With what someone said about ethnic names....
Going to high school was really funny b/c it was almost 30% Korean, with a few Philipino and Chinese. The parents weren't trying to be creative, these are their traditional names. They didn't speak english so it was funny that they had names like-
So Yoo No
Stan Lee
In Young Park
Dai Kwon Do
Jun Fun
and my fave- Takeshi Tyakumi.....when he painted art it was signed TAKESHIT.


There was an article not too long ago about a fam in Chicago-the parents met at Wrigley Field and they named their kids Addison Sheffield, Grace Waveland, Wrigley Clark, etc....which are all the streets and intersections surrounding the park.

"Come on Cletus - Come on...you gonna walk over and limp back"

LOL - I love that line from Nutty Professor!

Back to the thread at hand...as for the crazy spellings - don't know why people have to go and do that. I used to teach, and I'd ask a student her name - she'd reply "Jane" and I would start to write it and she'd say "No - its J-a-i-y-n-n-e" -- I'm like :confused:

We named our son "Elijah" (Eli for short) because it was traditional and we were sick of the trendy "Dakota, Hunter, Tyler, Jordan, etc." -- our doctor delivered him and said "I just delivered an Eli, and there's another in the nursery" -- I was like GREAT! Now he'll be one of fourteen in his class!

If we have another child (big IF), and if its a girl, she will be "Ellis" after my gram's maiden name. Although I hear that is getting trendy too. Ugh! Try to do something special and it becomes trendy!! If its a boy, Ellis will be his middle name (he'll hate me!)

My niece is 7 - her name is Emma -- people constantly ask my sister if she named her that after Rachel's baby on Friends! Hello - the child is SEVEN! At the time, that was a "new" name!

Worst names... my friend "April May June" -- swear! And anything that is named after the current "it" person. I also read that Oscar and Homer were getting very trendy for boys - my dog is an Oscar, but don't expect any Homer's from this family :D

I'm not going to name my kids really common names. I once knew a girl named Winter... I would never name my daughter that because I HATE the winter... Summer, on the other hand, I love Summer and I think the name sounds cool, but I have my favorites already picked out so who knows.

When I graduated from high school in 1998, there were 4 Karens, 3 Katies (not including the two Kathleens and one Kathryn), 3 Sarahs and 2 Jenns. This was out of 85 or 86 girls.

My mom used to work in the labor & delivery department in a major Chicago hospital. Here are a few of her favorites:

1) Funichello (obviously an old Mickey Mouse Club fan)
2) Rotunda (guess where the mom got this one)
3) Delorian (a car fan)
4) Freedom Rings (patriotic)
5) Da'nag Jamar (this was during the Vietnam war)


Every summer I went to camp with a girl who was saddled with the name Libertybelle. She has since had her name legally changed to Amanda.

It's amazing what parents can come up with.

I loathe the names: C/Krystle, Stephanie, Oliver, Dakota, Gwen, & Shane, Sean, Ivalou, Diane, Doris, Mitch, Dick

I went to grade school with a guy named "Jack Russel" No one got it but me :rolleyes:

In my 3rd grade class, we had April, May, June, September, Spring, and Autumn - all girls.

In high school I had a Hye Yu, pronounced "Hey, You!" in my class.

Mr. BetaRose went to high school with a Candy Cherry. Candy, not Candace, was her actual name.

Working at housing, we mailed out applications for all incoming freshman, and we got to see some of the most awful names. One of the worst we saw was a girl named Porpiglia. Then there was Randy Hand. Why would you subject a child to a life of masturbation jokes?

As for normal names that I would never give a child:
Benjamin
Linda
Steve
Tina
Jamie
Candace
Bob

A girl in my cousin's high school was Candy _____. The school suggested that she change it. Her parents don't really speak English, so they picked whatever English name that came to mind first. Her "ethnic" name was hard to pronounce. Also, a friend of mine's husband's name is Harry Chin.

I would never name my child Madison, Tori, McKenzie, Kaylie, Katelynn, Austin, Dalton, etc. Those are all names that are way too trendy in TN!

