Dear LL, I still really really hate you...and think you suck

[Witsec7]

I really considered Siobhan, but it was a tough handle to stick on a kid who was Polish and Russian by descent.

[NurseNell]

LOL. I actually also hate when someone names their child a name that is clearly a girl's or boy's name and the child is the opposite sex.

OK, what's the name Ashley? I've always thought of it as a boy's name, maybe because of Gone with the Wind. A friend named their daughter Ashley. I hate the name Lynn or Lynne. Lynn is supposed to be the male spelling but not everyone knows that so I've seen girls named Lynn, and I know boys also named Lynn. And Carol for girls and Carroll for boys, or in my case, my married surname. And once I heard of a man named Beverly, which certainly is a girl's name. And I've met 2 girls named Ryan.

[NurseNell]

I really considered Siobhan, but it was a tough handle to stick on a kid who was Polish and Russian by descent.

My younger son's senior prom date was an African American girl named Siobhan. Her mother taught English Lit and had always loved the name. I knew another African American girl named Svetlana, who was named after a character in her mother's favorite book. I like the name Tatyana but it just doesn't go with an Irish surname. Same with Anastasia.

[PBrooke]

Once a name crosses the gender barrier from male to female, it rarely goes back, such as the aforementioned Ashley or Meredith, for example. Cody is one that is probably in transition from male to female, as is Dakota. Casey is one that's straddled the line for some time. As if the male name options weren't limited enough.

As for the Isabella thing - yeah, it's just as legit, just a different language. Like Marie and Maria.

One of my favorite sites is Den of the Name Nerds. Google it - the articles are quite fun.

[NurseNell]

I was surprised to learn recently that a Jewish friend thinks of Micah as a Jewish name; I always thought of it as a pretty fundy Christian name

I've always thought of Micah as a Jewish name. I've only known Jewish kids named Micah. Friends of ours in residency had a son the same day our daughter was born (we didn't know she'd been born til 2 months later), and he was named Micah. He's now a rabbi.

[Mythicwings]

Wow, I didn't know there was so much hatred of names out there!

There are lots of names that a couple or five generations ago used to be mostly used for boys, but are now almost always girls, like Ashley and Lynn, and Shane. And Charlie and Madison. And blah blah blah. And in the U.S. there are so many cultural names that I'm shocked that anyone has a problem with ANY cultural name.

[ohmeohmy]

Once a name crosses the gender barrier from male to female, it rarely goes back, such as the aforementioned Ashley or Meredith, for example. Cody is one that is probably in transition from male to female, as is Dakota. Casey is one that's straddled the line for some time. As if the male name options weren't limited enough.

Hmm....I agree, even though our son's name is Kelly. :? Every first-born male on my dad's side is named Kelly, all the way back to the grandfather who stowed away on the boat from Ireland. To avoid confusion, they're all called by their middle names. Your pick of Patrick, Timothy, or Dennis. :lol: Talk about limiting options!

Somewhat back on topic: A friend of mine recently adopted a little girl from another country. To preserve her cultural identity, they made the name the orphanage gave her the middle name and gave her an Americanized (I think that's the right word?) first name. I thought that was a good way of combining cultures.

[Eclipse]

OK, what's the name Ashley? I've always thought of it as a boy's name, maybe because of Gone with the Wind. A friend named their daughter Ashley. .

It is my understanding that Ashley was originally a male name but over time its become a female name due to the "ly" ending as most names ending in a "lee" sound are feminine names.

Its happened to other names, like Avery but Ashley is the most common example of it.

[Kitty]

You probably aren't Hispanic. Isabella is Spanish, and I prefer it to Isabel myself.

I'm not. I don't hate the name because I'm white, I hate it because it sounds so horrible. The 'la' just ruins it. It's weak, it's extraneous, it's dead weight, like Isabella Swan from Twilight. That's what I associate the name with, which just makes me hate it even more. It sounds childish to me, and the Twilight association really doesn't help.

[onlyorganic]

It is my understanding that Ashley was originally a male name but over time its become a female name due to the "ly" ending as most names ending in a "lee" sound are feminine names.

Its happened to other names, like Avery but Ashley is the most common example of it.

My husband wants to name our son Ashley. I love it, but I'm worried he'll get the whole "Um...isn't that a GIRL'S name???" thing. I don't want to put my son through that. I LOVE the name Ashley and I regret that it's mostly transitioned to a female name. I actually like Ashley for a boy much more that like Ashton or Asher.

[emmiedahl]

About Isabella: The Spanish version is Ysabel. All of the Isabella's I have known over the age of 10 were Italian.

[NurseNell]

Its happened to other names, like Avery but Ashley is the most common example of it.

That's weird because the friend who named her 2nd daughter Ashley named her 3rd daughter Avery, which I also considered a male name. The first daughter? Apryl, and no, she wasn't born in April.

[Mythicwings]

I LOVE the name Isabella, it makes me think of absolutely adorable little Italian girls.

Why do people feel so free to tell pther people that they hate their names or their kids names? I mean if you don't personally like a name, cool, but you are getting into some real personal territory that is not worth hurting someone's feelings because you simply don't have a preference for that name. Names are awesome and cool and amazing barometers of culture, and to hate on them attacks the person who has it. That's why avatars are nice it's like the false name paleolithic tribes gave to keep it being misused :lol: Really, you don't think you are really hurting someone's feelings by telling them you HATE and deplore their name, not even knowing who you are speaking to? Has this turned into Mean Girls? Or is it the waning moon?

[NurseNell]

About Isabella: The Spanish version is Ysabel. All of the Isabella's I have known over the age of 10 were Italian.

Maybe in Spain but in Latin America it's Isabella, and I've known several: Mexican, Salvadoran, and Colombian.

