Do your kids have unusual names?

[jewelz617]

My husband and I have decided that if we have a boy in the future we''re naming him Wilde or Eliot. Joyce if we have another girl.

Can you tell we love to read?

Originally our boy name was Phoenix, but I didn''t think it sounded right, and our girl''s name was going to be Ashima, which means "without borders; limitless." I really thought it was a great name but my husband said it reminded him too much of the word "asthma"

 

[Clio]

Date: 2/12/2010 7:09:55 AM
Author: rockpaperscissors67
Austin is the odd child in the bunch because he went through a phase where he really hated his name, so he used other names. When Kate was a baby, for some reason she started calling him Bobby, which is totally random, but he answered to it. He also answered to Ian (the name his dad wanted for him) and Simon (a name he decided he liked). The name he would answer to on any given day varied, so it wasn''t uncommon for me to try to get his attention by saying, ''Austin...Bobby...Ian...Simon?'' until I got a response. I got some odd looks in stores from people that obviously thought I didn''t know my own kid''s name. The best was when he decided he wanted to be called ''Sheriff Bob'' for a while.

Austin sounds like quite a fun kid!

He reminds me a little of my dad, who hates his name (the perfectly respectable Thomas). For a long time, he wanted to be Roger (our last name is Huston, hahahaha). These days, if we go to a restaurant and have to leave a name, he''ll use either Carlos or Rudy. I don''t know why. When we lived in Texas and my parents would visit, he had to stop using Carlos - too many of them!

Since we named our son Thomas, however, my dad seems to like his name better.

 

[taovandel]

We wanted Phoenix also! But decided against....after the weird looks. I would definitely still use it for a middle name though.

 

[jas]

I know someone who had a son a few years ago. The parents were huge Catcher in the Rye fans. The son''s name? Why, not Holden, that would be obvious. They named him "Catcher."

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/13/2010 2:51:13 PM
Author: jas
I know someone who had a son a few years ago. The parents were huge Catcher in the Rye fans. The son''s name? Why, not Holden, that would be obvious. They named him ''Catcher.''

Wow. That''s like being a fan of Alice in Wonderland and naming your kid "Wonderland."

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

I''m Elizabeth. I''ve always had kind of a love/hate relationship with my name. When my mom was pregnant, they had narrowed it down to two names. Elizabeth or Rebecca. They were worried if they named me Rebecca, that people would call me "Becky" and if they named me Elizabeth, that people would call me "Liz." Since there are a million other nicknames for Elizabeth, that''s what they chose. I went from Elizabeth to Beth to Liz. Now most people call me Liz (to my parent''s chagrin).

My fiancé, one of my sisters and a few friends call me "Lizzy." My folks usually call me "Liz" or sometimes "Libba" (my nickname when I was a baby). My uncle calls me Lizard.

I was one of many "Elizabeths" in my school, and like Freke, my name was always "Elizabet" on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Now I like it. I like that I can go by Elizabeth or Liz..... or Bessy or Babette. Haha. Oh, and my best friend''s name is Jessica. So we always fancied ourselves the Sweet Valley Twins.

A few comedians in my life have called me "Lizbian."

 

[Winks_Elf]

My oldest child''s middle name is a little unusual..."Awstin." It''s Welsh, and means worthy of honor.

My daughters'' names are Kimberly Alexandria and Ruby Rose...my daughters are my precious gems!

 

[packrat]

Hmm..I kinda dig Catcher. Trader was tops on my list if we had another baby and it was a boy. A woman I worked with right after JD and I got married has a son named Cutter, and I LOVE the name.

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/14/2010 9:39:32 PM
Author: packrat
Hmm..I kinda dig Catcher. Trader was tops on my list if we had another baby and it was a boy. A woman I worked with right after JD and I got married has a son named Cutter, and I LOVE the name.

Cutter? Can''t say I like that name at all. It makes me think of someone who cuts themselves...

Or a cookie cutter.

 

[cara]

I think Wonderland is one step farther than Catcher. Catcher seems in the theme of active occupation men's names like Cooper, Hunter, etc (and packrat's kid Trapper!) The most common use of 'catcher' in the US is probably in reference to a baseball catcher, ie. a human, so its not *such* a stretch to give it to a kid. Wonderland is a bit farther afield as a kid's name.

Anyway, I think people like to judge other people's names

Don't get me wrong, I do it too, but ultimately its a lot of style, taste, cultural and tradition judgements. Sometimes its nice to remember that its allll relative. Names that are popular now (like Addison for a girl?) I can't imagine being popular 20 years ago. Names perfectly appropriate at one point in time/space (Betty Lou Harrison or Preston Wilkins Sutherland III or D'Brickashaw Fergison) are seen as ridiculous from another vantage point. Some cultures have different naming traditions - not just different names that are traditional in their culture, but a different affinity for made up or whimsical names, or a stronger cultural preference for established names or family names or naming your kid after the president or what have you. Obviously some names are basically torturous to inflict on a child in a particular culture, and names can affect how one is seen and viewed by others, but... its just amusing how people name their kids and view names given by others.

