MOMania

By Patrice

June 2, 2006 07:53 AM | Link to this

We are expecting our first child - a baby girl, and I wanted to give her a name that meant something. Not just a name that was popular or one that had a nice ‘sound’ to it. So, we decided to name her Samantha Perri, after both of her grandfathers. One is deceased, so since she’ll never get to meet him, I wanted her to have his name so that she’ll always know of him.

By beth

June 2, 2006 07:57 AM | Link to this

Of course it is up to each family, but my hubby and I prefer “old-timey” names. I like Betsey for a girl and he’s stuck on Jack for a boy. Very “Dick and Jane.”

Patrice, I think Samantha Perri is the perfect way to honor the Grandpas.

By Nickelbelle

June 2, 2006 08:22 AM | Link to this

We wanted something that was good for our boys when they were young as well as older(they are now 15 and 13) and good no matter what they choose to become one day so Samuel (Sam) and Lucas (Luke) fit for a lawyer (God forbid!) doctor, surfer, beach bum…whatever!

By Anne

June 2, 2006 08:39 AM | Link to this

We named both of out children ‘old family’ names, something that would sound good should they grow up to be professionals. We joked that with these names they have to live up to them; doctors, a judge maybe. On the flip side, the trendy names become cliche after a while and some names are just so confusing and strange sounding, you’re putting your child through unnecessary ridicule. I don’t want anyone to have a preconceived notion about my children based on names.

By Heather

June 2, 2006 08:48 AM | Link to this

I’m currently pregnant with twins (boy/girl) and like our other children, we will name them after family members. We made this decision when I first got pregnant with our oldest and it’s worked for us. Consider my husband and I two more who like classic names (Joseph, Madalene, named for grandmother hence spelling, Lauren and now Johnathan and Julia). They’re timeless and you can’t tell what year they were born based on their names.

By Eric

June 2, 2006 08:49 AM | Link to this

Just do what so many people do… name it after a car, name it after some religious figure you know nothing about, or just make something up complete…

By Pronouns

June 2, 2006 08:54 AM | Link to this

For the sake of your childs future, stay away from the names that will label them before they come through the door. I have my own business so trust me whem I tell you names do matter. I will hire a Sarah or an Emily over a Shakeeka or a LaQuanita any day. Don’t name your kids names that say…” Look at me, I am ghetto.” It’s your business to name youir child whatever you please, think pronouns long and hard. These ridiculous so called African sounding names, especially when they have never been researched and the person has never even been to Africa, sound just done right stupid. Why do that to a child? Same as Dakota and Montana..they sound like porn actors.

By Old Fashioned

June 2, 2006 09:02 AM | Link to this

When my 5 year-old son was born, I named him Henry. I figured there were enough Dylans, Tylers and Codys in the world for now. My parents weren’t crazy about the name, but now they couldn’t imagine him being called anything else. And I still get compliments on such a classic name.

By julie

June 2, 2006 09:05 AM | Link to this

My children are named after grandparents and great-grandparents. I have an affinity for Biblical names but also simplicity, hence, Ruth Elisabeth (Lisa) and Samuel John-Ezra (Sam).

By michelle williams

June 2, 2006 09:16 AM | Link to this

When my daughter was 9 years of age I became pregnant. Me and my spouse didn’t think that I could have anymore children. So when we found out that it was a girl and being that the siblings were going to be 9 years apart I named my daughter Midestin’e. Pronounced my destiny.

By Classics

June 2, 2006 09:22 AM | Link to this

When naming your child always be mindful of people recreating to insult him/her (ex. don’t name a boy Smellonius)which will be known as Smelly. And we all know children are masters at reconstructing of there peers names. Also, what happens in their professions and as they become elderly??? Remember the trendy ones’ like Sunshine and Dimples expire when the child turns about 10. Think on these…..

By Lola

June 2, 2006 09:25 AM | Link to this

I agree with Pronouns 100%. Do NOT name your child something that sounds ridiculous and ignorant (i.e., Lexus, Miracle, Precious, etc.) or something that sounds thugish or ghetto (LaTavius, Shaquiqua, D’Narious, etc.). All you’re doing is condemning them to a difficult life of trying to get a job. With that name at the top of a resume, they’re immediately considered unqualified, with an entitlement mentality and with a big racial chip on their shoulder. Whether that’s fair or not, that’s the way it is. Those names aren’t unique. They’re stupid and destructive to your child’s future. And stop with the stupid spellings of traditional names (i.e, Kristee, Ashleigh, Alix, etc.). Speaking as someone who had a very difficult to spell last name until I got married, it really gets old having to constantly spell your name out for people. I can’t imagine having to do that for a first name as well. Just be smart when naming your children, people. A name says more about the parents of someone than the actual person, and if that name says “IGNORANT”, it’s a reflection on the lack of intelligence of your child’s parents.

By Lola

June 2, 2006 09:28 AM | Link to this

Oh Michelle, I already feel sorry for your daughter. She’s double screwed with a name like Midestin’e. The spelling and the ghetto-ness of it are going to be a permanently negative label on her for the rest of her life. Maybe she can go by her middle name?

By past50mom

June 2, 2006 09:34 AM | Link to this

We named our first daughter after my sister Susan, second daughter after husband’s sister Ann, and our son after my husband John, and an old mentor friend of my husband, who never had children of his own. None of the names were on the most popular lists, and we and our kids have been happy with the choices.

By ga_tech_92

June 2, 2006 09:34 AM | Link to this

When we were deciding my son’s name, we started (probably like many people) before he was born. We had decided on Nicolas. I’m not really sure why, but we liked the name. Funny twist to the story which shows how planning works out sometimes is this: at my work my boss’s wife had a baby a month or so before my son was born. I did not care much for my boss (his name was Rick). They decided to name their little boy “Nicolas”. Wow, well every time I thought of saying the name Nicolas, it always seemed to come out with a negative twist and I would say “Rickolas”. Needless to say, we scrapped that name, because I didn’t want any negative attachment to the name for obvious reasons. Well we didn’t really settle on anything until he was born, but we spent many hours looking through names and considering things. We wanted something old, something new, something original, something classic all at once…no small task right? Well we heard the song “Hey Jude” and I told my wife (at the time) that I felt the story was about John Lennon’s son. She said, Julian is a cool name. I agreed. We found that if we spelled it Julien, it would reflect the older Latin/Spanish version of the word…thus satisfying the “something old, something unique, but something modern too” criteria. We spent the rest of the time deciding a middle name. She was very fond of Juliet Lewis (odd characters, but good actress), and we liked the flow of the name Julien Lewis Stone…we also felt that were he to grow up to be rich and famous that his monogrammed towels would look nice with a JLS (haha). And so it was that we decided on the name. The irony (perhaps foreshadowing) is that the name we picked…was from a song about a boy who lost his mother and is being encouraged to let the new woman into his heart and life…and here today my son lives with just his father and his mother is no where in the picture. Life is odd sometimes.

More on “Hey Jude” it (I feel) was written for Julian because of John leaving his mother for Yoko. Like any child, there would be resistance to letting this new person in your life. Here are the lyrics, knowing the background, maybe you can get a little more depth from the song….

Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad Take a sad song and make it better Remember to let her into your heart Then you can start to make it better Hey, Jude, don’t be afraid You were made to go out and get her The minute you let her under your skin Then you begin to make it better. And any time you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders Well don’t you know that its a fool who plays it cool By making his world a little colder Hey, Jude! Don’t let her down You have found her, now go and get her Remember, to let her into your heart Then you can start to make it better. So let it out and let it in, hey, Jude, begin You’re waiting for someone to perform with And don’t you know that it’s just you, hey, Jude, You’ll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad Take a sad song and make it better Remember to let her into your heart Then you can start to make it better

Sorry to be long winded…I’m a chatty person sometimes…

By emily

June 2, 2006 09:36 AM | Link to this

The name of the child can set the tone for his and her life. Children are very cruel when rediculing anything different than what they know or what they think is cool. Some people think that ethnic names are the way to go, while others move to the middle of the road and want accomplishments to override ethnicity (see Bill Cosby). To me, names aren’t all THAT important. It’s merely a tab to let them know who is being addressed. Some of the names that celebrities give their children are just dooming them to a childhood of redicule (unless they are the football captain or a cheerleader). The bottom line is if you want to name your child whatever you want, that’s OK for you. Just be conscious of the possible repercussions from their school yard aquaintances. Dad’s tend to go “whatever” for the child’s name and Mom’s tend to act like it is the naming of a future soap star. It’s just the nature of the beast.

By Kelly

June 2, 2006 09:45 AM | Link to this

My husband and I don’t have any children yet, but we do have names that we like. My husband has a very gender nuteral name…Mackenzie, unfortunately, that name has boomed in recent years. But hopefully by the time we start having children, it won’t be so trendy and we will be ok. Our boy name is top secret for fear of it becoming too popular.

By Rich

June 2, 2006 09:50 AM | Link to this

Michelle……..triple screwed with a name like Midestin’e. Hate it for her. What is her middle name?

By Swangirl

June 2, 2006 09:52 AM | Link to this

I always find it fascinating how certain names become popular over a few years and then others replace them.

Disclaimer before I continue: If you or your child’s name is Ashley, please do not take the following remarks as a personal insult to you or your child. I am simply relating something that happened to me. Ashley is a fine name.

Back in the late 80s, Ashley seemed to be the big girl name. I was working at the now defunct Southern Linen for the summers of ‘87 and ‘88 while I was on college break.

I kid you not, I think I heard a shopping mother calling for her “ASHLEY!” at least once a day. After a while, it got to be comical and my friends would ask me how many “Ashleys” I’d racked up that day. Some days it got as high as five.

I am still amazed at how many women chose that name for their little girl that year. I think by the next summer, Jessica had replaced it.

Then there’s the famiy who has 16 kids, all with names that start with a J. Their story comes on TLC from time to time. Wow.

By deegee

June 2, 2006 09:54 AM | Link to this

I am part of the Debbie, Kathy, and Susan generation. I really feel old when at work I am dealing with the Ashley’s, Tiffany’s and Josh’s that are now coming of age. Sometimes I feel like telling them to please just do what ask because someday they will understand. Can’t do that, very not PC. I am sure that the Mildred’s, Evelyn’s and Doris’s that came before me struggled with the same feelings.

By mrsbj

June 2, 2006 10:16 AM | Link to this

My kids names are Jasmine (15), Jalen Joseph (3), Jared Anthony (1) and, if there’s a next one: Joelle. What do you think. Our names are Bryan and Debra, also part of the (Debbie, Kathy and Susan generation—I like that). Note: the whole “J” think started with the first and second, then not wanting those that followed to feel left out.

By SNY

June 2, 2006 10:21 AM | Link to this

9 years ago when I was faced with naming my daughter my then boyfriend (now my husband) told me to make it simple. I wanted to name her Joyce after my moms mother who died when my mom was only 4 yrs old. He didn’t like that name so we compromised and gave her Joyce for her middle name. That still left us with the problem of a first name. It literally took us 5 months of everyday throwing names around. One day his 4 yr old daughter said the name Erika. I liked it so much and I thought that letting my daughters big sister name her would be a wonderful story for her later. The only change I made was to insert the letter “C” before the k. So her name is Ericka Joyce Young. Now, when people see her name on a resume, they have no preconceived notions about my child. Ericka Young works for an actor, a model, a judge, a teacher, or the 1st black woman president. (no pressure) Ha Ha!! She knows I’m kidding with her when I tell her that.

