S/O... Do you consider their future when choosing your child's name?

[Jumping In Puddles]

I'm just thinking at least Julian and Gabriel can be Julie/Julia or Gabrielle/Gabriella some day if they want to be. What can poor "Chance" do?!?

 

I would have no idea if Chance is a boys name or girls name. :confused: I have never heard that name before! Can you imagine how many times that kid is going to have to hear "take a Chance on me" and the like. How quickly would that get old?!

[Aggie]

My dh's ancestors commonly changed their names when they reached adulthood, so we'll have no problem if the dc want to change their names. We did, however, choose their first names based on what they mean, and middle names after family members.

 

When I taught, one of my students was Doctor Lastname. Yup, his first given name was Doctor.

 

One of my college roommates dated a R. Pepper who was in med school. :001_smile:

[orangearrow]

there's a mom at the co-op we go to and she has three girls. They are named Julian, Chance, and Gabriel. The mom said she gave them boy names so that they won't be discriminated against for being female. This way they have male names on a resume and will get the job.

 

 

 

This wasn't going to be my reasoning - but I wanted to name our oldest dd Michael or Micah. I LOVED those names for a girl! The only thing that changed my mind was talking to another mom (of a boy) who was complaining that all the boy names were being taken over by girls! (Her son had 2 girls in his class that year with his same name - which was a VERY boyish name, lol).

[Chelle in MO]

This wasn't going to be my reasoning - but I wanted to name our oldest dd Michael or Micah. I LOVED those names for a girl! The only thing that changed my mind was talking to another mom (of a boy) who was complaining that all the boy names were being taken over by girls! (Her son had 2 girls in his class that year with his same name - which was a VERY boyish name, lol).

I know a family that named their daughter Michal (pronounced like Michael)--after King David's wife. Interesting.

 

Chelle

[Chelle in MO]

I went to school with a guy named Richard Butts and he didn't go by Richard...

Wow. What if they were in the same school!

 

Chelle

[Chelle in MO]

There is a dermatologist in Memphis, TN- Dr. Whitehead. There is a urologist in Jackson, MS- Dr. P. Daily.

 

Do you think their parents encouraged them to go into those specializations?

Mandy

Funny! Those remind me of the old books/authors jokes from junior high! You know, "Under the Bleachers" by Seymour B*tts! I'd better stop--this could quickly degenerate on my part...:tongue_smilie:

 

There's a dermatologist I know named Dr. Foote, and I've always thought he missed his calling!

 

Chelle

[Anne]

I know a family that named their daughter Michal (pronounced like Michael)--after King David's wife. Interesting.

 

Chelle

 

I do, too, and they seemed to be very pleased that they'd given her a "biblical" name.... I've always thought that was a very odd choice - why on earth would you choose Michal as a model for your daughter??? :001_huh:

 

Anne

[Chelle in MO]

I do, too, and they seemed to be very pleased that they'd given her a "biblical" name.... I've always thought that was a very odd choice - why on earth would you choose Michal as a model for your daughter??? :001_huh:

 

Anne

I know what you mean, Anne, but I wonder if they just thought it was a neat name in and of itself. Not really considering *who* Michal was as having a bearing on what *their* Michal would be like.

 

If you think about it, there aren't any names in the Bible to choose from (except Jesus) that are non-sinners! I have often thought about the "giants" of the Bible (Noah and David, to name two) and their sins when I wonder how God could ever use me. It reminds me that I don't have to be perfect to be valuable to Him.

 

Hmmm...where did that little tangent come from? Anyway, names are fascinating.

 

Sincerely,

Chelle

[AnnetteB]

Before children, I worked with a Michal at the bank and callers were always expecting a man when they met her. We've made it a rule ourselves that there is no gender confusion with the names we choose. Dh is always pointing out that the girls are stealing all the boys' names, too. In the humorous name category, dh worked with a "Ben Dover." We get occasional comments on our choice of "Mercy" for our eighth child like, "Lord have mercy?" and that never crossed my mind! Our Olivia is named for her father and her great-grandfather(Olivers not Olivias) and I had no idea that there was a soap opera poised to make the name so popular :glare:

[Reya]

If it doesn't sound good with a Dr. in front of it, it's not a name we'd choose! Also, we avoid trends. Not unusual names--those are fine. Trendy names are bad, though.