We chose our names from family members: Max Kendell and Calleigh Reese. Yes, Calleigh and Kendell were spelled that way by the family members the babe will be named after. Reese is our only non-family name. Reese is very uncommon here and was a compromise: hubby wanted Calleigh Jean, but I thought it just sounded WAY too "Country" -- and I was suggesting Calleigh Mattea, Calleigh Caroline, or Calleigh Francis. (All of these are after family members as well...)

HAHAHA! After 30 years working in the public schools, I have heard just about everything!! For example: Uniroyal, Cocaine, Marijuana, Menagerie (like a zoo, and with her family, it was appropriate!!), Shuniquia (called Shun!)and then there were the twins - Jonathan and Jonathan, but one pronounced it Joe-Nathan, Pharoah, Mister, oh, I could go on and on.

I worked with a woman whose last name was Legg, and she used to joke that she was going to name her children Harry and Peg.

I don't mind the unusual spelling as long as it can be pronounced ( says Lizz, yes with 2 z's);)

I wish I could remember the name of this book, but it outlined differences between the socio-economic classes in the United States and one entire chapter was devoted to naming trends.

Mentioned was something called, I believe, "Trickle down". Meaning, the upper class uses certain names for a few years then the middle, many of whom want to emulate the upper class, starts using those names. The upper class then moves on to other names.

Those same names then trickle down to the lower classes.

Hence, within the span of a generation, a name can go from being considered a "high class" name to being heard in trailer parks from coast to coast.

Examples of such names were listed, but I didn't think it was necessary to post them here.

OMG. The post on ethnic names reminded me--not only does the community college here have a professor named Long Wang, but the pronunciation of the name of a boy that my oldest graduated with was "Chew My Dong". I don't know what the spelling was.

The graduates were waiting expectantly to hear the superintendent say his name. He said it real fast but they all fell out of their seats laughing anyway.

See that's what I don't get. One doesn't lose his or her ethnic identity if they change their name to something more westernized. "Chew My Dong" would still be the same person if his name were, say Michael, Donald or Charles/Charlie. .My mom only had a Chinese name until she started junior high school at a Catholic school run by American nuns. Adding a westernized name didn't change her one bit.

Edited because I just realized that I had "would still be the same person" twice!!!

It's funny when kids have famous names like James Stewart or
famous fictious names.

I wonder how many women named their boys "Jakes". C'mon now, you KNOW I'm talking about Jake in 16 Candles!:D

I know two little girls named Summer and Autumn, they are sisters.
There is a lady that works at walmart her name is Windy and her sister's name is Stormie.
I know a couple with a baby girl named Hazel --something just as bad for the middle name.
My mom went to high school with a guy whose first and last name were the same.
Ohh and I also know a girl named Dolly, and yes she is a stripper.

I never been fond of my name, wendi. It is just a airheaded name. It is not short for anything , just wendi.

However, my two sons have very common names but with 2 middle names....
Zachary Jordan Alexander ...
Jacob Michael Gunn ...


-wendi

I almost forgot the reason I wanted to post in this thread in the first place...they had this on the radio in Chicago the other day (B96)and this woman called in bitching because she wanted to name her baby Jaylo and her husband said no way.

I also saw a woman working in a hospital once whose name was Chandelier.

I will have to disagree with this one. I love the name my parents gave me. It's a great conversation piece and I never get tired of hearing people say "what a beautiful name" once they know how to pronounce it.

btw my name is Siobhan (pronunced Shavon). My children will also have fun to pronounce Gaelic names too! ;).

A girl in my biology class back in high school has an Anglicized spelling of Siobhan, spelled Chevon. Likely done so that teachers wouldn't have problems pronouncing her name.

ETA: Siobhan isn't embarassing/harsh in the English language.

I sometimes tire of the comments that I get: "What nationality is your name?" blah blah blah. (Those who have corresponded with me on GC do know what my name is).

When you've been correcting people for over 30 years of your life, it gets to be rather wearisome......