Another story about my 3 yr old son after I do some work.

By linny

June 2, 2006 10:26 AM | Link to this

i was always told “don’t name your children or your dogs anything you would not be comfortable yelling from the back porch” … makes sense!!!

By Melissa

June 2, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this

I was born in the mid 70’s, when Melissa was the most popular girl’s name. While I am biased and think it’s a beautiful name, it was tough being one of at least 3 Melissa’s in class as a kid. Now all I hear up here in North Fulton is Carlson, Cody, Taylor, and the dreaded Madison. I guess I was lucky. But I will name my children an older, more traditional name. You can never go wrong with the classics.

By Melissa

June 2, 2006 10:29 AM | Link to this

I was born in the mid 70’s, when Melissa was the most popular girl’s name. While I am biased and think it’s a beautiful name, it was tough being one of at least 3 Melissa’s in class as a kid. Now all I hear up here in North Fulton is Carlson, Cody, Taylor, and the dreaded Madison. I guess I was lucky. But I will name my children older, more traditional names. You can never go wrong with the classics.

By ga_state_92

June 2, 2006 10:48 AM | Link to this

Reading gatech92’s post made me ponder the reasoning behind the naming of my son, Dogmeat. The clever names like Chase and Brighton were all but taken and we looked all around us for inspiration for a name that would set him apart from the crowd and make us the envy of the soccer team. I had a passion for punk rock as a child and was a fanatic for the british punk rockers, Vomitclub. Their second lead guitarist only lasted about 2 months before he had to report back to prison, but in his short tenure with the band, made an incredible impact on me as a musician and a songwriter. His name was Dogmeat and below I’ve written a wonderful example of his talent as a songwriter, giving credence to my decision to name my only son after him.

I have a bladder full I have a bladder full I have a bladder full take me home

Get the crunchy kind Get the crunchy kind Get the crunchy kind wheres my hamster

I dont hate you as much please get off my chips you’ve broken them you’ve broken them ………..

The rest of the song I really cant understand, but I played this at my wedding and everyone cried, especially my ex-wife’s mother.

RIP Dogmeat! (prison love triangle, almost always tragic)

By April

June 2, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this

It is just unblievable how many hypocrite’s there are actually trying to tell someone else that you would or would not hire someone base on a name and how dare you all say that the choice someone else made to name their son or daughter was a bad decission. I bet have you can’t even pronounce the Biblical Names in the Bible. My oldest daughter is Jazmin which was popular back then and my youngest daughter is Jania which means (Of Noble Birth) and I could really care less what anyone else thought of their names. To say that you wouldn’t hire based on a name that is African based - is just another way of saying you are racist. That’s what wrong with the world now and I would hope that you have better things to worry about and not what someone name is and more about the skills and interlect they posses. People get a life!!!!!!!!!!

By ga_tech_92

June 2, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this

I think I just got dissed. Yo or something.

By Aaron's mom

June 2, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this

When I was newly pregnant my husband and I started throwing out names. I said “Aaron” and my husband agreed. That was it. For the middle name we chose “Samuel” because it is his mother’s maiden name and a whole lot more interesting than his mother’s parents’ actual names (which she kept suggesting). We spent the next nine months arguing about a name for a girl. Thank goodness we had a boy! We never did totally agree on the girl name. I thought we were being a little more original by choosing “Aaron,” it didn’t seem very popular. I now know of two other “Aarons” his age, go figure.

By ga_state_92

June 2, 2006 10:53 AM | Link to this

I’m gonna git me some of that there interlect, yea man.

By Sarah

June 2, 2006 10:54 AM | Link to this

Old Fashioned, I had to chuckle to myself when you mentioned that your family hated the name”Henry.” When I was born 45 years ago (the “Debbie, Kathy Susan generation” and I think we need to add “Lisa”), my grandmother had a fit when my parents named me. She told them that they couldn’t “give that little baby and old ladies’ name!” Since then, my name soared in popularity. It was consistently in the top 10 from 1978-2002, peaking at #3 in 1993. It’s currently ranked number 15. I never had to share my name with classmates, but most Sarahs in the schools today are known by their first name and middle initial (so are Michaels and Laurens. My 8th grade son has had at least 2 Michaels in each of his classes and his pre-school class of 16 students had 3 Laurens). Who knows, the kindergarten class of 2020 may have Henry B., Henry L., and Henry W.

When my best friend was pregnant with her second daughter, she loved the name “Bethany,” but her husband was cool to it. They finally agreed on “Hailey.” The day she was born, the nurse asked them what they would be naming their daughter. When they told her it would be “Hailey,” the nurse laughed and said, “the couple that just left this room named their baby ‘Hailey’, the couple in the next door have a ‘Hailey,’ and the lady across the hall and two doors down named her daughter ‘Hailey’!” Her husband looked at her and said, “Bethany,” and Bethany it is.

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 10:55 AM | Link to this

Funny this topic should come up now…I’m actually in the midst of writing a book about the stupid names parents give their kids. I have come across some doozies!!! Tuezdae, Tia’Wanna, Brick and some names I couldn’t even pronounce if I had a universal translator. I have a child so I know about looking for unique names, but there is a difference between unique and a name that is so far off the wall your child will need therapy by the time he or she is 5.

Oh and those with so called “normal” names aren’t off the hook either. I can’t stand it when parents take a so called ordinary name and try and make it different by adding 14 extra letters and an accent. There are only so many letters in the alphabet and you do not need to use all of them!!!

By Nia

June 2, 2006 10:56 AM | Link to this

To all you smug,pseudo elite,people..while you are bashing the weird names (mostly used by Blacks)..remember CONDOLEEZA was probably teased,a lot, as a child,now some of the Jacks and Jills are still on the hill waiting for their pail of water,SHE HAS MOVED ON!!! My own son has an ethnic sounding name,and he is a GS-14,at the age of 32…so If you’ve GOT IT..YOUR NAME DOES NOT MATTER!!!

By ksjoyner

June 2, 2006 10:58 AM | Link to this

I was, (and still am), a Kelly from the early ‘60’s. When my children were born in the early 80’s I didn’t want the popular names. My eldest is Carrie Michele - for her great grandmother. My youngest is Katie Frances - because it sounds so Irish. Both went well with the last name Sullivan and believe it or not, the youngest loves her middle name because it is classic and no one she knows has that name!

By ga_tech_92

June 2, 2006 10:59 AM | Link to this

I think I just got dissed. Yo or something….not by April (order of posts was confusing)…but by gastate92 :)

By Big Chief Hug-em-and-kiss-em

June 2, 2006 11:00 AM | Link to this

This story should give pause to any of you who are considering burdening the fruit of your loins with an “uncommon” name:

The last of my three children was crying when he came home from the first day of school.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“All of the other kids were making fun of my name,” he replied. “Why do we have such weird names? Why can’t I be named Billy, or Tommy, or Bobby?”

“Well,” I explained, “it’s an ancient Native American custom to give our children a name that is relative to the circumstances of their birth. For example, a deer with huge antlers came bounding across the field on the morning that your brother was born. That is why he is called Running Buck. And your sister was conceived by a beautiful mountain stream. That is why she is called Babbling Brook.”

Gazing tenderly at my youngest son, I asked, “Now, does that answer your question, Broken Condom?”

Take heed, people. Take heed.

By Megan

June 2, 2006 11:09 AM | Link to this

I was named Megan just a few years ahead of the Megan/Meghan/Meagan phase (I was born in 1980). I was supposed to be Katie, but two of my mom’s friends had Katies the year before I was born, so they went with something that was - at that time - uncommon. I was the only Megan throughout elementary school and one of two Megans in my grade in high school. BUT…by the time I was a senior in high school, the younger grades (freshman, sophomore) had many Megans.

Now that I am pregnant with my first, I find myself thinking about names a lot. We’ve already decided on Tristan for a boy (the ancient Celtic myth of Tristan and Iseult is my favorite story) and Elaine if it’s a girl (my mama’s middle name - we’ll call her Laney or Lanie).

I totally agree with all y’all about those ridiculous names. Your child is going to have to live with your moment of stupidity! People try to get so cutesy and “creative” and wind up looking like idiots. And what is with putting apostrophes in your baby’s name? Sorry, but that’s just dumb.

While I like most of the names on the top-10 list, think about how annoying it is going to be in ten years when your kid is one of 10 “Emmas” or “Jacobs” in their grade or on their sports teams. When you yell “Go Jacob” no one is going to know who you’re talking about!

Just think about what you’re doing, people, please!

By T.I.E.

June 2, 2006 11:10 AM | Link to this

I think names should be left to the parents, of course…. but I don’t have to like some of ‘em! and whether you like it or not, the name at the top of the resume is the first impression — and subsequently hard to change. The kid better have a glowing resume, filled with academic and social achievements if the name at the top is (as one jokester suggested) DOGMEAT.

By Linda

June 2, 2006 11:10 AM | Link to this

With my first daughter I had chosen a name that I liked a lot, Johnna Raylen. My mother looked at me and said “Absolutely NOT” thus I was swayed to choose a new name. I decided on Heather Nicole. Now that my daughter is 21 I regret allowing my mother to change my first choice of names. I basically let my mother name my first daughter. With my second daughter her name came around before she was ever conceived. Stasha Kelly, or that is how we decided to spell her name. It is mispronounced all the time. Correct pronunciation is StAsha with a long A (as in STAYsha), everyone says STAHsha. She gets angry and so do I!! Now that Stasha is expecting her first child she has come out with some really outlandish names. While not insisting she come up with something more reasonable I have been able to encourage her to give naming her baby some thought and make sure it’s a name that is strong and sounds good. Something that will sound professional when the baby is a grown man or woman. She is pretty much set on using Peyton for a boy or Payton for a girl but the middle names she has chosen leave a bit to be desired. We’ll wait and see what she comes up with in the end.

By Jesse's Girl

June 2, 2006 11:10 AM | Link to this

Kate, Emmy, and Jax…..short for Jaxon ( my father’s name) Sweet and simple. No ghetto love, no silly Hollywood tributes here.

By Cindy

June 2, 2006 11:16 AM | Link to this

We’ve got a few stories regarding our children’s names. We named our first, a girl, Miranda Ivy. Miranda we got from a character’s name in a movie we watched right before she was born, and Ivy from the fact I had a severe outbreak of poison ivy when I found out I was pregnant with her! Our second, a boy, was named after my husband’s brother who passed away several years before my son was born. We gave him the full name, Michael Elwood II. Michael just also happened to be the most popular boy name at the time also. When I found out I was having another boy, we decided that since we had an Elwood, we had to have a Jake! (Blues Brothers). So we picked his name a long time before he was born - Lyman Jacob. Lyman coming from my only living grandfather’s name.

Every child is unique, and every child should be proud of their name and heritage. But, I cringe everytime I hear a parent give a child a “made up” name or one that you know can’t be pronounced by anyone other than the immediate family. Imagine what children go through when they’re at school! The teacher goes down the attendance list that first day of school, calling out the names…..children can be cruel! And when it’s time for graduation, think about those officials calling out names as they walk across to receive their diploma. Imagine how long they have to practice to get the names right!

If you have a child in this country (no matter where you’re from) please give them normal American names! You came here for a reason - you must of liked the names too!

Thanks!

By Sabrina

June 2, 2006 11:23 AM | Link to this

The one thing I will not do, is to name my child to please others.

It’s sad that you are unemployable, because of your name. I work with people of many nationalities and their first and last names are very unique in this country. When I looked at their resume, I did not consider their names. It was their professional background and education that caught my attention. I must say, that Nirmeet has worked out well - I must thank India for this unique sounding name and person.

