Ship of Fools: Not Baby's Name

Thread: Not Baby's Name Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

As we have a thread on crowd-sourcing baby names, we should have another thread on names not (!) to give a baby, all in good fun.

Following Wodehouse, I nominate Gwladys.

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

As I mentioned on the baby name thread, our dog is named Gladys. And no, we would never give that name to a child, although I have been stopped by at least one person who thought it was funny because his mother was also named Gladys.

Some of our friends were crowd-sourcing names, and wanted something to reflect the mother's Egyptian heritage. I helpfully suggested Boutros Boutros.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

There was a TV Series - on restoring worthy but derelict buildings - presented by someone whose parents had gifted him the name Ptolemy.

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :

I'm going to guess that the Old Testament books of history or the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle would be the best places to look for bad names—so Rehoboam, Jotham, and Jehoahaz on the one hand, Aethefrith, Aethelweard, and Frideswide on the other.

Aethelweird: Old Saxon for "kick me."

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
There was a TV Series - on restoring worthy but derelict buildings - presented by someone whose parents had gifted him the name Ptolemy.

I remember him! He had the erudition and no doubt the background to carry it off. In a similar vein, I'm reminded of an American academic who's written about Christianity in modernist literature, a man called Pericles Lewis. Again, it doesn't seem so bad for an academic, but for a middle manager it might be a bit painful.

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

How about Lo-Ruhamah, which means 'not loved'. Also, Lo-Ammi, which means 'not my people'.

Both of these are from the first chapter of Hosea.

Moo

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :

Kunigunde. No girl should ever be named Kunigunde. Ever.

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

Horntip and Hangrod. A brother and sister in South America in the 1970s. Please avoid these names.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
I'm reminded of an American academic who's written about Christianity in modernist literature, a man called Pericles Lewis. Again, it doesn't seem so bad for an academic, but for a middle manager it might be a bit painful.

I came across someone once whose first name was Guthlac. Not surprisingly he used his middle name instead. He also was in academia.

[ 26. February 2014, 04:53: Message edited by: Ariel ]

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :

And then there's the well-known translator and Aristotle scholar, Hippocrates Apostle. If that's not a name that destines you to study ancient philosophy, I don't know what is.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

Knew a [B]Keturah]/B] once - cleric father was only too happy to explain she was named after Abraham's concubine...!

Other names I'd avoid:
Peterkin
Blanche - just asking to be dark-haired
Nudd - Welsh for fog
Wmffre - Welsh version of Humphrey, and I'd avoid that too!
Blodwen - often shortened to Blod
Samson - destined to be a short weed

Posted by Cottontail (# 12234) on :

I suggest you look at this site for some Puritan ideas. Though I actually feel that the parents of Kill-Sin Pimple did the best they could, given their unfortunate surname.

Kill-Sin was also suggested for a ministerial friend of mine, who ran a facebook thread on what he should call his new son. The consensus was that if used as a middle name, John Kill-Sin Smith worked rather well.

I feel that Placidia should be avoided at all costs, however.

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :

True story: my Auntie G. was in the hairdresser’s (FWIW in rural North Wales, not known for being the most cosmopolitan and adventurous place in the world) and overheard some other customers talking about a new baby.

Customer 1: What its name?
Customer 2: Cleopatra Tallulah.
Auntie G: (assuming they’re talking about some friends) Oh the poor little bugger.
Then watch Auntie G. backpedal furiously as she realises she is addressing the child’s mother [Snigger]

As for Gladys, it’s not particularly uncommon in France. Most of the Gladyses of my acquaintance are black.

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Cottontail:

I feel that Placidia should be avoided at all costs, however.

Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius the Great, was one of the very few women, perhaps the only one, ever to be Emperor of the Western Roman Empire in her own person (Wikipedia, following most but not all textbooks, claims that it was as consort of her second husband and later regent for her son, but they are wrong). She was also previously Queen of the Goths, being married to Alaric's brother-in-law.

Amazing woman. I've long had a fantasy of writing a Vast Historical Novel based on her life. Except these days they'd think you were ripping of Game of Thrones. Massacres! Battles! Barcelona! Incest! Intrigue! Pirates! Ecumenical Councils! Divine Wind! Heretics! Goths! Huns! And even an honest-guv-really ring that allows its possessor to rule the world.

And she got a magnificent tomb, or mausoleum. Much magnificenter than any of the men in her family. (Except for Alaric's barrow built in a diverted river bed, so that it. His body, and all the treasure was washed away when the dams were broken)

Though if I had to name a girl after her I'd think seriously about "Galla".

Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :

This is quite clever, but definitely not kind.

Posted by cheesymarzipan (# 9442) on :

Anything too similar to the surname - William Williams, David Davies, Conor O'Connor etc should probably be avoided (any how unimaginative!)

Posted by Cottontail (# 12234) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ken:

quote:
Originally posted by Cottontail:

I feel that Placidia should be avoided at all costs, however.
Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius the Great, was one of the very few women, perhaps the only one, ever to be Emperor of the Western Roman Empire in her own person (Wikipedia, following most but not all textbooks, claims that it was as consort of her second husband and later regent for her son, but they are wrong). She was also previously Queen of the Goths, being married to Alaric's brother-in-law.

Amazing woman. I've long had a fantasy of writing a Vast Historical Novel based on her life. Except these days they'd think you were ripping of Game of Thrones. Massacres! Battles! Barcelona! Incest! Intrigue! Pirates! Ecumenical Councils! Divine Wind! Heretics! Goths! Huns! And even an honest-guv-really ring that allows its possessor to rule the world.

And she got a magnificent tomb, or mausoleum. Much magnificenter than any of the men in her family. (Except for Alaric's barrow built in a diverted river bed, so that it. His body, and all the treasure was washed away when the dams were broken)

Though if I had to name a girl after her I'd think seriously about "Galla".