On the D'Brickashaw name front, one of my husband's friends loved this name. He also liked Jamarcus. His wife was expecting a boy. The problem? He's (American-born) Chinese, his wife is the same, they have a Chinese last name, their child is pretty likely to *look* Chinese. Those conversations on Why-Can't-I-Name-My-Kid-D'Brickashaw were a riot. The wife definitely prevailed, their child has a very normal American name, so disasterous child-naming prevented, but I smile everytime I think of the story.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 2:11:47 PM
Author: Travel Goddess
I''m Elizabeth. I''ve always had kind of a love/hate relationship with my name. When my mom was pregnant, they had narrowed it down to two names. Elizabeth or Rebecca. They were worried if they named me Rebecca, that people would call me ''Becky'' and if they named me Elizabeth, that people would call me ''Liz.'' Since there are a million other nicknames for Elizabeth, that''s what they chose. I went from Elizabeth to Beth to Liz. Now most people call me Liz (to my parent''s chagrin).

My fiancé, one of my sisters and a few friends call me ''Lizzy.'' My folks usually call me ''Liz'' or sometimes ''Libba'' (my nickname when I was a baby). My uncle calls me Lizard.

I was one of many ''Elizabeths'' in my school, and like Freke, my name was always ''Elizabet'' on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Now I like it. I like that I can go by Elizabeth or Liz..... or Bessy or Babette. Haha. Oh, and my best friend''s name is Jessica. So we always fancied ourselves the Sweet Valley Twins.

A few comedians in my life have called me ''Lizbian.''

Hey TG/Liz!

I''ve been preferring Elizabeth lately. Not sure what''s up with that. My little (21 years old) cousin''s nickname for me has always been "Lizbeth" because she couldn''t say Elizabeth until she got older, and it stuck. I can''t remember the last time my husband called me anything but his weird nicknames he has for me.

Calling me Lizard is the fastest and easiest way to get on my bad side. I do not tolerate it all all.

What''s funny is that my parents didn''t want me to get the dreaded "Liz" nickname either, and my mom was horrified when my oldest friend in the world dubbed me that when we were 5. Eh well, can''t win them all!

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 10:21:01 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678

Date: 2/14/2010 9:39:32 PM
Author: packrat
Hmm..I kinda dig Catcher. Trader was tops on my list if we had another baby and it was a boy. A woman I worked with right after JD and I got married has a son named Cutter, and I LOVE the name.

Cutter? Can''t say I like that name at all. It makes me think of someone who cuts themselves...

Or a cookie cutter.

Marley makes me think of potheads. And Labrador retrievers.

Seriously, why talk smack about people''s name choices for their kids?

 

[packrat]

Cutter always made me think of a boat. When I was pg w/Trapper and we were in the early name stage, I''d found the hugest name book ever, and it had names in categories. Some of the names were repeated b/c they fit different categories. Anyway, in the..I think it was called "profession" section or something, there were all kinds of "er" names, Hunter, Fisher, Tanner etc. Cutter was there, Trapper was not, and it had Tailor, Sailor, and ...Butcher. THAT one threw me for a bit of a loop.

 

[jewelz617]

Wow, nice Freke. Way to be. I'll make sure to avoid you from this point on and please don't answer anymore of my posts, kay? Thanks. I haven't insulted anyone on this board or the name they chose for their child, I was commenting on an anonymous name someone mentioned as everyone else has been doing in this thread. You have insulted me and my 2 year old directly for no reason other than to be nasty.

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:03:34 PM
Author: packrat
Cutter always made me think of a boat. When I was pg w/Trapper and we were in the early name stage, I''d found the hugest name book ever, and it had names in categories. Some of the names were repeated b/c they fit different categories. Anyway, in the..I think it was called ''profession'' section or something, there were all kinds of ''er'' names, Hunter, Fisher, Tanner etc. Cutter was there, Trapper was not, and it had Tailor, Sailor, and ...Butcher. THAT one threw me for a bit of a loop.

I love Trapper and Hunter. We actually considered Hunter for a boy, but then we had our daughter the pot smoking lab retriever

 

[KatyWI]

PinkAsscher... I''m really not trying to be offensive here, but I sort of have the same associations with the name "Marley" that Freke does. It doesn''t mean you shouldn''t have named your daughter that, but you can''t really control what it brings to mind for people.

I did find it kind of ironic that you could start a thread about unusual names, admit that your daughter has an unusual name, and then put down an unusual name like Cutter. Presumably, his parents loved that name just like you love Marley''s, right?