[Melinda]

We have given our kids strong first names that are easy to spell and more whimsical (even though they are not *that* unusual) middle names. We have:

 

Jared Logan

Hannah Elise

Nathan Josiah

 

We definitely thought about their futures when naming them. My name doesn't seem complicated or hard to spell (to me) but a lot of people have a hard time spelling or remembering it for some reason. We also made sure their initials didn't spell anything comical or embarrassing and that they would be able to fit in with whatever career they choose.

[Storm Bay]

We also made sure their initials didn't spell anything comical or embarrassing and that they would be able to fit in with whatever career they choose.

 

So did we--initials can be important. Some people actually appear to go out of their way to get initials to spell words. I've seen people (and not young kids--people older than me) with initials spelling words such as w.a.r.m. and m.e.m.o., which aren't so bad, but look so contrived.

 

Names I've seen that are different that I liked:

January (but if you met her, you'd understand, it just suits her even though she's very warm)

Okay, for some reason I'm drawing a blank here, but there have been many of them. I like many different names, just not ones that are awkward or that sound harsh in our language.

 

Some names I've seen that are different that I question:

 

Moon-Unit Zappa

Baldrun (for a girl!)

Nimrod (he was a bad guy, but it also just sounds unattractive to me)

Cinnamon (during the hippie days--I saw more, but have forgotten many)

Marilyn Monroe (the only really overweight girl in the school, too, which made it worse as people were smaller back then)

Elizabeth Taylor (and she was very gawky and awkward until she hit about 20 and went punk, which suited her)

Naming kids after celebrities in general. Celebrities are just people, nothing really special, but kids can have a hard time with that.

TalulahdoesthehulafromHawaii (wish I could remember the other names in that article!)

[lionfamily1999]

I put a lot of thought into each of my kids names. Jocelyn's name, including her middle names, mean Justice, Willowy and Graceful; her name is also meant to sound similar to three family names, although I wish from time to time I had just used the family names. Andrew is named after his father, the patron saint of Scotland and my favorite desciple; his middle name will not be found in any baby name book, it is dh's grandfather's name. Luke is named after my second favorite desciple and his middle name, another truly unique one, is my dad's grandfather's name; his initials are LOL :). So, my sons are both named after followers of Christ and beloved men that were huge influences on their grandsons.

[fivetails]

 

Names I've seen that are different that I liked:

January (but if you met her, you'd understand, it just suits her even though she's very warm)

 

I went to elementary school with a girl named January - and this is the only other time I've ever heard of another! :001_huh: ...I remember thinking it was a neat name, and being even more amused because her little sister's name meant Tuesday in French. They had a day and a month both. :)

[Mamasteff]

Absolutely I considered their future... actually dh was way better at it than I was, he tends to have a very "middle school boy" humor, so he could poke holes in most of the names I suggested.

 

Our criteria were:

1) Easy to spell and pronounce. Our last name is long and ALWAYS mispronounced, so we wanted them to at least have one name that was easy. Also, we had taught school, and had/ still have many students with very unusually spelled names. I agree that it can cause confusion when learning to read. How would you pronounce "Reginia"??? No, dh got it wrong too. It's "pronounced" "Ree-juh-NAY." Yeah.

 

2) Unusual while still being pronounced properly. Both girls have 5 letter names that are meaningful to us (a place, and a derivative of a family name). You CANNOT pronounce them wrong when you see them on paper. Our second dd has a name that is a bit more common - seems like lots of the 3 year olds we know have a similar name, or at least starting with an E.

 

3) I remembered this one from a baby book or Ann Landers or something: You need to be able to yell the name out the back door to get your kids to come home for supper, and not be embarrassed. There was no way I could have named my daughters "Patience," as I would have felt odd yelling it at them. As it is one middle name is "Joy" and while lovely, doesn't make discipline easy.

 

The students I have known over the years have had some real doozies: Mister Me Shaw. Clinique. My dad once had a class with "Keisha" spelled 4 different ways. I have noticed some unusual choices such as combining parents' names (Marcidale, Isharie), a mother named "Beauty" whose daughter was named "Pretty." Went to school with 2 "Lovely"s. Was it growing up in California that exposed me to a lot more "Cinnamon/ Cinnamin"s, sisters named "Ruby, Pearl and Diamond," other sisters named "Summer and Gemini," a very large family whose daughters all had flower/ plant names (Rose, Daisy, didn't know all of them but Ivy was in my class).

 

And why is it that girl names seem a little more odd than boys'? (Except for Mister Me Shaw.)

[Bright_Future]

I used to work in a NICU and I agree that the names some people come up with for the sake of being different are interesting. Therefore, I definitely put thought into our children's names. After hearing some names people would come up with, my thoughts with my first child were-what name can I give him and he still be President?