Write it! You must! I would read it. And if anyone tries a Game of Thrones comparison, you can pull the 'true story' trump card. Anyway, the publishing time will never be riper.

Barcelona! [Paranoid]

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

I know of a :
Purification
Chlorine
Wild (who married a Mr Bull).
None of these should be permitted to be inflicted on innocent children.

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

we have a rash of Gladys in church - all white working class ladies in their 80's...

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

I used to know a Bright - ber sisters were Bonny and Gaye.

I leave you to guess which one married a Mr Green [Ultra confused]

Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :

I have cousins named Thorin and Frodo, both of them have to stoop to go through a doorway. Before I started to use my middle name to avoid beatings I was called Clarence, an old family name but unfortunate on someone with bottle bottom glasses and unruly blonde hair in the 1970s.

Posted by hanginginthere (# 17541) on :

Sexburga, Warburga - both Anglo-Saxon saints (female)

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :

quote:
Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:
Anything too similar to the surname - William Williams, David Davies, Conor O'Connor etc should probably be avoided (any how unimaginative!)

Unless actually Welsh. Or just possibly old-fashioned Scottish or Irish aristocracy.

Posted by hanginginthere (# 17541) on :

Sorry, that should be Walburga.
In fact any name ending in -burga is to be avoided (Edburga, Ethelburga ...)
And boys' names beginning with Ethel-(-bert, -red, -wold etc)

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :

I think my favorite name that I wouldn't give someone is Hugo, for Huguenot. Particularly since my husband's name begins with H. Picture something like Huguenot Hopkins. (That's not actually the last name, but it is close enough sound-wise.)

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

I should point out that I specified "Gwladys", including the 'w', not "Gladys". (I did not make it up.)

A Biblical name I would never give a boy is Onan. I also have doubts about Bildad, Jeroboam and Rheoboam.

Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :

quote:
Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:
Anything too similar to the surname - William Williams, David Davies, Conor O'Connor etc should probably be avoided (any how unimaginative!)

Like my home state's governor, Chris Christie. I always found that weird.

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :

The only person I can think of who managed to pull that off was the poet William Carlos Williams, and of course the fact that he went by all three names is definitely no coincidence.

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:

quote:
Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:
Anything too similar to the surname - William Williams, David Davies, Conor O'Connor etc should probably be avoided (any how unimaginative!)
Like my home state's governor, Chris Christie. I always found that weird.

I once knew a Raymond Raymond... his parents thought it amusing....

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
I should point out that I specified "Gwladys", including the 'w', not "Gladys". (I did not make it up.)

A Biblical name I would never give a boy is Onan. I also have doubts about Bildad, Jeroboam and Rheoboam.

one of the Gwladys/Gladys's I have known, a lovely lady, was known as 'our Glad' which I thought rather nice

Posted by Signaller (# 17495) on :

Or as commemorated on a tablet in Exeter cathedral, Nutcombe Nutcombe.

Wrong on all counts, unless you are a squirrel.

[ 26. February 2014, 16:53: Message edited by: Signaller ]

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

Our local saint is St. Gwladys, one of the daughters of Brychan, king of Brycheiniog, and sister to Tydfil, who was martyred at Merthyr.

One of my ancestors was named Aquilla - Lord P is heartily grateful that he didn't end up with that family name.

Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on :

A 'Kilmeny' of my close acquaintance was not a good idea on the part of the parents (she has since changed her name). When 'Theodore' was a possibility for a grandson, I offered Theopompus - a splendid name without the Roosevelt connotations. Vetoed. I've had no luck helping our daughters name their children.

Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :

When we had out first child, and any and everyone wanted to know what we would name him or her, I said Herman Sinbad if a boy and Hermana Sinbadia if a girl.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

If your surname is Clark, do NOT call your daughter Kimberly! (a well-known brand of sanitary care)

Posted by Rev per Minute (# 69) on :

My wife vetoed Angharad for either of our daughters, on the (to me) unreasonable assumption that no-one would be able to spell it.

Slightly off topic, my mother was named Frances - all right in itself, except for the fact she was named after her uncle Frank who had been killed in the North Atlantic a couple of years before she was born. Even now that still annoys her.

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
How about Lo-Ruhamah, which means 'not loved'. Also, Lo-Ammi, which means 'not my people'.

Both of these are from the first chapter of Hosea.

Some other biblical names that don't seem to be used very often are Jezebel and Mahershalalhashbaz. Also, there are plenty of Peters, Matthews, Johns etc but not many Judases. I don't think many people would be persuaded by the explanation 'I'm called after the other one'.

I also wouldn't recommend my sig as a real name. I chose it because 'he was not', but it sounds too like another word for it to be anything other than a curse to go through life with.

Or how about this well known Puritan. According to Wikipaedia, he also had a brother called Fear-God.

Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
If your surname is Clark, do NOT call your daughter Kimberly! (a well-known brand of sanitary care)

According to 192.com there are 40 people called Kimberly Clark and 75 people called Kimberley Clark in the UK - and that doesn't include the ones that have listed themselves as Kim. [Eek!]

Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:
I'm going to guess that the Old Testament books of history or the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle would be the best places to look for bad names—so Rehoboam, Jotham, and Jehoahaz on the one hand, Aethefrith, Aethelweard, and Frideswide on the other.

Aethelweird: Old Saxon for "kick me."

My grandfather was named Ethelbert--I have no idea what his parents were thinking (though I understand his relationships with them were a bit tense later on). Everybody called him Bill.

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Rev per Minute:
My wife vetoed Angharad for either of our daughters, on the (to me) unreasonable assumption that no-one would be able to spell it. ...

While not wishing to foment domestic disharmony, I'm with you on this one, particularly as I think it means 'much loved'.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

The name Minnie used to be quite common, but you'd be pretty cruel to call a child that now. Although the youngest person I know to be called that is about 25, it's a nickname not a given name. But, for a boy, I really can't understand anyone choosing the name Miles. Why???

