I think this deserves its own thread.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/13/are-blacks-names-weird-or-are-you-just-racist.html
QuoteIf there is a question worth asking about race and naming, it's not "why do black people use these names?" it's "why do we only focus on black people in these conversations?" Indeed, there's a whole universe of (hacky) jokes premised on the assumed absurdity of so-called "ghetto" names. Derision for these names—and often, the people who have them—is culturally acceptable.
But black children aren't the only ones with unusual names. It's not hard to find white kids with names like Braelyn and Declyn. And while it's tempting to chalk this up to poverty—in the Reddit thread, there was wide agreement that this was a phenomenon of poor blacks and poor whites—the wealthy are no strangers to unique names. The popular Netflix show Orange is the New Black, written by a Jenji Kohan (a white woman), was based on the experiences of a Piper Kerman (also a white woman). And in last year's presidential election, nearly 61 million people voted for a Willard Mitt Romney, at the same time that the current head of the Republican National Committee was (and is) a Reince Priebus.
As a uniquely-named brown-skinned individual, I have always wondered about the double standard that seems so prevalent in our culture, where it is completely acceptable to openly mock distinctively "black" names like Shaniquah or Trayvon, but naming your white child Madison or Quinn or Aidyn goes without commentary.
-
Is it odd that I don't think about this? A name is a name, for some people it has meaning, perhaps ethnic or something else. I always figured it was uniquely personal and never questioned.
-Suu
Says the girl with a particularly boring feminine white chick name from a family of particularly boring white people names.
If anything, I try to think linguistically, I mean, Shaniqua for example...that strikes me as something French or Portuguese influenced that may have gone to Africa during the colonial period that may have come to America. Or I'm thinking too hard.
Repost:
Are they "weird"? No. Are they different than "Steve" and "Jennifer" and "Mike"? Yes. Is that okay? Yes. Is it in fact desirable? Yes. How many fucking Mikes do you need? I have 6 in this plant alone.
If someone is honestly offended by someone else's name, then the location of the actual problem is self-evident.
"Peruses Ebonics name codex through half moon librarian glasses"
It's a matter of the subtler details:
Some of the blander unusual names are contractions, John -> john, Chantelle -> Chantel
Then there is the artistic flair of using y in place of certain vowels which is actually quite pleasing because it fosters growth of language.
There are only a few cases where it just stinky naming: Should your child named after a games console, final fantasy character or fast food chain, they have effectively been made start one square behind other kids on the game of life.
I think that there's ample evidence that the reason they are starting one square behind everyone else is because they are being raised by parents who would willingly name a child after a game console, final fantasy character, or fast food chain, though, rather than it being the effect of the name itself. And of course, that's not a black thing.
I like names. I like the spellings of them and the reasons behind picking them. I don't get why people screw around so much.
I knew a chick named Shaqueefa. A cop I used to work with arrested the mother of Lemonjello and Orangejello. My bff's youngest had a kid named Chlamydia in her class. Those are all weird. My brother's girlfriend almost named her daughter Madison. That was weird, to me, give that my family are rednecks and none of them will be able to spell it. She wanted to spell it Madysen, which would have upped the odds . . . but went with the 'normal' spelling. The kid is doomed. I forget what the other kid is named. Kaylee or something. Kylie? Anyway, another screwy name no rednecks will be able to spell.
People want their kids to be speshul snowflakes from the get go and start saddling the baggage on early.
* Shaqueefa changed her name to Chelsea once she went to college.
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 12:18:22 AM
I think that there's ample evidence that the reason they are starting one square behind everyone else is because they are being raised by parents who would willingly name a child after a game console, final fantasy character, or fast food chain, though, rather than it being the effect of the name itself. And of course, that's not a black thing.
Mister Sony Playstation is white and German.
The only black example I've been able to find other then names that are Anglicised versions of traditional names. The only rubbish ones I can see the ones rappers take for themselves and the white rappers are some of the worst.
The one I can't figure out is Mo'nique, What is that apostrophe doing there, is it because she calls herself mo? or is it because its a contraction of something Most Unique?
Quote from: Cardinal Pizza Deliverance. on September 17, 2013, 12:27:15 AM
I like names. I like the spellings of them and the reasons behind picking them. I don't get why people screw around so much.
I knew a chick named Shaqueefa. A cop I used to work with arrested the mother of Lemonjello and Orangejello. My bff's youngest had a kid named Chlamydia in her class. Those are all weird. My brother's girlfriend almost named her daughter Madison. That was weird, to me, give that my family are rednecks and none of them will be able to spell it. She wanted to spell it Madysen, which would have upped the odds . . . but went with the 'normal' spelling. The kid is doomed. I forget what the other kid is named. Kaylee or something. Kylie? Anyway, another screwy name no rednecks will be able to spell.