Just because your name is different, does not make you Ghetto. I was the only Sabrina in my school, until my senior year. The other Subrena would be considered ghetto today.

By Lola

June 2, 2006 11:24 AM | Link to this

Nia - Condoleeza succeeded in SPITE of her name, not because of it. And she’s one in a million. I hear a lot more “Africa-based” (which usually has nothing to do with Africa and everything to do with ghetto ignorance) names on the news that are describing criminals or 17 year old mothers of three than I do about successful people. It’s not racist. It’s life. And the sooner you realize that, and name your children accordingly, the better off your children will be later in life.

By Old Fashioned

June 2, 2006 11:26 AM | Link to this

My younger sister grew up with the name Teruko (pronounced Tera-ko), but we’ve always called her Teri. She was named after my Japanese grandmother and the name (so I’ve been told) means “happy sunshine” in Japanese.

While my sister DID grow up having her name made fun of, having to spell it or correct people on how to pronounce it, she’s very proud of her name. My grandmother even cried when she found out my mother named my sister after her, BECAUSE she didn’t want her to be made fun of. But I think it’s a beautiful name and people do compliment her on it.

My older sister used “Teruko” as her daughter’s middle name…just to keep it in the family.

By ga_tech_92

June 2, 2006 11:26 AM | Link to this

“no silly Hollywood tributes here.”

Let me clarify. In my “picking names” story, we weren’t trying to in any way do a tribute to anyone or anything. We were just brainstorming and tossing out names, from any source. I do not feel like my son is named after Julian Lennon or Juliet Lewis. They are just names which we decided we liked the sound of together. I also found the initial conversation about Hey Jude to just be a little ironic, all things considered. Again, tt doesn’t mean I named my son after Julian Lennon. I know very little of the man as a person, nor do I think ANY Hollywood person worthy of a tribute. I’m sure you made an honest mistake in your assumptions and as such, I will not call you or your child’s name “stupid” or “silly”. I would find that to be extremely rude. Do any of you think it’s follows the Golden Rule to tell people their child’s name is “stupid” or “a silly tribute”? We are talking about the most precious and treasured thing in the world here. Don’t forget the Golden Rule people, it’s a lost art.

To those of you who might respond with the classic: “I’m entitled to my opinion”

To you I would say, so am I and my opinion is it’s extremely rude and short sighted to call a child’s name stupid or silly. I might even say it’s something that school aged kids would do; however, they are children and thus immature. I should think anyone on this blog would not fall into the category of being children.

By msmvance

June 2, 2006 11:28 AM | Link to this

When my husband and I were expecting he was terrified of having little girls. So to make sure that their name sounded as innocent as possible we always practiced the name as if she would be a stripper. Like “Now coming on stage…”. It shut out some names. We ended up with two boys, but had one of them been a girl she would have been Virginia Gray (very big family name) and that doesn’t sound much like a stripper name!!! :)

By sobegape

June 2, 2006 11:34 AM | Link to this

My son was born in 1993. His first name is Christian and he shares a middle name with his father. I wasn’t concerned about the name being too popular or anything like that. That was not a factor at all. I chose the name myself, simply because I carried him for 9 months myself. There was no discussion. However, my son now wants to change his middle name. He would actually like his middle name to be the male equivalent of my mother’s middle name.

By linny

June 2, 2006 11:43 AM | Link to this

in 1970 when my son was born (in the days when “natural childbirth” was frowned upon, so i was doped up to the gills) my husband, who is of norwegian descent, and whose name is Eric… named our firstborn son while i was still — shall we say — indisposed … and what else would a proud norwegian name the son of Eric???? Leif is our pride and joy, by the way [even tho’ that garrett boy is a mess, ours is ok!]

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 11:43 AM | Link to this

@ Nia and Sabrina. I have to kind of agree with Lola. Like I posted earlier I am in the middle of researching a book about this topic and there are plenty of studies I can link to that say while names don’t affect your whole life outcome, they really are a hinderance in school performance (teachers treat kids different and set lower expectations for them), job searching etc. etc. It’s unfortunate, but it is the reality of the situation.

While I don’t believe “unusual” equates to ghetto either, I will clarify that there is a big difference between true ethnic names and ones that people just make up by tossing random Scrabble letters in the air and calling them “ethnic”. Just something to think about before giving a child a name THEY have to live with.

By CMaire

June 2, 2006 11:53 AM | Link to this

Since my son’s due date was on what would have been his great-grandfather’s 100th birthday, we briefly considered his name, Julius. I was actually relieved when my dad said that if I did that, Grandpa would rise from his grave and smite me! Turns out Grandpa always hated that name, especially the nickname of Julie he acquired in the army in WWI.

We ended up going with two family names, James William. He has always been called Jim. Funny thing, when I was growing up, there were as many as four kids named Jim in any of my classes, but now my Jim is unique. Though there are many boys named James, and some Jimmys, none of the others go by Jim. By the way, you should see the smiles of approval when I tell women of my parents’ generation his name is Jim. I guess everyone of them was in love with a Jim at some point in her life!

By bluegrasschica

June 2, 2006 11:53 AM | Link to this

When we named our son in 2003, we chose the name Benjamin. We wanted something that would “stand the test of time”, so we chose a classic. If we have a girl, it will be Caroline.

As much as everyone says it’s wrong to judge someone by their name, it happens! Like someone else said, if it was between Jack and Daquavious, Jack would probably get the job.

I used to work for an elementary school and I can not tell you how many awful names I heard. My favorite one was Sh’Nautica :-)

By Neena

June 2, 2006 11:57 AM | Link to this

Wish children could choose their own names!! Instead of getting saddled with names given by others.

By Andrea

June 2, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this

I opted for a plain name - Jordan Elise. Her grandmother’s name is Eloise and while I wanted to honor her grandmother, I thought naming her identically would be horrible. She is the perfect little Jordan!!

Michelle, you should be ashamed of yourself. I blame you for the ridicule and embarrasment the child will endure for many years to come. Thank goodness you included a pronunciation because I was totally lost on how to pronounce it (and 98% of the population will not know as well).

By Lola

June 2, 2006 12:07 PM | Link to this

http://inch.stormpages.com/

It’s nice to see there are people in the world who are looking out for those kids who have been the victim of their own parents’ ignorance and lack of education or common sense.

By Debbie

June 2, 2006 12:17 PM | Link to this

My son is named Wesley (Wes) because I had a friend named Wes who loved his own name, so I thought it would be nice to name a child something they would like. My daughter is Rebecca (Becca) because my husband and I each took a baby book and rated the names we each liked. Rebecca was 3rd on each of our lists - so that was it.

When I was in the hospital after giving birth to my daughter, the nurse came in, all happy, saying “it’s time to name your baby”! I was in a semi-private room with a 19 yr. old girl who had just given birth to her 5th child!!! I looked at the nurse and announced “Rebecca Denise” as my daughter’s name (Denise after my sister). She wrote it down and agreed it was a pretty name.

She then looked at the other girl and asked her for her decision. The girl just shrugged her shoulders and said she didn’t know. The nurse told her she still had another day to think about it, so she’d be back. The girl said “no, don’t leave. I’ll think of one.” Then went “ummmm, name him Eddie”. The nurse was surprised and said “Are you sure? Just Eddie?” The girl replied “ummmmm, Eddie Lamar, that’s it, Eddie Lamar”.

So what most of us struggle over for most of our 9 months, this girl picked her name in about 30 seconds!!!

By Carol

June 2, 2006 12:20 PM | Link to this

Nia it is your right to name a child whatever it is you choose to, however you may have to deal with the consequences of your decisions. If you’re a celebrity go ahead and name your child Apple or Rumor, you’ll probably have enough money and celebrity that your name will not matter. Most of us are not rich celebrities, we’re just regular working people. I work with a lady that named her twins Diamondella and Sparkelina. She chose the names becasue they are such a bright spot in her life. I can’t imagine doing this to a child, it borders cruel. Right or wrong, people will judge you by your name. Given the choice of looking in the phone book for a doctor I will go with a more common sounding name such as Emily or Sarah anytime over a Eboni’ or Shaquisha. If that makes me a racis, it makes the mother a fool to burden a kid with a target on their forehead, someday you have to leave da hood.

By beth

June 2, 2006 12:23 PM | Link to this

bluegrasschica, I love your names!! (Except my brother has already claimed Benjamin for his kids and he’s not even married yet ha ha)

I love Caroline.

Hey ya’ll I was thinking about naming a girl “Katie Scarlett” IS THAT TOO HOLLYWOOD weird? My hubby thinks so. We would call her Katie of course…

By Leia

June 2, 2006 12:29 PM | Link to this

As a teacher, I can tell you that you can always figure out what the “popular” names are for a specific year by looking at your roster! In 1999 - I had 6 “Ashleys” in one class! And - they all were spelled differently. Ashley, Ashli, Ashleigh, Ashlie, Ashlee, Ashlea. It was a nightmare because none of them wanted to be called by their last names! In a few years, I can imagine that in a few years, there will be about 10 “Emma Graces” in kindegarten!

Also - being a teacher “ruins” some legitimately lovely names for you! Because of a hellish experience with a student and his parents, I wouldn’t name a ferret “Ryan” now!

By OldSchool

June 2, 2006 12:32 PM | Link to this

I’ve been teaching high school for 32 years and have known a number of students with interesting first names including: Tenacious, Irish, Alabama, Magic, Rhett (Butler), twins Ethel and Methel. My all-time favorite was that of a young man who explained that his mom had gotten his name straight from the Bible. “Hallow be thy name” was his response.

By sue

June 2, 2006 12:33 PM | Link to this

I had a theater class in college. My favorite part of the class was when the teacher called the role. I was amused near the beginning of this exercise when Pandy Bahr’s name was called, but my favorite part was near the middle when the he got to “….Liota Hepple, Ylonda Hiss…” Neither was a horrible name, but the combination has stuck in my memory for 24 years (BTW Ylonda is still one of my best friends, but I never saw Liota after that class).

By bluegrasschica

June 2, 2006 12:36 PM | Link to this

Leia! You are so right about working with children and having names “ruined”. Shane and Jared are at the top of that list.

Of course, I wouldn’t consider any of the names on my “ruined” list as names for my children.

My husband reminded me of some great names he has found in his years of education. Our favorite is Female’… pronounced FE MAL E. CLASSIC!

By Lola

June 2, 2006 12:43 PM | Link to this

I went to school with a girl named Penny Nickel, and used to work with a girl named Tuesday Knight. While those names may be cutesy in school, they are absolutely ridiculous in the context of real life. Penny may have married and gotten a break on her last name, but Tuesday is screwed for life. My daughter’s previous daycare had a lot of kids in it with “ethnic” names that are absolutely made up, and it was really obvious who their parents were when they came to pick them up. They were the ones who spoke horrible ebonics-like english, sometimes still had rollers in their hair (!!!), or thought it was appropriate to put their 2 year old boy’s hair into 15 braids on his head, making him look like a girl. Needless to say, my daughter no longer attends that daycare and is now happily placed in a montessori school that shares more of our social, moral and achievement standards. The day I heard they were teaching the kids about Kwanza was the day I decided to move her. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, it just isn’t consistent with what I think my child’s learning environment should be, and the bizarre and made-up names of a lot of the kids should have been my first clue.