Posted by Mili (# 3254) on :

I Knew a child called Jezebel - I think she'd be thirteen or fourteen now. None of the other kids thought it was strange. She went by Jez for short.

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

Originally posted by Rev per Minute:

quote:
Slightly off topic, my mother was named Frances - all right in itself, except for the fact she was named after her uncle Frank who had been killed in the North Atlantic a couple of years before she was born.

A distant relative was named Marshall Merson. He went to University to study Divinity and was the pride and joy of his family. He was killed in the First World War and two subsequent girls in the family were named Marshallina in his honour.

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :

I think the oddest name I've ever come across was Buffalo Head. A friend of mine, in a community where I used to live, was a mom-volunteer at her kids' elementary school, where she made the acquaintance of Buffalo Head. His parents weren't Native American; just late-onset hippies in the 1980's.

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

I think that had my parents named me Blodwen I would have changed my name.

Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :

quote:
Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:
Anything too similar to the surname - William Williams, David Davies, Conor O'Connor etc should probably be avoided (any how unimaginative!)

One is reminded of the immortal Major Major Major in Catch 22, who was quickly promoted because when he first joined the army his superiors found it troubling to have Private Major Major on the books.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

My grandparents had a Lebanese friend named Safer Safer. Or at least that's how they pronounced it. (Safir, maybe?)

Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :

my best friend in kindergarten was named Robin Hood. And I always called her that-- Robin Hood, never just Robin.

Posted by Rev per Minute (# 69) on :

quote:
Originally posted by bib:
I think that had my parents named me Blodwen I would have changed my name.

and my parents, I think!

PS North East Quine - you win with Marshallina! [Eek!]

[ 27. February 2014, 10:29: Message edited by: Rev per Minute ]

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :

My mother would rather have liked to call me Agnes. I am more than grateful for the paternal veto. (I actually think with the French pronunciation - roughly Annyes - it can be alright, but not the English one, and it really wouldn’t have gone with our surname.)

Unfortunate names can also be context-specific. My middle name is Margaret. I was born in 1979. It’s actually a family name, nothing to do with the politics of the time, but nonetheless I think my Dad regrets it a bit now.

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Rev per Minute:
My wife vetoed Angharad for either of our daughters, on the (to me) unreasonable assumption that no-one would be able to spell it.

I vetoed Eugenie for the same reason - I have a middle name that I always have to spell for people and it's annoying. Having said that, Eugenie's very pretty and while I can't imagine our daughter called anything else than her given name now I sometimes wonder whether we deprived her of a pretty and rather unusual name - although I guess everyone would assume that we had copied the Duke and Duchess of York. [Roll Eyes]

I do know of a Bonnie Heather - both pretty names but rather odd to put them together I feel... [Ultra confused]

If I'd been a boy I was going to be Alistair. No offence to any Alistairs here but I feel I had a lucky escape. And my mum's first choice for me was Jessica which I think is a lovely name if that's what it stays but I'd have gone through life as Jessie or Jess no doubt.

Nen - went off topic a bit, sorry. [Hot and Hormonal]

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :

Angharad seems easier to spell than Eugenie to me. Follows all the normal rules of both English and Welsh spelling.

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :

My father taught a young lad known by the entrancing (not!) name of Hugh Eustace Hughes, who was called "Hey You" by just about everyone.

The worst I have encountered was Holly Berry.

Fortunately none of the Hoar girls had first names that made things worse.

Posted by dj_ordinaire (# 4643) on :

I encounter a fair few Irish names which are fine in the local context but would be asking for trouble if the child ended up in any other part of the world. Grainne, Feidhlim, Aoilbhe, Eanna...

The one I would never use is probably Caoimhe (pronounced 'Kweever'). It just sounds... odd!

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

The one I'd never use would be Gobnait. If anyone is even called that these days.

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

Originally posted by la vie en rouge:

quote:
My mother would rather have liked to call me Agnes. I am more than grateful for the paternal veto. (I actually think with the French pronunciation - roughly Annyes - it can be alright, but not the English one, and it really wouldn’t have gone with our surname.)

I love the name Agnes! However, I'd already named my cat Agnes before my daughter came along, so it wasn't an option.

Agnes (the cat) was black and so partially named after Black Agnes . Like Black Agnes, Agnes the cat was intelligent, regal, disdainful, and beautiful.

My daughter is relieved the cat got the name first.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

My brother shuddered in horror when he realised one of the names he would have been given, if a girl, was Damaris. Shortened to Dam by all his mates in no time, no doubt!

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

My dad had a schoolfriend called Ferdinand Flowerdew. I went to school with Marietta Grubb.

Posted by Fredegund (# 17952) on :

I knew a Penny Farthing.
Remember being fascinated by the writings of the American historian Preserved Smith solely on account of the name.

I've never understood why parents give their child a name and promptly call them something else. I had a major crisis on starting school and finding out I wasn't a Lizzie.

Posted by cheesymarzipan (# 9442) on :

Some Irish names are impossible to pronounce unless you know - Aoife looks quite odd at first (Eeeffa is approximately phonetic).
My driving instructor is called Caoimhghin (Quiveen - it's the equivalent of Kevin)

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

There is a line in C. S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which goes roughly, "There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubbs, and he almost deserved it."

Moo

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :

It's hard to beat the names of Job's daughters -- Keziah, Jemimah, and (wait for it) Karen-happuch. (spelling not guaranteed!). My OT prof said that the last mentioned translated as 'horns of paint.'

Here in the 'Old South' we tend to use family names almost exclusively, which can be pretty confusing.

You get things like Rhett Wilkes Ravenal, Ravenal Butler Wilkes, Wilkes Wilkes Butler, and on and on. (And any of these combinations can be disposed upon either male or female children.
(Of course, they tend to get called Sissy or Puss if female, or Bubba, Buddy or Sonny if male.)

