Spastic Onomastic

Awesome baby name

2009-03-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Traditional names are 'dying out'

2009-03-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/7556228.stm

Published: 2008/08/13 09:39:49 GMT

Some traditional names such as Edna and Norman are in danger of dying out in England and Wales, research suggests.

Gurgle.com studied the most popular names of 1907 with those that have made the grade over the past five years.

In 1907, 1,048 babies were named Gertrude but none were in 2005. Baby Normans declined from 1,991 to two.

Many babies are named after celebrities or given made-up names now, rather than being given relatives' ones, as often happened in the past, Gurgle.com said.

The two Normans named in 2005 were in Shropshire and Tyne and Wear.

GIRLS' NAMES OUT OF FAVOUR

Gertrude
Edna
Ethel
Irene
Ada
Norah
Olive
Richard, which was the most popular name 200 years ago, has also declined.

A total of 4,671 babies were named Richard in 1807, but the number fell to 2,289 in 1907 and 538 in 2005.

However, the researchers for the social networking site did find that names such as Thomas, Jack and William have remained in vogue for 200 years.

The survey also suggests a royal connection has kept names such as Elizabeth, Philip and Charles consistently popular over the past 100 years.

It also found that some names which have lost popularity have been replaced by something similar, with Olivia replacing Olive as a popular name.

BOYS' NAMES OUT OF FAVOUR

Norman
Walter
Percy
Harold
Ernest
Herbert
Clifford
Similarly, Lily has become a modern-day Lilian and Alfred has become Alfie.

Sarah Stone, editor of Gurgle.com, said: "Not so long ago it seems we all knew a Great Uncle Harold or Aunty Irene, but sadly it seems these names could soon be lost forever.

"It is clear that modern parents are increasingly being influenced by fashions and celebrity. However we also need to remember that there are now more choices available."

The Office for National Statistics says the most popular baby names last year were Jack, Thomas and Oliver for boys and Grace, Ruby and Olivia for girls.

© BBC MMIX

'Most unfortunate names' revealed

2009-03-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7909561.stm
Page last updated at 18:04 GMT, Wednesday, 25 February 2009

Imagine growing up as Annette Curtain or Tim Burr
What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain?

Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still.

It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK.

Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin.

And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt.

The names were uncovered by researchers from parenting group TheBabyWebsite.com after trawling through online telephone records.

Retired airman Stan Still, 76, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, said his name had been "a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life".

"When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout, 'Stan Still, get a move on' and roll about laughing," he said.

"It got hugely boring after a while."

But 51-year-old Rose Bush, from Coventry, West Midlands, said she loved her name. MORE UNFORTUNATE NAMES
Pearl Button
Jo King
Barry Cade
Carrie Oakey
Priti Manek
Tim Burr

"I always get comments about it but they are always very positive," she said.

Implications

Researchers also scoured phone records in the US and found some unlikely names there too.

Spare a thought for Anna Prentice, Annette Curtain and Bill Board the next time you sign your name.

A string of Americans also have very job-specific names, including Dr Leslie Doctor, Dr Thoulton Surgeon and Les Plack - a dentist in San Francisco.

A spokesman for TheBabyWebsite.com said: "When the parents of some of those people mentioned named their children, many probably didn't even realise the implications at the time.

"Parents really do need to think carefully though when choosing names for their children.

"Their name will be with them for life and what may be quirky and fun for a toddler might be regretted terribly when that person becomes older or even a grandparent perhaps."

Below are a selection of your comments.

I was named Simon Swindells at birth. It caused no end of ridicule throughout my childhood and teens and I changed my first name by deed poll shortly after turning 18 and changed the surname a few years later.

I found it difficult to be taken seriously when meeting people (socially and professionally when applying for jobs etc) as they laughed out loud when hearing the name.
Chrys Hudson Lee, Brighton

My name is the same as the actor who played the third Doctor Who. Growing up wasn't so bad, I used to get called all sorts, but because Doctor Who was seen as "cool" the nicknames were always positive.

But when he moved on and became Worzel Gummidge, the school taunts became crueller. I was constantly asked if I had an Aunt Sally, asked by teachers if I had the stupid head on today etc.

In my 20s, people still recognised the name, and when the actor passed away, I got several phone calls to see if I was still alive.
Jon Pertwee, Sion, Switzerland

This is a common name in Belgium and France but when I was living in UK it was quite weird, because people were always talking about Richard the Third and I had no clue of what they were talking about. I just realised some time later on.

Furthermore in France, one of my colleagues has double nationality (British and French) and his name is Olivier Moron (French origins). Once again in French, no problem at all... but in English
Richard Six, Paris, France (but I'm Belgian)

Mine tops the lot. Think about it.
Jenny Taylor, Kendal

Well, years of ruthless teasing have given way to slightly kinder comments along the lines of "what a great name". I just wish I had a decent answer to the question: "What were your parents thinking?"
Daisy Picking, London

My father, whose name was Albert Hall, had a lot to answer for when he named my brother Jim. Jim took a pounding whenever PE came round at school.

You'd have thought the "Royal" Albert would have been a bit more circumspect in his choice of name for his offspring!
David Hall, Cardross, Scotland

My cousins called their daughter Esther Munday, it has always made me chuckle.
Terry Withington, Hinckley, England

This article has put a big smile on many of my colleagues, friends and client's faces today. You would not believe how many times I have been e-mailed with links to your website.

I personally love my name as it makes people laugh and at least no-one will forget it! I'd never consider it unfortunate, it's just funny.
Jo King, London

My name was Susan Frame. I am a lawyer. I met and married Robert who is a banker. His surname is Mee. Now we are Sue Mee, a lawyer, and Rob Mee, a banker - ironic? I have taken no end of stick for this, believe me.
Susan Mee, Doncaster

My name being Andrew Burke, a lot of letters I get are to A Burke.
Andrew Burke, Aldershot, UK

When I lived near Aberystwyth, 20 years ago, I had a lovely neighbour called Ivy Plant. If she's still alive, or anyone knows of her whereabouts, I'd appreciate an address or any news of her.
John McCullough, Ballymena, Antrim

Unfortunately your name doesn't have to have a double meaning to be found continually amusing to others. However, I have found the benefit in adult life is that it is always noticed and remembered and is therefore a great networking "tool".
Bill Badger, Romford, Essex

A chap who preceded me as student's union president at Imperial in London changed his name to Sidney Harbour-Bridge for a year for charity. After the year he decided to keep it as he found it an asset in business... I'd love to hear if he has the moniker after nearly 20 years!
Chris Davidson, Market Bosworth

Hi, my mum was Hazel Nutt. Her maiden name was Morrison and she married my father, Peter Nutt. I watched her write out a cheque once with the checkout girl grinning, but my mum was definitely hiding a grin too. I think she loved it.
Donald Nutt, Dundee

My name is ok, but I have a 14-year-old niece called Lotte Flack. Luckily for her she lives in Germany so she is blissfully unaware of the implications. So far.
Eliot Flack-Hill, Hove, East Sussex

Doesn't sound bad but when people start chanting merrily, merrily, merrily it becomes tedious. Should have kept my maiden name.
Mary Lee, Pinner, Middlesex

I've always said that if my partner (a Button) and I had a baby girl we'd call her Pearl. With the fringe benefit that I'd get to call myself mother-of-Pearl Button.
Katie, St Albans, Hertfordshire

At the turn of the last century it was common to give girls the names of flowers, hence my Nan and her sisters who were called Ivy, Daisy and Rose. It's a shame their maiden name was Roots. My father, on the other hand, has a sister called June, which goes so well with our family name, don't you think?
Kevin May, Kent

I went to school with a Penny Bunn and my cousin always said she would call her daughter her favourite girl's name, Dawn, until she married a Mr Hobbs.
Delia Wyers, Burton-on-Trent

Your... name

2009-02-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of all the "find your ___ name" things that I've found... WARNING: some of them are kind of offensive (Terrorist name? Come on!) I've filled in the blanks with my own answers, though most of them don't work too well!