By John

June 2, 2006 12:43 PM | Link to this

True Story: A waitress I had wore a name badge that read: Preshundra. I asked her if that was indeed her name. Yes, she replied. I asked her what the significance was of the “shundra” portion of her name as by English naming conventions, her name indicated that she came before “shundra”. When she said she had no idea.

I asked her if she would name her daughter “Shundra” and then her daughter would name her child “Postshundra”.

I got a blank look.

Parents really need to think before they give children names. They need to remember that one day those “cute” or “ethnic sounding” names are going to be used by full grown adults in search of jobs.

By Leia

June 2, 2006 12:49 PM | Link to this

John - that poor waitress was probably thinking, “Why is this jackass needling me about something I had nothing to do with. I can’t curse him out; I need the tips. Perhaps after he’s done trying to belittle me based on my name, he’ll give me his order and I’ll fight the urge to spit in his food!”

By Dan

June 2, 2006 12:53 PM | Link to this

When you read the paper, keep an eye out for the names of the murderers. You’ll start seeing some trends there. It’s not often that you read about a John, Mary, Stan, Sue, or Jennifer shooting up a house. Nor do you hear about robberies committed by Mildred, Louise, Edna, Pearl, or Ruth. However, in both cases you’ll read a lot about Quantravarious, Quatramaine, Trevanious, Shallandra, She’quan and D’Juwan committing crimes. I’m not saying that all children with made up ethnic names are going to become criminals, but why saddle the kids with a hardship before their life even gets going?

And if you’re a teacher, ya’ gotta know it’s murder trying to keep up with all the freaky deaky spellings and pronunciations of these made up names.

By John

June 2, 2006 12:55 PM | Link to this

Touche Leia!

(Of course I didn’t really ask her all that stuff about her name, but I sure wanted to)

:-)

By anne

June 2, 2006 12:57 PM | Link to this

Lola: thank goodness you moved your little precious away from those awful people who talk funny, celebrate weird made-up holidays and braid boys’ hair. Whew. They might have been scarred for life by this encounter with inferior people.

Yes, I am kidding, you pathetic racist.

By sue

June 2, 2006 12:59 PM | Link to this

As pre-teens, my friend and I had names chosen for our firstborn children. Her child would be a girl named Holly, and my son would be Justin Joel. Neither of us used those names. In between the time I was 12 and the time I actually gave birth, I got to know a crazed Justin (another example of a ruined name). My friend will always love the name Holly, but she married a man whose last name is Woods. She couldn’t bring herself to name her child Hollywood(s).

By sue

June 2, 2006 01:02 PM | Link to this

Dan, What about Ted Bundy or Charles Manson? You can’t get much more normal or traditional than Ted and Charles.

By John

June 2, 2006 01:05 PM | Link to this

Anne - Is it racist to want your children to associate with others who share the same values as you do? If you are black and choose to live in an all black neighborhood and you speak a dialect and wear “black attire” are you not acting racist by not intermingling and immersing yourself in a multicultural environment? If an Arab insists on wearing a burkha in the U.S. to public school is that racist by not conforming? If you marry someone of your own race or religion are you not racist?

Anne - you’ve got a lot to learn about racism. There’s a saying, “Like likes like.” It means that similar people gravitate toward each other. I’ll assume you are a woman and thus that most of your friends are women - isn’t that sexist?

I think you owe Lola an apology. She was simply stating her situation. No different than you or anyone else. She has a right to raise her kids the way she wants - the same as you have to do so with your own kids.

And since the past couple of weeks we’ve discovered that DeKalb County’s black elected and appointed officials are RIFE with racism, I don’t think it needs to be restated (but I will) black folks can be just as/if not moreso racist than whites!

By Dan

June 2, 2006 01:09 PM | Link to this

Too true, Sue.

But those are serial killers and mass murderers. They have a different set of identifying credentials:

They’re normal to see and know, but on the inside they’re freakier than a Stephen King novel.

By Regina

June 2, 2006 01:10 PM | Link to this

I am also part of the Debbie, Susan, and Cathy generation. Through all my school years, the only other Regina I met was in my 8th grade science class. Our teacher said she could not have two Regina’s in her class, and made me go by my middle name (Darlene). (I was called Regina in all my other classes). When I started 9th grade, somehow all the teachers had my name as Darlene and I had to get them to change it back.

Though my husband and I haven’t been lucky enough to have children, I did get to name one of my nieces—Erin, a name I still love

I went to a dance recital of another niece, Taylor, several years ago, and probably 80% of the girls in the program were named Taylor.

Sometimes parents think they are coming up with a different or original name, only to find that many others have come up with the same name.

By Leia

June 2, 2006 01:11 PM | Link to this

Anne - you owe Lola nothing! She will be moving “Heather” from school to school for the rest of her life if she’s trying to avoid her interactions with Black people! Poor kid - not being able to learn about people who vary from her and her hood-wearing mother!

By jg

June 2, 2006 01:14 PM | Link to this

I guess I am a romantic…

I named the kids after the place where they were conceived….

Hence the names Caravan, Delta and Quik-Trip!!!!

By jg

June 2, 2006 01:17 PM | Link to this

Okay that was a joke….

But my beautiful daughter decided she did not like her name anymore and wanted to be called - Neutrogena…

By anne

June 2, 2006 01:28 PM | Link to this

John: You’re darned right. In fact, after I write this I am going to build a shed out in the back yard where I can home school my children. Not only will I save them from racist government officials, I will protect them from all those other un-American types like brown and black people, Muslims and gays. I’ll let them out once a day to pick up sticks in the back yard, watch “Veggie Tales” and go to church.

After they graduate from shed school I’ll send them to Patrick Henry University, where they can interact only with other white, Christian conservatives, perhaps one day obtaining the ultimate glory of a job with our Republican government….where they can legislate our Patriotic American Values including banning brown people and gays. Maybe they can even write a law to Ban Unpatriotic Surnames like Laquiesha.

I’ll be so proud.

God Bless America.

By LJ

June 2, 2006 01:33 PM | Link to this

If you have several children, don’t name them with a theme. When I taught school, I had two sisters in my class - Passion and Sparkle (yes, that was their real names and the youngest one coming into school was Cherish.) And Poppy Montgomery’s (from the CBS series Without A Trace) real name is Poppy Petal, and her sisters are Rosie Thorn, Lily Belle, Daisy Yellow, and Marigold Sun. Promise that if any of you have triplets you won’t name them April, May, and June.

By bluegrasschica

June 2, 2006 01:34 PM | Link to this

I am praying that you are not serious Anne.

One of my favorites I have forgotten to mention is the name, Jihad. I mean, seriously, are parents not thinking about what these names mean?

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 01:35 PM | Link to this

@Dan actually most serial killers share a common name—Wayne.

By Swangirl

June 2, 2006 01:35 PM | Link to this

Leia, thanks for the Ashley update. That’s a hoot. ;-)

A friend of mine was in Georgia’s all-state chorus years ago and she met a girl whose name was, I kid you not, Urethra. That poor child…

I went to school with a guy named Charles Brown. I always felt bad for him because he got the “Charlie Brown” routine all the time.

By bluegrasschica

June 2, 2006 01:40 PM | Link to this

My husband and I thought of every playground/schoolyard nickname my child could get with a name before we decided on one.

By lt

June 2, 2006 01:41 PM | Link to this

chuckles you all remind me of the name that the Native American tribe, person, group [whatever it was] gave to Hillary after one of her long-winded visits…. “Walking Eagle”…. and the explanation behind it … “one so full of it that [s]he cannot fly”

nuff said?

By SNY

June 2, 2006 01:42 PM | Link to this

First let me say that it is really sad that in the year 2006 we cannot have a decent conversation without someone white bringing up the race issue. For some reason, SOME white people seem to think that ONLY black people do silly or out of the ordinary things. Trust me that is not true.

No one owes anyone an apology on this blog because we are all speaking about how we feel. Personally, I’m glad to know how Lola feels. It takes her hood off and lets us see her true face. People, of all races, we have to stop acting shocked that people believe that black people are stupid, lazy human being who care nothing about their families and friends. Let white people think what they want to think. You only have to be happy with who you are as people. I am black and proud!! So are my husband and my children. I don’t let them act like the kids in my neighborhood (suburbs) because their parents do not raise them the way that I believe children should be raised. I also do not live in “da hood” as white people call it because I got a great price for my house not far from my daughters black private school and my job.

People just remember a name is a name. My name is Shauna. I have had people butcher my name since I was a child. I just correct them and move on. My mother taught me a long time ago that some people are just ignorant. Black and white people!! Names are important but they don’t tell other people who you really are.

By Nan

June 2, 2006 01:42 PM | Link to this

I have always been sensitive about my name - Nannette - because it is fairly unusual. What has always irritated me about my name is that it was difficult for others to pronounce and spell, but there have been many advantages that outway any problems with my name. For example, I am the only Nannette anywhere I go. I never had problems with being one of 5 kids in a classroom with the same name. I always know if someone calling knows me or not - if it is a telemarketer you can bet they will mispronounce it and identify themselves immediately as a stranger. And as for the above concerns regarding resumes, I always found that the interviewer would ask about the origination of my name and give me a chance to let that person get to know me a little better. I have never had problems getting hired for any job, ever. And in turn, I tried to pick an original name for my son that had nothing to do with popularity lists, but rather had to do with my family’s heritage. Therefore he has a strong American first name and Scottish middle, Caden Grant. Unfortunately, Caden has now entered the top 100 boy’s names list. Oh well.

By Cosmo

June 2, 2006 01:44 PM | Link to this

I had the unfortunate luck to be named Renatha. Parents please do not do something like this to your children.

Several years ago I submitted a resume to a company where a friend worked. I was well qualified for the job but never received a call - it actually took them several months to fill the position. Later I found out the HR manager didn’t call me because of my name, she thought I was ghetto. While it might not be right, people do form opinions based on a name so why stack the deck against your kids from the very beginning……

By John

June 2, 2006 01:44 PM | Link to this

Anne - I’m not worried about any of the people you named….just you! You seem to be quite unhinged….

By Leia

June 2, 2006 01:44 PM | Link to this

SNY - You are absolutely right! Being named “Oprah” sure didn’t stop her success, now did it??!!

By What?!

June 2, 2006 01:44 PM | Link to this

Just a comment - it seems an awful lot of thought is going into what black people are naming their children on this blog. Granted, the uneducated DO tend to get buffoonish with it… however, not ONE white person has condemed their country/mountaineer bretheren who name their children with 2 first names!! Billy Bob, Jim Bob, Joe Bob, Willie Earl, Sam Earl, Jim Earl, Ellie Mae, Sandy Mae, Rita Mae, Ray Earl, Earl Ray… and so on and so forth.

I’m all verklempt. That’s the topic - talk amongst yourselves.

By sue

June 2, 2006 01:48 PM | Link to this

My father-in-law changed his name from the ethnic Lothar (he’s from Germany) to the unremarkable and boring Lew. Years later, when my husband’s half brother was born my father- in- law said, “I’ve always wanted to name a child after myself,” and named his son Lotar——an alternate spelling of the name he disliked so much that he changed it. Go figure.

By bluegrasschica

June 2, 2006 01:52 PM | Link to this

What?!- I think you are totally right. I’m just not sure that there are many people naming their children Ellie Mae, Jim Bob and Willie Earl these days.

By Reader

June 2, 2006 01:55 PM | Link to this

How many of you, like Nan and I, were sad to find out the name you chose for very personal reasons has become (gasp) popular?! My daughter was named for my beloved great-grandmother, and now I’m hearing of other kids around her age with the same name.