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
I love the name Agnes! However, I'd already named my cat Agnes before my daughter came along, so it wasn't an option.

I had a character in a story I was working on who I originally named "Annie." I decided that was to sweet and pure, so I decided to give her a name that was a bit of an albatross. She is now Agnes ("Aggie.")
I smiled at your post because one of the characters-- a nice Catholic boy-- pounces all over her when she gripes about her name, and says just what you did.

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by dj_ordinaire:

The one I would never use is probably Caoimhe (pronounced 'Kweever'). It just sounds... odd!

Just say it. It sounds like "Queef."

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

One of the cable news networks has a female announcer/pundit named Krystal Ball. Supposedly her father is a physicist who had done extensive research on crystals. Krystal is a very nice name, but you have to wonder if her parents didn't notice the surname they were pairing it with.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

I know of an Experience.

Posted by Signaller (# 17495) on :

quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
Unfortunate names can also be context-specific. My middle name is Margaret. I was born in 1979. It’s actually a family name, nothing to do with the politics of the time, but nonetheless I think my Dad regrets it a bit now.

My sister is called Margaret. Until reading this, I had never thought of her as having any link with the late Baroness T. I suppose it's quite a common name in her generation (early 60s) and there are plenty of other well-known Margarets.

Now if I had been called Adolf...

[ 27. February 2014, 19:54: Message edited by: Signaller ]

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

quote:
Originally posted by georgiaboy:
It's hard to beat the names of Job's daughters -- Keziah, Jemimah, and (wait for it) Karen-happuch. (spelling not guaranteed!). My OT prof said that the last mentioned translated as 'horns of paint.'

One of Darllenwr's cousins has a daughter called Keziah

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Mamacita:
One of the cable news networks has a female announcer/pundit named Krystal Ball. Supposedly her father is a physicist who had done extensive research on crystals. Krystal is a very nice name, but you have to wonder if her parents didn't notice the surname they were pairing it with.

Guy I fenced with called himself "Rick." I finally asked him what his last name was one day and he swallowed, said "Nixon," and then glowered at me in a way that told me I needed to keep my mouth shut.

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

I think someone mentioned the name Blodduedd. I suggest also not using the names Bodb and Anu. (On the other hand, Cerridwen might be a nice name.)

In one of Madeleine L'Engle's novels, there is a character named Polyhymnia.

Posted by Amos (# 44) on :

I know some very nice and beautiful young ladies named Agnes and Kerenhappuch.
It's not so much the name itself that's good or bad, I think, as whether it combines well with your surname.
Preserved Fish is the famous one referred to above, but there are plenty of young men named Ewan Kerr who wish their parents had thought it through.

I think it's always a good thing to avoid naming a child after what you were drinking when s/he was conceived (Brandy, Merlot, Margaux, Chardonnay, Tia Maria) or what you were wearing (Jersey, Ellesse), and to imagine that s/he might grow up to be a high court judge. Though if your surname is Fudge, there will always be problems--yes, there is a Deputy District Judge Fudge in the UK, and she's been quoted in the papers recently.

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amos:

It's not so much the name itself that's good or bad, I think, as whether it combines well with your surname.

A friend of my mother's rejected her very plummy sounding birth name and instead renamed herself 'Dick' for the rest of her life (as it was her favourite name). Only trouble was, her surname when she got married was 'Head'. It didn't stop her, though.

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

Or even seemingly innocent ones like Jenny Taylor (say it aloud) or, of course, Michael Hunt.

We have a friend who insists he knew a man called Urek Hans Unt, who was always referred to by all three names. Not sure I believe him though!

Posted by Kittyville (# 16106) on :

There is a lawyer in Hong Kong called Chlorophyll Yip. Allegedly she has a sister called Photosynthesis, but I don't know if that's true or not. I do have a colleague who has met Chlorophyll, though, so I know she exists.

Tangent/ When my colleague told me excitedly that he had finally met her, I asked what she was like. He replied "Well, she was wearing green, for a start"./ End tangent

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

At a school in rural Oxfordshire in the 1970s I encountered a little tearaway - and thought his problems might have something to do with the fact that his parents, Mr & Mrs King, had decided to call him Lee.

His older brother suffered a worse fate - Wayne.

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
My brother shuddered in horror when he realised one of the names he would have been given, if a girl, was Damaris. Shortened to Dam by all his mates in no time, no doubt!

There was/is a singer from Newfoundland who had a brief spell of popularity about a decade ago, who rejoiced in the name of Damhnait Doyle

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

A local tradesman, with the first name Robert, was known as "Head first" because his parents, a Mr and Mrs Slater, hadn't thought long enough. Robert Slater sounds fine, R. Slater, less so.

(Head first, arse later)

Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :

Family names can be odd things. My grandfather's middle name was the maiden name of his maternal grandmother or great-grandmother (although I'm not sure HE knew the origin of it, we found out through family history work).

My grandmother has related the story of how, just before their wedding, he came to her and said "I've got a confession to make".

Inevitably her mind raced, wondering what it could be. Had he been seeing another girl? Was there some secret in his past that meant they couldn't marry?

No. What he actually said, having realised that he had to sign the marriage certificate and register, was: "My middle name isn't Adrian".

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
I think it's always a good thing to avoid naming a child after what you were drinking when s/he was conceived (Brandy, Merlot, Margaux, Chardonnay, Tia Maria) ...

So true. Forgive me for posting something I've told multiple times already, but I had a co-worker whose baby was conceived on a September vacation to the Napa Valley ("wine country") in California. They named the baby Autumn Chardonnay.

The mother, being a creative person employed in marketing, came up with a birth announcement that was shaped like a wine bottle and had all sorts of wine-related puns like the baby being "decanted." (Ewwww.) The best part is that the day the birth announcements arrived in the mail, I got a phone call from a mutual colleague who said, "This is so strange. Diane's birth announcement doesn't have the baby's name on it. Just something about a bottle of Chardonnay."