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:27:04 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
Wow, nice Freke. Way to be. I'll make sure to avoid you from this point on and please don't answer anymore of my posts, kay? Thanks.

It's called freedom of speech. I was making a point. Why would you make derogatory comments about a name in response to someone saying they liked it? That's just not very nice. It's a good thing packrat is as fabulous as she is.

My comment was made to make you feel the way your comment made her feel should she have named her child "Cutter". I hope that any parent who has considered naming their child, or HEAVEN FORBID named their child "Cutter" does not happen across your comment.

And I shall continue to post where ever I please, but thanks for being so welcoming for sharing my point of view!

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:45:17 PM
Author: KatyWI
PinkAsscher... I''m really not trying to be offensive here, but I sort of have the same associations with the name ''Marley'' that Freke does. It doesn''t mean you shouldn''t have named your daughter that, but you can''t really control what it brings to mind for people.


I did find it kind of ironic that you could start a thread about unusual names, admit that your daughter has an unusual name, and then put down an unusual name like Cutter. Presumably, his parents loved that name just like you love Marley''s, right?

Perhaps I didn''t really think when I wrote it, it was not meant to be insulting or mean. Everyone has been discussing odd names here and mentioned friends of friends whose name they didn''t like or found unusual. Nowhere on this thread did anyone tell anyone else directly that they didn''t like their kid''s name. To me that''s the difference.

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:46:33 PM
Author: FrekeChild

Date: 2/14/2010 11:27:04 PM

Author: PinkAsscher678

Wow, nice Freke. Way to be. I''ll make sure to avoid you from this point on and please don''t answer anymore of my posts, kay? Thanks.

It''s called freedom of speech. I was making a point. Why would you make derogatory comments about a name in response to someone saying they liked it? That''s just not very nice. It''s a good thing packrat is as fabulous as she is.


My comment was made to make you feel the way your comment made her feel should she have named her child ''Cutter''. I hope that any parent who has considered naming their child, or HEAVEN FORBID named their child ''Cutter'' does not happen across your comment.


And I shall continue to post where ever I please, but thanks for being so welcoming for sharing my point of view!

Yes, let''s have a passive aggressive fest! w00t!

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:27:04 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
Wow, nice Freke. Way to be. I''ll make sure to avoid you from this point on and please don''t answer anymore of my posts, kay? Thanks. I haven''t insulted anyone on this board or the name they chose for their child, I was commenting on an anonymous name someone mentioned as everyone else has been doing in this thread. You have insulted me and my 2 year old directly for no reason other than to be nasty.

Actually I did not. It''s called name association. And apparently I''m not alone. And I doubt I will be for the rest of your daughter''s life.

I believe you even said it earlier that people have asked you about naming her after the book/movie about said lab. You yourself said you named her after Bob Marley. Um. He''s known as being a pot smoking musician.

You should expect those associations. There was no insult or nastiness intended towards your little girl. And if you read through my comment a couple extra times...you might see that.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:51:54 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678

Date: 2/14/2010 11:45:17 PM
Author: KatyWI
PinkAsscher... I'm really not trying to be offensive here, but I sort of have the same associations with the name 'Marley' that Freke does. It doesn't mean you shouldn't have named your daughter that, but you can't really control what it brings to mind for people.

I did find it kind of ironic that you could start a thread about unusual names, admit that your daughter has an unusual name, and then put down an unusual name like Cutter. Presumably, his parents loved that name just like you love Marley's, right?

Perhaps I didn't really think when I wrote it, it was not meant to be insulting or mean. Everyone has been discussing odd names here and mentioned friends of friends whose name they didn't like or found unusual. Nowhere on this thread did anyone tell anyone else directly that they didn't like their kid's name. To me that's the difference.

So just because someone hasn't posted that their kids are named the names you happen to not like, it's ok to say mean things about them?

In case you haven't noticed, I am playing devil's advocate. Not being passive aggressive.

 

[jewelz617]

My problem does not come from anyone associating my daughter's name with the man she was named after.

ETA: Freke, you know what? It's Valentine's day and my husband is still at work. I've had like 5 glasses of wine and 2 cartons of Ben and Jerry's. Dirty Dancing is on. I'm not thinking clearly, obviously. I never meant to insult the name Cutter. I love my daughter's name but dammit, I have flashbacks of being pregnant and hearing "Oh, you named her after the dog?" every. single. day. You're right really. If you love a name that's all that matters. Cutter isn't my style but I'm sure that kid is rockin it.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:58:34 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
My problem does not come from anyone associating my daughter''s name with the man she was named after.

Well what is the problem then? Being associated with a well loved book/movie/dog?

And BOB Marley was a pothead. I don''t think anyone would ever contest that.

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/15/2010 12:01:58 AM
Author: FrekeChild

Date: 2/14/2010 11:58:34 PM

Author: PinkAsscher678

My problem does not come from anyone associating my daughter''s name with the man she was named after.