People want their kids to be speshul snowflakes from the get go and start saddling the baggage on early.
* Shaqueefa changed her name to Chelsea once she went to college.
I just have to tell you, absolutely everyone on earth "knows someone who knows someone" who had something to do with the legendary Oranjello and Lemonjello. The Chlamydia one gets a lot of play as well. If it was as common as people claim, there would be nothing unusual about those names at all.
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/advice/urbanlegends.html
Quote from: Faust on September 17, 2013, 12:30:43 AM
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 12:18:22 AM
I think that there's ample evidence that the reason they are starting one square behind everyone else is because they are being raised by parents who would willingly name a child after a game console, final fantasy character, or fast food chain, though, rather than it being the effect of the name itself. And of course, that's not a black thing.
Mister Sony Playstation is white and German.
The only black example I've been able to find other then names that are Anglicised versions of traditional names. The only rubbish ones I can see the ones rappers take for themselves and the white rappers are some of the worst.
The one I can't figure out is Mo'nique, What is that apostrophe doing there, is it because she calls herself mo? or is it because its a contraction of something Most Unique?
It quite possibly is.
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 12:39:23 AM
Quote from: Cardinal Pizza Deliverance. on September 17, 2013, 12:27:15 AM
I like names. I like the spellings of them and the reasons behind picking them. I don't get why people screw around so much.
I knew a chick named Shaqueefa. A cop I used to work with arrested the mother of Lemonjello and Orangejello. My bff's youngest had a kid named Chlamydia in her class. Those are all weird. My brother's girlfriend almost named her daughter Madison. That was weird, to me, give that my family are rednecks and none of them will be able to spell it. She wanted to spell it Madysen, which would have upped the odds . . . but went with the 'normal' spelling. The kid is doomed. I forget what the other kid is named. Kaylee or something. Kylie? Anyway, another screwy name no rednecks will be able to spell.
People want their kids to be speshul snowflakes from the get go and start saddling the baggage on early.
* Shaqueefa changed her name to Chelsea once she went to college.
I just have to tell you, absolutely everyone on earth "knows someone who knows someone" who had something to do with the legendary Oranjello and Lemonjello. The Chlamydia one gets a lot of play as well. If it was as common as people claim, there would be nothing unusual about those names at all.
http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/advice/urbanlegends.html
Really? Interesting. I knew the Chlamydia one was a joke. Which is why it made me sad to see bf's youngest making out valentine cards for the kid with that name. But Lemonjello and Orangejello hmm.
I think this is a good article that can help explain the underlying racism/classism behind many of these apocryphal stories: http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.asp
What often happens is people hear what they think is a funny story, and then they recast themselves into the story. It happens all the time. Instead of "my neighbor's sister's friend", they cut out a couple of the other characters and say "my sister's friend". After all, if it really happened, does it matter specifically who it happened to? And before you know it, absolutely everyone has has a close encounter with Lemonjello and Oranjello and their cousin, Female.
I knew triplets in middle school: Sydney, Adelaide, and Canberra. They had a younger sister named Israel and a brother named Jordan who went to school with my brother and sister in elementary school. Their parents were slight geography nerds. ~_~
(http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p793/sigconf/A-oiwNnCcAAf3QX_zpse7558a35.jpg)
I laugh at names that roll off my tongue funny. Bryce, Biff, Chadington, Tyreese, Rogelio, etc.. They just tickle my mouth. Bink's last name is Steszewski. That's just me though. You're a asshole if you bitch about people not having "real" names though. I can't imagine me learning Scandinavia names without giggling like a school girl they sound so fun to speak.
I always envied religious names. They always sound so badass.
Pilot "Standard" Inspektor Lee, son of Jason Lee.
Kal-El Cage, son of Nicolas Cage.
Macauley Culkin.
I gotta admit, with that last one and names like Madison and such, I perceive last names as first names as silly, and, frankly a sign of the reverse implied here. It seems almost as rich WASP to me as Richard Worthington IV, Esq. or something like that. Or at least an affectation of that.
Thread is about weird names in general now?
I haven't had a lot of exposure to the "blacks have weird names" meme, except through American comedians, but definitely think there's something to the idea that these names are only associated with the minority status of the people in question, as many other unrelated traits are.
Quote from: Pæs on September 17, 2013, 04:04:56 AM
Thread is about weird names in general now?
I haven't had a lot of exposure to the "blacks have weird names" meme, except through American comedians, but definitely think there's something to the idea that these names are only associated with the minority status of the people in question, as many other unrelated traits are.
Our warehouse manager's wife's name is Ladonna, which is unusual, but nice. I rather like it.
Weird? I don't know about that.