The girl is in her 20s now, and I hope she hasn't suffered too much embarrassment over it.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

It's to be hoped the idea doesn't catch on in Scotland. Weans running around - depending on where they are in the social scale - called Laphroig, Cardhu, Eightyshilling, Buckie or just Bevvied.

Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :

How odd. Because that middle name of my grandfather that I didn't actually reveal? Allport.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

I've always thought Fanny Ruffle to sound like an illustration in a gynaecology textbook. For US shipmates, a British fanny is less unisex and further forwards than a US one...

AG

Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :

I recently encountered a young male supermarket cashier whose name tag read Beethova.

This led me to ponder whether there are any Shoobutts, Moesars, Verdees or Bairlyosses out there.

Posted by Rev per Minute (# 69) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
I think it's always a good thing to avoid naming a child after what you were drinking when s/he was conceived (Brandy, Merlot, Margaux, Chardonnay, Tia Maria) or what you were wearing (Jersey, Ellesse), and to imagine that s/he might grow up to be a high court judge. Though if your surname is Fudge, there will always be problems--yes, there is a Deputy District Judge Fudge in the UK, and she's been quoted in the papers recently.

That can work the other way - until recently, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was Lord Justice Judge, previously Mr Justice Judge (probably known to friends as Judge Judge).

A nearly churchyard has a memorial to a Keren-Happuch from the late 19th century, a name shared by a shipmate (IRL AFAIK!)

Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :

On our school war memorial was the name James Parrot Seed. All new boys were solemnly taken to observe it.

Posted by Campbellite (# 1202) on :

quote:
Originally posted by ken:

quote:
Originally posted by cheesymarzipan:
Anything too similar to the surname - William Williams, David Davies, Conor O'Connor etc should probably be avoided (any how unimaginative!)
Unless actually Welsh. Or just possibly old-fashioned Scottish or Irish aristocracy.

My college roommate was named Robert Roberts. We variously called him "Bob Bob" or B^2. (He was a math major.)

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

My sisters went to a school (grammar, too) where there were a Pearl Button and a Cherry Orchard.

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

I associate "Chardonnay" with the television series Footballers' Wives, where I assumed it was a piss-take; I don't suppose that's going to stop some people thinking "what a good idea". [Big Grin]

It may be worth avoiding full-on household names - I went to school with a Richard Burton and an Elizabeth Taylor. They would both have been born in 1962/63; whether they were named after film stars or their own grandparents/aunties/uncles I have no idea.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
On our school war memorial was the name James Parrot Seed. All new boys were solemnly taken to observe it.

Quetzalcoatl isn't kidding! OK, I'm a tragic, not only could I not resist looking it up, I knew where... [Help]

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
My sisters went to a school (grammar, too) where there were a Pearl Button and a Cherry Orchard.

And I taught, in a grammar school, someone names Charmaigne Belch.

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :

I remember a Letter to the Editor of The Times, about a fellow-worker whose name was Guy Chapman.

This obviously meant that he was actually (male) Person Person Person.

Posted by Barnabas Aus (# 15869) on :

There are two very elderly gentlemen in our small town who were classmates at school about eight decades ago. Their names - Cecil Rhodes and William Shakespeare.

Posted by Eirenist (# 13343) on :

My wife taught a girl who had been christened Margaret Nelson Trafalgar Day. Needless to add that her father (Mr Day) served in the Royal Navy and she was born on the anniversary of the battle. She was lucky to escape being called Horatia, I think.

Posted by Keren-Happuch (# 9818) on :

Originally posted by Rev per Minute:

quote:

A nearly churchyard has a memorial to a Keren-Happuch from the late 19th century, a name shared by a shipmate (IRL AFAIK!)

Not IRL.

KGlet1 goes to school with a Cain - not the most encouraging of Biblical names. The current fashion for hyphenated names in our neck of the woods has resulted in some pretty odd combinations...

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

yes around here to hyphenating surnames has become the way of showing committment rather than marriage.

linked with the fashion for hyphenating christian names...

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

LATRINA!

Posted by Sola gratia (# 14065) on :

I've met a cockney Keziah. Works surprisingly well.

My old Science teacher, a definite evangelical, has a brood of little ones, one of whom must be about 4 now and is reputedly called Hephzibah. [Eek!]

A family friend goes by Jo King. What's always foxed me, is that King is her married surname, and I don't think Jo is her real first name... [Confused]

My favourite name anecdote is that I know of an Austin Kettle. Sounds like a nickname for a terrible make of car.

Posted by Dal Segno (# 14673) on :

Crystal Claire Waters is funny but not for poor Crystal. The same for Rusty Fawcett. And Trevor Pott is OK until you get people asking for "T. Pott" or "Pott, T."

Then there is the girl called Krystl, because "the second vowel isn't really needed."

And then the boy called Philips, for a first name, which is his mother's maiden name, without the parents thinking that the poor kid will go through life having to correct everyone who thinks his name is Philip. He uses his middle name.

And finally Professor Randy Katz' name always causes British students to do a double-take, much to the bemusement of his fellow Americans.

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

Many moons ago, an ex-colleague and her double barrelled husband took to naming their children from the fund of Anglo-Danish names which have not, generally, made it through to the late 20th century, much to the bemusement of her ex-colleagues.
It can't have done much harm, as at least three of them have serious careers, and at least two are involved in churches and music. Which is why I do not feel free to give their names here.

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

I had a patient called Chlorine and another called Purification. Then there was the chap from many years ago when I first started work : his name was Royal North Shore Sydney Harbour Bridge (he was known as Syd).

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas Aus:
There are two very elderly gentlemen in our small town who were classmates at school about eight decades ago. Their names - Cecil Rhodes and William Shakespeare.