ACTION HERO NAME: (first name of a main character in the last movie you watched, last food you ate)
Lou Toast
BARFLY NAME:(last snack food you ate + your favorite drink)
Cookie Cranberry
BLUES NAME: (disability + city you were born in + last name of the person on the currency in your pocket)
Retarded Syracuse Washington
CARTOON NAME (your favorite fruit + add "ie" or "y", and an article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Pomegranatey Pajamas
1. CARTOON VARIATION (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y")
  Pomegranate Pajamasie
CRIMINAL NAME: (name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy bar)-- this is the same as the Stripper Name-- do criminals and strippers have similar names?
Jasmine Mars
DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Orange Wombat
1. DETECTIVE VARIATION: (favorite animal, favorite color)
  Wombat Orange
2. DETECTIVE VARIATION 2: (favorite animal, name of high school)
  Wombat Cortland
3. DETECTIVE VARIATION 3: (favorite color, favorite insect)
  Orange Firefly
DRAG QUEEN NAME: (first pet + mother's maiden name)
Emmett Schoenfeld
EASTERN NAME (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, last letter of your moms middle name)
Oricaaa
EMO BAND NAME: (first word in the top banner ad above, city of the away team of the last major sporting event you went to/remember)
This Sky
EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS: (favorite spice + last vacation spot visited)
Cilantro Penobscot
FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (first word you see on your left + favorite restaurant)
One Tu y To
GAMER TAG: (a favorite color, a favorite animal)
Orange Rat
GHETTO NAME: (first 2 or 3 letters of your first name, -Shawn/Quan/Quita/Niqua, last name of whatever President or Prime Minister is on the currency you have in your pocket)
Noquita Jefferson
GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
Norizzle
1. GANGSTA NAME VARIATION: (first 4 letters of real name plus izzle)
  Noraizzle
2. GANGSTA VARIATION 2:( fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
  Big Dig Oatmeal Raisin
3. GANGSTA VARIATION 3: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
  Big Dig Slippers
4. GANGASTA VARIATION 4: (favorite beer + favorite car)
  Negra Modelo Fiat
GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Morrissey
HIPPIE NAME: (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Toast Willow
ICON ALIAS: (something sweet within sight + any liquid in the kitchen)
Raisin Vodka
IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name)
Orbclaa
MOB NAME (Dad's name, favorite Italian restaurant)
Bill Regina
1. MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your Mum's side, your favorite candy)
  Evelyn Reese
2. MOVIE STAR VAR 1: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, favorite candy)
  Frances Reese
3. MOVIE STAR VAR 2: (favorite snack food + grandfather's first name)
  Doritos Sidney
4. MOVIE STAR VAR 3: (first pet’s name + Favorite teacher’s name)
  Emmett Levine
NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Sidney Bill
NATIVE AMERICAN NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Orange Wombat
1. NATIVE AMERICAN VARIATION: (last action you did + favorite animal)
  Typing Wombat
NEWSCASTER NAME (your middle name, moms maiden name)
Hinman Schoenwald
OPPOSITE SEX NAME: (name of [opposite sex] friend + phone company you use):
Justin Sprint
1. OPPOSITE SEX VAR: (name of dad/mom, cell phone company you use)
  Bill Sprint
PORN NAME: (1st pet, a street you grew up on)
Pequeño Seneca
1. PORN VARIATION: (first pet and current street name)
  Pequeño Verdun
2. PORN VARIATION 2: (middle name, father's middle initial, street you grew up on)
  Hinman T. Randall
3. PORN VARIATION 3: (current pet's name, street you grew up on)
  Morrissey Seneca
RAP or FLY GIRL/GUY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
No-ch
1. RAP or FLY GIRL/GUY VAR: (1st Initial of 1st name, 1st 2 or 3 letters of middle name)
  N-hin
ROCK STAR NAME:(current pets name, current street name)
Jarvis Verdun
1. ROCK STAR VARIATION (your first pet & current car)
  Pequeño Civic
2. ROCK STAR VARIATION 2:(friend's middle name, street you grew up on)
  Kerr Randall
3. ROCK STAR VARIATION 3: (first pet and color of your walls)
  Emmett Off-White
4. ROCK STAR VARIATION 4: (favorite candy/dessert + favorite musician's last name)
  Rhubarb Pie Adamson
ROCKSTAR TOUR:("The” + Your fave hobby/craft, your fave weather element + the word “Tour”)
The Onomastics Rain Tour
SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, county where you were born)
Hinman Onondaga
1. SOAP OPERA VARIATION:(middle name, city where you were born)
  Hinman Syracuse
2. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 2:(middle name, and childhood street)
  Hinman Seneca
3. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 3: (middle name & city where you live)
  Hinman Cambridge
4. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 4: (middle name + the street you live on)
  Hinman Verdun
5. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 5: (favorite grandmother’s/grandfather’s name, city where you were born)
  Evelyn Syracuse
SOCIALITE NAME; (silliest childhood nickname + first town where you partied):
Greeny New Rochelle
SPORTS NICKNAME (Favorite car maker, second favorite animal, and "The")
The Fiat Hedgehog
SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday to your favorite flower)
Autumn Violet
1. SPY VARIATION: (middle name and current street name)
  Hinman Verdun
STAR WARS NAME:(the 1st 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Burno
1. STAR WARS VARIATION:(the 1st 2 letters of last name, 1st 4 letters of 1st name)
  Bunora
2. STAR WARS VARIATION 2: (the 1st 3 letters of last name, 1st 2 letters of 1st name, 1st 3 letters of mom's maiden name)
  Burnosch
3. STAR WARS VARIATION 3: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in)
  Burno Scsyr
4. STAR WARS VAR 4: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
  Bur Ald Mor
5. STAR WARS VAR 5: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name, and first 3 letters of siblings name)
  Burnoschal
6. STAR WARS VAR 6:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of middlename and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.)
  Burno Hisyr
7. JEDI NAME: (last name spelled backwards, your mom's first name spelled backward)
  Hcrub Arual
8. JEDI NAME VARIATION 1: (First syllable of mothers maiden name + first syllable of city born in = Jedi last)
  Schoen Syr
9. JEDI VARIATION 2:(middle name spelled backwards, mom's maiden name backwards)
  Namnih Dlefneohcs
STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume, fav candy)
Jasmine Candy Corn
SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Green Cranberry Juice
1. SUPERHERO VARIATION: (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add “THE” to the beginning)
  The Green Cuba Libre
2. SUPERHERO VARIATION 2: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive)
  The Orange Civic
3. SUPERHERO VARIATION 3: ("The", your favorite color, favorite fruit)
  The Orange Pomegranate
4. SUPERHERO VARIATION 4: ("The", your favorite color, the car your mom drives)
  The Orange Volvo or the Orange Beetle (stepmom is better)
5. SUPERHERO VARIATION 5: ("The", your favorite color, the car your dad drives)
  the Orange Golf or The Orange Seville (stepdad is better!)
SUPER HERO TEAM NAME (The mood you are in, number of pets you own, and add the)
The Sleepy 3
TERRORIST NAME (first name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
Hanor Dlawneohcs
TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (your 5th grade teacher’s last name and add a major city that starts with the same letter)
Carrier Cleveland
WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)
Julie Tracy
1. WITNESS VARIATION: (grandfather and grandmothers first name
  Francis Sidney