Someone suggested children be able to choose their own names. Advice a got along those lines was to give the child a name that could be shortened or not, and the child can choose what to be called. Names like: Elizabeth, Katherine, Thomas, James, etc. I would say don’t let the older sibling choose the name (look at all the Ariels), use a TV character (Michaela and all its variations), or some odd spelling just to be different. I work with a lot of kids, and many of them get frustrated and even angry with how their names are mispronounced (Melanie, but spelled Melonie. And she got mad if someone pronounced it to rhyme with “baloney.”).

By English Teacher

June 2, 2006 01:56 PM | Link to this

Posters, pronouns are I, me, him ,her, we, etc. I think you meant abstract nouns, adjectives, etc.

By Deb

June 2, 2006 01:57 PM | Link to this

My first grandchild was born a month ago and her parents named her Taralynn Nicole. Different and pretty but not so unusual that she will get made fun of for it (at least I don’t think so).

Speaking of strange names, we went to a high school graduation last week and one of the girls was named Chinesegirl Thumbelina. We had to check the program to believe it!

By Orangejello Steinbrenner

June 2, 2006 02:00 PM | Link to this

Hey, What?! You can’t be THAT obtuse … can you?

The “country” folk you referred to don’t give their kids two “first” names. They simply call them by their first name AND their middle name.

Why is that so hard to figure out?

By Nan

June 2, 2006 02:02 PM | Link to this

Oh - and just a bit of advice - do not decide to call your child by their middle name. If you do this, your child will forever have to battle with teachers, government forms, etc…both my brother and I have had this problem all their life. Call your child by their first name - the nmiddle is just for decoration :)

Oh, and in response to the calling the child by two names - I know a child called Sadie Hill after different family members. I happen to love that it is original and special to her and her family and you can pronounce it.

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 02:02 PM | Link to this

LMAO @ Deb…you can’t be serious! That’s hilarious

By John

June 2, 2006 02:05 PM | Link to this

What?!

You’re absolutely right! Billy Bob is usually a mechanic. Willie Mae is a janitor. Sally Sue is a clerk at the rural Gas ‘N Bait: one stop shopping store. Wanda Jean is a yarn clerk at WalMart.

But again, do you really think that’s what they’re parents wanted for them?

As some posters have stated, Oprah has succeeded in spite of her name, not because of it. Billy Bob Thornton has succeeded in films playing hick parts, but that’s pretty much it (and that’s in spite of his name too). Snoop Dog is successful but he was a gang banger first (and there will always be more gang bangers than successful rap artists). Sean John Puff Daddy Puffy P’Diddy Combs can’t decide what he wants to be called…

There will always be a few ultra successful people who made it despite their parents poor naming conventions, but by and large the rest of us must trudge through life eeking out a decent living. So when you name your kids, do so with a name that has honest to God meaning and/or history, not just some psuedo-ethnic sounding name that sounded good at the time.

Kids grow into adults and they must live with these horrible names, whether it be Billy Jo or Shamiqua.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:07 PM | Link to this

Bluegrass - Exactly!!! Not that many Tre’shiania’s and Dayshundre’s either… but when you run across one, it just sticks out in your mind, doesn’t it?! I know more black little boys named James and little girls named Lisa than white kids & I work with kids!

I just get a little peeved when it seems as though black folks are doing something new or different, when we aren’t. Caucasians have been making up names for years, but when black folks do it.. it’s too ethnic. I went to school with a white girl named America! She was the cutest thing! Always ate crayons… but that’s another topic.

While we’re talking about groups of people, I’m shocked no one has mentioned that Mexicans name ALL of their children Jesus and Maria! (That was tongue-in-cheek, people. Don’t get your knickers all twisted.)

By jay

June 2, 2006 02:07 PM | Link to this

All you who are critical of the names need a life! Who are you to judge how and what a parent names their child? We are having our first child and his name is Myles. I got the name from a TV show, The Colby’s. Comments?

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 02:07 PM | Link to this

Oh BTW my favorite bad name is God Shamgod. He used to play in the NBA. Imagine what happened when you had to call him…”hello yes, can I speak to God?” or “yes, this is God, how may I help you!” LMAO

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:09 PM | Link to this

Bravo John!! I’ll take another drink to that, brother man!

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:13 PM | Link to this

Jay - Yeah - I have a comment… Myles?! You’re kidding me, right?! Hahahaha!!! Myles?!? Myles Piles!! Hahahaha!! What a wimp!! Do you wear a corrective shoe or something?! Hahaha!!

Just kidding, Myles!

(See?! People can and will always be cruel no matter what your name is!)

Let’s all give a hand to Myles for being such a good sport today!

By Leia

June 2, 2006 02:14 PM | Link to this

Okay - imagine how red my face was when I called roll on the first day of school, and I said, “Keisha?” I looked around the room, and the only 2 Black girls were just staring back at me. Kesha turned out to be the hillbilly, redneck White girl who ended up dropping out of school to go live with her boyfriend! And FYI - the 2 Black girls were Erin and Evelyn!

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 02:16 PM | Link to this

Myles is a nice name. As long as you don’t try and spell it Miy’alles or something crazy like that because no one will ever get it right no matter how nice it is.

But regardless of whether or not you agree with the opinions think about it like this… If I never met you in person, the only thing I’d have to make any sort of impression of you is your name. It’s the first thing most people know about you and the last thing most people remember. So, whether you realize it or not you’re being judged on that factor.

By John

June 2, 2006 02:17 PM | Link to this

Here are some good names for those of you looking to name new borns:

Virginia Hamm Jenn’y Tonik Amaretto Sauer Maydup Nam Sayit Aintso Justin Case Cross Iyed Bangbang Ladesh Hurryupin Fynish Hellza Poppin Patty O’Furnichur Launan Garten

By sobegape

June 2, 2006 02:19 PM | Link to this

Some of us have gotten so far off topic…

“What were your requirements for picking a name? Whose vote had the most sway? Did you worry about other kids having the same name? “

By An inquiring mind

June 2, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this

Leia, why do you insist on using racist terms like “hillbilly” and “redneck”? Do you think these offensive terms help you make your point?

By John

June 2, 2006 02:20 PM | Link to this

Those should read:

Virginia Hamm Jenn’y Tonik Amaretto Sauer Maydup Nam Sayit Aintso Justin Case Cross Iyed Bangbang Ladesh Hurryupin Fynish Hellza Poppin Patty O’Furnichur Launan Garten

By Leia

June 2, 2006 02:21 PM | Link to this

An inquiring mind - yes.

By lynn

June 2, 2006 02:22 PM | Link to this

Lola, I agree with you. Michelle should have thought that one out long term. Also, I’m an officer Mgr. who does the hiring in my office & I’ll be the first to tell you that names do matter. Ghetto names get there resume sent straight to the trash can.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:23 PM | Link to this

Sobegape - that is the nature of the beast we call “Blog”. I actually call him Bloglor. He’s big and mean and lives in my computer. Scary, huh?

By bluegrasschica

June 2, 2006 02:23 PM | Link to this

Leia - my husband’s family has a Starr, LaTisha… I don’t even want to post the rest of them, but you get the point.

PS: They live in North Alabama and are all very white.

By Nan

June 2, 2006 02:23 PM | Link to this

I still think that originality in a name is a special gift you can give your child. I do not want to name my children the same name as what everyone else approves of, nor do I want them to be the subject of ridicule. People should try out a baby’s name on a few people first and get some opinions. It could prevent a problem name.

Oh, and those that have posted previously about Oprah having an ethnic name should be a little more open minded when hearing new names:

Oprah Winfrey’s name was intended to be Orpah from the Bible’s Book of Ruth, but it was misspelled on her birth certificate. She has stated that when she went for job interviews, interviewers remembered her because of the uniqueness of her name and her candid explanation when questioned about it. She was hired for her first tv show for $230,000.

By Name

June 2, 2006 02:26 PM | Link to this

Imma gonna call my bi-racial son “Bubba Muhammad.”

By An inquiring mind

June 2, 2006 02:26 PM | Link to this

Leia, so, using your “logic”, you wouldn’t have a problem with a white person using the “N” word to describe someone named Shakeisha?

By Leia

June 2, 2006 02:26 PM | Link to this

lynn - wow, you’re a hiring manager and you don’t know the difference between “there” and “their”? Now, that is scary! Perhaps Quantavious could explain the difference to you - oh, but, you threw his resume in the trash!

By SNY

June 2, 2006 02:27 PM | Link to this

Okay, time for another cute name story. Are you ready?

My son will be 3 on the 27th of the month. When I was pregnant with him, I unfortunatly ended up with blood clots that encompassed both of my lungs. During the 1st trimester of my pregnancy, I was in ICU for 10 days with a heprin (blood thinner) drip. All of the best doctors in the area including wonderful pulmonary doctors and hemotologist from up and down the east coast came to help me. Guess what, they all said that my baby and I were going to die. I said that between my stubbornnes and my Lord in Savior, my child and I were going to be alright. So, needless to say, both mommy and baby are doing great. Because of everything we went through, my husband and I gave him the most fitting name of anyone. Isaiah Michael. He is named after a prophet and an angel. He can’t do any better with any other names. We were blessed to have him and we wanted to ensure that we gave him a name that would prove to be the best. I think we accomplished that.

By James

June 2, 2006 02:27 PM | Link to this

I went to high school in the 1970’s and I attended school with kids sharing names with the famous: Steve Austin (The name of the charcter in the Six Million Dollar Man), Jim Baker (remember Jim ‘n Tammy Fay?), Tom Crews, and Carolyn Jones (Morticia on the Addams Family) and a whole host of others. Even those folks suffered with the fame or infamy of the actor or character who shared their name.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:28 PM | Link to this

Lynn - you should be ashamed. All kidding aside… that’s a p** poor management style you got there, kid.

You’re telling someone that had NO SAY SO WHATSOEVER in what they were named that they aren’t “worthy” to work for you?! Who the hell are you to determine someone’s work ethic or intellegence that way?! That’s pretty crappy of you and the resumes you throw away are probably better off without working for you or the company you represent.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

By Leia

June 2, 2006 02:37 PM | Link to this

An inquiring mind - grow up.

All throughout this blog, the terms “ghetto”, “pseudo-ethnic” and “uneducated” have been used to describe some Black people and what some choose to name their children. It speaks volumes that you only took offense to MY comment! I am pretty sure that the n-word is in fact used to describe “Shakeisha”. Just ask Lynn- the hiring manager!

By John

June 2, 2006 02:38 PM | Link to this

If you must…the names that Anglo Saxons have today have a very real history: Your first name was generally of Latin or Greek derivation, with a specific meaning.

Your last name was different and thus why they have carried forward. In the days when we were feudal and all worked for a king or some landowner, people were named according to their occupation. Thus, why there are so many people running around with the last name Smith. Huh? you ask. Well Smith is short for Blacksmith (or Smithey) and in the days before cars, horses were the main mode of transportation and a great deal of blacksmiths were required to keep them shod (as well as the blacksmiths did a multitude of other iron work). Anyway, were I to have been a blacksmith, my name would have been John the Blacksmith. Thus over time, that simply changed to John Smith. Professional carpenters: John Carpenter. Stone cutters: Stonecypher Glass workers: Glass

I cannot trace who in my family was a blacksmith, but I find no offense in being named for one. And John? Well John translates into “gift from God”. I can live with that too!

By Carol Wyatt

June 2, 2006 02:42 PM | Link to this

Another anecdote about The Perils of Picking a Popular Name:

In 1980, I substituted in a kindergarten class. Couldn’t believe it when I looked at the class roster, and saw that out of 20 kids, 5 were named Jason!