There was a girl at my high school whose name was Wilma Shakespeare.

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :

I know an Andrew Jackson and my sister went to school with a Kelly Green.

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :

Of course there was the great lady of Houston (Texas) society, Ima Hogg. Contrary to popular belief she did not have a sister named Ura.

Miss Ima

Posted by A.Pilgrim (# 15044) on :

As part of my family history research I encountered the Plant family of north-east Derbyshire. There were two generations of Abraham Plant (verily, Abraham begat Abraham), and Old Testament names were much used in the family, including one Aminadab Plant who married into my family.

Maybe he didn't welcome it, but an unusual name (indeed in this case almost certainly a unique one in the history of civil registration) is very welcome to the family historian. However, a hazard is getting the registrar to record it correctly. At his birth it wasn't - presumably neither his father nor the registrar knew how to spell it, but when he got married he must have got it right.

And in the old days, when hunting through index volumes at the Family Records Centre, one could encounter numerous oddities. I wish I'd made a note of them at the time.
Angus

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Dal Segno:
And then the boy called Philips, for a first name, which is his mother's maiden name, without the parents thinking that the poor kid will go through life having to correct everyone who thinks his name is Philip. He uses his middle name.

There was a famous nineteenth century American clergyman named Phillips Brooks. He wrote the Christmas carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

Moo

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

The names on this thread are going from bad to worse! So it must be time to introduce my second-favorite (after Autumn Chardonnay, referenced above), a real name one of my colleagues found on a job application: Cathedral Rotunda. One hopes that isn't where she was conceived.

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

Of course, it's possible for parents to choose a perfectly acceptable name, only for it to become ridiculous later, when Walt Disney created a cartoon character with the same name.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

Marriage can make for odd names as well. I can understand why Paige Davis doesn't use her married name.

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
Marriage can make for odd names as well. I can understand why Paige Davis doesn't use her married name.

Or if she married
this guy.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

I've never quite understood why people give their children surnames for first names. I know sometimes it can be to honour relatives, but sometimes it isn't and naming a little girl Taylor, Mackenzie or Campbell when you have the choice of many beautiful first names seems a bit depressing.

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :

Probably apocryphal but there was a story going the rounds a few years ago about a very young mother who had to be dissuaded from calling her little girly Chlamydia because she thought it sounded pretty.

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
Marriage can make for odd names as well. I can understand why Paige Davis doesn't use her married name.

Not an odd name but I had a schoolmate whose mother's maiden name was the plain & simple Mann. She exchanged it for Modrzejewski.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

Bumped into a teacher friend.

Sent a letter home to parents of new girl, referring to their child as Virginia.

They returned a nice note but with a request that he use the correct spelling of their daughter's name which is Virgina [Eek!]

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

You comfort me. Thought for sure it was going to be Vagina.

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

I once taught a little boy called Dimple.

Very sweet [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

So, here I was going through my backlog of obits ("Hedgie" is just another word for "Fun"!), when I came across one for a British actress who died on January 24 and was named "Topsy Jane." Now, before you blow that off as some sort of funky stage name, her actual birth name was Topsy Jane Legge.

Topsy? You name a little girl Topsy? What? Were Flopsy and Mopsy already taken???

Posted by basso (# 4228) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Hedgehog:

Topsy? You name a little girl Topsy? What? Were Flopsy and Mopsy already taken???

From Uncle Tom's Cabin, I guess.

Posted by Mili (# 3254) on :

I know a girl called Tempest. She's actually a calm, quiet child - whether she will live up to her name in her teenage years is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile, I've taught two or three Angels who definitely weren't.

Other unusual names are Sage and Banjo, who are both boys. I guess Banjo was named for Banjo Patterson, the poet, but that was only the poet's nickname.

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
The name Minnie used to be quite common, but you'd be pretty cruel to call a child that now. Although the youngest person I know to be called that is about 25, it's a nickname not a given name. But, for a boy, I really can't understand anyone choosing the name Miles. Why???

In high school, I had a gym teacher named Minnie Cherry! She was dating a guy named Mickey and so, of course, they were referred to as "Mickey and Minnie". Minnie Cherry, though! That's just dreadful.

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :

I'm not sure why Miles is a problem--I went to school with one, and nobody AFAIK had any trouble with the name. Nice kid. If you mean the homonym problem with "miles", maybe it was just that we had so many easier targets in our multicultural schoool (eg. "Dung," "Phuoc").

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

I sometimes read the obits in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to see what horrible names I can find. Around here, that's a part-time sport. Anyway, some old lady had died and the paper listed the names of her grandchildren. One grandson's name was... am I am NOT making this up, I assure you...

ChexLexus!! Who names their child after a cereal and a luxury car?! Somewhere in Atlanta, a young man is living life and named ChexLexus. Seriously. That's child abuse, plain and simple.

Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
I'm not sure why Miles is a problem--I went to school with one, and nobody AFAIK had any trouble with the name. Nice kid. If you mean the homonym problem with "miles", maybe it was just that we had so many easier targets in our multicultural schoool (eg. "Dung," "Phuoc").

Some friends in New York have a little boy called Miles. They are moving to France and wondered if they should change his name to Kilometres... I am sure there is one somewhere if you look hard enough.

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
I'm not sure why Miles is a problem--I went to school with one, and nobody AFAIK had any trouble with the name. Nice kid. If you mean the homonym problem with "miles", maybe it was just that we had so many easier targets in our multicultural schoool (eg. "Dung," "Phuoc").

I think maybe we have a pond difference here the only Miles I have ever known is 70 +
It is the sort of name, in the places of the uk that I have lived in, that would lead to teasing in the playground.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

There was a Miles next door when I was a girl - about two years older than me. But I've never met another and it's never been a popular name. The only Milo I know of is the Irish actor Milo O'Shea.

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :

Minnie Cherry would have a difficult time in school now, but a former student of mine who was christened "Holly Berry" could expect some nuisance in any age.

