ("If he pitches badly, will the Post have the headline 'What A Putz'?" Why, yes they did, several times). I'm surprised the FCC didn't fine the local networks on a daily basis, as the broadcasters struggled mightily to pronounce it "Poots"--which is how J.J. says it--instead of using the more, um, popular pronunciation.

I suspect the incessant taunting had something to do with his erratic performance and hasty exit to a town where Yiddish is not as widely used.

[curlykate]

I work in child care, so I've come across a few weird names in my days.

Mehli (May-lee), and Ayasha (Eh-Yash-ah) are sisters.

Daisia (Day-sha) and Oreon (Or-ee-on) are girl/boy twins. Tryhana (Tree-on-yah), and Zionna (Zy-on-ah) are their older sisters. Brady is their older brother.

I know 2 girls named Freya/Freyja (Fray-ah)

Amon (Ah-mon), Drenady (Dren-ah-dee), and Stylar are brothers.

Patience is a little girl in my son's preschool class who was born a preemie, in a local convenience store parking lot. Her parents named her patience, because apparently she has none.

I'm sure I've got more, but those are the only ones I can think of right now.

[Shaz]

My toddler has been to several library events with an adorable little girl named Lyyli. Her mother is super nasty and loves to put down other people while pretending to explain something to her daughter, so that maybe part of why I hate the name so much.

My husband's great uncle was named Haig Haig, pronounced Heyeg Hayg or maybe the reverse. I always say it backwards.

When I taught in Japan I had a Student named Daijobu, which means it's ok or I'm fine. He was a fabulous kid and nothing seemed to upset him.

[already hungover]

Speaking of Robin Williams, I went to school with her. And also Dawn Johnson.

But unluckiest of all was Pebbles, named by her siblings, natch.

I knew a Pebbles once, too. Also, when my mom was pregnant with my younger sister, she asked me what I thought the new baby should be named. I campaigned for "Donald Duck" the whole time but nobody took my preference into account. :shifty-kitty:

In response to another poster above: "Freja" or "Freya" is a commonly used name in my family and doesn't sound that weird to me. I actually kind of like it.

[MamaJunebug]

The naming of that poor child North West reminded me of a charming movie, "Medicine River," in which Graham Green's character haplessly says his girlfriend's baby's name is South Wing as he looks dazed at a hospital sign indicating the ... South Wing. The well-meaning Euro-Canadian nurse says, ""Aw that's pretty. Is it a traditional [aboriginal] name?" When the girlfriend finds out, she teases him but the baby remains--South Wing. Which I Jonestown think is rather nice!!

As I said, it's a lovely movie about real people living life the best they know how. SO DIFFERENT from celebrities & extremists!

[So Says I]

My SO's late grandfather, uncle, cousin, and other male relatives throughout the generations have been named Harry Wolfe. It's not short for Harold or anything.

A friend had a classmate named Estee Delauter. Klassy. I used to work at a college registration office. There was a student named Bambi and another named Kuddles. These were their real first names on their driver's licenses. Every now and then there would be a Michael Hunt. At least one made it clear NOT to call him Mike.

My dad had a friend named William Bill who went by Bill Bill. Another was Robert Roberts.

[Amelie]

A conservative, Junior League type co-worker named her son Brown. I wonder if it's ever occurred to her that his last name rhymes with butt hole.

I've had students named:

Curly Q

Tequila

Symphony

Fairy

Crayon

President

Cappuchino

[gibbsgirls]

I'll weigh in again - forgot about a couple.

Barbara Dahl (pronounced doll) - a friend of my daughters. Of course, she went by Barbie.

Also, I worked with a Tony Anthony.

[Savoring Samsara]

I'd be interested in seeing some verification about that. Lemonjello and Orangejello are widely regarded as urban legends.

http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.asp

As are "Latrina" and "Shithead." Come on, FJ, we're better than this.

[Rachel333]

As are "Latrina" and "Shithead." Come on, FJ, we're better than this.

Yeah, I like discussing names, too, but I feel like there's a lot of thinly veiled racism and classism when talking about weird baby names.

[Savoring Samsara]

Names my clients gave their children.

Erotica

Jack Daniels

twins Chabis and Chardonnay.

To contribute something other than :angry-banghead: at the constant urban legends that pop up in these threads: A guy named Jack Daniels goes to my church. He is a chemical dependency counselor.

[Savoring Samsara]

My dad had a friend named William Bill who went by Bill Bill. Another was Robert Roberts.

I had a college classmate named Carl Carlson III. My favorite part of this name is that the family did the same thing three times.

[Jana814]

I had a college classmate named Carl Carlson III. My favorite part of this name is that the family did the same thing three times.

These r really funny!

