Terrible biblical baby name

[fundifugee]

I met a woman named "Hallelujah We Shall Rise".

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Some countries ban parents from giving their kids highly unusual first names because of how difficult it can make life (you'll not likely ever see a Judge Fluffycakes, as an example, because Fluffycakes Johnson wouldn't be taken seriously). Sometimes I wish this was done here.

Well, at least it's pretty trivial to change your legal name in the US, once you hit 18. There are definitely some kids I've read about in the news that are probably counting down the DAYS until that happens... and in the meantime, going by their initials!

[Maude]

Some countries ban parents from giving their kids highly unusual first names because of how difficult it can make life (you'll not likely ever see a Judge Fluffycakes, as an example, because Fluffycakes Johnson wouldn't be taken seriously). Sometimes I wish this was done here.

Is it weird that I almost want to change my name to Fluffycakes Johnson? :lol:

[gezykah]

Sounds to me like they thought it would be a "cool" name and are grasping at straws to give it some deep meaning. I remember when a friend told me her sister and brother in law named their child Ryu my first reaction was to ask if it was after the Street Fighter character. Her brother in law had some convoluted reasoning involving Japanese culture but playing video games was the closest he ever came to caring about their culture. The child's middle name is a also coincidentally ;) a video game reference.

[Justvisiting]

I think the kid makes the name, really - I guess I've always thought it was cool when kids have unique names. I have a perfectly normal middle name (JoAnn), but I always hated it.

ETA: The author Ransom Riggs (not a pen name) pulled it off...

[FloraDoraDolly]

I knew a Dorcus at my church when I was a kid. She was VERY old.

At least with Dorcus, you can go by Dorry (or even Doris if you're an old lady).

[genericJname]

Where is Ransom used as a person's name in the Bible? Google did not find it

.

Its not a name. Its more of a concept related to "payment" to atone for sin. Jesus paid for everyone's sin by dying in order to set people free. They shared this bible verse with the announcement:

"The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51:11"

Yes, this is from years before Jesus ever existed, but Christians like to hijack everything in the old testament.

[TXDuck]

In elementary school, there was a girl named....wait for it...Jezebel. It's like her parents wanted a Biblical name, knew, Jezebel was in the Bible, thought it was pretty, and then just stopped thinking. Did I mention I went to a Catholic school. I still desperately want to know what the nuns thought.

[itsnikki05]

What ever happened to naming your kid Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John? Or Isaiah (sp?), or Levi... or Moses, or... something. Ransom? Really???

[itsnikki05]

I knew a kid named Ransom, but he was just from a redneck family. No biblical excuse.

No, that's not really an excuse either. My redneck (they will outright CALL themselves rednecks) sil and bil named their children Lane and Mackenzie... Lane was apparently a bull rider and just sounds like a nice country boy name (it does!) and Mackenzie... I dont' know. There's a bow hunting reference there that I'm not getting. But both are perfectly respectable names. Ransom? Notsomuch.

[Jessica]

That makes Vision O'YHWH, Mercy Fire, and Destiny Divine look normal.

[hapamama]

My nephew is a Jeremiah... which in an of itself isn't a bad name, until you see his Japanese middle name right next to it.

[LilMissMetaphor]

@hapamama: why, does he have an unusual Japanese name or do you object to the mixing of English first names with other-language middle names? I thought that was a fairly common way to include both cultures (if you adopt from abroad or if the parents are from different places).

[pamplemousse]

My nephew and his wife plan to name their first child Zayid. They say it's a Biblical name. IMO, if they want a Biblical name beginning with Z, Zachary would be a nice choice... I wish they'd thought their choice through better.

[Whydoyouask]

What type of 'nickname' can you use for Ransom? When I was going to pick my DS name I *tried* to picture it on a name card for his potential office. I wrote out his full name, nick name, first name, middle name, initials etc. Ya it was a bit overkill and pretentious but hopefully one day, when DS makes his mommy proud people can pronounce his name and not wonder WTF his parent was thinking!

[Dinaberries]

What type of 'nickname' can you use for Ransom? When I was going to pick my DS name I *tried* to picture it on a name card for his potential office. I wrote out his full name, nick name, first name, middle name, initials etc. Ya it was a bit overkill and pretentious but hopefully one day, when DS makes his mommy proud people can pronounce his name and not wonder WTF his parent was thinking!

I did the same when I was pregnant with my son. My husband and I put so much thought and care into naming him, so it kind of makes me sad when it seems like people are carelessly naming their kids. My full first name (Dina is a nickname) is a rather unusual Spanish name, and while as an adult, I get a lot of compliments on it, I was teased mercilessly as a kid for it. I know that my mother didn't name me carelessly, as she really thought it was a beautiful name (she was also honoring her grandmother, since I am named after both her best friend and her sister), but it really stood out like a sore thumb in the community I grew up in. I wanted to make sure that my son wouldn't have to deal with that, and would have a name that would work well in any environment and profession.

[Mountain Girl]

I think Ryu is adorable but I didn't know it was a video game character. I guess anyone who knows that might find it less adorable. Ransom is, um, interesting. There are so many names to choose from in the bible, from traditional to exotic, I don't know why someone would choose the one with creepy criminal connotations. When I was a kid I told my mom I wanted to have a son and name him Rontu Aru (sp?) after the dog in Island Of the Blue Dolphins, so it might be a good thing that my kids already had names when I acquired them.

[Tanaqui]

I had a Ransom in one of my classes. I didn't realize it was from the Bible, I just thought his parents were idiots...like the parents of Rage, Fantasia, and Jealousy.

[Shirley MacLaine]

Okay, Jealousy is kind of awesome. I mean, it's so intensely ridiculous that it kind of goes full circle, becoming awesome again?

Or is that just me.

[JesusFightClub]

Okay, Jealousy is kind of awesome. I mean, it's so intensely ridiculous that it kind of goes full circle, becoming awesome again?

Or is that just me.

No. You are utterly correct. It is an amazing name, for all the wrong reasons, but still amazing. :D

Rage is a great name too. And the parents who named their kids Notorious and Violence.

[valsa]

In elementary school, there was a girl named....wait for it...Jezebel. It's like her parents wanted a Biblical name, knew, Jezebel was in the Bible, thought it was pretty, and then just stopped thinking. Did I mention I went to a Catholic school. I still desperately want to know what the nuns thought.

I actually like the name Jezebel. Granted, I'd never name my kid that because of the negative connotations but I do think it sounds pretty.

It's weird because, despite being an atheist who borders on antitheist, I like a lot of Biblical names. I'm afraid some fundie is going to think I'm one of them if they hear the names I have planned for my kids.

[Lillian]

I think the kid makes the name, really - I guess I've always thought it was cool when kids have unique names. I have a perfectly normal middle name (JoAnn), but I always hated it.

ETA: The author Ransom Riggs (not a pen name) pulled it off...

Ransom Riggs went by Randy through his youth, I think. (John Green talked about him in a recent vlog)

I thought Randy was a relatively common American name- what is it usually a nickname of?

[Shirley MacLaine]

Randall, I think?

[Lillian]

Ah, that makes sense!

[julie paradox]

Ransom is also another common name for wild garlic!

No, that's ramson.

I kind of like Dorcas. I expect it will become amazingly popular in a decade or so. When I was at school Emily was considered dreary and old-fashioned, but now you can't move in a primary school without bumping into one.

Ryu means school in Japanese - though Wiki tells me it's also the word for a Japanese dragon, which sounds much cooler ;-)