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

I know a young Miles - he's about 8. I thought it was unusual, but not tease-worthy.

There was a programme on Radio 4 years ago about a young man who had been given the name The Angel Gabriel - does anyone remember it? His father was IIRC a clergyman, and his elder siblings had names like Thomas and Sarah. His parents had planned to call their next child Edward or Elizabeth.

In the event he was born prematurely, the birth was traumatic and his father was told that the baby had little chance of surviving, indeed that both mother and baby might die. The mother, whilst very ill and delirious, told the father that their baby was to be called "The Angel Gabriel" and the distraught father had the baby baptised and registered very quickly, as he couldn't face the thought of registering the birth and death together.

Mother and baby both recovered and the mother was incredulous to find herself with a son called "The Angel Gabriel."

It all worked out, apparently. The young man being interviewed sounded delightful, and spoke affectionately of his parents. He used a different name on a day-to-day basis but quite liked having an odd name on his birth certificate.

Posted by Aggie (# 4385) on :

quote:
Originally posted by basso:

quote:
Originally posted by Hedgehog:

Topsy? You name a little girl Topsy? What? Were Flopsy and Mopsy already taken???
From Uncle Tom's Cabin, I guess.

Or the "Topsy and Tim" series of books.

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :

I know a Miles who's 2. It's a name I've always quite liked and, while a bit uncommon perhaps, not that unusual or particularly odd.

I'm on the UK side of the Pond, by the way, if we are in the process of establishing a Pond difference.

M.

Posted by Augustine the Aleut (# 1472) on :

A Torontonian colleague teaching in an elementary school was a bit perplexed when her new assistant (for working with the two challenged kids in the class) appeared, named Plaice. Thinking it was odd for someone to be named after a fish, on growing acquaintance she discovered that Plaice was the young women's preferred diminutive for her given name, Placenta. Her mother, in a difficult childbirth in a small centre in Jamaica, heard the word mentioned by the doctors and nurses and quite liked the sound of it. Her daughter, on reaching adolescence in Canada, thought otherwise-- plaice is known here as flounder, and so Plaice seemed like a neutral version which would not upset her mother.

There was a pupil name discussion at the teacher's dinner table once, when folk were mocking the name of the child of an architect friend- baptized Boris. Of a certain age, diners were thinking of Rocky and Bullwinkle and the characters Boris and Natasha. She told us bluntly that children did not know Rocky & Bullwinkle and, moreover, in a school with 3 or 4 dozen ethnicities and in a grénola part of Toronto, children came in with all sorts of names, and the other children took this in their stride. Teachers and parents might look askance at Summer, January, and Luna, or puzzle at Parminder, Vsevelod, and Fulgencia (all names of her students), but the kids are growing up in a different world and the rest of us would just have to adjust. She reminded us that they would be working to pay for our pensions, so we should make nice.

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Stercus Tauri:
... Some friends in New York have a little boy called Miles. They are moving to France and wondered if they should change his name to Kilometres ...

No no no! Tell them to be brave and rebellious! [Devil]

I once heard of a family in Caithness who had a daughter called Polyester. Now that's cruel.

[ 11. March 2014, 14:14: Message edited by: piglet ]

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

quote:
Originally posted by piglet:

quote:
Originally posted by Stercus Tauri:
... Some friends in New York have a little boy called Miles. They are moving to France and wondered if they should change his name to Kilometres ...
No no no! Tell them to be brave and rebellious!

Anyway, he'd have to shrink to about .621 of the size, which is anatomically dubious.

Perhaps they could call him Franc.

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :

At risk of seeming obsessed (I'm male, it goes with the territory, OK?) while doing some local history research recently I discovered the marriage of one Fanny Sneesum...

AG

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

Many years ago when my aunt was working in the reception of a hospital overseas, she tried not to look too startled as one mother proudly introduced her twin girls as "Phyllis and Siphyllis".

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

I'm distantly related to two young brothers called Max and Milo.

Posted by Theophania (# 16647) on :

For those interested in this sort of thing, I heartily recommend "Baby's named a bad bad thing" for a (mostly) amusing commentary on some very odd names.

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

I've remembered that my mother had some twin cousins called Rex and Roy. I wasn't impressed by the choice.

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

I have twin cousins named Paul and Paulette. Glad it was them and not me. [Smile]

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :

quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
I have twin cousins named Paul and Paulette. Glad it was them and not me.

They weren't mice were they??

(On hearing these names I was immediately transported back to the Anatole books of my childhood... [Big Grin]

)

Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :

The first child born on Pitcairn Island was named Thursday October Christian. Allegedly his father, Fletcher, chose this by the date. It may not be as bad as some other names mentioned.

On the other hand, I have heard of Wednesday Addams, Tuesday Weld, Billy Sunday, Joe Friday, Fredric March, June Allison, Dan August and January Jones. (Some of those are fictional characters.)

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

A previous vicar was descended from one of the Pitcairn settlers. All the males in his family, including him, had "Pitcairn" as a middle name.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

The Rt. Rev. John Elbridge Hines, 22nd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, had five children -- four were boys, all named John, with different middle names.

(Three of the four became Episcopal priests.)

Posted by cosmic dance (# 14025) on :

One of my sons, now 26, is called Miles and in answer to the question "Why?' it was because we thought it was a strong masculine name, unusual without being weird and we felt that it would suit him, for some inexplicable, intuitive reason.
He didn't like it much as a child, but recently told me he really loves his name and feels that it gets him noticed in a positive way.

Posted by Roseofsharon (# 9657) on :

A recent radio programme on health issues reminded me that I hadn't noticed Candida mentioned on this thread.
There were a few around in the late sixties/early seventies, as I remember

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
On the other hand, I have heard of Wednesday Addams, Tuesday Weld, Billy Sunday, Joe Friday, Fredric March, June Allison, Dan August and January Jones. (Some of those are fictional characters.)