[ChristusG]

I thought long and hard about my daughter's names. My husband wanted more traditional names. I wanted something less common. I used to work at the YMCA's after school program and saw how hard it was to have the same name as other kids. We had several different Tyler's at one time. We always had to add their last name in with it. I didnt want that for my child. I wanted something that people would remember.

 

I have gotten tons of compliments on my daughter's names....Paisley and Sailor. Their middle names are both four letters long and are "nature-ish." We'll follow that trend if we have other children as well. Maybe not for everyone....but if you knew me, you'd definitely know that I'm not the "traditional" type.

[JFSinIL]

Yup - with a three-syllable Polish last name I picked simple first names for the kids - and not too frilly for the girls, so they can be President or whatever and the name will still fit.

[asta]

DH and I agreed on *one* baby name. I said we couldn't take names from his side of the family (they were really back-woods sounding), so he said we couldn't take any from my side (oh, just the entire volume of saints...).

 

We are very lucky that we had a boy, as that was the one name we totally agreed upon. Of course, 2 months after the baby was born, my great aunt told me that we actually had that name all over my dad's side of the family (I honestly didn't know!).

 

We both agreed that a child needs to have a "real" first name - not a nickname. We also both feel that words have power, and names have even more power. They are the ultimate expression of 'self' and must therefore be chosen carefully.

 

On a side note, the one girl name we both liked was "Zelda", but it had to fall out of the running because it is a nickname for "Griselda", and how could anyone name their kid "grey battle maiden"?

 

;)

 

 

asta

[Storm Bay]

I went to elementary school with a girl named January - and this is the only other time I've ever heard of another! :001_huh: ...I remember thinking it was a neat name, and being even more amused because her little sister's name meant Tuesday in French. They had a day and a month both. :)

 

Wow, I'll have to let January know that there's a second. They can't be the same because my friend grew up in Hawaii. Tough life, eh? Of course, she and I now live in different states, but she's only an email away...

[The Governess]

Wow, I'll have to let January know that there's a second. They can't be the same because my friend grew up in Hawaii. Tough life, eh? Of course, she and I now live in different states, but she's only an email away...

 

There's a third, too. My cousin's best friend is named January. :D

[Garga]

My son has two middle names. He only knows one of them. But on his birth certificate is says Eric Stephen Danger Lastname.

 

I'm not going to tell him that he has a second middle name of Danger, until he's older. Probably when he's 20 or something.

 

We just thought that one day, if he has the same humor as us, he might get a kick out of saying, "Why yes, Danger IS my middle name."

 

But, of course, me, dh and now you are the only people who know this. No one else knows his 2nd middle name and no one will, unless he tells them.

[PollyOR]

My sister named her son Brock Lee. After 3 days of hearing his siblings call him Broccoli, they changed his name.

[Tree House Academy]

I did think of my son's names. Both are named after their father and then go by their middle names. My oldest, I wish I had spelled his middle name differently so the name he goes by would make more sense, but oh well. My youngest was set to be named directly after his grandfather (my dh's dad who is now deceased) but the name was sing-songy and I didn't love either of the names. So, at the last minute (a week before he was born), I changed his name to his dad's first name and his grandfather's first name as his middle name. He goes by his grandpa's call name right now - but as he gets older, he will surely take off the y from the call name and make it the more professional name he was given. Same with my older son.

 

As for funny names...my gynecologist is Dr. Box (my dh giggles everytime I mention going to see Dr. Box). And my mom went to school with a man named Harry Peters.

[KidsHappen]

Maybe it's because I know a lot of Pagans, but I know two other little girls with the same name and spelling (and an infinite number of Kaylees and variations thereon). I wonder if it's like Aidan, weird now but poised to become more common.

 

 

My grandbaby's name is Ayden only spelled with a "y". His middle name is Elijah.

[gamommy]

We're pretty traditional here, our youngest has a more unique name, Zoe, but we gave her a simple middle name, Kate, as well. We call her Zoe-Kate now on purpose so that she will be able to choose which one she prefers as she ages (she is almost two now). Other other three have very mainstream names.

 

We also have a really common last name that honestly blends with everything. But even the best laid plans go awry, with four daughters there could likely be one who marries someone with an odd last name that doesn't blend well.

 

The children I really worry for are the ones a name that is actually silly sounding. I knew a "Marcia Mello" in hs and a "Bonnie-lou Berry" in college. I kid you not!