Baby Name Fail!

2009-02-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

I'm not sure which site this screen shot was from, but I hope it doesn't inspire anyone to name a kid ESPN... at least not a girl. The other baby ESPN's out there seem to all be boys!

From MSNBC:

Parents name baby after ESPN, Joe Montana
But D'Iberville baby isn't alone — 3 were named after network last year

updated 12:05 p.m. ET, Mon., Oct. 9, 2006

BILOXI, Miss. - Leann Real promised her husband, an avid sports fan, that if they ever had a son he'd get to pick the name. ESPN Montana Real was born this week at Biloxi Regional Medical Center.

Rusty Real, of D'Iberville, chose ESPN (pronounced Espen) after the sports network and Montana after football legend Joe Montana.

Baby ESPN isn't alone.

Three others were cited in a 2005 report on tivocommunity.com about the network's 25th anniversary. They are Espn Malachi McCall in Pampa, Texas; Espn Curiel in Corpus Christi, Texas; and Espn Blondeel in Michigan.

"We were the talk of the hospital," Rusty Real said. "The nurses kept asking my wife if she was really going to let her husband name him ESPN. She said, 'Oh, yes.'"

Ima Hogg Revealed

2009-01-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

Whenever anyone is compiling a list of funny names, Ima Hogg usually figures prominently. Here's an article about her from the Irish Times:

Friday, December 19, 2008
An Irishman's Diary

BEAR with me while I return yet again to the subject of funny names. But the fact is that no discussion of this phenomenon would be complete without mentioning the daughter of a famous Texan lawyer and politician, James "Big Jim" Hogg, writes Frank McNally

There could be no doubting Big Jim's delight at the birth of his only female child in 1882. In a letter he wrote: "Our cup of joy is now overflowing! We have a daughter of as fine proportions and of as angelic mien as ever gracious nature [allows]..." Then, for reasons best known to himself, he christened the baby "Ima".

Cynics have suggested that Big Jim, who was running for district attorney at the time (and would later become state governor), may have calculated that subjecting the child to a lifetime of embarrassment was a price worth paying for headlines.

Indeed, years later, it became a running joke (in more ways than one) that whenever Ima and a female friend accompanied him on campaign appearances, he would claim both as daughters, and introduce the second as "Ura". This never happened, according to Ima, who remained admirably loyal to her father throughout her life.

The truth, it seems, is that, amid the distraction of their cup of joy overflowing, it had not occurred to Big Jim or his wife Sarah that there was anything untoward in the name. It was probably chosen in tribute to the child's uncle, who had written an epic poem featuring heroines called "Ima" and "Leila". By the time it occurred to anyone that, from such a short-list, Leila was the better choice, the infant's fate was sealed.

As an adult, she recalled: "My grandfather. . .lived 15 miles from Mineola and news travelled slowly. When he learned of his granddaughter's name he came trotting to town as fast as he could to protest but it was too late. The christening had taken place, and Ima I was to remain."

You would think that going through life as Ima Hogg would be a disadvantage, and to some extent it was. She usually signed herself elliptically as "Miss Hogg", and eventually invented a new middle name, "Imogene". But apart from the endless jokes, her misfortune does not seem to have held her back.

If you must be so saddled, it helps to be well off, and Ima certainly was. She was reared a lady, playing piano from the age of three and going on to study music in New York, Berlin, and Vienna, before returning to found the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Not poor to begin with, the Hoggs then discovered oil on the family farm - a windfall that, by the 1920s, set Ima on a career in philanthropy.

We mentioned in a previous column the sad case of a woman called Ima Mae Queen, named on the register of a US army psychiatric hospital. Well, Ima Hogg had mental problems too. After being treated successfully, she founded a centre for disturbed children, established the Hogg Foundation for Mental Hygiene, and became an activist for many causes, especially education.

By the early 1960s, she was being called the "First Lady of Texas", a title not begrudged her by the woman who officially qualified for it: the wife of governor John Connally.

In 1969, Ima became one of the first female members of the Academy of Texas, along with Lady Bird Johnson (the ex-president's wife) and a woman called Oveta Culp Hobby - a fact that illustrates why having a funny name is not a major handicap in the US south. After a lifetime spent in the service of others, Ima Hogg died in 1975, at the grand old age of 93.

I THANK again the many readers who continue to send their own examples of apt, inapt, or just amusing names. My sympathy goes out to more than one real-life Irish woman called Annette Curtin. But no matter how many times you've been told to pull yourself together, I suspect that's still better than having to call yourself a hog.

Animal names are a recurring theme, even outside Texas. I'm informed that there is at least one Paschal Lambe in Ireland, who must have a hard time every Easter. And Steven Butler, the curator of horticulture at Dublin Zoo, tells me that the people interviewed for his equivalent job in Chester Zoo included a "Pett", a "Bird", a "Wren", a "Mole", and a "Sparrow". The sparrow won.

Thanks to several readers for pointing out the happy fact that Birdwatch Ireland has a staff member called Niall Hatch; and that, better still, he's the development officer.

But back to the pork sector, as it were, and to that apocryphal joke about Big Jim Hogg pretending to have a second daughter called "Ura". You might think such a name could never happen in real life. And you would be wrong.

Old US census records include numerous references to a similar but even less poetic surname, "Pigg". But as if that were not enough to pass on, several proud parents felt the need to add unusual forenames. The birth of one "Della O.U. Pigg" is recorded in Tennessee circa 1873. In 1900, we also find a "Ure O. Pigg" in Oklahoma. And the train of thought reached its logical conclusion in 1928, also in Oklahoma, with the christening of one "Ure Alton Pigg" or "Ure A. Pigg" for short.

We know nothing more about this unfortunate person. It must be presumed that his or her family did not strike oil.

Peruvian Jesus born to Virgin Mary on Christmas

2009-01-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:02am EST
LIMA (Reuters) - Virgin Mary, a 20-year-old Peruvian woman, gave birth to a baby boy on Christmas day and named him Jesus, Peru's state news agency said on Friday.

The baby's father, Adolfo Jorge Huamani, 24, is a carpenter. Religious Peruvians compared him to Joseph the Carpenter in the Bible.

