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HelpRe: Some sanity on baby names
in reply to a message by Anneza
It's stupid to give your daughter a letter as a first name because you can't be bothered to make up your mind, and to let your son choose his names when he's four years old.
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very stupid indeed
I'd be all for letting the kid choose which nickname he wants to go by, sure, but letting him choose his own names? No ma'am.
I read a great book about Bonnie and Clyde recently, and it's mentioned that Clyde had a brother called L.C. Not short for anything, just L.C. No full name, no reason behind it.
I thought this was lazy and dumb. What, were they so poor they couldn't afford a full name? And poor L.C. undoubtedly had to go to school with several girls named Elsie.
Clyde also had a sister named Artie.
And a confederate of theirs, in Louisiana, had uncles named Iris and Ivy and nieces named Van and Dean. I don't know how Van and Dean turned out, but L.C., Ivy and Iris were career criminals to one degree or another. If that business about unusual names teaching self-control was true, these guys put the lie to it.
I'd be all for letting the kid choose which nickname he wants to go by, sure, but letting him choose his own names? No ma'am.
I read a great book about Bonnie and Clyde recently, and it's mentioned that Clyde had a brother called L.C. Not short for anything, just L.C. No full name, no reason behind it.
I thought this was lazy and dumb. What, were they so poor they couldn't afford a full name? And poor L.C. undoubtedly had to go to school with several girls named Elsie.
Clyde also had a sister named Artie.
And a confederate of theirs, in Louisiana, had uncles named Iris and Ivy and nieces named Van and Dean. I don't know how Van and Dean turned out, but L.C., Ivy and Iris were career criminals to one degree or another. If that business about unusual names teaching self-control was true, these guys put the lie to it.
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Speaking of letting a child choose a name, I have a story about that.... My ex's grandmother was not given a name at birth. I don't know why. Anyway, she was called Tissie by the family because that was her older sister's pronunciation of "sister." At age 10 Tissie was told she could choose a legal name for herself. She chose Sess.
Until she died in her 90s she was known within the family as Tissie and outside the family as Sess.
When she told me this story she made no comments about her choice of a legal name. But then she named one of her sons Mebane, pronounced MAY-bun....
Until she died in her 90s she was known within the family as Tissie and outside the family as Sess.
When she told me this story she made no comments about her choice of a legal name. But then she named one of her sons Mebane, pronounced MAY-bun....
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That was definitely not a good idea on her parents' part. I'd say Tissie itself should have stayed strictly within the family, preferably dying out as the sister got older. And she should have been given a name at or very shortly after birth.
My daughter has a school friend whose little sister is Penelope. Penelope is about three and still can't pronounce her own name. Her attempt sounds sort of like Ralphie, and that's what she's called. I'm hoping very hard that Ralphie falls into disuse very soon, because it's a terrible name even for a boy.
My daughter has a school friend whose little sister is Penelope. Penelope is about three and still can't pronounce her own name. Her attempt sounds sort of like Ralphie, and that's what she's called. I'm hoping very hard that Ralphie falls into disuse very soon, because it's a terrible name even for a boy.
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I have a friend who claims that his parents allowed his six-year-old sister to choose his name. I'll refrain from saying what the name is, because he's a very private person, but I will say that it's a common, popular, totally unremarkable name. I've always wondered whether or not that's really true, first, because it doesn't seem likely that parents would do that (though of course it's possible), and second, I would think a six-year-old girl would pick something more fanciful. But maybe it is true. But even if it is, at least he got a legal name at birth, and wasn't stuck with a childish mispronunciation of "brother", employed by his sister. That really takes the cake. I honestly think I'd feel pretty bad if my parents didn't bother to come up with a legal name for me at my birth. I really wouldn't look at it as "Oh they wanted me to choose, isn't that cool". I'd feel neglected.
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My great-grandmother wasn't given a name at birth. She was just called baby girl even after her parents had another baby girl whom they did name. This went on for 5 years until her brother who was 10 started calling her Ollie and told his parents that she needed a real name so he was giving her one. Her parents just went with it and from then on she was Ollie. Even when she was telling me this in her 80s I could see that it upset her. She was still very angry that her parents never bothered to give her a name and said that's why she was very careful with picking out her children's names, especially her daughters, because she didn't want them to feel like she did.
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I went a couple of weeks without a name, but five years? Good lord, that's TOO long.
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I saw on a game show, when I was very little, a woman who was the youngest in a big family. Her older brothers and sisters were allowed to choose her name, and evidently they could only agree on one. So she was given the name Herbie. Not Herbert, just Herbie.
The parents should at least have insisted that they agree on one boy and one girl name, and they should have retained veto power in any case.
Now that I think on it, Sess sounds like a skewed pronunciation of sex. The comedian Phil Hendrie has a character who always talks like that, saying he's "very sessy" or that he's "siss-foot one."
The parents should at least have insisted that they agree on one boy and one girl name, and they should have retained veto power in any case.
Now that I think on it, Sess sounds like a skewed pronunciation of sex. The comedian Phil Hendrie has a character who always talks like that, saying he's "very sessy" or that he's "siss-foot one."
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I agree. I guess there are letters that wouldn't be so bad as names- B, D, V, J, K, or M could work, since they could easily be spelled/thought of as Bea, Dee, Vee, Jay/Jae, Kay, or Em- but E? That's just lazy and unattractive. "Hi, my name is E." URG, IT BUGS ME.
The son's name is...yeeeah. I could never do this myself, and while I want to give props to people just for having the balls to do it, I can't get past the fact that it reeks of "Look what a cool parent I am." Just STFU and pick a name for your kid.
At least the dad is somewhat attractive. Positivity.
The son's name is...yeeeah. I could never do this myself, and while I want to give props to people just for having the balls to do it, I can't get past the fact that it reeks of "Look what a cool parent I am." Just STFU and pick a name for your kid.
At least the dad is somewhat attractive. Positivity.
This message was edited 4/12/2014, 9:45 AM
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Plus at four - you really don't know yourself.
Sorry.
Slightly off topic / slightly on topic - Miriam's nickname really is becoming M. I call her M allll the time and my family is picking up on it. She's still Miriam a good majority of the time but I suspect the day is coming when everyone starts referring to her - at least half the time - as M.
Sorry.
Slightly off topic / slightly on topic - Miriam's nickname really is becoming M. I call her M allll the time and my family is picking up on it. She's still Miriam a good majority of the time but I suspect the day is coming when everyone starts referring to her - at least half the time - as M.
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