[KidsHappen]

My son's name is Michael. In his K class there were 7 Christopher and 6 Michaels. No other boys. So I decided to go with a little more unusual names for my dds. I totally made up the names for the first, second and fourth girls. I have met exactly one other person that has had the same name and spelling as the second and fourth girls, so pretty ususual. I have met a few (less than five maybe) people with the first dd's name so still pretty rare. I thought that I had picked unusual names for the other two as well but it turns out I was wrong. The first one was plucked from classic liturature and I had never heard anyone use it before. The second, I had only heard used as a man's name. These two girls seem to have some of the most popular names out there, like Jennifer or Debbie. For the most part, they have short authoratative middle names: Marie, Renee', Lynn, Anne so I think that they are good.

Edited February 23, 2009 by KidsHappen

[flyingmommy]

When I was about ten, a family moved in a couple houses down from us. They had two boys and a girl. I can't remember the girl's name but the boys were AB and CD. Pronounced AyBee and CeeDee. I kid you not.

 

A girl I went to school with named her daughter Tremendous. My brother works at a grocery store and one of his regulars is named Delicious.

 

Then there's the email that's been circulating regarding the woman who lives in the southern portion of our state who has named her daughter Le-a. Not bad until you understand that it's pronounced Ledasha. She says "The dash don't be silent."

 

When my daughter was in first grade, her class contained a Saudia, an Asia, an Israel, and a Carribean.

 

Another school my daughter attended had twins named Freedom and Justice. As I understand it, there was some back story regarding their father being in jail.

 

Jeannie (who has been asked for three wishes way too many times during her lifetime).

[OnTheBrink]

There's a third, too. My cousin's best friend is named January. :D

 

 

Make it 4. I know a woman on another site who's name is January. She's a photographer. :)

[fivetails]

I went to elementary school with a girl named January - and this is the only other time I've ever heard of another! :001_huh: ...I remember thinking it was a neat name, and being even more amused because her little sister's name meant Tuesday in French. They had a day and a month both. :)

 

Wow, I'll have to let January know that there's a second. They can't be the same because my friend grew up in Hawaii. Tough life, eh? Of course, she and I now live in different states, but she's only an email away...

 

Nope, not the same - the January that I was in school with was living in pretty much the exact opposite of Hawaii. :lol: (another part of Alberta, a few hours from where I am right now)....

[Mommy22alyns]

We definitely did, and I know my mom and dad put a lot of thought into my name and my sister's name as well. We put first, middle, and last names together, considered meanings, spellings, pronunciations, nicknames, initials... everything possible.

 

I feel confident that we gave our girls names that are classy and classic with minimal nicknaming potential. And I could see them as Presidents with their names too... or maybe homeschooling SAHmamas. ;)

 

I did go to fifth grade with a girl named Latrina though. My mom never got over that one!

[fivetails]

There's a third, too. My cousin's best friend is named January. :D

 

Make it 4. I know a woman on another site who's name is January. She's a photographer. :)

 

Hmm, either of *these* January ladies happen to be former airforce brats who lived in Alberta as little girls? Stranger things have happened...:tongue_smilie:

[Elisabeth in IL]

The receipt checker's name at the local Sam's Club is Boo. He has a shaved / bald head and looks kind-of like a biker dude. I giggle to myself when I think of meeting him in a dark street and having him say " It's Boo ".

[sweetTN]

My dd went to school with a boy named Stoney Kilo, and I worked with a woman who named her dd Trinket.

[lionfamily1999]

My sister named her son Brock Lee. After 3 days of hearing his siblings call him Broccoli, they changed his name.

That's crazy! My best friend named her son, Brock Leo, she kept it though.

[Mamasteff]

My dd went to school with a boy named Stoney Kilo, and I worked with a woman who named her dd Trinket.

 

 

she doesn't happen to live in southern california, does she? I overheard a mom at the mall calling her daughter Trinket and nearly snapped my neck, turning around to see who would do such a thing. So many, many thoughts went through my head, and NONE of them were, "The next president of the United States..."

[Laurie4b]

I know two kids named Christian and both are called Christian. Just in case you want to use it: the nickname Chris is not destiny.

[Haiku]

I worked at a summer camp and had kids whose names were Karizma and Rio de Janeiro.

 

Tara

[Liz CA]

Yes. My daughters name is a long feminine name so we gave her a more neutral middle name that she could use if she found her first name was too 'soft' for her career.