"Two thousand years later the story of Bethlehem is relived," read the headline about the birth in El Comercio, the main newspaper in Peru, a predominantly Catholic country.

The mother, Virgen Maria Huarcaya, delivered the 7.7 pound (3.5 kg) boy, Jesus Emanuel, in the early hours of Christmas at the central maternity hospital in Lima, the capital.

"A few days ago we had decided to name my son after a professional soccer player," the father said. "But thanks to a happy coincidence this is how things ended up."

(Reporting by Terry Wade; Editing by Vicki Allen)

More Baby Obamas

2008-12-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Parents worldwide inspired to name kids for Obama

By ALISON MUTLER and WILLIAM J. KOLE

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — By his own admission, Barack Obama was "a skinny kid with a funny name," but that isn't stopping proud parents from Romania to Indonesia from naming their newborns after the U.S. president-elect.

Romania's downtrodden Gypsies — once enslaved, like African-Americans, yet still struggling to overcome deep-seated prejudice — seem particularly inspired.

"When I saw Obama on TV, my heart swelled with joy. I thought he was one of us Gypsies because of his skin color," said Maria Savu, whose infant grandson — Obama Sorin Ilie Scoica — was born in the central Romania village of Rusciori.

Little Obama is the third child of a poor family that barely gets by on 200 lei ($66) a month in welfare benefits.

He came into the world on Nov. 4, the day Americans voted in their new multiracial president-elect, and Savu, 43, told the Evenimentul Zilei newspaper she hopes his name will bring him luck.

Obama's victory also moved Sugiarto, a 36-year-old security guard in Jakarta, Indonesia, and his wife, Sularsih, to name their new son after him.

Indonesia, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation made up of more than 18,000 islands, is unabashedly Obama-crazy — in part because Obama spent four years there as a child.

"He's great, isn't it?" said Sularsih, 34, rubbing the cheek of their sleeping 1-month-old, Husein Obama. "I think it's a beautiful name for him. And who knows? Maybe one day he'll be president of Indonesia."

Underscoring Obama's popularity across the sprawling archipelago: Many political parties have made up new banners that feature photos of the U.S. leader, and some have even co-opted his "Yes we can" and "change" themes.

Americans also have been naming children for Obama. Patrick and Sasha Hall Fisher of Hollywood, Florida, are credited as being the first: Sanjae Obama Fisher was born a few hours before news outlets declared Obama to be the new president-elect.

In the Dutch city of Leiden, officials proudly announced last week that Obama's roots can be traced to the Pilgrims who eventually settled America after fleeing England in 1609. The Pilgrims spent 11 years in Leiden on their way to the new world.

Obama is a descendant of Thomas Blossom, local alderman Jan-Jaap Haan said, citing research by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.

"Leiden is proud that our historic city is linked via this family tree to the already special background of the new president of America," Haan said.

But Obama's victory has had a special resonance in corners of the world where the poor and underprivileged see him as an example of the change they crave in their own societies.

Atta Mills, an opposition candidate campaigning on a platform of change in this month's presidential elections in Ghana, put up posters of himself standing next to a life-size photo cutout of Obama to help make his point to voters.

And in Brazil, at least eight black candidates took advantage of a quirk in electoral laws and opted to have their names appear as "Barack Obama" in October elections.

In Romania, Banel Nicolita, a member of Romania's national soccer team, is a Gypsy who comes from a family of eight who once lived in a house made of mud. His accomplishments, against all odds, have earned him the nickname "the Obama of Romanian football."

Romania officially is home to 500,000 Gypsies, or Roma, although it's widely believed that there are really at least twice as many. Many people of Roma extraction don't declare their ethnicity due to widespread prejudice, and many live in poverty.

The European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency says Gypsies also suffer routine discrimination in education, employment, health services and housing — just a few of the reasons so many identify with the struggles of American blacks.

"Obama's victory is a motivation for us," said Gruia Bumbu, chairman of the National Agency for the Roma.

Like African-Americans, Gypsies were slaves until roughly the same time in the 19th century. But the Roma never launched a broad civil rights movement, and today, Bumbu said, "we are 20 to 30 years behind."

"When you see that an African-American becomes president, it shows you that the dreams can turn into reality," he said. "It's like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel — the fight for equal opportunities can have a happy ending."

Kole reported from Vienna, Austria. AP writers Irwan Firdaus in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this story.

Baby Name Generators

2008-11-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of name generators I've found out there:

Emo baby Name Generator

Celebrity Baby Name Generator

Baby-name experts grade `Bronx Mowgli'

2008-11-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

By ERIN CARLSON

The name Brooklyn has been done before, so Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Pete Wentz turned to another New York City borough in naming their newborn son: The Bronx.

She hails from Texas, he grew up near Chicago, and the pop-rock power couple haven't said whether the Yankees' territory (and arguably the toughest real estate in New York City) inspired their unusual choice: Bronx Mowgli Wentz.

That ranks right up there with Zuma Nesta Rock — Gwen Stefani's baby boy — in the category of quirkiest baby names.

The Associated Press consulted its panel of baby-name gurus to weigh in on the scrappy-sounding moniker.

___

EXPERT: Whitney Walker, co-author with Eric Reyes of "The Perfect Baby Name" and consultant through ThePerfectBabyName.com.

SPECIALTY: Phonetics and rhythm — how names sound and flow together.

IMPRESSIONS: "I actually like the name Bronx. ... It is kind of a poser move to name your kid after this particular neighborhood that's seen as being a tough New York neighborhood. But if they have some connection to it, then that's nice."

"That `x' ending and the short `o' sound — those are things that are going to be appealing to people, so it's not surprising that Bronx is a choice. ... It sound tough, and hopefully the kid will be a little bit tough, and he probably will with Pete Wentz as a father, because Pete Wentz comes across certainly as a prankster. ... Bronx isn't the name for some nerdy, shy kid, you know?"

"Mowgli is a character (from the Rudyard Kipling stories and the Disney film `The Jungle Book') who's got a lot of independence, and he's brave and he saves the day, and I think there's a great tradition of naming your kids after a fictional character ... that represents an ideal that you want to impart to your kid."

"The reason that I'm giving it a minus is because Bronx ends with an `s' sound and Wentz ends with an `s' sound, and to have two one-syllable names in a row like that (both) ending with the same sound? It's almost like it's rhyming. It's a little bit too repetitive."

GRADE: B-

___

EXPERT: Maryanna Korwitts, author of "Name Power 101" and founder of BabyNamingCentral.com.

SPECIALTY: The holistic approach, from sounds and meanings to the impact of names, possible nicknames — even initials — on personality traits.

IMPRESSIONS: "With Bronx, it's got some positives: It's short, not a name that's going to be shortened with a crazy nickname, so it is what it is. It does have a very masculine sound. There's a lot of appeal to x's and z's in names for some reason for people, and so that's another positive in the way that the name looks. It's got a nice, hard sound in the beginning — and easy to spell."

"Subliminally, it's a name that's gonna encourage this child to be very independent, very headstrong. ... He's going to have a stubborn streak and really want to do things his way, which will help him growing up in a celebrity family."