Quote from: Pæs on September 17, 2013, 04:04:56 AM
Thread is about weird names in general now?
I haven't had a lot of exposure to the "blacks have weird names" meme, except through American comedians, but definitely think there's something to the idea that these names are only associated with the minority status of the people in question, as many other unrelated traits are.
The point was made that there is an impression that weird names either equal black, or outside of the US, chav, and that weird names have an implication of socioeconomic status. I was pointing out that rich white people also demonstrably give their kids weird names.
Quote from: Mome Papess Trivial on September 17, 2013, 04:52:16 AM
I hated the planet after naming my kid and then learning of an annoying reality tv star with same name. :argh!:
But then by the time she's an adult said person will be gone from the entertainment world. so eh.
I picked the name because it sounded cute and wasn't overly common. Though now it is.
I suspect most people name their children what they name for a reason, even if that name only sounds good to their ears. Your name is something given to you by your parent. It's an act of love, really. I know that if I have a daughter, her name will be Brigit, after my paternal grandmother. Boys names would be harder because I don't feel strongly enough about that. If Orangejello and Lemonjello actually existed, there would be a reason significant to their mother to name them that. And they can always legally change their names later if they don't like what they were given.
Personally, I used to hate my middle name. Now I'm ok with it. I always knew the story behind it, but when I was younger I hated it because I thought it was dorky sounding. But my dad was feeling something at that particular time and that's what I was named.
Quote from: Twigel on September 17, 2013, 05:01:52 AM
Quote from: Mome Papess Trivial on September 17, 2013, 04:52:16 AM
I hated the planet after naming my kid and then learning of an annoying reality tv star with same name. :argh!:
But then by the time she's an adult said person will be gone from the entertainment world. so eh.
I picked the name because it sounded cute and wasn't overly common. Though now it is.
I suspect most people name their children what they name for a reason, even if that name only sounds good to their ears. Your name is something given to you by your parent. It's an act of love, really. I know that if I have a daughter, her name will be Brigit, after my paternal grandmother. Boys names would be harder because I don't feel strongly enough about that. If Orangejello and Lemonjello actually existed, there would be a reason significant to their mother to name them that. And they can always legally change their names later if they don't like what they were given.
Personally, I used to hate my middle name. Now I'm ok with it. I always knew the story behind it, but when I was younger I hated it because I thought it was dorky sounding. But my dad was feeling something at that particular time and that's what I was named.
Honestly I researched names and such, and then just thought they didn't really mean anything to me personally, and women's names in the family just sound so old or hard to pronounce.
I don't regret the decision of the name, I'm just annoyed at the reality TV show. I deleted the comment because I got off topic.
I just find it weird that it seems like there's more weird girls names than boy's names. Are girls names just on shorter cycle times?
Quote from: Mome Papess Trivial on September 17, 2013, 05:25:06 AM
Quote from: Twigel on September 17, 2013, 05:01:52 AM
Quote from: Mome Papess Trivial on September 17, 2013, 04:52:16 AM
I hated the planet after naming my kid and then learning of an annoying reality tv star with same name. :argh!:
But then by the time she's an adult said person will be gone from the entertainment world. so eh.
I picked the name because it sounded cute and wasn't overly common. Though now it is.
I suspect most people name their children what they name for a reason, even if that name only sounds good to their ears. Your name is something given to you by your parent. It's an act of love, really. I know that if I have a daughter, her name will be Brigit, after my paternal grandmother. Boys names would be harder because I don't feel strongly enough about that. If Orangejello and Lemonjello actually existed, there would be a reason significant to their mother to name them that. And they can always legally change their names later if they don't like what they were given.
Personally, I used to hate my middle name. Now I'm ok with it. I always knew the story behind it, but when I was younger I hated it because I thought it was dorky sounding. But my dad was feeling something at that particular time and that's what I was named.
Honestly I researched names and such, and then just thought they didn't really mean anything to me personally, and women's names in the family just sound so old or hard to pronounce.
I don't regret the decision of the name, I'm just annoyed at the reality TV show. I deleted the comment because I got off topic.
I just find it weird that it seems like there's more weird girls names than boy's names. Are girls names just on shorter cycle times?
It depends on what you mean by weird, which I reckon is the meat of this thread.
Also, I can redact me quoting you if you prefer.
No deletions please, stand behind what you posted.
The weirdest name that I personally know of is attached to a white girl, who happens to be one of my best friends. If that wasn't the case, I'd probably fall into the mindset of "blacks sometimes name their kids weird things," because it isn't really something I think about. That's kind of the background assumption that I think a lot of middle class white Americans make.