Made for easy crowd control, though. ;)

By Manny

June 2, 2006 02:42 PM | Link to this

John - it must be great to have that sense of history when it comes to your name. For most African-Americans, our last names mean nothing more than who owned us at one point in time.

Not that I defend anyone naming their child Mercedes Benson, but, consider for a moment that these people are trying to create their own “history”.

By CAU97Tech08

June 2, 2006 02:43 PM | Link to this

Prejudice (1) : preconceived judgment or opinion (2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b : an instance of such judgment or opinion c : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics

By john

June 2, 2006 02:44 PM | Link to this

very well said Manny. We did not have the luxury of picking a name, it was given to us with no regard for our own orgins.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:45 PM | Link to this

Whoa! John went all “college” on us there! Atta boy, John!

By What?!

June 2, 2006 02:48 PM | Link to this

Mercedes Benson?!?! Now THAT’S funny! I’m an adult and I’D make fun of that kid!!

By lt

June 2, 2006 02:48 PM | Link to this

what?! perhaps lynn subscribes to the nurture AND nature theory of evolution of mankind — you know… by looking at the name given (culture) MAY well reflect nature (ghetto) — WAIT!!! I didn’t say that was good OR bad!!! … i’m just saying, sometimes experience makes you judge (yes, i said it “judge”) others … and unfortunately if you have a bad experience or two, you begin to shun the source…

however, i DO think it’s a bit shortsighted to eliminate someone based on their name ALONE… if everything else about them speaks of good upbringing, good morals, good ethics, organization, effort, skill, talent, whatever…. the name should well be the last thing aside from “skin color” or “church affiliation” or “sexual orientation” that one should care about…

it’s just a point in fact that many people DO base their judgments on experience — or on reputation, and if your “name” is not part of your “reputation” — what is?

By John

June 2, 2006 02:49 PM | Link to this

While I don’t completely agree with Lynn’s throwing the resume in the trash plan…I can only tell you that regardless of any indignation that anyone might have regarding the less than positive view many people here have regarding ethnic names, it should be sending out a signal to you.

When you name your child Quantravious or some such name, you are labeling your child. First, to me, it tells me that the child with that name had parents who do not want to associate themselves with whites. Further, it lets me know that Quantravious’ parents were not very educated. Third, I develop a mental image (before ever laying eyes on Quantravious) that he will show up to the interview in a pimp daddy suit and matching felt hat and vinyl shoes. Finally, Quantravious, the name, tells me that he will not assimilate into the corporate mentality, but instead insist on standing out as BLACK instead of corporate (not WHITE or BROWN or PINK or PURPLE - corporate).

Right or wrong, those are my THOUGHTS and first impressions based only on a name. Those are feelings and feelings aren’t tangible.

In this forum many have stated that they didn’t name their child “william” because they knew a William who was a real jerk. That’s a feeling.

So, while those who defend the pseudo-ethnic names need to ACCEPT that there will be those who find a negative connotation with those names.

Finally, I may be white, but I hear (and quite regularly) from African American friends and co-workers how they feel other African Americans are just putting a ball and chain on their children’s feet when they use those “crazy names” (their words not mine).

By RODJUAN

June 2, 2006 02:52 PM | Link to this

In more FAMILIAL times the elders in the family, particularly the Grands and Great Grands, would gather and have a naming ceremony. The name of the child was chosen based on what the ELDERS saw as the imminent destiny of the child, or some strong virtue.

So when a child’s name was called, their destiny, or dominant virtue was actually being called forward. The child was constantly being reminded of some higher virtue/purpose within them. For instance, to name a boy child Omar is to call the KING in him. It does not mean that he will grow up and sit on a physical throne, it was enough that he aspired to act KINGLY in his daily walk.

Whether we like it or not we all have roots. Some may be aware of those roots and so seek to embody facets of them in their current lifestyle, such as naming their children according to what they identify as their roots, be that AFARUKA(AFRICA), or ITALIAN, or GERMAN, or whatever.

What I suspect is happening in this society is a percentage of Afarukans (African Americans, Blacks(misnomer)) are feeling the effects of their long lost roots and are responding by trying to change the names of their children to not reflect the names of their enslaved ancestors, and so the enslaver. This is an issue that Afarukans will eventually come to grips with. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR CAUCASIANS TO UNDERSTAND the current situation that the Afarukan finds themselves in. Comments to that effect will always default into ignorant babbling. Stick with the socially polite comments and do not venture down the road of telling others what and what not to name their children,IS DAMIEN GOING TO BE AN EVIL CHILD?

Hetepu.

By SW

June 2, 2006 02:54 PM | Link to this

Meanings of names:

Morgan or Cody means my parents were raised in Alabama; my grandparents worked in a factory but now that mom and dad live in Alpharetta in a house we can’t afford, I can now have an attitude.

Shakeshia: I will never know my daddy but you can bet he wears his pants down to his knees and mama works at the food court and spends more money on weaves than she does books.

Preston or Allison: My folks are going to be dissapointed when they see I have not lived up to their expected GPA.

W means I am an idiot and people still follow me.

By bobby

June 2, 2006 02:54 PM | Link to this

@What?!, you may be correct but those names are ethnic as when you hear them, 99.999% it is the name of a black child. People, name your child what you want. You can’t control the world anyway and you can’t control HR tossing the resume in the can. There are people in decision making positions that do not want anything like those names on their employee payroll. I know when I hear those names I get a mental picture of their background (parents). The child can’t control what their parents name them but those names originated in the lower black class and people will always have that picture in their head until they get to know the person. Of course, you know how people of different econimic background following the trend but remember the sterotype is still there from the past. Having a very ethnic name can close some doors but not all.

By John

June 2, 2006 02:56 PM | Link to this

Manny - I DO understand that black people are trying to create their own history. I honest to God do. However, in order to do so, in any culture, there has to be some sort of a “rosetta stone” from which you create it. Most of the names I see and hear today are just nonsensical in their creation.

I’m not black, so I can’t completely relate to the fact that many blacks don’t want a “white name” or “slave name” - I can relate to a degree but not completely.

However, my point in telling you about Anglo Saxon names and their history is this: Children were sold to blacksmiths and other masters of their trade (this is where the term Master comes from). The children sold to the Masters were known as apprentices and only when the Master died or allowed his apprentice to leave could the apprentice be free. However, to the apprentice, he learned a trade and could support himself. Granted he was a slave to the master, but none the less, because of his learned trade, he was proud of it (and incidentally, he then went on and purchased his own apprentice, etc.).

However, this is the history for white people, Manny. White people were regularly sold into slavery (or at least indentured servitude) as well - to other whites.

Does that make any of it right? No. But History isn’t right or wrong. It simply IS.

By Manny

June 2, 2006 02:56 PM | Link to this

John - let me preface my comments by saying that I’m one of the most non-confrontational people you’d ever meet.

That being said - are you serious? So, by your parents naming you John, that means that they didn’t want you associated with Black people? Additionally, when is the last time you’ve seen anyone wearing a pimp suit? And - assuming that Quantravious’ parents were ignorant means he is ignorant as well? Wow, John - you’re special!

By SNY

June 2, 2006 02:57 PM | Link to this

Inquiring Mind,

Watch yourself. Be very, very careful with that letter!!

By nikki

June 2, 2006 02:58 PM | Link to this

I wanted to name my son something simple so that people like Lola and pronoun couldn’t form an opinion about him without first him. His name is Tyler Christian. By the way my name is Anequa my name has nothing to do with the way I live my life or perform my job.

By lt

June 2, 2006 03:00 PM | Link to this

well, i have to say…i probably would not hire an “adolph” either shrug

By This one

June 2, 2006 03:04 PM | Link to this

John said: So, while those who defend the pseudo-ethnic names need to ACCEPT that there will be those who find a negative connotation with those names.

I’ve been reading, with some amusement, the posts to this blog. John, that may be the most sane statement made in this discussion.

My Name Story: I’m Kimberley… notice that extra “e” at the end? Named for the Kimberley Diamond Mines, I’ve had to spell my name all of my 43 years. But, as of late, it’s become quite a popular spelling of the name, Hugh Heffner’s former-wife & Rod Stewart’s daughter, are just two examples.

My kids have very plain, very English, very boring names. They are surrounded in college by Ariel’s, Tyler’s, Caitlyn’s, Tristan’s, Brooklyn’s, and the like. They are grateful for their easy to pronounce, easy to spell and very professional sounding names. Not many L’Shawns, Shaniquas or D’maris’ in their classes though.

By John

June 2, 2006 03:04 PM | Link to this

Manny - I saw a whole host of men wearing pimp daddy suits on Sunday. They go to my church.

As to my name - John - since it has a Latin base - I’m guessing that my parents (or more correctly those who created the name in the first place) wanted me to associate with other Romans.

I didn’t say that Quantravious would be ignorant, but as someone here has already said, “You only have one chance to make a first impression,” and if you saddle a kid with any kind (ethnic or hillbilly or assinine) of name (Quantravious, Billy Joe, or Rain) then you send out a distinct mental image (by the way the HR manager would toss out Billy Joe too as a hillbilly and Rain would be some sort of a earth mother waif who eats vegan).

I meant no insult. I was simply stating the way impressions are made. Surely even you are subject to first impressions, Manny.

By Manny

June 2, 2006 03:08 PM | Link to this

John - LOL!!! Where do you attend church? I’d like to be a visitor this Sunday with my camera phone on the ready!!

By John

June 2, 2006 03:08 PM | Link to this

Manny - and to qualify what a “pimp daddy suit” is:

for example: bright and shiny purple suit, a bit exaggerated in its tailoring, worn with matching purple vinyl shoes, bright yellow shirt and yellow socks, a matching purple tie and purple felt hat.

That exact suit I saw on Sunday.

By John

June 2, 2006 03:09 PM | Link to this

my church? Austell.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 03:15 PM | Link to this

John - it sounds like you go to church with “reformed” pimp Bishop Don Magic Juan!! Is that the Church of Ill Repute?! Do you sing hymns or just blast the boom-box and tell everyone to wave their hands in the air like they just don’t care?!

By John

June 2, 2006 03:17 PM | Link to this

What?! Literally LOL :-)

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 03:20 PM | Link to this

And I bet you the person wearing it was named LaPimp. That’s french for “the Pimp”. LOL I’m kidding!!! But seriously that’s a name I came upon on a baby name site.

By John

June 2, 2006 03:23 PM | Link to this

What?!

No, no no, it’s the Church of the Poisoned Mind.

By bobby

June 2, 2006 03:24 PM | Link to this

@RODJUAN I understand what you defending but as you stated those names mean something back in the day. What really are these new names meaning. You know you can do some research if you want to go back to your roots and have a meaningful name. At least you can explain it. NOW, the most important thing then trying to capture a lost culture by grabbing at a name how about capturing the culture of respect for elders and family. I have never been to Africa but all I have been exposed to show me that Arficans have a lot more respect for elders and family. How about starting down that road that really means something other than claim some made up name from a non-existant culture. As I stated before, name your child what you want to but please don’t use the “Lost African Culture” as why we are seeing these “unique” names.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 03:26 PM | Link to this

John - But of course! With Rev. George!

By alias

June 2, 2006 03:27 PM | Link to this

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had the hardest time trying to come up with names. I loved the names Erica and Olivia but just couldn’t come up with a middle name to go with those, so I opted for Kristyne, which is her middle name, (couldn’t do the traditional Christine). She now goes by Kristy. Yes we have to spell it every time, however, I have had numerous comments on how pretty and unique it is spelled. And the name definately fits that beautiful daughter of mine.