"This is a child that's going to grow up using his physical traits and talents, so he would be the kind that you talk to him the wrong way, he might throw a punch. Or he might turn his sights to sports."

"One of the things that I always caution my clients on is to choose a middle name that a child is not going to be embarrassed by later on, and this is one that could definitely be one of those that's hidden. `What's your middle name?' `Oh, I don't have one.' ... That's kind of a downer, and I think when choose a name like that, they're picking it more on the basis of their own likes and dislikes and not really thinking about the child going forward."

"Bronx Wentz? Little problem in the flow there in saying the name. ... We've got some problems in that Bronx and Wentz are both one syllable, and it's a very herky-jerky type of thing when you're saying it."

GRADE: C

___

EXPERT: Jennifer Moss, author of "The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book" and founder of Babynames.com.

SPECIALTY: Practicality. Moss focuses on the research process, looking for influences such as family history and life experiences.

IMPRESSIONS: "The sound of it — Bronx Wentz — is really a harsh sound. And the name Bronx itself sounds like a honk, you know? ... It associates with a certain place — not that there's anything wrong with the Bronx, but it's, like, why? ... I mean, I don't know, it's just like naming somebody Detroit."

GRADE: D+

___

COMPOSITE PANEL GRADE: C

___

PREVIOUS PANEL RESULTS:

_ Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, twins of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Knox Leon: C, Vivienne Marcheline: B-plus.

_ Zuma Nesta Rock, son of Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani: C-

Barack a hot name for new babies

2008-11-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

From the International Herald Tribune
By Jennifer 8. Lee
Published: November 10, 2008

Decontee Williams was so excited by Barack Obama's victory on Tuesday night that she started jumping up and down — and went into labor. Twelve hours later, Barack Jeilah was born at Phoenix Baptist Hospital to Williams and Prince Jeilah. The baby was 8 pounds 9 ounces and had a full head of hair.

"I love Barack Obama, and I love the name," said Williams, 31, who came to the United States as a refugee from Liberia in 2003. "In Africa, we call it a blessing. That is a good name."

In the last week, Barack, Obama, Michelle, Malia and Sasha have become inspirations for first and middle names across the United States, according to news reports. But the Obama baby boom has been even more pronounced in Kenya, particularly in Kisumu, an area in the western part of the country where relatives of Obama live.

From Election Day through Saturday afternoon, 43 children born at the Nyanza Provincial Hospital in Kisumu were named after the Obamas, with 23 boys given the first and middle name Barack Obama and 20 girls named Michelle Obama.

Pamela Odhiambo, who gave birth to a girl during Obama's victory speech in Chicago, named her Michelle Obama. "It's a new start, a new beginning," said Odhiambo, 18.

There have been other presidential naming trends in the past century, according to Social Security Administration data. Franklin jumped to No. 33 in 1933, up from No. 147 in 1931. Dwight surged in the 1950s and Lyndon in the 1960s. Theodore hit its peak in the first decade of the 20th century.

"Honoring new presidents with baby namesakes used to be an American tradition," said Laura Wattenberg, author of "The Baby Name Wizard." But she pointed out that the custom faded around the time of Watergate, in part because people became more cynical about the presidency.

Wattenberg said Barack and Obama might break that trend for a number of reasons. Blacks, particularly moved by Obama's victory, tend to be more open to new names and to naming children after public figures. Also, Obama drew strong support from people of child-bearing age, and his name sounds fresh.

Obama has said that Barack has the same etymological roots as the Hebrew name Baruch, "one who is blessed."

A shift away from traditional names has meant a decline in the prevalence of John, George, William and James, the popularity (or unpopularity) of presidents notwithstanding.

There is perhaps more hope for presidential surnames, as parents look for untraditional monikers with a classic flavor. Lincoln (for boys) and Kennedy and Reagan (for girls) jumped in popularity in the 1990s. But none of those can compare with the surge by Madison, which broke into the top 10 for girls in 1998 and peaked at No. 2. (Though that may have more to do with a mermaid in the movie "Splash" than a framer of the Constitution.)

And the names can also track the rise and fall of the public's perception of presidents. Hoover came out of nowhere to land at No. 367 for boys' names in 1928, the year Herbert Hoover was elected the 31st president. Then the Great Depression started, and it dropped to No. 945 in 1931. And Clinton, a top 200 baby name for boys in the 1970s and 1980s, still ranked No. 211 in 1992. By 1999, the year after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, it had sunk to No. 664.

Even the most tainted presidencies have left a nomenclature mark. The Watergate president inspired some parents, at least overseas. In Venezuela, Nixon Moreno was one of the leaders behind student protests two years ago.

Then again, his co-organizer was Stalin González.

Speaking of Sarah Palin's Kids

2008-09-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the

Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator

Sarah Palin's Kids' Names Deconstructed

2008-09-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

What's in the Palin children's names? Fish, for one

BY RICH SCHAPIRO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, August 31st 2008, 12:36 AM

Bristol. Piper. Track. Willow. Trig.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has bestowed unusual names on her five children - but they're full of personal meaning.

A dedicated runner, she named her older son Track because he was born during that sport's season 18 years ago.

Her youngest is 4-month-old Trig Paxson, whose first name is Norse for "true" or "strength" and whose middle name comes from one of his mother's favorite spots in Alaska.

Her three daughters are Bristol, 17, Willow, 14, and Piper, 7.

Palin said the eldest girl was named after Bristol Bay, where the family fishes.

She hasn't explained the other girls' names, but there's a town in Alaska called Willow and Piper brings to mind the Piper Super Cub, a bush plane popular in her state.

Experts said the offbeat names suggest Palin is an outside-the-box thinker who desperately wants to give her kids an edge.

"A lot of times when parents choose unusual names they're looking to make their children stand out above the crowd," said Albert Mehrabian, a professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA and author of the book "The Baby Name Report Card."

Mehrabian said the selection of Track and Trig shows that Palin wants her boys to grow up to be full of machismo.

"Short names like these are given by people who want their kids to be masculine," Mehrabian said. "She's athletic, she's coached kids, so maybe that's part of her value system."

Willow is an earthy, feminine name, while Piper is more adventurous, the experts said. Bristol is in line with a modern tradition of naming people after places.

Together, the five names stunned one maven.

"In my 20 years in the field and after writing nine baby-name books, I gotta say [she] stumped the master," said Pamela Satran, co-author of the book "The Baby Name Bible.

"I've never heard of those."

rschapiro@nydailynews.com

Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii And other names so weird that judges forbade them.

2008-08-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

By Eugene Volokh
Posted Wednesday, July 30, 2008, at 7:13 AM ET
What's in a name? Child abuse?

Everyone needs a hobby. Mine is Fun Name Change Cases. I first got hooked 15 years ago, when I read about Michael Herbert Dengler, who wanted to change his name to 1069. "The only way [my] identity can be expressed is 1069," he insisted. Twice. To state supreme courts. With an elaborate theory for each digit: For instance, "The third character, 6, is equal to the relationship I have with the universe in my understanding of space of my spatial occupancy through this life." Now this was a field of law to watch, I knew.