This seems relevant:
http://www.sahio.com/the-story-of-two-brothers-named-winner-and-loser/
QuoteIn 1958, a New York man named Robert Lane decided to call his baby son Winner. The Lanes, who lived in a housing project in Harlem, already had several children, each with a fairly typical name. But this boy – well, Robert Lane apparently had a special feeling about this one. Winner Lane: how could he fail with a name like that?
Three years later, the Lanes had another baby boy, their seventh and last child. For reasons that no one can quite pin today, Robert decided to name this boy Loser. It doesn't appear that Robert was unhappy about the new baby; he just seemed to get a kick out of the name's bookend effect. First a Winner, now a Loser. But if Winner Lane could hardly be expected to fail, how could Looser Lane possibly succeed?
Outcome somewhat predictable, yet enlightening.
ETA- http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/31/1027926917671.html
I always figured if I had children, which I'm not, but in the off chance of unexpected surprises, I would give them Mythological or Byzantine Greek names. Because it's sort of a shadow of who I am, but I'd have to be extra careful with it.
Epiphany for example, love that name for a girl, but what the hell would it be shortened to, Pip? Ew.
Euphrosyne (Yoo-fro-see-nay) or Eudoxia (Yoo-doch-ia): another issue.
Boys just seem to have better options for nicknames, even in the exotic. I would probably want to put the odd historical names as middle names, just to save the kid grief growing up from teachers and bullies.
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 01:42:24 PM
I always figured if I had children, which I'm not, but in the off chance of unexpected surprises, I would give them Mythological or Byzantine Greek names. Because it's sort of a shadow of who I am, but I'd have to be extra careful with it.
Epiphany for example, love that name for a girl, but what the hell would it be shortened to, Pip? Ew.
Euphrosyne (Yoo-fro-see-nay) or Eudoxia (Yoo-doch-ia): another issue.
Boys just seem to have better options for nicknames, even in the exotic. I would probably want to put the odd historical names as middle names, just to save the kid grief growing up from teachers and bullies.
The grief does not come from the name, that is just an excuse used by bad people who should not be allowed near children.
I thought the main beef with some names are the forced homophones -- when "Qevyn" sounds like "Kevin" or "Zhannone" like "Shannon". I used to think it came off as very Special Snowflake, but these days I don't really care.
I have heard "non-Western" names used in a socio-economic derogatory sense, though. Never thought it was that funny.
Quote from: :regret: on September 17, 2013, 02:02:23 PM
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 01:42:24 PM
I always figured if I had children, which I'm not, but in the off chance of unexpected surprises, I would give them Mythological or Byzantine Greek names. Because it's sort of a shadow of who I am, but I'd have to be extra careful with it.
Epiphany for example, love that name for a girl, but what the hell would it be shortened to, Pip? Ew.
Euphrosyne (Yoo-fro-see-nay) or Eudoxia (Yoo-doch-ia): another issue.
Boys just seem to have better options for nicknames, even in the exotic. I would probably want to put the odd historical names as middle names, just to save the kid grief growing up from teachers and bullies.
The grief does not come from the name, that is just an excuse used by bad people who should not be allowed near children.
On the other hand, my brother refuses to shorten his name. He's Anthony, and he absolutely cannot stand Tony. Much like how I absolutely cannot stand Angie. I am NOT an "Angie," And there are two people who are legally allowed to call me that, one is my mother because well...she pushed me out of her damn body 31 years ago, and my grandfather, who passed away in 2009. Everybody else just does it to piss me off. And apparently it's "the norm" in New England. I'll show you fuckers a norm, right up the bracket. :crankey:
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 17, 2013, 02:13:31 PM
I thought the main beef with some names are the forced homophones -- when "Qevyn" sounds like "Kevin" or "Zhannone" like "Shannon". I used to think it came off as very Special Snowflake, but these days I don't really care.
I have heard "non-Western" names used in a socio-economic derogatory sense, though. Never thought it was that funny.
I know a Quevyn, He's french and pronounces it Kwee Veen. I think its a pretty name.
Irish Gaelic names can be quite difficult too. Like Siobhan.
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 02:41:03 PM
Irish Gaelic names can be quite difficult too. Like Siobhan.
Shove on. Actually that would be a really funny one to see spelled phonetically or otherwise simplified.
Worked with a Siobhan -- had never heard it said out loud. When I met her I almost called her "Sybian".
Maybe don't google that at work.
Quote from: Cramulus on September 17, 2013, 03:18:56 PM
Worked with a Siobhan -- had never heard it said out loud. When I met her I almost called her "Sybian".
Maybe don't google that at work.
:fap:
Quote from: Twigel on September 17, 2013, 04:08:17 AM
Quote from: Pæs on September 17, 2013, 04:04:56 AM
Thread is about weird names in general now?
I haven't had a lot of exposure to the "blacks have weird names" meme, except through American comedians, but definitely think there's something to the idea that these names are only associated with the minority status of the people in question, as many other unrelated traits are.
