Baby Names - You're kidding Right???

[Thipu1]

I know at least three guys--not terribly old nor young--with the name Stacey (or Stacy). I had always thought that a girls' name but apparently not!

Stacey Keach is a male actor with a good reputation.  He was a fixture on 'Cheers'. 

[Lynn2000]

A not so young man named Jade.  Personally, I'm not a big fan of it even for a girl.

There was a boy in my school named Jade--he must be over 30 by now. In that time and place it was a very unusual name, period, but still slightly more associated with girls.

I think it makes a great guys' gemstone name, though, especially now with the "Jaden" association. I mean, if one was looking for a gemstone name for a boy...

[Nikko-chan]

Child on toddlers and tiaras... Rainbow Dash

[iridaceae]

Got my DD's class list today from the teacher (lovely welcoming letter).  Along with the different spellings of common names (Jayson, Angelena) and the interesting names (Ryder, Jaycee, McKenna) there are the kids of foreign descent (our school has a high population of immigrants being brought here by a charity group from third world countries)..and I feel for the teachers having to say these names because I know I would just call them Frank.  There is Kavya (I got that one) Aung (think I may have that) and the twins (I kid you not ) Oluwatomiwa & Oluwatomisin.  And there is a kid ( a girl I think) in her grade named Ba Blu Moo.

I find this attitude of "weird foreign name! Not white! Must call them by white name!" to be incredibly offensive. Teachers,  like most people,  are capable of learning new names. Even "ethnic" ones.* Ethnic names are due the same respect as white names.


*Yes I understand there may be tones or clicks or sounds that you just cannot get quite right but that doesn't mean you don't try.

[WolfWay]

Got my DD's class list today from the teacher (lovely welcoming letter).  Along with the different spellings of common names (Jayson, Angelena) and the interesting names (Ryder, Jaycee, McKenna) there are the kids of foreign descent (our school has a high population of immigrants being brought here by a charity group from third world countries)..and I feel for the teachers having to say these names because I know I would just call them Frank.  There is Kavya (I got that one) Aung (think I may have that) and the twins (I kid you not ) Oluwatomiwa & Oluwatomisin.  And there is a kid ( a girl I think) in her grade named Ba Blu Moo.

I find this attitude of "weird foreign name! Not white! Must call them by white name!" to be incredibly offensive. Teachers,  like most people,  are capable of learning new names. Even "ethnic" ones.* Ethnic names are due the same respect as white names.

*Yes I understand there may be tones or clicks or sounds that you just cannot get quite right but that doesn't mean you don't try.

Speaking as a South African, where black indignous people were given "white" names by colonials who found their african names too "difficult" to learn, a teacher not making the effort to learn a tribal or ethnic name because it's "difficult" is deeply offensive to me as well.

[BB-VA]

Speaking of gender names (and I may have posted about this before) - has anyone ever known a male Bambi?  In the book and movie, it is established that little Bambi is the PRINCE of the forest.  Last time I heard, princes were male - but I have known a couple of Bambis (Bambies?) and they have always been female. 

I have known male and female Pats, Terrys, Marion/Marians, Lynn/Linns,Sidneys, Ashleys, Kellys, Danas - well, quite a list of names that can go with either gender.   I do have to admit that I prefer names that are more gender specific, if only to keep kids from being embarrassed.  I do know that the male Linn who was a classmate was listed among the girls names and he was quite bothered about it (this was elementary school, though).

[Thipu1]

There was great hilarity in college when a female classmate named Michael received her draft notice.  This was back in 1968. 

Another classmate was named Michelly.  Since her last name was Kelly, she got engaged in her Senior year. 

I too prefer more gender-specific names.  They make life easier for all concerned. 

[Tea Drinker]

Got my DD's class list today from the teacher (lovely welcoming letter).  Along with the different spellings of common names (Jayson, Angelena) and the interesting names (Ryder, Jaycee, McKenna) there are the kids of foreign descent (our school has a high population of immigrants being brought here by a charity group from third world countries)..and I feel for the teachers having to say these names because I know I would just call them Frank.  There is Kavya (I got that one) Aung (think I may have that) and the twins (I kid you not ) Oluwatomiwa & Oluwatomisin.  And there is a kid ( a girl I think) in her grade named Ba Blu Moo.