Then came the news last week about Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii, a 9-year-old New Zealand girl. A New Zealand Family Court judge apparently viewed this name as a form of child abuse—the girl had complained that "[s]he fears being mocked and teased" about it—and asserted legal custody over the child so as "to ensure that a proper name was found for her."

Now that this has been validated as a matter of global legal significance, I present the following brief work of legal scholarship. Would-be 1069s and Talulas Do the Hulas, here are the precedents:

1. 1069. No dice. The North Dakota Supreme Court (1976) and Minnesota Supreme Court (1979) both say: Names can't be numbers. [Petition of Dengler, 246 N.W.2d 758 (N.D. 1976); Application of Dengler, 287 N.W.2d 637 (Minn. 1979).]

2. III, to be pronounced "Three." Nope, on the same grounds, said the California Court of Appeal in 1984 to Thomas Boyd Ritchie III. A concurring judge asserted that the problem was that III was a symbol, rather than just that it was a number. Such subtle distinctions are what law is all about. [In re Ritchie, 159 Cal. App. 3d 1070 (1984).]

3. Mary R. No, decided the Pennsylvania Superior Court in 2000, dealing with a petition by Mary Ravitch, who no longer wanted to use her ex-husband's last name and who didn't want to return to her maiden name (Gon). "Appellant's desired surname is so bizarre that it would likely be met with repeated suspicion and distrust in both business and social settings." [In re Ravitch, 754 A.2d 1287 (Pa. Super. 2000).]

4. Misteri Nigger, second "i" silent. No, said the California Court of Appeal in 1992, because it constitutes "fighting words": "[I]f a man asks appellant his name and he answers 'Mister Nigger,' the man might think appellant was calling him 'Mister Nigger.' Moreover, third persons, including children hearing the epithet, may be embarrassed, shocked or offended by simply hearing the word. This example illustrates how use of the name may be 'confusing' with the potential for violence." Definitely does sound like asking for trouble; "Russell Lawrence Lee" is much safer. [Lee v. Superior Court, 9 Cal. App. 4th 510 (1992).]

5. Santa Claus. A split among the courts: An Ohio judge in 2000 rejected Robert William Handley's attempt to become Santa Robert Clause, because:

The petitioner is seeking more than a name change, he is seeking the identity of an individual that this culture has recognized throughout the world, for well over one hundred years. Thus, the public has a proprietary interest, a proprietary right in the identity of Santa Claus, both in the name and the persona. Santa Claus is really an icon of our culture; he exists in the minds of millions of children as well as adults.

The history of Santa Claus—the North Pole, the elves, Mrs. Claus, reindeer—is a treasure that society passes on from generation to generation, and the petitioner seeks to take not only the name of Santa Claus, but also to take on the identity of Santa Claus. Although thousands of people every year do take on the identity of Santa Claus around Christmas, the court believes it would be very misleading to the children in the community, particularly the children in the area that the petitioner lives, to approve the applicant's name change petition.

But the Utah Supreme Court in 2001 let David Lynn Porter become just plain Santa Claus, and never mind the children: "Porter's proposed name may be thought by some to be unwise, and it may very well be more difficult for him to conduct his business and his normal everyday affairs as a result." (D'ya think?) "However, Porter has the right to select the name by which he is known, within very broad limits." [In re Handley, 736 N.E.2d 125 (Ohio Prob. Ct. 2000); In re Porter, 31 P.3d 519 (Utah 2001).]

6. Koriander, with no last name, apparently chosen because of Rosa Linda Ferner's "attraction to a name that sounds appropriate for her work as an artisan." Just fine, a New Jersey judge ruled in 1996. [In re Application of Rosa Linda Ferner to Assume the Name Koriander, 685 A.2d 78 (N.J. Super. L. 1996).]

7. They, again with no last name. OK, said a Missouri judge to a petition by the inventor formerly known as Andrew Wilson. They (not they, They) explained the rationale: "'They do this,' or 'They're to blame for that.' Who is this 'they' everyone talks about? 'They' accomplish such great things. Somebody had to take responsibility."

8. Darren QX [pronounced 'Lloyd'] Bean!. No problem!, holds our friend the California Court of Appeal in 2006. [Darren Lloyd Bean v. Superior Court, 2006 WL [pronounced 'Westlaw'] 3425000 (Cal. App.).] Bean!, who recently sat for the Oregon State Bar, reported that, "Many of his close friends greet him as 'Bean!' When saying his name, friends raise the pitch and the volume of their voices above their usual spoken tone." The court didn't opine further on this, because "this information is not contained in the appellate record." Still, the court reasoned, if O'Rourke is fine, so is Bean!. What's more, the court reported,

At least three people have changed their names to the names of websites with a ".com" in the name. Virginia animal rights activist Karin Robertson legally changed her name to GoVeg.com in 2003 to bring attention to a website of her employer, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Other activists also changed their personal names to websites with ".com" in the names, including "Kentucky fried cruelty.com" and "Ringling beats animals.com." We do not find a legal distinction between a period inside a word, a hyphen between words, an apostrophe in a word, and an exclamation point at the end of a word.

Speakers of !Xóõ and similar click languages must be happy about that.

9. Boys changing their names from, or to, Sue. No known cases.

NAME CHANGE RULING FOR TULA DOES THE HULA

2008-07-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

Friday July 25,2008
By Stephanie Burns for express.co.uk

Nine-year-old Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii has won the right to a name-change.

A judge in Wellington, New Zealand has made the girl a ward of the court so her "embarrassing" name can be altered.

Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt expressed dismay about a New Zealand trend of giving children bizarre names and in a ruling made public on Thursday, cited a list of unfortunate names that he said were embarrassing for children.

Names blocked by registration officials included: Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit.

Surprisingly, names such as Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay and even Violence were allowed.

Colleen MacLeod, lawyer for the nine-year-old said: “She never told her close friends her real name for fear of being mocked and teased. She told people her name was ‘K’.”

Brian Clarke, registrar general of Births, Deaths and Marriages said New Zealand law does not allow names that would cause offence to a reasonable person, that are 100 characters or more long, that include titles or military rank or that include punctuation marks or numerals.

Celebrity baby Name Mania

2008-07-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

Lots of famous people have been reproducing lately, and as is the trend for their peer group, they've been using some interesting names.

Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban have a daughter named Sunday Rose Kidman Urban

Everyone's favorite super couple, Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt had twins: Knox Leon and Vivienne Marceline. Marceline is Angelina's mother's name, but Knox? I guess there are a limited number of boys' names ending in X (like her other two, Maddox & Pax) out there! Who's next? Felix and Phoenix?

RIP George Carlin

2008-06-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

Here's some of his thoughts on names:

While we're discussing dead people and names, here's a shirt every good name nerd must wear!

Wanky Baby Names

2008-06-15T11:06:00.001-07:00

The Australian baby naming police make arrests!

Mary Was a Grand Old Name

2008-05-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Mary was the most popular name from about 1880 (when the Social Security Administration began) through the early 1960s. It began a slow decline in the early 60s and picked up declining speed until this year, when Mary finally dropped out of the top 100. For at least 120 years (and most likely more, even though there aren't the records to verify it), Mary has reigned supreme, but last year it fell to 109, just slightly more popular than Aniya, Reagan and Kennedy and slightly less popular than Autumn, Paige and Molly (itself an older pet form of Mary).