FWIW: I also know a "Siobhan" who spells it "Sibavaughn".
No, my name is not Siobhan, though it does start with an "S".

as far as the famous ppl remark.....when i was a freshman in alabama, i went to school with a michael jordan.....and when i moved to lexington, i went to school with a zach morris. odd times....

i also think it's funny how ppl will/will not name their child a name simply based on a person they knew and liked/disliked. for instance, my hating the name crystal has nothing to do with the name, but the person i knew with that name. same goes for brad....i used to think it was a hot boy's name, now i'm like, "ick".....and i used to think it was stupid for ppl to name their kids after emotions like "love" or "happy" or something. but my best best friend sybil's middle name is happy, and so will my first daughter's middle name be. :)

and just so you all know, i was thisclose to being monica EARLE, and my sister was almost sara leah......YIKES. thanks, ma! ;)

This is actually a lot more common than I thought it was. My friend was telling me about meeting a woman with a new baby girl and they named the girl Sh*thead.
There was a guy in my junior high where his first name was his last name, minus an "ey."
I would not name my child Jennifer or Jason. Jennifer is my name and I know and have had way too much bad luck with Jasons.

Speaking of famous people, I went to summer camp with an Elizabeth Taylor

By the way, my name is Tracy and my younger sister is named Casey. I love my parents dearly, but will never understand what the he** they were thinking! Luckily, she's 6 years younger than me so we were never at the same school at the same time.

Know what I've really noticed lately? Tracy seems to be a very popular name for African American males. I've probably seen a half dozen in the past month alone. I wonder if this is a new phenomenon or if I just never noticed it before?


PS CP2K, I LOVE your name! It's beautiful and elegant.

Aww...thanks darlin'! There was a time (at about age 25) that I considered changing it, such was my level of being "fed up"!

Me too! If I had decided to have kids, I wanted them to all have E names and Emma was my girl's name. Now, I'm screwed.

Was it "Class" by Paul Fussell? I had to read that book for a Sociology class back in the day. I don't remember names in that one, but it sounds about right.

In the NYTimes a few months ago, there was an article about the link between socioeconomics, race, and name choices.

As for me, I can't stand "stripper" names: Tiffany, Crystal, Brandi, Kayla, Staci. But, since Mini-Munchkins are 10 years away (if at all), I have a while to think. I imagine I'll stick with traditional names. Nothing ending in -isha, -ita, or -ika for me!

Names Mr. Adrienne and I will not name our children:

Steve (my ex--the only ex I hate)
Misty (my hubby's ex--the only ex HE hates)
Wilma (it WAS my middle name. The second I got married, I high-tailed it down to the SSA and legally changed it. If I hear ONE more Fred Flintstone imitation, so help me........)
Eugene (This is a name that will get a child beaten up on the playground at recess.)

My family tree goes back a LOOOOOONG way. (Think 1500 years long). You can find a lot of "oddball" names like Patience, Prudence, Mercy, Love, etc etc. Lots of Berthas, Beatrices, Alices, and don't EVEN get me started on some of the Welsh names.

Given our family name (Duncan) we might go with something ethnically Scottish or Norman, but still within the "mainstream".

Adrienne
(YES, I've seen "Rocky", dammit!)
:p

I went to school with some people who had ... let's just say, poorly chosen names. Two that spring to mind are Fruk Woo and Lik Mui. Then there was the Jewish guy named Christian...

I will have to select my hypothetical future children's names very carefully, as my last name closely resembles alphabet soup :p and doesn't play nicely with most common first names. And I don't like the whole unusual-spelling thing. I gotta think...

Was Bakewell a family name for her? I absolutely need to know!!

I know a girl whose last name was Snow and was called Snowy - I always thought it was sooo cute!

I think it's fairly frustrating, though, for those who want to use a family name even though it's become popular. For example: my sister and her husband just had a little girl last May and they named her Emma Elizabeth after their grandmas and her husband's mother. Almost everyone in our family knew if it was a girl it would be named Emma because both she and her husband had a grandma named Emma. And, in the past few years, Emma has seen a sudden increase in popularity.

That being said, I will probably stick to more old-fashioned, classic names for whatever children Mr. ISUKappa and I have, and, if possible, use some famiy names somewhere in the fold (though not our last names, I would never curse our kids with the long, German surnames we were blessed with). And I don't mind names that can be shortened as long as it's not too cutesy--they always have the option of going back to the long name as they get older.

Speaking of last names, it used to be fairly common for boys to take their mother's maiden names. Today, depending on what mom's maiden name is, could cause him to be beat up in school. We may all think Colin Firth's Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is WONDERFUL, but imagine how a kid named Fitzwilliam'll be treated today!