 

Ds14 had a first name that was an uncommon biblical name when we named him, so we gave him a strong, common middle name. His first name is now Very common with the kids about 5-10 years younger. Ironically we now know more kids now with his 'unusual' first name than his 'common' middle name.

 

 

 

 

It definitely makes a difference in life even if it's just an issue of unusualness and not outright funny. My first name is of scandinavian origin and very difficult to pronounce correctly for English speaking folks. I finally switched to my middle name which poses no problem as it is a name common in many languages.

Up to the point of switching I ran into trouble constantly. When pregnant with my son I sat in the MD's waiting room for hours waiting to be seen - thinking the doc was running wayyyy behind. The nurse had called my name and mangled it in such a way that even I did not make the connection. We all laughed when the misunderstanding was cleared up but after this incident I changed to my middle name and life became a LOT easier!

[Evergreen State Sue]

Dr. Storck! Turned out she wasn't on duty when my dd was delivered so I unfortunately can't say she was delivered by the stork!

[Mama Lynx]

Maybe it's because I know a lot of Pagans, but I know two other little girls with the same name and spelling (and an infinite number of Kaylees and variations thereon). I wonder if it's like Aidan, weird now but poised to become more common.

 

Believe me, Aidan is already not weird now.

 

When we named our son, Aidan was still quite an unusual name. Now there are Aidans (and Aidens) everywhere we turn. Our scout packs always have other Aidans in them. (Actually, I think they are more often Aidens.)

 

As we meant to be a bit unusual, it's a bit irritating ;-)

[kokotg]

I think the woman who does Baby Name Wizard says that if you combined all the variant spellings of Aidan, it would be the number one boys name right now.

[Tap]

I know a

 

January

February

March (last name)

April

May

June

July

August (middle name)

September

 

and December

 

I know a Tuesday, Wednesday and a couple Sundays.

 

One of the most different names I heard was a patient who was named Mister. It was a young mom and she said her grandmother always thought it would be the neatest to be called Mister Mister X. So, that is what she named him.

[Storm Bay]

Hmm, either of *these* January ladies happen to be former airforce brats who lived in Alberta as little girls? Stranger things have happened...:tongue_smilie:

 

Only if all 4 of them are now licenced commercial pilots who didn't like that life and now fly search and rescue..

[Guest]

When I was little we had a January & September who were waitresses at our local restaurant.

 

I have gotten tons of compliments on my daughter's names....Paisley and Sailor. Their middle names are both four letters long and are "nature-ish." We'll follow that trend if we have other children as well. Maybe not for everyone....but if you knew me, you'd definitely know that I'm not the "traditional" type.

 

Oohhhh....I love both of those!!!!

 

We tend to be a little un-traditional, I guess. But, we don't really care. We didn't tell anyone our kids' names until after they were born. Dh & I liked them and that is all that matters, in our book. We are a car loving family and Shelby Ann (dd) is named after Carroll Shelby. Titus Alexander (ds) is biblical and dh used to love the comedian Christopher Titus' show "Titus". His name is one that could be made fun of, but we just kick anyone's butt who does. ;) It's not as uncommon as I once thought, either.

 

All it takes is one scandal to ruin a name. I know; but I still love my name. ;)

[Tracey in TX]

DD's former classmate's name was Princess--real name, not endearing nickname. Student names "Pajama". No, it's not what you wear. It's pronounced "Paj-uh-muh". Big difference. LOL Another student was "Sparkles", which really did fit her effervescent personality.

 

Weirdest name, though: Sergeant in the USArmy legally changed his name to "Y". That's it, just Y. Does that make his future bride "Y Not"? :lol:

[KLynnTX]

I haven't read all the posts, but I was very surprised a few years ago, to show up to softball tball practice, to meet little Abcde. Yes, that's her name. Abcde. Pronounced like Absadee.

 

Strange. Hopefully, no one here named their dd Abcde. Oh well, atleast it'll be easy to teach her to spell her name.

[Tracey in TX]

Ima Hogg (pronounced "I'm a hog) was a governor's daughter from a wealthy, influential Texas family in the late 1800's. Just a cruel and unusual name!!!!

[WTMindy]

My dad told me that when he was an intern in a low income hospital some of the interns (not him) would get a kick out of giving names to the women who didn't have the education to know what they were doing. One was Meconium. One was Nosmo-king (No Smoking).

[Mamasteff]

I did indeed work at a school where there was a little girl named

 

Clinique.

 

Because her mom thought it sounded pretty, as it was something sold in a very expensive (to her) department store.