odd names for children?

[Jester]

I've commented on this before, but I'll repeat it for this thread....I went to grade school with a guy named Z. That was not his initial, that was his entire first name. Just Z. For my Canadian friends, it was not pronounced Zed, it was pronounced Zee, just so ya know.

[Kogarashi]

• You cannot say it without giggling
• No one can pronounce it
• It would look absolutely silly on a business card
• It sounds like a stripper's name
• It's the name of a disease, bodily fluid, or song the child was conceived during
• It's the name of a kind of booze (unless it's a real name, like Captain Morgan)
• It has something to do with a humorous combination or a coincidental last name. For example, if your last name is"Butts," try real hard not to name your child "Seymore"
• It's the wrong gender. Don't name a girl "Johnny."

A very good list. The one that's easiest to slide on is the last item, since, as Jester pointed out, there are a lot of unisex names and a lot of one-gender names that actually work well for the opposite gender. I had a friend named Charleen who hated her first name, and thus went by Charlie instead, and nobody ever batted an eye at it. We also had a female Michal living one building down from us until last year, but she was from Israel, so naming conventions may be different there.

On a related note, both a friend of mine in high school and my mother-in-law go by nicknames derived from their first names because they don't like them. My high school friend was named Margaret Agnes, both of which were rather more old-fashioned than was common in our high school and would've gotten her teased mercilessly, so she went with Meg. My mother-in-law just doesn't like her first name so she shortened it.

And if you cannot go on living without naming a child after your ex's gallbladder illness, at least be nice and give the child a normal middle name. If you insist on naming your child "Gallstone," then make his/her middle name something bearable like "Anthony" or "Maryanne." That way, they can decide as they get older if they prefer their first or middle name.

I'll second this (again). Sure, kids can always legally change their names when they reach adulthood, but until then they're stuck with the embarrassing/stupid/weird/whatever name unless they come up with a good nickname. And last I checked, it costs to get your name legally changed, whereas just using your middle name is perfectly doable without extra fees.

My dad and paternal grandpa both went with their middle names, actually. Grandpa's first name is Albert, which he didn't like, and Dad's first name is Alton, which he didn't really like. Grandpa's full name is identical to his father's, and he was named as he was because his father died right before he was born. Grandpa decided to pass his initials (but not name) on to my dad (his firstborn son), but Dad really didn't like the first name he got either, hence the middle name usage. And in case you're wondering, yes Dad passed on the initials, though he didn't have any sons to give them to (my baby sister got them instead, and she actually does like her first name).

My dad's mother also goes by her middle name because she's not fond of her first name, though it's not really "out there" or even weird or old-fashioned.

I've commented on this before, but I'll repeat it for this thread....I went to grade school with a guy named Z. That was not his initial, that was his entire first name. Just Z. For my Canadian friends, it was not pronounced Zed, it was pronounced Zee, just so ya know.

A family friend has an interesting bit on their family tree. One of his ancestors' parents were illiterate when he was born, so on his birth certificate his first name ended up as X because that's how they signed paperwork and thought they were being told to sign there. He made it all the way to adulthood as X Lastname until a census-taker came around. The census-taker didn't believe that his first name was just X, and pressed the issue until poor X finally picked a name on the spot (John), and ended up as X John from then on.

[KellyHabersham]

One of the more unusual names I've come across is "Rhodes" - this being the name of a little girl who attended a birthday party which my daughter was invited to.

[Kara]

Oooh, a couple of interesting names I just remembered from newsletters from my childrens' school. Darth, Ganon, and Sephiroth. I'm a nerd parent too, but day-um.

[Shpepper]

I just remembered another one. I went to elementary school with a girl who's father insisted she be called by her entire first name. it was Happynewyear. Can you guess what her birthday was? Thankfully our master teacher, Mrs. Richardson, managed to get him to compromise and allow her to go by Happy at school.

[Seraph]

I remember this one lady at a convention was showing off her brand new baby....

Vash Stampede <their last name>

I just about facepalmed right there in front of her, LOL.

[MoonCat]

Oooh, a couple of interesting names I just remembered from newsletters from my childrens' school. Darth, Ganon, and Sephiroth. I'm a nerd parent too, but day-um.

Well, hell, that kid's gonna have some issues!

[MoonCat]

They did not make them up. They are all old names. But their meanings have nothing to do with why we got them. (Two of us were named after dead ancestors, as is the Jewish tradition.)

Amusingly to me (and very ironically to me), my name means "handsome." You would think they would have gotten "funny," "sarcastic," or even "smartass" in there, but no. Just that. Yeah, right.

Lil Sis's name means "meadowlands." Which makes no sense at all, other than the fact that she lived in the shadow of The Meadowlands (and Giants Stadium) for a few years.

The Witch's name means "stranger." Somehow, that seems SO fucking appropriate.

To add to this, my mother's name means "consecrated to god." She's an atheist that ran screaming from the Jewish religion.

Dad's name refers to an invader of a certain region, but since he's been dead 30 some years, I'd say his invasion is not succeeding all that well.

Edited to add: Just looked up my stepsister's name. It means "famous brilliance." If she recovers completely, that will in fact be famously brilliant. And her father's name means "vigilant," and he has been watching over her.

I didn't say the meaning necessarily has to match one's personality...

But looks like there's a couple of interesting coincidences in there, huh?

[Shpepper]

Oh Crud.. there's 2 Sephiroth's out there? A former coworker of mine named his son that too.

[Kara]

I just about facepalmed right there in front of her, LOL.

You are a better person than I. Because I'd have baby-talked to it, saying "Peace and Wuv! Wuv and Peace!"

Well, hell, that kid's gonna have some issues!

Only if he has a mommy-complex and burns cities to the ground for fun....

[Jester]

Another one I just remembered....I know a girl named Ramsey. Not exactly a typical name for a girl. Hell, she's the only one I've ever met. Or heard of, for that matter. Of either gender.

[Retail's Bitch]

Cousin named Alberta Blue


I've come across several interesting names of kids, while working at the portrait studio..

Two that come readily to mind?

Celebrity...

and

Candida (The medical terminology for a yeast infection)

[DeltaSierra]

Oh I just remembered - a girl my niece goes to school with is named Portia-Lynne Dahl (porcelain doll)

[Jester]

Candida (The medical terminology for a yeast infection)

NOW the name of the former porn actress Candida Royalle makes a whole lot more sense!

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Growing up I never liked my first name. First of all I had never heard of anyone else with the same name (though now there are a lot that I've heard). Second, it seemed to be impossible for some people to pronounce it or spell it or both...the first day of school was never much fun for me when my new teachers read the roll call. Coupled with my last name, which was also rare but not really THAT hard to figure out, it was like all of a sudden the teachers were trying to read Mandarin characters off the page.

Probably because of that, I like names that are somewhat middle of the road...not too far out, but not so popular that my kid would be one of 7 in the class with the same name. Also, I have a weird hangup about first initials. My brother and I have the same first initial and that used to annoy me for some reason...fortunately our middle initials are different In my current family, my stepdaughter and I share the same first initial but my husband's and stepson's names start with different letters than any of us. The baby girl we lost had a name starting with a different initial as well and if I ever have any other kids I am going for names that have unique initials from other family members.