I find this attitude of "weird foreign name! Not white! Must call them by white name!" to be incredibly offensive. Teachers,  like most people,  are capable of learning new names. Even "ethnic" ones.* Ethnic names are due the same respect as white names.


*Yes I understand there may be tones or clicks or sounds that you just cannot get quite right but that doesn't mean you don't try.

Yes. Or, if you really can't pronounce the person's name after a fair attempt, ask them if there's a short version or nickname you can use. Not "I'll just call you Frank" but maybe the person with the six-syllable name always goes by "Min" at home, or would be happy to be called "Flash." A lot of first-generation Chinese-Americans will say something like "Call me Tom" (or some other short Anglo name that is similar to their real name, or after someone they admire), but they're choosing something they're comfortable with. Someone who says "I'll just call you Frank" or even "Can I call you Frank?" when that's not the person's name might be picking the name of someone they hate--or it might be the nickname his older brother uses, and thus confusing.

[Ms_Cellany]

An Indian co-worker of mine has an 8-syllable first name, and an easy two-syllable last name ("Dutta"). We call him "Dutta." I knew him for two years before I realized that wasn't his first name.

[Teenyweeny]

An Indian co-worker of mine has an 8-syllable first name, and an easy two-syllable last name ("Dutta"). We call him "Dutta." I knew him for two years before I realized that wasn't his first name.

Yeah, I had a Sri Lankan coworker who went by her middle name because it was much closer to an anglo name than her first name was, and so much easier to pronounce. (Think Ruduth instead of Ruth, for example.)

[Sophia]

In my job I work with Insurance and Insurance Carriers.  I now know that absolute worst name to foist on a child.  "Test"
This person will spend their life being deleted from databases. 

[lady_disdain]

In my job I work with Insurance and Insurance Carriers.  I now know that absolute worst name to foist on a child.  "Test"
This person will spend their life being deleted from databases. 

Maybe that was the idea. I knew a guy who gave all his children the same name, to confuse the big bad guys who monitor everything.

[baglady]

When I worked in a nursing home in the '70s, we had a male resident of French Canadian descent whose first name was Hyacinthe. (No, his last name was not Bucket or Bouquet.) His nickname was Hetty, which I've always thought of as a nickname for Henrietta. If I were a male Hyacinthe, I'd probably go by Hy.

Another French Canadian resident had a sister named Fernande, who went by Fern. Fernande was actually her middle name. All the girls in this large family had the first name Marie, and all the boys had the first name Joseph -- they went by their middle names.

I have only a nodding acquaintance with French, but it seems to be a fairly common French thing to feminize a male name by adding an E, or double the final consonant and then add an E (Jean --> Jeanne, Michel --> Michelle). Which isn't much different from what English speakers do when we feminize a male name by adding an A (Paula, Erica, Michaela). But it doesn't explain a man named Hyacinthe.

[Curious Cat]

Oluwatomiwa & Oluwatomisin.
Ba Blu Moo

Ok, these make me think of the last song in the movie Grease, where they sing,
 We're for each other
Like a wop ba-ba lu-bop and wop bam boom
Just like my brother is
Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na yippity dip de doom
Chang chang chanitty chang sha-bop
We'll always be together
Wha oooh, yeah!
We'll always be together
We'll always be together
We'll always be together

Anyone else get that?

(sorry for the earworm!)

I find this incredibly offensive. Just because you aren't able to pronounce these names doesn't qualify them as jibberish.

It's also a perfect example of what TeenyWeeny was talking about (ironically only a few posts prior)

I'm growing increasingly uncomfortable with some of the 'funny' names submitted here.

Not to put too fine a point on it, a lot of the names are basically names (or naming conventions) associated with black communities. There have been many studies which show that such names hinder employment prospects, hinder chances of getting housing, and even cause children to be treated differently by teachers.

To say that sterotypically black names are 'funny' is highly problematic, and feeds into the kind of insidious urban legend we see exemplified in the tales of La-a, and the -jello twins.

I'm all for laughing at somebody who names their child 'Super T-Rex III', but I can't stand by and see the Shaniquas and DeShawns of this world being mocked because of their ethnic and cultural background.

[amandaelizabeth]

I work with a group of refugees where english is probably their third or fourth language.  We have had two babies born within this group and they paid me the singular honour of naming both of the babies after me.  The thing is one of them was a boy. I suggested we pronounce his name Armand