When I was a child I read a series of books where the children's family name was Callendar. The father was Augustus, the girl was February and the boy was Friday.

At the Catholic school down the road there was a girl called Pagan. Actually when I looked at the school roll there wasn't a single Mary, John, Mark, Peter, David, Michael, Chris or Paul all of which would have been popular when I was growing up.

Huia

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

I came across a "Cherokee" today. Not exactly a Welsh name...

Posted by aunt jane (# 10139) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Roseofsharon:
A recent radio programme on health issues reminded me that I hadn't noticed Candida mentioned on this thread.
There were a few around in the late sixties/early seventies, as I remember

Remember the TV series "The Man from UNCLE"? Where the villainous organisation THRUSH spread its evil tentacles everywhere

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :

The husband of a distant cousin is named Andrew January Grundy. Don't know what he is called familiarly, though, probably Andy. (or maybe Jan?)
IIRC, the January part has some family history, but I don't know what it is.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by georgiaboy:
The husband of a distant cousin is named Andrew January Grundy. Don't know what he is called familiarly, though, probably Andy. (or maybe Jan?)
IIRC, the January part has some family history, but I don't know what it is.

Was he born in October?

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

quote:
Originally posted by aunt jane:

quote:
Originally posted by Roseofsharon:
A recent radio programme on health issues reminded me that I hadn't noticed Candida mentioned on this thread.
There were a few around in the late sixties/early seventies, as I remember
Remember the TV series "The Man from UNCLE"? Where the villainous organisation THRUSH spread its evil tentacles everywhere

ROFLMAO!!!

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
On the other hand, I have heard of Wednesday Addams, ...

One of those bits of trivia floating in my head: Wednesday's middle name is Friday. Wednesday Friday Addams.

Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :

quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
On the other hand, I have heard of Wednesday Addams, Tuesday Weld, Billy Sunday, Joe Friday, Fredric March, June Allison, Dan August and January Jones. (Some of those are fictional characters.)

Tuesday Weld's birth name is actually something quite common (if I could be bothered to Google), she changed it. Interestingly though she played the unusually named Thalia (pronounced "THAY-lee-a") Menninger on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." I've never heard of anyone with that name and pronunciation - I know some Talias ("TAH-lee-a" or "tah-LEE-a"). I wonder if it was common in the 1950s or if it was made up for the character.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

Thalia was the Muse of Comedy (she and Melpomene are usually representedby the laughing/crying masks). So unusual, but not made up.

Posted by Phin Aaronson (# 16721) on :

When my daughter was younger I threatened to change her name to that of her great-great-great grandmother: Boudica, who was then called Dicey. On the boys' side I would suggest Zelophehad (from Numbers 26-27) as a difficult mouthful. He had daughters too.

Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Thalia was the Muse of Comedy (she and Melpomene are usually representedby the laughing/crying masks). So unusual, but not made up.

I was wondering if the pronunciation used for that character was made up, rather than the name.

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :

I know someone with the name Thekla - you don't find many of those in semi-rural England

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :

There was a Thekla von Somebody in the Chalet School books, one of the very few girls to be expelled from the Chalet School.

I loved all the European names of the Chalet girls - when I was about 12, I wanted to have as many children as Joey Bettany and name them with gorgeous Chalet School names; I was particularly taken with Simone.

Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :

If you have twins try to give them different names, unlike the babies Nathan and Nathaniel that I met. I heard later that their baby brother was called Jonathan.

Posted by Athrawes (# 9594) on :

I've just spent a week teaching twins - Easter and Esther. Lovely girls, but by 3 hours into the first day I wanted to Tatoo their names onto their foreheads.

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

I have come across a few women called May or June as a middle mane, but only one with the middle name September.

Posted by anoesis (# 14189) on :

It's been a while since I looked at this thread, but for some reason I awoke this morning with a name in my head that no-one should inflict on a helpless child: Ermengarde. I don't know, I'm sure someone will be along to tell me it's the name of a saint or something, but it sounds like the name for a piece of military or industrial equipment, like a fume hood or something, not a name for a person...

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

Ermengarde sounds like a compilation name made from Ermintrude and Hildegard - neither of which I'd wish upon a child. Although, Magic Roundabout apart, neither of which are as awful as calling a child Brunhilde or Jezebel.

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :

It seems to have been big in Anjou in the 11th century.

Posted by Roseofsharon (# 9657) on :

quote:
Originally posted by anoesis:
Ermengarde. I don't know, I'm sure someone will be along to tell me it's the name of a saint or something

There is a St Irmengard

Posted by Coa Coa (# 15535) on :

I knew a woman whose name was "Delight" but she disliked it so much she was always known as …Winnis

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :

Ermengarde sounds like a blending of Ermentrude and Hildegarde because all three are what is called dithematic names, cobbled together out of shorter words with, not always, any regard for the overall meaning.

Ermen - whole
garde - protection
trude - beloved
Hilde - battle

Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :

The name Blodwyn was sneered at, earlier here. I liked it a lot, as she was the mother of a dear boyfrind of mine. There was Welsh on both sides of the family.

My high school class had a "Sandy Beach". It wasn't Sandra , it was really Sandy.

Also knew (of) a "Rose Bush". Don't know if was her maiden name, or married name.

Otherwise-educated persons often refer to "John Hopkins", which makes me wince. Even NPR people make this mistake. Being a Baltimoron, I've always known it is Johns Hopkins University, or hospital. Ive even seen it in print as John's Hopkins. [Eek!]

Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :

From Georgia Boy,

quote:
(Of course, they tend to get called Sissy or Puss if female, or Bubba, Buddy or Sonny if male.)

My wife's mother was a bit of a bossy little thing when she was a kid growing up in North Georgia. All her cousins called her "John", which I don't get. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call her "Butch"? Is that a Southern thing?

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