I was going to say the same thing about Stripper names!... I don't think Tiffany or Stacy qualify, but that's just me. Anything that is more like a an object than a name qualifies: Jade, Daisy, Jasmine...flower names.

Also the names Michaela, Alexandra, Corky, Quentin, anything off the simpsons.

I love that book/movie, so much so that I thought of using the name Darcy somewhere along the line, if I ever had kids. That's a big if, but it's out there :)

Tiffany is if it's spelled with a "i," like Tiffani. Or Tyffyny. Tyffani.

I had some fun times with the names of the kids at summer camp, and also in my classes growing up. For those that don't know, I grew up in San Francisco, if that explains anything. My parents joked about naming me Opal Cadet...NOT FUNNY.

Skye Blue, Joyful Noise, Princess, Mercedes, Chardonnay, Aquanetta, Coy, Alize, Brandy, Sherry, Latrina, Porsche, Starleen, Rainbow, Brahma, Griffin, Shaka Zulu (he was white :confused:), Sunshine, Ophelia, Rhiannon (Stevie Nicks overdose), Ghandi (this person was not of Indian descent like the Ghandis I know, which is why I added it), Borghild (Norwegian name but UH HUH NO WAY), Aphrodite (blessed with neither beauty or love) Medea, Ringo, William Robert (aka Billy Bob), and I know there are more I cannot think of at the moment

Siblings:
Harmony & Melody, Romeo & Juliet (incest?), Caine & Abel (fratricide?), Adam & Eve (incest?), Manzanita Juniper(boy) & Acacia, Winter Spring Summer Autumn (sisters), Calliope Clio & Thalia (greek muses, and they were Greek so it was deliberate and a nice way to honor their heritage), Willow & Aspen

and the MOST UNFORUNATE of ALL

Summer Eve, and you know WHY ladies. People always asked her if she was feeling fresh :rolleyes:

CutiePie I already told you I love your name, and you know why :)

For a really really long time I wanted to change my name b/c NO ONE would ever say it right. My first name is Kiran, pronounced correctly it should sound like Kear-an...CLOSE but not really so close to KAREN that I should be stuck being called that all the way until I got to COLLEGE and got so fed up with people and then I got the nickname Kiki and it's stuck so I am fine now. But :mad: I was not happy for a while there. I adore my first name, pronounced correctly it sounds beautiful and I love the meaning behind it. it literally means rays of sunlight in Hindi. My middle name is Laila, which is also a Hindi name my mom picked but the first "a" is silent and my name is said Lila but don't worry no one EVER gets that right except my parents. I don't even think my brother knows my middle name and I certainly don't know his! Whoops! :D But so I don't know, ethnic names are great if they have some personal meaning to you but don't do it b/c you like the spelling or it's trendy or whatever, that's just stupid!

I have gone to school with some strange named kids before but I have to say that a kid from my grade school whose name was TOWER (oh yes his first name) definately took the cake. WTF?!? :confused:

I used to want to name my boy Dylan but that has too much 90210-ishness to it for me anymore lol

I will never ever ever ever EVER in my life name my child Shaun/Sean/Shawn/or whatever other way you can think to spell it. I have know a total of 3 in my life, one killed someone, one almost ruined my life last semester, and the other one is just ugh...not even worth the time it would take to type about him...boo. No offense to ANYONE that's reading this who's named Sean, but yea that name will neeeeever ever be found anywhere near my kiddies.

We have a girl in my sorority right now name Amanda Hope Fore.
Poor thing...A man to hope for... That's just not right lol

I forgot about the other summer camp kid....
Upson Downs

Kiki maybe she has a sister named Anita Manda Knight...?

I think that should be someone's bar name :p

Hiccup

I think that's a lovely name. I've had 2 classmates over the years with that name, and while I can never remember exactly how to pronounce it til someone reminds me, I still think it's pretty.

As for the person who named their poor kid Chevon...when I saw that at first I read it as "Chevron". Like the gas station. She probably gets made fun of.

My roommate's name is Sylvia, and it reminds me of Sylvia Plath. You know, like CRA-ZY. She's crazy, too, so I guess it fits well for her. ;) (Apologies to anyone reading this who also has the name Sylvia!)