The point was made that there is an impression that weird names either equal black, or outside of the US, chav, and that weird names have an implication of socioeconomic status. I was pointing out that rich white people also demonstrably give their kids weird names.
Yes, and that ties into the link I gave above to the underlying racism/classism embedded in almost all of the "funny names" stories that circulate.
Whether we're talking racism or classism, it is valid to explore the attitudes we may hold toward names we perceive as being "weird" coming from an underprivileged demographic, vs. the attitudes we may hold toward equally unique names coming from a highly privileged demographic.
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 01:42:24 PM
I always figured if I had children, which I'm not, but in the off chance of unexpected surprises, I would give them Mythological or Byzantine Greek names. Because it's sort of a shadow of who I am, but I'd have to be extra careful with it.
Epiphany for example, love that name for a girl, but what the hell would it be shortened to, Pip? Ew.
Euphrosyne (Yoo-fro-see-nay) or Eudoxia (Yoo-doch-ia): another issue.
Boys just seem to have better options for nicknames, even in the exotic. I would probably want to put the odd historical names as middle names, just to save the kid grief growing up from teachers and bullies.
I know a girl who goes by Pippa.
You will, however, find that many people will assume your child is black.
Eleftheria Is a lovely classical Greek name you see a lot for girls. Might carry bad connotations now with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleftheria_i_thanatos and the Right wing movement in Greece.
Now that I think about it, I take all the Irish names for granted but outside of Ireland you hear Lots of awful attempts to pronounce it just like Siobhan. Padraig, Ciaran, Aoifa, peader etc are all names that unless you are Irish tend to be mangled.
I know there was a strong racist sentiment towards Irish people in the US back when we sent all our builders over. How popular would they be now in the US and would they carry any stigma of lower class?
I've Anglicised my name because I got sick of people trying to pronounce it, mikalis would come out MA-CALL-IS instead of Me cal-ees, now I just use plain old michael or mike but it never fully feels right.
While we're at it, I believe Iason called his daughter Eris.
No one ever wants to go with Discordia :(
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/05/holly-willoughby-this-morning-katie-hopkins-video_n_3548849.html
there was a kicking off about this in the UK a couple of months ago sparked by this video.
also this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExS2YsLzR20
(edited to fix link)
Quote from: Pixie on September 17, 2013, 05:42:04 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/05/holly-willoughby-this-morning-katie-hopkins-video_n_3548849.html
there was a kicking off about this in the UK a couple of months ago sparked by this video.
also this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExS2YsLzR20
(edited to fix link)
Oh yeah, I remember when that went down, and my favorite part was that she was saying that she wouldn't let her children play with other children who had "geographical" names, and the interviewer pointed out that her daughter's name is Asia. And then she tried to say that "Asia" doesn't refer to a place or territory.
:lulz:
It was facepalmelicious.
I have never had any real problem with weird names. What does piss me off is when people name their kids something that already exists, but spell it like idiots. There's no reason to spell "Cindy" like "Syndee." Just stop.
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 01:42:24 PM
I always figured if I had children, which I'm not, but in the off chance of unexpected surprises, I would give them Mythological or Byzantine Greek names. Because it's sort of a shadow of who I am, but I'd have to be extra careful with it.
Epiphany for example, love that name for a girl, but what the hell would it be shortened to, Pip? Ew.
Euphrosyne (Yoo-fro-see-nay) or Eudoxia (Yoo-doch-ia): another issue.
Boys just seem to have better options for nicknames, even in the exotic. I would probably want to put the odd historical names as middle names, just to save the kid grief growing up from teachers and bullies.
I would assume Epiphany was a black girl if I just heard the name mentioned.
---
I worked for a time doing phone sales for a wireless provider. We were paid on sales per call. The selling part was easy provided our buyers could pass the credit check. I know I'm not the only one who would try to burn through calls as quickly as possible when we were talking to a "Sha-whatever" or "La-whatever". The exception being if we were speaking to someone with one of
those names from Chicago or NYC. The fact that it was a black co-worker who first remarked on the "Sha/La" rule did not excuse the racism. Of course, the job was high volume sales so there was a special kind of imprinting that went on there that encouraged stereotyping of all sorts, racism just being one of many kinds.
---
Also, my daughter, though named after the daughter of a Caladanian Duke/Bene Gesserit abomination, has a name that sounds like a dead black pop-singer. Like Epiphany, many people would assume she's a black girl just by hearing her name. Neither here nor there, that, but fun fact all the same.
Quote from: NoLeDeMiel on September 17, 2013, 05:51:25 PM
Also, my daughter, though named after the daughter of a Caladanian Duke/Bene Gesserit abomination, has a name that sounds like a dead black pop-singer.