Not forgotten, though, other forms of Mary, such as Maria and Mariah are still hanging on at 74 and 88 respectively.

Besides the ones above, the top 700 also has these other forms of Mary: Marissa (#128), Mariana (#164), Marisol (#151), Mariam (#169), Miriam (#271), Marilyn (#407), Maren (#410), Maritza (#413), Marie (#425), Mayra (#494), Mara (#517), Mariela (#531), Maribel (#588), and Maryjane (#592). Plus, according to my non-scientific Middle Name Survey, Marie has been the most popular middle name for girls for at least 50 years and remains so today.

2007 Name Popularity is in!

2008-05-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

The Social Security Administration released its annual Baby Name Popularity list! I've grouped the names by spelling to give you a more accurate picture of where names fall in popularity. My method is by no means infallible (check the FAQ).

Here is the top 25 for each sex (the most popular spelling is first, followed by the second etc.):

UUCN top boys' names:

Aiden, Aidan, Aden, Adan, Adin, Aedan, Aidyn, Ayden, Aydan, Aydin
Jayden, Jaden, Jaiden, Jadon, Jaydon, Jadyn, Jaydin, Jaidyn, Jaydan, Jaeden
Jacob, Jakob
Michael, Micheal
Christopher, Cristopher, Cristofer, Kristopher
Ethan, Ethen
Joshua
Daniel
Anthony, Antony
Matthew, Mathew
William
Nicholas, Nicolas, Nickolas, Nikolas
Alexander, Alexzander
Andrew
Caden, Caiden, Cayden, Kaden, Kayden, Kaiden, Kadin, Kaeden, Kadyn
Christian, Cristian, Kristian
David
Jonathan, Johnathan, Jonathon, Johnathon
Noah
Ryan, Rayan
James
Logan
John, Jon
Caleb, Kaleb

UUCN top girls' names:

Sophia, Sofia
Emily, Emely, Emilee, Emilie, Emmalee
Isabella, Izabella, Isabela
Madison, Madyson, Maddison, Madisyn
Olivia, Alivia, Alyvia
Emma
Ava
Hailey, Haley, Haylee, Hayley, Haylie, Hailee, Haleigh, Hailie, Hayleigh
Abigail, Abbigail, Abigayle, Abagail, Abigale
Kaitlyn, Katelyn, Caitlyn, Caitlin, Katelynn, Kaitlin, Kaitlynn, Katlyn
Brianna, Briana, Breanna, Bryanna, Breana
Addison, Addyson, Addisyn, Adyson, Adison
Hannah, Hanna, Hana
Sarah, Sara
Elizabeth, Elisabeth
Alyssa, Alissa, Elisa, Alisa, Allyssa
Ashley, Ashlee, Ashleigh, Ashly
Natalie, Nataly, Nathalie, Natalee, Nathaly
Jasmine, Jasmin, Jazmin, Jazmine, Jazmyn, Jasmyn
Madeline, Madelyn, Madeleine, Madalyn, Madilyn, Madelynn, Madalynn, Madilynn
Samantha
Mia, Miah, Miya
Kaylee, Kailey, Kayleigh, Kaylie, Kaleigh, Kailee, Kaley, Kayley
Chloe, Khloe, Cloe
Lily, Lilly, Lillie

CONGRATULATIONS, SOPHIA! Sophia has bumped Emily out of the top spot for the first time in about 13 years!

54!

2008-05-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

I've found 54 ways to spell /zha NAY/-- real, true spellings used by parents in 1995 alone:

Chanae
Chaney
Genee
Jahnae
Janaay
Janae
Ja'nae
Janai
Janay
Ja'nay
Ja'nea
Janee
Jannae
Jaunae
Jeanae
Jea'nae
Jeanay
Jenae
Jenay
Jene
Jenea
Je'nea
Jenee
Jeneh
Jhanay
Jinae
J'nae
J'nae
J'ne
J'nee
J'net
Johnnae
Johnnai
Jonae
Jonay
Jonaye
Jonnay
Jynae
Shanae
Shanai
Shanay
Shanaye
Shanea
Sha'Nea
Shanee
Shaneye
Shenae
Shenai
Shenaye
Sheney
Zanae
Zchonae
Zhanae
Zhane

Poor Mandy...

2008-04-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

I found the following name:

Amanda Lynn Blowe

This poor girl not only has the annoying combination of Amanda Lynn (like a mandolin), but Amanda Blowe? Were her parents really that clueless? Or did they just have a sick, sick sense of humor?

Random pointless name factoid!

2008-04-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

There were 108 males and one female in Texas given the name Gareth between 1907 and 1997. 82 males and 0 females received Gareth as a middle name in that same time period.

You can look up all sorts of useless statistics like this (as well as useful statistics) at ancestry.com!

A Boy Named Sue, and a Theory of Names

2008-04-16T18:43:00.001-07:00

New York Times, By J. MARION TIERNEY
Published: March 11, 2008

During his 1969 concert at San Quentin prison, Johnny Cash proposed a paradigm shift in the field of developmental psychology. He used “A Boy Named Sue” to present two hypotheses:

1. A child with an awful name might grow up to be a relatively normal adult.

2. The parent who inflicted the name does not deserve to be executed.

I immediately welcomed the Boy Named Sue paradigm, although I realized that I might be biased by my middle name (Marion). Cash and his ambiguously named male collaborator, the lyricist Shel Silverstein, could offer only anecdotal evidence against decades of research suggesting that children with weird names were destined for places like San Quentin.

Studies showed that children with odd names got worse grades and were less popular than other classmates in elementary school. In college they were more likely to flunk out or become “psychoneurotic.” Prospective bosses spurned their résumés. They were overrepresented among emotionally disturbed children and psychiatric patients.

Some of these mental problems might have been genetic — what kind of parent picks a name like Golden Rule or Mary Mee? — but it was still bad news.

Today, though, the case for Mr. Cash’s theory looks much stronger, and I say this even after learning about Emma Royd and Post Office in a new book, “Bad Baby Names,” by Michael Sherrod and Matthew Rayback.

By scouring census records from 1790 to 1930, Mr. Sherrod and Mr. Rayback discovered Garage Empty, Hysteria Johnson, King Arthur, Infinity Hubbard, Please Cope, Major Slaughter, Helen Troy, several Satans and a host of colleagues to the famed Ima Hogg (including Ima Pigg, Ima Muskrat, Ima Nut and Ima Hooker).

The authors also interviewed adults today who had survived names like Candy Stohr, Cash Guy, Mary Christmas, River Jordan and Rasp Berry. All of them, even Happy Day, seemed untraumatized.

“They were very proud of their names, almost overly proud,” Mr. Sherrod said. “We asked if that was a reaction to getting pummeled when they were little, but they said they didn’t get that much ribbing. They did get a little tired of hearing the same jokes, but they liked having an unusual name because it made them stand out.”

Not too much ribbing? That surprised me, because I had vivid memories of playground serenades to my middle name: “Marion . . . Madam Librarian!” (My tormentors didn’t care that the “Music Man” librarian spelled her name with an “a.”) But after I looked at experiments in the post-Sue era by revisionists like Kenneth Steele and Wayne Hensley, it seemed names weren’t so important after all.

