Be Kind to Your Child
By not giving your child a weirdly spelled name, you will be doing them a big favor later on. I'm not talking about unique names - I have nothing against those if they are tasteful. However, I just met a kid named "Maverick" the other day and the first thing that came to mind was "Top Gun" - not the greatest association for a person to make. One should also pay particular attention to the initials of the child's name. Luckily, my parents decided against the name "Barrett" for my brother, especially since our last name begins with "O" - the initials "BO" would have invited endless teasing from peers. The only other name that bothers me is when parents name their kids "Richard", then call them "Dick". How embarrassing for the poor little guy!
Getting back to weird spellings of names, the spellings that I think should be avoided are anything with a -leigh, when an -ly will do just fine. Case in point: my friend in high school named her daughter Ashleigh instead of Ashly - what is the point? Also, Kaleigh is no more cute sounding than plain ole Kaley. I read an article on yahoo.com this week about a missing family in Oregon - their kids were named Sebastyan and Gabrayell. Not sure why the extra "y" is needed - do these names actually get pronounced differently? Along the same lines, why was a "y" ever used in place of an "i" - like "Devyn" versus "Devin". Name spelling variations, I think, would be more difficult to deal with for a boy. A boy named "Austyn" might receive much ridicule and possibly even wedgies for that spelling, but "Austin" might not. However, a girl named "Jasmyn" may not receive much more slack than another girl named "Jasmine". What is with the small letter, with an apostrophe, then a name? d'Sean, d'Soto? What in the hell were the parents smoking when those names popped up? Okay, here is my last irritating spelling - an -ee for -ie or -ey (for example, "Lacee" for "Lacey"). I don't know why it bothers me... it just does.
Getting back to weird spellings of names, the spellings that I think should be avoided are anything with a -leigh, when an -ly will do just fine. Case in point: my friend in high school named her daughter Ashleigh instead of Ashly - what is the point? Also, Kaleigh is no more cute sounding than plain ole Kaley. I read an article on yahoo.com this week about a missing family in Oregon - their kids were named Sebastyan and Gabrayell. Not sure why the extra "y" is needed - do these names actually get pronounced differently? Along the same lines, why was a "y" ever used in place of an "i" - like "Devyn" versus "Devin". Name spelling variations, I think, would be more difficult to deal with for a boy. A boy named "Austyn" might receive much ridicule and possibly even wedgies for that spelling, but "Austin" might not. However, a girl named "Jasmyn" may not receive much more slack than another girl named "Jasmine". What is with the small letter, with an apostrophe, then a name? d'Sean, d'Soto? What in the hell were the parents smoking when those names popped up? Okay, here is my last irritating spelling - an -ee for -ie or -ey (for example, "Lacee" for "Lacey"). I don't know why it bothers me... it just does.
posted by Notta Wallflower at 4:55 PM
25 Comments:
I might have mentioned this book to you before, but "Freakonomics" has a whole chapter about name choice. Part of it is about "black names" and how that whole phenomenon started with the black power thing in the 60s and 70s. Back in 1950, a black American was likely to be named Bill or Joe, just like anyone else, not D'shawon.
But the rest of the name chapter manages to analyze names according to the parents' socioeconomic status. The conclusion? New names -- like Maverick, which is the name of Sun CEO Scott McNealy's son -- start out with the upper classes. The next 5 - 10 years, they trickle down to middle class popularity. By the time they're on the way out, they've become trailer trash names.
Anyway, if you haven't read that book, i think you would really like it.
Julia - Yeah, I'm afraid the keychains are the least of their worries. Names are sometimes difficult for couples to agree on. :-P
Tessence - Thanks for recommending that book - I'm always looking for something new to read (even though I still have unfinished books). This kid I met the other day was definitely not upper class, so it must have trickled down. I wonder what it says about me that we decided to name our son, K, when we heard that name called in Taco Time. :-P Like Julia and her husband, we had a hard time agreeing on a name.
Since I am from "Austin", I pity the fool who is named, "Austyn". I feel for the kid and would give his parents the look of shame.
When my mom was naming me she was inspired by a romance novel while my sister got the normal name. Believe me there is nothing more frustrating then having a name that a normal person has no idea how to spell. For reals, I was "Angelick" for many years in grade school because no one knew how to spell it.
Angelique - I like your name, though. It's not something you hear every day. But I can see how, in school, that would have been difficult. Named after a person in a romance novel? I wonder how my parents came up with my name. I was supposed to be "Sarah", but they changed their minds after I was born.
When I was a kid, there were at least 3 Marys, Cathys, Lindas, Debbies, Davids, James, Roberts, and Daniels in EVERY classroom. How about some originality people?