You named your daughter Michael Jackson?
Quote from: Faust on September 17, 2013, 04:02:36 PM
Eleftheria Is a lovely classical Greek name you see a lot for girls. Might carry bad connotations now with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleftheria_i_thanatos and the Right wing movement in Greece.
Now that I think about it, I take all the Irish names for granted but outside of Ireland you hear Lots of awful attempts to pronounce it just like Siobhan. Padraig, Ciaran, Aoifa, peader etc are all names that unless you are Irish tend to be mangled.
I know there was a strong racist sentiment towards Irish people in the US back when we sent all our builders over. How popular would they be now in the US and would they carry any stigma of lower class?
I've Anglicised my name because I got sick of people trying to pronounce it, mikalis would come out MA-CALL-IS instead of Me cal-ees, now I just use plain old michael or mike but it never fully feels right.
Irish names are common enough here, whether of Irish descent or not, though they're almost universally anglicized (Siobhan is still usually spelled that way, but Ciaran is usually spelled Kieran). Padraigs would probably just be named Patrick. I have heard that some people assume Siobhan is a black name because of both the spelling and the pronunciation.
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 05:50:47 PM
I have never had any real problem with weird names. What does piss me off is when people name their kids something that already exists, but spell it like idiots. There's no reason to spell "Cindy" like "Syndee." Just stop.
Why?
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 06:00:50 PM
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 05:50:47 PM
I have never had any real problem with weird names. What does piss me off is when people name their kids something that already exists, but spell it like idiots. There's no reason to spell "Cindy" like "Syndee." Just stop.
Why?
Because on the inside, I'm a crotchety old conservative asshole who just wants people to quit being so pointlessly
weird.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 17, 2013, 05:54:30 PM
Quote from: NoLeDeMiel on September 17, 2013, 05:51:25 PM
Also, my daughter, though named after the daughter of a Caladanian Duke/Bene Gesserit abomination, has a name that sounds like a dead black pop-singer.
You named your daughter Michael Jackson?
Alia of the Knife.
Is her middle name "of the Knife"?
Quote from: Faust on September 17, 2013, 03:09:41 PM
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 02:41:03 PM
Irish Gaelic names can be quite difficult too. Like Siobhan.
Shove on. Actually that would be a really funny one to see spelled phonetically or otherwise simplified.
I was almost named Siobhan. One of my sisters has Mairead and no-one (including family members!) can seemingly spell or pronounce that shit correctly. I like Irish names that have not been anglicized but even I struggle with the pronunciations of some of them. If I was going to accidentally sprog I'd probably go for something along those lines. These days anti-Irish sentiment is so much of non-existant in the UK the pronunciation issues would probably distract folks from any class implications.
Quote from: NoLeDeMiel on September 17, 2013, 05:51:25 PM
Quote from: Suu on September 17, 2013, 01:42:24 PM
I always figured if I had children, which I'm not, but in the off chance of unexpected surprises, I would give them Mythological or Byzantine
I worked for a time doing phone sales for a wireless provider. We were paid on sales per call. The selling part was easy provided our buyers could pass the credit check. I know I'm not the only one who would try to burn through calls as quickly as possible when we were talking to a "Sha-whatever" or "La-whatever". The exception being if we were speaking to someone with one of those names from Chicago or NYC. The fact that it was a black co-worker who first remarked on the "Sha/La" rule did not excuse the racism. Of course, the job was high volume sales so there was a special kind of imprinting that went on there that encouraged stereotyping of all sorts, racism just being one of many kinds.
I did a stint in sales for my sins. The UK version had all of this in various different forms. Asian/Indian names were fought over for one particular relatively high value product. Stereotypical "english" names for another.
It's worth thinking about the kind of self reinforcing programming that this probably had on a lot of them. I know a lot of people burnt leads because they'd spoken to a "similar" name. I'd guess there's a very interesting chart to be made regarding sales data. It's reasonable to assume that say, google has pretty much perfect marketing info for a number of people. Targeted ads make money consistently. Products are sold through them all the time. That's pretty passive.
Now imagine if say, the NSA wanted to sell you something. No, not like that. Actually offer you a product you need at the right price. Certain people could make a lot of money knowing that X amount of product is reasonably likely to be sold. There's big money in personal data. The more (Quantity and quality) you can provide and the more accurate and "fresh" it is kicks the price up. It's been a long time since I looked at it, but I recall offhand data in the UK costing anywhere from fractions of a pence a name to upwards of several thousand pounds depending on the criteria.
The question really becomes a matter of time until someone wants to sell you something. For example, the "Sha/La" names above are probably targeted to fuck for debt "solutions".