[sewingmom2]

I have to mention Michael Jackson's kid called Blanket. Drives me nuts.

My son's first girlfriend was named Daytona. I always figured there was a story there but I hesitated to ask. There are lots of Neveah's floating around--heaven spelled backward.

A nurse friend of mine had a drugged up lady deliver her kiddo in the back yard. She was convinced she'd delivered a horse and insisted on naming him Clydesdale. The staff put his name down as Clyde--she was still too high to notice.

[Rachel333]

I know a David Davis. It always bothered me that his parents could be so unimaginative. Then of course there's the singer Phillip Phillips. I looked up how to spell his name, and found he's far from the only Phillip Phillips: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Phillips (Well, the others are Philip with one "l", but still). The word "Philip" now looks completely bizarre to me.

I also know a Crystal Watters (her maiden name; she doesn't use it now) and as a kid I went to camp with a James Bond. Poor kid, he was constantly answering questions and comments about his name. I wonder if he goes by something different now.

[Jana814]

Their was a David Davis who killed his wife back in 1980. They did a movie about it & I've seen many stories about this guy & being bothered that they named him that.

[NurseNell]

I know a David Davis. It always bothered me that his parents could be so unimaginative.

DH has a cousin named John Johnson, and I had a patient with the same name.

[PennySycamore]

I wonder, is Apple truly such an usual spin on a fruit name? I have heard of women named Peach, Plum, Pear, etc. Is Apple really that different? Many Americans thought the name to be odd, but since Paltrow has a British husband, maybe it is more acceptable on his side of the pond?

Actor Robin Williams named his daughter Zelda, after the princess in the Legend of Zelda game series. My son went to school with a child named Ganon, named for the villain of the same series.

I had a dog named Zelda. I got her from some people giving away puppies in front of the UGA Library in the summer of 1974. They said she was so ugly that no one wanted her. Since MAD magazine had a knack for naming homely women Zelda that's what I called her. One of my friends said that the pup wasn't ugly at all and I should name her after Zelda Fitzgerald.

edited for riffle

[already hungover]

I have to mention Michael Jackson's kid called Blanket. Drives me nuts.

My son's first girlfriend was named Daytona. I always figured there was a story there but I hesitated to ask. There are lots of Neveah's floating around--heaven spelled backward.

A nurse friend of mine had a drugged up lady deliver her kiddo in the back yard. She was convinced she'd delivered a horse and insisted on naming him Clydesdale. The staff put his name down as Clyde--she was still too high to notice.

I always think it's funny when people name their kid Neveah and then claim it's heaven spelled backward. It's, um, not: it's "Haeven" spelled backward. Seems like a pretty easy thing to check.

I also knew a David Davis of ill repute once.

[crazyforkate]

I look after two little fundie-lite girls named Mercedes and Lincoln.

If they have a third daughter, they should call her Porsche.

[E Street Fan]

Yeah, I like discussing names, too, but I feel like there's a lot of thinly veiled racism and classism when talking about weird baby names.

I knew La-a, Shithead, and Orangello/Lemonjello were urban legends, but not Latrina. Thanks for posting that.

I agree that there's a lot of racism and classism about weird baby names. A book by Nathan McCall--Makes Me Wanna Holler-- enlightened me about "made-up" Black baby names. As Mr. McCall wrote, those names might sound funny, but at least they're not slave identities, given by the slaveowner.

[VooDooChild]

I knew La-a, Shithead, and Orangello/Lemonjello were urban legends, but not Latrina. Thanks for posting that.

I agree that there's a lot of racism and classism about weird baby names. A book by Nathan McCall--Makes Me Wanna Holler-- enlightened me about "made-up" Black baby names. As Mr. McCall wrote, those names might sound funny, but at least they're not slave identities, given by the slaveowner.

Latrina is a real name. I worked with one for two years. It never crossed my mind that it was close to latrine. But I'm clueless like that....

[PennySycamore]

I look after two little fundie-lite girls named Mercedes and Lincoln.

If they have a third daughter, they should call her Porsche.

Last Sunday, on Father's Day, Ben Mankiewicz had his dad, Frank, come on the help introduce the films that afternoon. Frank Mankiewicz had been campaign director for Senator Bobby Kennedy in '68 and director of the Peace Corps for Latin America in the 60s. Frank had picked out the afternoon's movies and shared a few memories too. One of the films was All the King's Men which won three Academy Awards in 1949 including Mercedes McCambridge as Best Supporting Actress. Frank said that he had actually dated Mercedes once. He said that she pronounced her name Mersed DEEZ with the emphasis on the final syllable. You can hear Elizabeth Tyson (Martha Hyer) use this pronunciation referring to a car in the film Sabrina.