[emmiedahl]

Yeah, I live in an area that is more than 50% Hispanic (the Latin American variety) and it is Ysabel all the way. It is noted in the Wikipedia article about the name Isabel that Isabella is the Italian variation and that Ysabel is the Spanish.

[zcccrv]

Any thoughts on the name Norma?

I live in a small European country but would like to name a child (not yet in the works) a name which is easily pronounceable around the world yet not too strange or foreign in my home setting. Norma is quite rare here but not unheard of so it fits the bill and I like it. I guess it's old fashioned for English speaking territories but I don't really care about that. I'm more curious to know if it's horrible or has a hidden :oops: meaning or something to that effect.

[Rosa]

My younger son's senior prom date was an African American girl named Siobhan. Her mother taught English Lit and had always loved the name. I knew another African American girl named Svetlana, who was named after a character in her mother's favorite book. I like the name Tatyana but it just doesn't go with an Irish surname. Same with Anastasia.

The first few times I met Black women in Minneapolis named Lena, I was surprised. It seems so...Swedish. But then I learned about Lena O. Smith, the first African American woman lawyer in the state and a pillar of the local Black community of her day.

I would think there are a lot of places where Siobhan puzzles people...but my son has a simple, four-letter English word as a name that is ALSO a homonym for a book in the Bible, and it's mispronounced all the time (Mischa, Meeka, Michael, Mick-a). So there's really no winning.

[Witsec7]

Earlier someone commented on giving girls boys names and boys girls names IIRC. Since Siobhan was tossed out early I decided to name my child after my favorite brother. But I was concerned that with a very English last name

he/ she could miss some cultural identity. So I translated my brothers name into into Russian and used my Mothers maiden name as the middle name. To this day my daughter tells me how comfortable she is with her name and how it fits her and it makes her think about her family got here.

[NurseNell]

Yeah, I live in an area that is more than 50% Hispanic (the Latin American variety) and it is Ysabel all the way. It is noted in the Wikipedia article about the name Isabel that Isabella is the Italian variation and that Ysabel is the Spanish.

Well I guess that some Latin Americans prefer the Italian version. I only know what I've seen locally in our Hispanic population, when I worked in El Salvador, and when I visit my younger son's family in Colombia. I will pay more attention now and see if the Ysabel version shows up. Interestingly my daughter-in-law's Colombian family has an Italian surname. Her ancestors came from Italy in the late 1700-early 1800 period. Many of the early explorers of Central and South America were Italian, which might explain why the spelling Isabella is also seen.

I looked through the list of FB friends of my son's siblings in Colombia. No Ysabels but a few Isabelas (only one l). A Y name showing up more than once is Yisela.

[buttercup]

Any thoughts on the name Norma?

I live in a small European country but would like to name a child (not yet in the works) a name which is easily pronounceable around the world yet not too strange or foreign in my home setting. Norma is quite rare here but not unheard of so it fits the bill and I like it. I guess it's old fashioned for English speaking territories but I don't really care about that. I'm more curious to know if it's horrible or has a hidden :oops: meaning or something to that effect.

It's my grandma's name, and she was born here, so it's not entirely outlandish (Northeastern US). "Nora" has been more popular in recent years, so I could see Norma making a comeback.

Most people would, I think, know of it because Norma Jean was Marilyn Monroe's real name. Otherwise, I don't know of any horrible or hidden meaning.

[Deleted03]

I'm not. I don't hate the name because I'm white, I hate it because it sounds so horrible. The 'la' just ruins it. It's weak, it's extraneous, it's dead weight, like Isabella Swan from Twilight. That's what I associate the name with, which just makes me hate it even more. It sounds childish to me, and the Twilight association really doesn't help.

I think it's cute, the french version is Isabelle. I guess the last sylable is more emphasized.

[Deleted03]

About Isabella: The Spanish version is Ysabel. All of the Isabella's I have known over the age of 10 were Italian.

with a Y? very weird because they actually don't use that letter too much in words. I think it's an americanism... I can't even find that name in latin american baby registry although many spanish seem to have that name.

[treemom]

Who knew there were such strong feelings on just normal, average names.

[Avalondaughter]

While I like the versions of Isabel/Isabelle/Isabella, those names are so trendy now that I would never call my kid that. It's the same with Emily/Emma. Nothing against the name, but having grown up knowing 27 Jennifers, I understand that giving your kid a popular name is a bad idea because there will be 6 other kids in the class with that name. I remember a Jennifer friend in college would ingore you if you called out to her from across campus because she knew there would be 3 other Jennifers in the vicinity and you might be calling out to them.

In general I don't like any surname-type names for children unless the name is a family name. I cringe at any name that refers to a city, a state, or a US President (Madison, Dakota, Kennedy, etc.)

You guys are definitely educating me on Celtic names though. I had always been curious about Saorise because I never knew anyone with that name. The Celtic name that makes me batty is Caitlin. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that just the Irish spelling of Kathleen? Yet it's not only pronounced phonetically by most Americans, but it has all kinds of phonetic spellings now (Katelyn, etc.)

[Austin]

This, 100%.

FTR I'm not arguing only people of Celtic background are "allowed" to use those names. I apologize if I came off otherwise. This is a topic that's near and dear to me. Anyone can use those names, no matter what their background is. It's just upsetting when people choose the non-Anglicized versions and then clearly can't pronounce them.

No problems here! I don't think anyone would bat an eyelash for names like Sean or Mary. It just stings a bit when someone names their son, say, "Amhlaoibh" but pronounces it "Am-lao-iv" when it's pronounced more like "Olav."

I would not have considered the non-anglo versions of Irish names because it breaks my rule that the child should not have to spell their name to everyone throughout their lives. Our street name is actually a common woman's name spelled strangely and after 23 years living on this street, I am sick of spelling it. It's so stupid.