By Leia

June 2, 2006 03:31 PM | Link to this

Now let’s see if anyone calls “alias” ghetto for naming her child Kristyne!

By What?!

June 2, 2006 03:34 PM | Link to this

Oh Alias. That is SO ghetto.

By Tiffany

June 2, 2006 03:36 PM | Link to this

Deedee here is an interesting combo for your book: Orangejello (O-ron-ge-low) & Lemonjello (La-mon-ge-low)—these guys are twins. Now is it just me or did their mother just love Jello!

By TeachersKid

June 2, 2006 03:38 PM | Link to this

My mom used to be a teacher. One of the girls in her class had a very unique name. It was pronounced PAH JA MAH. Where does your name come from/ what does it mean? The girl said, “my mom saw it in the Sears catalog!” Pajamas. True story.

By NLM332

June 2, 2006 03:38 PM | Link to this

Lola— Who are you. Are you a house wife with a deep fear of african americans? Look your children are your children White is not always right. Name your children what you feel is a suitable name. Look at the Summers and Haley. See they feel those are great names but if you have a Pearashey or Keira those are african names stick to what is good for your heart they are your kids.

By jeff

June 2, 2006 03:38 PM | Link to this

why do blacks have names that sound like medicines. i.e. Robitussin Brown, Tylenol Evans, Sudafed Johnson.

By Smith

June 2, 2006 03:40 PM | Link to this

Although some of you sit back and blast people all day about being racist in regards to the images some have admitted having when certain names are mentioned, the truth is….it’s a fact of life. Some of the, for lack of a better word I will use urban names that we see today are so far over the deep end the Anglo equal would be something like the aforementioned Dogmeat name, utterly ridiculous and without merit. I was at a store once when I overheard two adults discussing a girls name on her name tag, a name I couldn’t pronounce, when one adult asked the other what she thought the name meant. The one adult looked at the other and replied that it meant low rent job and a MARTA bus pass. Was that wrong? You bet. But, its a fact, perception is reality.

By What?!

June 2, 2006 03:42 PM | Link to this

Tiffany - before you hurt yourself trying to sound smart, that’s a proven urban legend. No such people, no such names. Go to snopes.com before posting “facts” again.

But thanks for playing!

By John

June 2, 2006 03:45 PM | Link to this

Names I hate (and my own PERSONAL reasons for disliking them - they’re perfectly good names, but to me this is why I dislike them):

Wendy - Anyone remember that miserable song by the Association (back in the 60’s)? They played it over and over and over. Any time I hear it today, I just want to take my own life.

Mike - Knew a boy who was just a little too red around the neck for me to ever name my kid Mike (or Michael).

Rod - What a pseudo-stud name! It makes me laugh! It’s almost like the parents knew that the kid would come up short “down there”.

Stella - HILLBILLY girl I went to school with

Tammy - Ditto

Crystal (or Krystle) - Trailer trash hillbilly girl I went to school with

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 03:46 PM | Link to this

I had a crack attack when my next to the last babies were born, or was they my first babies, anyway I was passing in an out and I heard the doctor say I was having twins. I passed out then, out cold. When I woke up the nurse told me my brother named my babies, a boy and a girl. The first one wasn’t bad, not really that bad, he named her DaNiece and he named the second one, my boy baby DaNephew.

By alias

June 2, 2006 03:46 PM | Link to this

Thank you for the ghetto comments about my child’s name. I tried really hard to figure out a real ghetto name. I thought about Shaquandra, Journethia, LaVidious, Xlyzachious, but they don’t make key rings with those names, plus they don’t sound good on a white kid. People would look at her funny. LOL, have a wonderful weekend….

By RODJUAN

June 2, 2006 03:47 PM | Link to this

@BOBBY, Respect, as I stated some people are able to identify with their roots, whether they personally did research or found themselves in an environment that exposed them to those roots. Those people would name their child more traditional names such as Kwame, Efundusi,Malcolm, Baruka, etc. The point is they will deliberately research and seek out names that actually have an assigned meaning.

What most of this Bloggery is refers to as ghetto names and the like are in part ancestral urges thru those who have not been exposed to CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING environments. In part also those names are a way of rebelling against what is perceived as a repressive society, a percentage of those names are also the result of hype, the latest fad etc.

The point is that there is a lot more under the surface than those outside the inner circle will ever be able to understand.

Hetepu

By Leia

June 2, 2006 03:47 PM | Link to this

Why do guys named jeff ask asinine questions in an attempt to sound original and clever?

By What?!

June 2, 2006 03:47 PM | Link to this

Jeff - why do whites have names that they won’t live up too? Barron, Winston, and Adolf? Oops. Strike that last one… some of you people HAVE lived up to that one!

Or naming one of your daughters Tiffany?! Like, oh sure… she’ll really own something from the store!

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 03:47 PM | Link to this

John you are named after the mens that give me money.

By lt

June 2, 2006 03:50 PM | Link to this

well all my life i heard the story of the welfare teenager who was in the hospital, about to deliver, and when asked for her baby’s name, quickly remembered something she saw on a piece of paper in the hospital … she named her daughter [i’ll type it phonetically, you guess what word she saw] gah NOR ee ah [main emphasis on NOR, secondary emphasis on ah]

i heard that in my 20s, i’m almost 60 now…

and then of course there’s the one about the single mom who’s …. ahhhhhh…. simple, somewhat naive, brother was given the task of naming the twins she had … she was under total sedation, and they insisted on names… when she awoke, she was told her brother had named her children… fearfully, she asked what those names were…

her face relaxed, fists unclenched when she was told that he had named her daughter “Denise” … then burst into tears when she was told her son’s name was…

you guessed it?

Denephew!!!!!

hoping to leave you laughing!

By lt

June 2, 2006 03:53 PM | Link to this

lololol someone else heard that story…. guess we were typing about the same time, sorry!!!

laughing

hi^5 hon!!!

By What?!

June 2, 2006 03:54 PM | Link to this

LaQueenShea - I’m sure your mother is so proud! All you need is ONE MORE restraining order against your first baby daddy, and you’ll win a set of free crack pipes!! You GO girl!

By John

June 2, 2006 03:58 PM | Link to this

Leia - you need to get that chip off your shoulder. It’s apparently a huge burden.

Either that or get off the cross, because someone needs the wood.

By Whatever

June 2, 2006 04:02 PM | Link to this

It - I’m sure it was a knee slapper to tell an ethnic joke back aloof and stupid coloreds when you were a young’un… but honey, we got company now.

Save your off color jokes until you’re around your ol boys drinking Bud, ‘k??

By lt

June 2, 2006 04:03 PM | Link to this

yeah, madonna needs the wood…. THERE’s another person-name i would be reluctant to talk to, just simply because i really really REALLY don’t like that lady (the entertainer, not the one from 2000 years+ ago)

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 04:04 PM | Link to this

Yeah Orangello and Lemonjello are totally urban legend although I run into at least 1 person every so often who claims to know them.

Although I will say I heard a rather awful name after I had my daughter, some lady at the same hospital named her child ESPN. Personally I like Comedy Central better, it just rolls off your tongue. LOL

LOL @ alias…Xlyzachious I love it! LOL.

By Kara Harris

June 2, 2006 04:04 PM | Link to this

When I was pregnant, my husband chose pur daughter’s first name and we chose her grandmother’s maiden name for a middle one, so our 3 year old is named Mayson Halley.

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 04:05 PM | Link to this

I named my last son Trojan, cause he ain’t gonna work either.

By lt

June 2, 2006 04:05 PM | Link to this

um…. actually, one was supposedly black, the other was supposedly hillbilly, and that was my point… no matter WHAT you say, someone will be offended, so for heaven’s sake, LIGHTEN UP !!!

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 04:06 PM | Link to this

I was gonna name my last baby girl after my grandmama but I though grandmama was was too old a name for a baby. What yall think?

By Whatever

June 2, 2006 04:06 PM | Link to this

I meant “joke about”, not “joke back”.

By Leia

June 2, 2006 04:08 PM | Link to this

John - thanks for the advice! Did you just make that up? You are incredibly clever!

By Tiffany

June 2, 2006 04:08 PM | Link to this

What?!, I never claimed them as “facts”…I probably read them in the same place you did. Lighten up—or kill that attempt to sound so “intelligent”!

By sue

June 2, 2006 04:09 PM | Link to this

I grew up in a small community with large families (I have 6 siblings and we were not unusual). Because everyone knows that their child is unique and special, and because most names were “taken,” there were a lot of made up names in my school. There were a slew of ‘nay names: JaNae, LaNae, DaNay, Marne’. One family named all of their girls names that started with Da: DaNita, DaNelle, DaLinda. There were a few girls that had names that were a combination of both of their parents’ names: Jalayne was a combination of Jay and Elaine, LaVonne came from Larry and Yvonne, and Marchelle was a combination of Mark and Michelle.

Another trend was to name all the kids with the same starting letter. I lived next door to a Jeff, Julie, Jody, Jalinda, Jared, and Jason. Jeff married a girl whose siblings all had S names: Sandee, Sindy, Steven, Sarah, Scott, and Seth (I don’t remember the rest, there were 10 of them). Jeff and Sindy’s kids were named Andrick, Austin, and Amy.

By the way, My community was 99.5% white. The other half a percent were Native American.

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 04:10 PM | Link to this

Will my next to the last baaby girl grow up to be a skinny white slut if I name her Paris or will she be a city in England?

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 04:13 PM | Link to this

Neither. She’d be a boy. Paris was a boy’s name.

By Whatever

June 2, 2006 04:14 PM | Link to this

Of course, I’ll lighten up! I mean you’re just joking right? Because it’s a joke, EVERYONE’S supposed to laugh, right?! And it was probably made up by someone who didn’t mean any harm, right?! Hahahahaha!! Good one! You zinged those blacks and hillbillies good! Know any more?? Oh wait, I got one. Once this big black guy got in an elevator with an old white lady and he said “hit the floor” and she dove to the floor and screamed “don’t hurt me! take my purse!” Forgot the rest… but boy was it funny ‘cause everyone knows big black guys in elevators just want to steal purses anyway!… Guess you had to be there.

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 04:15 PM | Link to this

Sue, by any chance are you from Utah? A lot of times Mormons do that…smush names together I mean

By Wanda

June 2, 2006 04:18 PM | Link to this

I substituted at a school with a student that had the name Clitoria I double check several forms to if it was a typo of Victoria - nope. The teachers in the lounge said it was a long standing winner of the humorous name at the school.

Just why would parent(s) do that to a child?

By John

June 2, 2006 04:20 PM | Link to this

Dee Dee - Good knowledge of Shakespeare.

Paris was the name of the noble MAN to whom Juliette was to be married but around whom she and Romeo connived and later eloped.

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 04:24 PM | Link to this

I wanted to name my 4th son after my daddy but I still think Stranger ain’t no name for a baby boy.

By sue

June 2, 2006 04:26 PM | Link to this

Dee Dee, Smushed names + Big Families + Lily White community = Utah Mormon. Yes, I am.

By Tiffany

June 2, 2006 04:26 PM | Link to this

What?!…by the way I happen to be a black woman!

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 04:26 PM | Link to this

I gotta go my twins Mogan and David are awake now.