Well what is the problem then? Being associated with a well loved book/movie/dog?


And BOB Marley was a pothead. I don''t think anyone would ever contest that.

Yes, he was! He had cannabis growing out of his dreads for cryin out loud.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/14/2010 11:58:34 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
My problem does not come from anyone associating my daughter''s name with the man she was named after.

ETA: Freke, you know what? It''s Valentine''s day and my husband is still at work. I''ve had like 5 glasses of wine and 2 cartons of Ben and Jerry''s. Dirty Dancing is on. I''m not thinking clearly, obviously. I never meant to insult the name Cutter. I love my daughter''s name but dammit, I have flashbacks of being pregnant and hearing ''Oh, you named her after the dog?'' every. single. day. You''re right really. If you love a name that''s all that matters. Cutter isn''t my style but I''m sure that kid is rockin it.

One of my BFF''s hubby''s is still out (having a drink with his boss after a 12 hour day!) so I hear you.

And yeah, the dog thing would suck to hear as you''re pregnant and obviously NOT naming your child after a dog movie. Enjoy your wine and I hope your husband gets home soon!

Happy Valentine''s Day!

 

[jas]

*Wanders back into thread*

Hey guys! What''s up?

It''s interesting...thinking about the problems I have with certain names being given to children (I was the jerkwad who dislikes the name Catcher as an homage to Catcher in the Rye) is that I''m absolutely not a fan of the parent. I''m sure that colors my viewpoint of the name. I know myself well enough to know I''d not be a fan of that particular name no matter who has it, but my dislike of the parent certainly put me in a less-than-lovely place to make fun of the name on a public forum. Good lord.

Did I mention I''m a jerkwad?

Does this thread remind anyone of the time Nicholas Cage hosted SNL and after rejecting a bunch of names for his soon-to-be-born son, as the names were all (in his mind) going to be made fun of. Turns out his name was "A$$wipe" -- pronounced Ahz-wee-pay.

Happy Valentine''s Day! I love you all! XOXOXO

-- The Jerkwad

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 2/11/2010 4:57:54 PM
Author: Clio

Date: 2/11/2010 4:04:39 PM

Author: AprilBaby

one lady actually named ''Baby''. How creative. Imagine going into the waiting room and calling ''Baby'' in for an appointment. Very Strange.

That reminds me of a friend of my mother''s. Her name is Princess. The story behind it is that her parents were expected to name her after an elderly relative, but her mother couldn''t stand said relative. Since the relative was named Sarah, and Sarah apparently means princess, that''s what they named her. She''s my mother''s age, so this was back around 1950 or so.


She really hated her name.

I actually have a friend from middle school named Princess

And the Penelope story reminded me - when we were in high school and reading The Odyssey (in Honors English btw) one of the guys in my class pronounced it Peena-lope and was subsequently (and rightly) ridiculed

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

PinkAsscher, I think you should embrace the "named after the dog movie" comment. Marley is an adorable dog!

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/15/2010 12:19:52 AM
Author: jas
*Wanders back into thread*


Hey guys! What's up?


It's interesting...thinking about the problems I have with certain names being given to children (I was the jerkwad who dislikes the name Catcher as an homage to Catcher in the Rye) is that I'm absolutely not a fan of the parent. I'm sure that colors my viewpoint of the name. I know myself well enough to know I'd not be a fan of that particular name no matter who has it, but my dislike of the parent certainly put me in a less-than-lovely place to make fun of the name on a public forum. Good lord.


Did I mention I'm a jerkwad?


Does this thread remind anyone of the time Nicholas Cage hosted SNL and after rejecting a bunch of names for his soon-to-be-born son, as the names were all (in his mind) going to be made fun of. Turns out his name was 'A$$wipe' -- pronounced Ahz-wee-pay.


Happy Valentine's Day! I love you all! XOXOXO


-- The Jerkwad

You're not a jerkward. I think it's natural to judge people's names. Like I wasn't trying to be mean spirited when I said I didn't like the name "Cutter" I just associate it with something violent! But I went back and really looked at what I said and realize that yup, I wasn't really being fair.

I mean, there are celebs who name their kid AUDIO SCIENCE and PILOT INSPEKTOR, it's normal to judge people's names! I just need to put the wine away next time before reading anything name related because I seriously see red when people compare my kid's name to a dog. Momma gets out the claws! And the thing is, I knew people were going to say that when I picked it, but I figured they would make the Bob Marley connection FIRST! AHHHRGH!!!

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/15/2010 1:47:49 AM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
PinkAsscher, I think you should embrace the ''named after the dog movie'' comment. Marley is an adorable dog!

Yes, he is but he will never make the awesome music I want the name Marley to remind people of haha!

Marley and Me is a great book though.