I edited this incorrectly. Fuck it.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 17, 2013, 05:54:30 PM
Quote from: NoLeDeMiel on September 17, 2013, 05:51:25 PM
Also, my daughter, though named after the daughter of a Caladanian Duke/Bene Gesserit abomination, has a name that sounds like a dead black pop-singer.
You named your daughter Michael Jackson?
Marvin Gaye...Jr.
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 06:02:37 PM
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 06:00:50 PM
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 05:50:47 PM
I have never had any real problem with weird names. What does piss me off is when people name their kids something that already exists, but spell it like idiots. There's no reason to spell "Cindy" like "Syndee." Just stop.
Why?
Because on the inside, I'm a crotchety old conservative asshole who just wants people to quit being so pointlessly weird.
My first name is Kris... got a lot of crap over it in my first few years of school. After that, I stopped giving a shit what other people thought of my name. Besides, my real name is Hoopla anyway.
I did notice about ten years ago that a lot of the people I knew were naming their kids things like Kaeden, and Calyn, and Kinsley, and Kingston. I found them annoying, only because they all seemed to be variations of the same sound. It gets confusing.
I want to name my kid Baba Ganoush someday. Boy or girl. I just like the way it sounds.
I do like unique names, but not unique spellings. It seems to advertise, "I had no really original ideas, but check out what I can do with a Y!"
Not that my wife and I have any particular room to talk. Our first kid is named Aiden, FFS. We just didn't know that approximately 94% of all male children born that year would receive some version of that name.
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 06:21:15 PM
I do like unique names, but not unique spellings. It seems to advertise, "I had no really original ideas, but check out what I can do with a Y!"
Not that my wife and I have any particular room to talk. Our first kid is named Aiden, FFS. We just didn't know that approximately 94% of all male children born that year would receive some version of that name.
I have a 13 year old relative called Aidan.
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 06:21:15 PM
I do like unique names, but not unique spellings. It seems to advertise, "I had no really original ideas, but check out what I can do with a Y!"
Not that my wife and I have any particular room to talk. Our first kid is named Aiden, FFS. We just didn't know that approximately 94% of all male children born that year would receive some version of that name.
In my case, blame hippie parents and Kris Kristofferson. No idea what HIS parents excuse was.
Quote from: Hoopla on September 17, 2013, 06:17:17 PM
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 06:02:37 PM
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 06:00:50 PM
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 05:50:47 PM
I have never had any real problem with weird names. What does piss me off is when people name their kids something that already exists, but spell it like idiots. There's no reason to spell "Cindy" like "Syndee." Just stop.
Why?
Because on the inside, I'm a crotchety old conservative asshole who just wants people to quit being so pointlessly weird.
My first name is Kris... got a lot of crap over it in my first few years of school. After that, I stopped giving a shit what other people thought of my name. Besides, my real name is Hoopla anyway.
I did notice about ten years ago that a lot of the people I knew were naming their kids things like Kaeden, and Calyn, and Kinsley, and Kingston. I found them annoying, only because they all seemed to be variations of the same sound. It gets confusing.
I want to name my kid Baba Ganoush someday. Boy or girl. I just like the way it sounds.
I wanted to name my youngest Walter but my husband said no.
I bet he regrets it, now.
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 06:24:14 PM
Quote from: Hoopla on September 17, 2013, 06:17:17 PM
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 06:02:37 PM
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 06:00:50 PM
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 05:50:47 PM
I have never had any real problem with weird names. What does piss me off is when people name their kids something that already exists, but spell it like idiots. There's no reason to spell "Cindy" like "Syndee." Just stop.
Why?
Because on the inside, I'm a crotchety old conservative asshole who just wants people to quit being so pointlessly weird.
My first name is Kris... got a lot of crap over it in my first few years of school. After that, I stopped giving a shit what other people thought of my name. Besides, my real name is Hoopla anyway.
I did notice about ten years ago that a lot of the people I knew were naming their kids things like Kaeden, and Calyn, and Kinsley, and Kingston. I found them annoying, only because they all seemed to be variations of the same sound. It gets confusing.
I want to name my kid Baba Ganoush someday. Boy or girl. I just like the way it sounds.
I wanted to name my youngest Walter but my husband said no.
I bet he regrets it, now.
YER GODDAM RIGHT HE DOES.
\
(http://cdn.modernthrill.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Walter-White.jpg)
W. Kamau Bell's first name is Walter so he'd be in awesome company.
Just sayin', there's REALMS of fucked up here:
hxxp://www.sheknows.com/baby-names
Quote from: Junkenstein on September 17, 2013, 06:30:43 PM
Just sayin', there's REALMS of fucked up here:
hxxp://www.sheknows.com/baby-names
Quoteones with swagger for the little boy in your life
Like, what, Jagger, since everyone links those two together?