When people were asked to rate the physical attractiveness and character of someone in a photograph, it didn’t matter much if that someone was assigned an “undesirable” name. Once people could see a face, they rated an Oswald, Myron, Harriet or Hazel about the same as a face with a “desirable” name like David, Gregory, Jennifer or Christine.

Other researchers found that children with unusual names were more likely to have poorer and less educated parents, handicaps that explained their problems in school. Martin Ford and other psychologists reported, after controlling for race and ethnicity, that children with unusual names did as well as others in school. The economists Roland Fryer and Steven Levitt reached a similar conclusion after controlling for socioeconomic variables in a study of black children with distinctive names.

“Names only have a significant influence when that is the only thing you know about the person,” said Dr. Ford, a developmental psychologist at George Mason University. “Add a picture, and the impact of the name recedes. Add information about personality, motivation and ability, and the impact of the name shrinks to minimal significance.”

But even if a bad name doesn’t doom a child, why would any parent christen an infant Ogre? Mr. Sherrod found several of them, along with children named Ghoul, Gorgon, Medusa, Hades, Lucifer and every deadly sin except Gluttony (his favorite was Wrath Gordon).

You can sort of understand parents’ affection for the sound of Chimera Griffin, but Monster Moor and Goblin Fester? Or Cheese Ceaser and Leper Priest? What provokes current celebrities to name their children Sage Moonblood Stallone and Speck Wildhorse Mellencamp?

“Today it’s all about individuality,” Mr. Sherrod said. “In the past, there was more of a sense of humor, probably because fathers had more say in the names.” He said the waning influence of fathers might explain why there are no longer so many names like Nice Deal, Butcher Baker, Lotta Beers and Good Bye, although some dads still try.

“I can’t tell you,” Mr. Sherrod said, “how often I’ve heard guys who wanted their kid to be able to say truthfully, ‘Danger is my middle name.’ But their wives absolutely refused.”

Is it possible — I’m trying to be kind to these humor-challenged fathers — that they think Danger would be a character-building experience? Could there be anything to the paternal rationale offered in Johnny Cash’s song, the one that stopped Sue from killing his father: “I knew you’d have to get tough or die, and it’s the name that helped to make you strong”?

I sought an answer from Cleveland Kent Evans — not because he might have gotten into fights defending Cleveland, but because he’s a psychologist and past president of the American Names Society. Dr. Evans, a professor at Bellevue University in Nebraska, said there is evidence for the character-building theory from psychologists like Richard Zweigenhaft, but it doesn’t work exactly as Sue’s father imagined it.

“Researchers have studied men with cross-gender names like Leslie,” Dr. Evans explained. “They haven’t found anything negative — no psychological or social problems — or any correlations with either masculinity or effeminacy. But they have found one major positive factor: a better sense of self-control. It’s not that you fight more, but that you learn how to let stuff roll off your back.”

After hearing that, I began to reconsider my own name. Although I’d never shared Sue’s Oedipal impulse — I realized my father couldn’t have anticipated “Music Man” — I’d never appreciated those playground serenades, either. But maybe they served some purpose after all. So today, to celebrate the Boy Named Sue paradigm shift, I’m using my middle name in my byline for the first time.

Also for the last time. As Sue realized when it came time to name his own son, you can take a theory only so far.

Keeping Up With the Joneses: Boys

2008-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the interesting names I found among babies born in California in 1995 with the last name Jones...

Boys' names are more conservative than girls' names usually. Boys tend to be named after their fathers or grandfathers, thus keeping the pool of boys names around longer. Thus said...

Different Spellings:
Alax, Aren; Ahrin, Bobie, Bow, Mycheal; Mykell, Briyn, Camrin, Cyle; Kiel, Shon, Alawishes, Coraey, Dametreous, Daunne, Dezmin, Kirt, Graigoree, Heith, Joshuwa, Jahshua Izayah, Jeremiha, Eligah, Jessi, Emmanule, Donavaughn, Juelian, Ugene, Jhon, Lundyn, Nyegel; Nijal, Banjamin, Myals, Phoenyx, Phyllip, Sederick, Stephvon, Toney, Trentyne, Aleq, Tyylr, Cindney, Wolter, Nickalous

New words/places as names:
Summet, Brae, Bishop, Quest, Britton, Brue, Cairo, Rucksac, Coy, Cutter, Pleas, Dreamius, Dynamite, Glendale, Travel, Blue, Iron, Ivy (boy), Jewell (boy), Kohl, Magic, Major, Moon, Nail, Reyn, Roche, Talon, Chicago, Mericle, Wren

Interesting combos:
Avie Hugh
Avondre Davalillo
Belafanti Desean
Bijon Christen
Bodhi Sage
Breeze Loyd
Grath Junior
Kelly Junior
Bronden Trinidad
Jehonathan Jesiah
Burk Tryon
Caesar Adolph
Malcolm Sadat
Carr Esquire
Charunn Chadonye
Cheapell Leesy
Dolan Obanion
Edker Ree
August Mandela
Jack Strongheart
Jaz E
Johnnie Danny
Kenneth Leviathan
Kerry Rhyanwy Stjohn Lars
Joseph Alexander Eaglebear
Justin Tyme
Kheywan Darnyeh
Kreol Deluch
Leif Lynn
Lucky Larrise
Love Ray
Master K
Royal Gene
Ruff Sidney
Sam Lucky
Sky Blue
StJoseph Love
Theopolis Q
Tito Tomito
Toussaint Louverture
Trinity Saint
Trinydad Azwad
Withfield Edison
Zonkiss Ailliot

interesting names:
Dwyan, Dimmak, Mecail, Quista, Gekill, Cacess, Ireno, Wyld, Benczesh, Boliver, Caitland, Aramis, Carzie, Cass, Celtin, Jonluc, Cisco, Claudie, Claster, Miro, Alaric, Cotrino, Jehoiakim, Dracy, Elza, Vlee, Ivyrage, MacAi, Dixo, Ney, Sil, Sio, Lonzie, Marquezze, Nethario, Phylester, Quayd, Shonga, Tavish, Tennyson, Yonex

Famous People:
Carlos Ponce Jones
Christian Dior Jones
Ralph Waldo Jones
Franklin Dwayne Roosevelt Jones
Zachary Taylor Jones
Frederick Douglas Jones
Germaine Quincy Jones
James Quincy Jones
Hans Christian Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (boy)
Indiana Jacob Harrison Jones
Milan Indiana Jones
Rusty Allen Jones
Jaime Lee Curtis Jones (boy)
James Earl Jones
James Taylor Jones
Jesse James Jones
Lynard Jodeci Jones
Aron Elvis Jones
Ptolemy Lee Jones
Ramses, Marsalis, Nero, Shaquille, Imhotep, Olajuwon

Super Welsh boys:
Dylan Emlyn, Bryn Gareth, Gareth Owen, Llewellyn, Scott Taliesin, Trevor Dylan

Say what?
Cheaquis, Cjance, Msonrerome, Jahkesce, Kamj, Ldewaynelee