My hippie generation was great at naming kids after nature-Rainbow, Sunshine, Autumn, Summer, Breaze, Leaf, etc. OK, that's a little TOO original!
We chose old-fashioned names, correctly spelled. People insist on spelling my kid's names the modern, "stylish" way. We chose the names because NOBODY else was using them. Wouldn't you know it; everybody else had the SAME idea that we did. The names we picked are very common now.
I know a gal that named her son Shaver. She said that she named him after her Dad. Huh? Her Dad's name was Steven. Her Dad's nickname was Shaver. Poor kid!
My daughter knew a kid named Rastus. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Rastus; in an all white school! He changed his name to Anthony Jr. when he turned 18.
I knew a kid with the initials BO. You're right; his nickname all through high school was BO.
TSHS - Rastus, huh? Poor guy. I can understand why he changed his name. For people my age, a lot of us are named "Jennifer". When I had my son, I didn't really care what was popular, but I wanted something that sounded good with his last name. Also, he needed a name that I could yell out and not take forever saying it. :-P
Yeah, something that flows with their middle and last names, so they know we're serious when we yell their complete names. ;)
When Z was little, he wanted to know what the dog's middle name was, so he could yell at her the "right way".
Ummm, I should have had an 'h' at the end of my name b/c it is always mis-pronounced...and the ppl who mispronounce even after I SAY it to them-its like-well, DUH! You were not listening when You ASKED my name?
the children both have nice easy to read easy to pronounce first ( and yay husband! ) last names...I think me personally growing up with an off-beat late 60's name and a very italian last name...kind helped form my individuality...
But not something I want to inflict on anyone else...
( gosh, kind of went off on a tangent there.! )
May I add you to my blogroll thingy-like a link, you know? I enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY your blog! )
TSHS - So funny what kids pick up on.
D - I grew up with a funky last name, which I did not appreciate until I became an adult. My various nicknames in school were "oink", "onion", "oreo", etc. Sure - link me to your blog. :-)
A friend of mine in the past was named Barry, his surname was Lowcock.
It must be awfully embarassing to ladies named Lesley, Leslie is part of my full title, fortunately I am a male.
Tshsmom. how cruel to be called Rastus.
The surname of Soul, or Sole could be annoying with a given name of Roger, Robert or Ronald.
hi there n--w --how about richard shaw or richard head-- like rickshaw and dickhead
It seems pretty worthless as first names aren't allowed in scrabble anyway.
OK, Kayleigh is an exception. Because of the song. I love Marillion...
Vest - You make a good point. Although your comment made me think of the James Bond movies and all the corny name for women. That's sort of an aside though...
Faltenin - I don't know about that song. Funky spellings are okay in songs or almost-porn-romance novels. :-P
Vest, we have a Glascock family in town. I had a girlfriend named Leslie. EVERY year they put her in boy's gym class.
Rastus' parents were dopers, who thought his name was funny. What a terrible thing to do to your child!
Scrunch - Another good point about names. :-) Glad you visited.
TSHS - I knew a man named Leslie. It wasn't that bad - his nickname was "Les".
I used to work with a guy who willingly called himself Dick... his last name? An unfortunate Meister... Needless to say, it was amusing.
A friend of a friend is a school teacher and (I kid you not) came across a woman who named her daughter Clamydia - because it sounded pretty. :\
Laura - Yeah, I'll never understand guys who will willingly call themselves "Dick". :-P Ack! Clamydia? /cringe
Hey, Notta...did you catch the part abt being 34 NOT matching what my birth certificate says...hahaha.
-d: Rub it in, why dontcha? :-P
By not giving your child a weirdly spelled name, you will be doing them a big favor later on.
Exactly. Taylor Jade guarantees she'll be a stripper later on. Dakota guarantees he'll never amount to anything.
Okay, I wrote something obscene. Scratch that. I'll be nice. yeah, those names drive me nuts too.
Caution, this is nc-17, but dang, this lady hates bad baby names better than both of us combined.
ZS - I had to laugh at Jenypher. And umm... Cannon ___? /raised eyebrow. That was a good read - she put my post to shame. :-P
Damn. My dog is Jacee.
Kari - Aww, I'm talking about kids, not dogs. :-P
I love to hear Nth Ams pronounce the rank of lieutenant 'LOO-TENANT(Proper Eng /French; pronounced'Leftenant')Which suggests, that particular officer rank,live in lavatories.
could also infer that it is a 'bottom' rank, more effluent than affluent. snigger snigger.
Well, I never thought of it that way because we don't call bathrooms "loos". :-P
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