By Jo

June 2, 2006 04:32 PM | Link to this

WHY do people try to prove how “fancy” they are by naming their kid something like LaTaquashakenyattaniquisha’tquandanitra? It just sounds CHEAP! LESS IS MORE! And for the life of me, I NEVER understood the popularity of the name Heather. It’s so harsh-sounding & ugly

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 04:34 PM | Link to this

@ Sue. LMAO!!!

By LaQueenShea'

June 2, 2006 04:34 PM | Link to this

I gave the twins some Nyquil, I am back. Thats a nice name Jo, can I use it if I get pregnant this week-end?

By scott

June 2, 2006 04:39 PM | Link to this

Some of these post demonstrate you can be quite ignorant regardless of your given name.

By Jo

June 2, 2006 04:43 PM | Link to this

BTW, sad that some ignoramuses don’t know the difference between African & ghetto. Mgwumbe is an AFRICAN name. Laquankasheeta is just plain ghetto

By lt

June 2, 2006 04:54 PM | Link to this

Whatever, i think you just really are taking this a little too personally… but then, if i understand you correctly, you NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER told a joke, a story, said a phrase, gave a look, or whatever, that offended ANYONE, right?

i’m not a racist… i’m not particularly prejudiced against anything but outright stupidity (which covers a lot of ground) … [well there are a couple more things, but those are for other blogs on other days] … however, i doubt you can find a single person, place, item, animal, whatever, that doesn’t somewhere have a joke about it/them/him/her/whatever… oops!!! i just made a joke! sorry!

what i meant by lighten up is just that… we have a god-given right to disagree, to not like each other, or whatever, but by taking everything that’s said so intensely personally, you [generic, not personal] get stressed, and stress leads to bad health, or bad choices, or even death [self or other]… the ONLY way to avoid something offensive is to pull each of our single noncollective selves into our own little eggshells and never, ever, ever come out…because sure as we do, we’ll offend someone!

peace out!

i promise not to tell my gay joke online, will that help, whatever?

wink

By bobby

June 2, 2006 04:59 PM | Link to this

@RODJUAN Respect to you also. I see where you are coming from. I guess I took a little part of what you mentioned and ran with it. That comes from the frustration of what our culture is being shaped into today by the young folks. I won’t even go into that as that is another subject all together. Peace -

By Dee Dee

June 2, 2006 05:09 PM | Link to this

Well, I’m outta here for the day…it’s been fun. BTW I am looking for interesting (real) names for the book, really bad names as well…the more off the hook the better. So, if anyone knows of any good ones you can send them to me by email: reedwrites @ gmail.com

Have nice weekend all!

By Ronnie

June 2, 2006 05:13 PM | Link to this

I named my son, born in 1990, Farfegnugen because of those ads on the TV. Sure it sounds dumb NOW, but at the time it was the Cutting Edge. But it’s okay because I’ve won my fair share of bar bets (no WAY did you name your kid that! I’ll bet you twenty bucks cash American!) and don’t worry about my son because we’ve since shortened it to “Farf” so everything’s kool.

By Jennifer

June 2, 2006 05:18 PM | Link to this

We only have one child, a son. I wanted to make him a Junior (though never call him Junior!) because I really really like my husband’s name, which is Manning. But Manning wouldn’t hear of it. So, we looked to our past.

Now, I am of Italian descent and Manning is of Cajun/French descent. Our last name is French so we looked to the French side for names. We didn’t have to look far. Manning’s great grandfather’s name was Luc.

At first, Manning wanted to name him Lucas because he thought Luc was too short, though I rather liked the shortness. So, we agreed on Lucas Manning for first and middle names.

However, fate intervened. I was in Labor and Delivery for quite a while before the serious labor began. So we had the TV on and it was playing the movie “Cool Hand Luke”.

We liked the coincidence of it all so much we decided to go ahead and name our son Luc Manning.

So, far, we’ve had no problems. It’s a name that get’s remembered easily because it’s so short. And he learned to write it very early!

By oregonlady

June 2, 2006 05:47 PM | Link to this

Back way up to Carol—“Rumor” is actually “Rumer” from a book auther, Rumer Godden…confusing though. As a former Atlantan, now Oregonian, I see alot of Dakota, Lakota, Montana, Cheyenne names out here, not so many family names (personal theory, alot of folks out here have run from family back East!)…No Sunshine or Moonbeam names—-I chose biblical names, James, Noah, Elias(greek version of Elijah) which we love…Noah was named way back before its popularity began and Elias was unheard of in GA—pronounced w/ a long “i” and the accent also on “i” and here in OR there are 3 Eliases in our town! There are alot of Elijahs here too—-

By RODJUAN

June 2, 2006 05:55 PM | Link to this

@ BOBBY, One thing we can determine from the apparent tones on this blog is that there is a WHOLE LOT OF RACIAL FRUSTRATION. And rightfully so, people should be frustrated and fed up, things just aren’t getting any better.

One of the fundamental rights of any SOVEREIGN PEOPLE is the right to their OWN NAMES. This is how people are recognized sight unseen. The impetus that this bloggery is suggesting is that everyone should somehow blend their names into what is falsely construed as acceptable but in reality is BIAS.

Why should an HR personnel who discards a resume because they don’t resonate with the name be given the big ups? that is plain and simple BIAS. Why should a people care what another people think about them, unless that other people somehow HAS THE UPPER HAND. Which is the crux of the problem.

People of Afarukan descent live in a land where the DESCENDANTS of the very people that TERRORIZED their ANCESTORS seem to have the upper hand. One of the first acts of TERRORIZM against them was the stripping of their names and culture, separating them so that they could not communicate with each other, replacing their names with those that reflected the TERRORIST.

What does yesterday have to do with today you ask? THOSE NAMES HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. Remember I wrote that names primarily reflect who you are to be and of your highest virtue? Most Afarukans (Blacks) still carry the names of the very people that MOLESTED, TERRORIZED, KILLED, RAPED their ANCESTORS. Don’t for a minute think it’s over just because there are no more plantations so to speak. ATONEMENT HAS NOT TAKEN PLACE ergo THE ENERGY OF YESTERDAY STILL EXISTS IN IT’S ORIGINAL FORM. That’s why these types of blogs blow up the way the do. Let’s pay attention to each other and maybe we can heal ourselves and thus the world.

Hetepu

By RODJUAN

June 2, 2006 07:02 PM | Link to this

Europeans often changed the balance of power, created ethnic divides where they did not previously exist, and introduced a cultural dichotomy detrimental to the native inhabitants in the areas they controlled. For example, in what is now Rwanda and Burundi, two ethnic groups Hutus and Tutsis had merged into one culture by the time Belgian colonists had taken control of the region in the nineteenth century. No longer divided by ethnicity as intermingling, intermarriage, and merging of cultural practices over the centuries had long since erased visible signs of a culture divide, the Belgians instituted a policy of racial categorization, upon taking control of the region, as racial based categorization and philosophies was a fixture of the European culture of that time. The term Hutu originally referred to the agricultural-based Bantu-speaking tribes that moved into present day Rwandan and Burundi from the West, and the term Tutsi referred to Northeastern cattle-based tribes that migrated into the region later. The terms to the indigenous peoples eventually came to describe a person’s economic class. Individuals who owned roughly 10 or more cattle were considered Tutsi, and those with fewer were considered Hutu, regardless of ancestral history. This was not a strict line but a general rule of thumb, and one could move from Hutu to Tutsi and vice versa.

The Belgians introduced a racialised system. Individuals who had characteristics the Europeans admired — fairer skin, ample height, narrow noses, etc. — were given power amongst the colonized peoples. The Belgians determined these features were more ideally Hamitic, and in turn more ideally European and belonged to those people closest to Tutsi in ancestry. They instituted a policy of issuing identity cards based on this philosophy. Those closest to this ideal were proclaimed Tutsi and those not were proclaimed Hutu.

LESS WE FORGET.

Hetepu.

By Tina

June 2, 2006 07:09 PM | Link to this

I use the “what will it sound like when the person is 60-70-80 years old” test. Will it sound ridiculous as the person ages? I remember thinking that Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys had saddled his son “Baylee” with a very babyish spelling of a nice name. I can see it being shortened to Bay as he gets older (which happens to be my niece’s name). My husband and I went the route of picking names from his family in Denmark to honor his late father, since Alan said he didn’t care for his own moniker, Alan George. Our sons: Finn Andersen (3 years) and Soren Charles (3 mos.).

By amused

June 2, 2006 07:16 PM | Link to this

I love this blog! It is easily the funniest blog on the net, for all the wrong reasons. It starts out with an early posting of an innocent, if self righteous, mombie fluff piece. By 10-11 am, other mombies have chimed in and attempted to out east-cobb each other, then at around noon to 1 pm someone will respond with a slightly off centered, sometimes cynical, take on the usually inane subject. Thats when it gets good. Someone will twist it around and make it either racial or sexist. The mombies run for the hills giving way to the angry cynics that float around the blogs looking for a fight. But the absolute funniest part of it is at its silliest and lowest point, a mombie will pop up and interject her weightless, self-promoting twist, oblivious to the anarchy thats consumed the tranquility of this cyber-psuedo-coffeehouse.

Thank you AJC!

By RODJUAN

June 2, 2006 07:46 PM | Link to this

Africanization, as used in this article, refers to the modification of place names or personal names to better reflect an “African” identity. In some cases, changes are not strictly a change of name, but simply a transliteration different from the European name (e.g. Antananarivo).

Examples:

Joseph-Désiré Mobutu changed to Mobutu Sese Seko François Tombalbaye changed to N’Garta Tombalbaye Étienne Eyadéma changed to Gnassingbé Eyadéma Francisco Macías Nguema changed to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong Fernando Po island changed to Bioko Island Democratic Republic of the Congo changed to Zaïre Léopoldville changed to Kinshasa Salisbury changed to Harare Lourenço Marques changed to Maputo Dahomey changed to Benin (in this case, both names are from Africa) Bechuanaland changed to Botswana Gold Coast changed to Ghana Rhodesia changed to Zambia and Zimbabwe Nyasaland changed to Malawi Afars and Issas changed to Djibouti Fort Lamy changed to N’Djaména Tananarive changed to Antananarivo Bathurst changed to Banjul Pretoria changed to Tshwane (note: this controversial change has not as yet been effected.) Many names of European origin in South Africa have undergon Africanization since 1994. Other name changes take place when an African person converts to another religion.

Examples:

Albert-Bernard Bongo changed to Omar Bongo David Jawara changed to Dawda Jawara Jean-Bédel Bokassa changed to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanization”

TELL THAT RACIST HR MANAGER TO STOP HATING ON PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO RE-DEFINE THEMSELVES.

Hetepu

By sga

June 5, 2006 07:16 AM | Link to this

As a teacher i have seen some awful names. The absolute worse was S**. pronounced SHE-hod by teachers and you can guess what by others. This is true she is now in 5th grade.

By Nikita

June 6, 2006 01:18 PM | Link to this

Just a bit of clarification for the ignorant out there: P Diddy/Puff Daddy and Snoop Dogg are stage names. The individuals in question have given names, which are the very nondescript Sean and Calvin.

By Suz

June 6, 2006 04:39 PM | Link to this

I’ve been teaching for ten years and I’ve seen the number of non-pronouncable names increase exponentially every year. On Sundays, I read the paper’s birth announcements for a good laugh at the ridiculous names and spellings with which the new parents have burdened their children. Everyone is trying so hard to be “unique” that they’ve become ridiculously stupid in the names they are throwing on their children. If it looks like you threw Scrabble letters in a hat and gave the child what came up, it is a stupid name.