Actually it would be interesting if we saw an uptick in people named Jagger.
hxxp://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1007749/swedish-baby-names-from-the-ikea-catalog
QuoteHave you ever browsed product names in the IKEA catalog? There have been some doozies: Fyrkantig, Flärdfull and Grönkulla, to name just a few.
But the Swedish home goods company also inspires some really cool baby names — even some with umlauts!
Baby names from Ikea's living room collection
Ikea's sofas, chairs and ottomans run the gamut from cozy to mod. And they feature fab monikers, too! Shorten Marieberg and Karlstad to Marie and Karl, or use full-blown Swedish names such as Säter and Vreta!
Arvika
Kivik
Mellby
Moheda
Nolbyn
Nolmyra
Norna
Resmo
Sandby
Tullsta
What?
Quote from: Pixie on September 17, 2013, 06:29:39 PM
W. Kamau Bell's first name is Walter so he'd be in awesome company.
She. My youngest is Little Orange.
Quote from: V3X on September 17, 2013, 06:21:15 PM
I do like unique names, but not unique spellings. It seems to advertise, "I had no really original ideas, but check out what I can do with a Y!"
Not that my wife and I have any particular room to talk. Our first kid is named Aiden, FFS. We just didn't know that approximately 94% of all male children born that year would receive some version of that name.
I'm fairly sure if I were still stuck in sales floor hell, Aiden, Kayden, Kylie, etc, would all sound super-WASP, and thus ring dollar signs in my eyes all Tex Avery style. The name Tex on the other hand, would be pretty hit and miss.
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 06:35:30 PM
Quote from: Pixie on September 17, 2013, 06:29:39 PM
W. Kamau Bell's first name is Walter so he'd be in awesome company.
She. My youngest is Little Orange.
that would have been badass. Sorry. Forgot that your lad is the middle one.
There's something weird here:
http://www.sheknows.com/authors/mary-fetzer/articles
QuoteMary Fetzer is a freelance writer and marketing consultant with a marketing degree from Penn State University and 15 years of international business experience. Mary specializes in writing about parenting, children, pregnancy, college, health, entertainment and fashion. Mary's marketing expertise includes competitor analysis, including extensive experience in corporate "spying." Mary and her husband, Murray, reside in Central Pennsylvania and have two daughters, Susan and Isab
I suspect this is a glorified front for data mining. By which I mean moreso than normal on the internet.
Quote from: What The Fox Say on September 17, 2013, 05:48:06 PM
Quote from: Pixie on September 17, 2013, 05:42:04 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/05/holly-willoughby-this-morning-katie-hopkins-video_n_3548849.html
there was a kicking off about this in the UK a couple of months ago sparked by this video.
also this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExS2YsLzR20
(edited to fix link)
Oh yeah, I remember when that went down, and my favorite part was that she was saying that she wouldn't let her children play with other children who had "geographical" names, and the interviewer pointed out that her daughter's name is Asia. And then she tried to say that "Asia" doesn't refer to a place or territory.
:lulz:
It was facepalmelicious.
It is short for Aphasia (http://www.medicinenet.com/aphasia/article.htm).
Quote from: Junkenstein on September 17, 2013, 06:33:58 PM
hxxp://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1007749/swedish-baby-names-from-the-ikea-catalog
QuoteHave you ever browsed product names in the IKEA catalog? There have been some doozies: Fyrkantig, Flärdfull and Grönkulla, to name just a few.
But the Swedish home goods company also inspires some really cool baby names — even some with umlauts!
Baby names from Ikea's living room collection
Ikea's sofas, chairs and ottomans run the gamut from cozy to mod. And they feature fab monikers, too! Shorten Marieberg and Karlstad to Marie and Karl, or use full-blown Swedish names such as Säter and Vreta!
Arvika
Kivik
Mellby
Moheda
Nolbyn
Nolmyra
Norna
Resmo
Sandby
Tullsta
What?
Cannot tell if srs. :sad:
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 17, 2013, 02:13:31 PM
"Qevyn" sounds like "Kevin" or "Zhannone" like "Shannon"
This is what happens when the "people" in Portland are allowed to breed
Quote from: Delcon on September 18, 2013, 02:24:23 AM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 17, 2013, 02:13:31 PM
"Qevyn" sounds like "Kevin" or "Zhannone" like "Shannon"
This is what happens when the "people" in Portland are allowed to breed
Have you considered getting a new bit?
Because I'm not feeling this one. It's like you're mailing it in or something.
LOL he went to Portland and couldn't get laid.
Why are we responding to it? Do we feel it will change behavior?
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 18, 2013, 04:07:33 AM
Why are we responding to it? Do we feel it will change behavior?
Who, Delcon? Naw, just bored.