Weird/unusual names for (your) children

[Bamspeedy]

I think some countries could use laws like these. I'm looking at you USA.

There are way too many idiotic spellings of the name Ashley... and Kaley.. and..

I was talking to one of my neighbors and he was talking about wanting to move to Europe because 'you can't do anything here anymore'. If he was in Europe he might not have been allowed to give his daughter the name she has.

I briefly contemplated naming my (half Chinese) daughter Chyna, not exactly sure how it would go over. 80% of the people (including my wife) had a negative reaction, while the other 20% was very positive, so I gave her a different name, one that is more common in Europe than it is in the US.

Spoiler :

No, it's not HELGA !

 

[Narz]

I met a Nigerian fellow named Goodluck at a bus station the other day (he informed me the current president also shares his name).

Personally I don't mind people giving their kids unusual names. Some of the most popular ones are pretty ugly (Madison and Aiden for example)

 

[mangxema]

1) Have you ever considered giving your children some very unusual name, for example something from your favourite book, film, or TV series? Or perhaps an ancient name which isn't really used today? If the answer is yes, what names have you considered and why?

Eh, that's way off in the distance so I don't put much thought into it. My last name stands out as it is, so I don't feel any particular need to. In fact, I think my problem is going to be settling on names that sound good with my last name that we'd both agree on.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

Three questions:

1) (To those of you who don't have any children [that you know of]): Have you ever considered giving your children some very unusual name, for example something from your favourite book, film, or TV series? Or perhaps an ancient name which isn't really used today? If the answer is yes, what names have you considered and why?

I've seriously considered giving my unlikely future children the names of underworld mythological figures, like Pluto, Hades, Persephone, etc, as well as names that are creative variations of the word "nuclear", (which I have since made a part of the naming convention of the blue aliens I created). When I posted such names here quite a few years ago, someone said that my kids would probably hate me for it (he's most likely right. ).

2) What do you think about parents who give their children such names? Do you think it is within their rights to name their children in any way they like, or should the government regulate this? And to what extent? Do you think it is a good parental choice to give your child a name that nobody else shares, one that could make his/her life difficult when growing up?

I myself sometimes think they're crazy, but then I remember about myself. Yes, it is within their rights. I do realize it may not be the best parental choice though.

3) What does the law in your country say about this?

I have no clue.

 

[Stansberry]

my great grandfather's name was Nero......

 

[stormerne]

In the US, I've noticed that it's quite common for first names to be what would normally only be surnames in the UK. It used to surprise me and I thought it odd. Now I scarcely notice. It's very much about local culture.

On the other hand my English grandfather's middle name was a common surname, and his father's first name was the same surname (ditto for at least two more ancestors in that line) so I can talk!

My own children... one has a Tolkienesque middle name that she eventually chose to be her normal everyday first name when she became adult, one has an old fashioned Victorian middle name but I don't think she tells anyone, and one had unusual first and middle names that were variants of old names.

 

[Azale]

You don't have a right to cll your dchildren just anything you like. I wouldn't call my children 'Takhisis', it'd be stupid, it's just a screen name. What'd happen if you had a son called 'Winner'? Can you even calculate how many stupid jokes people can make about him?

I dunno, ask Robert Lane

 

[GamezRule]

I always thought Willard was a strange name.

 

[Skwink]

I'm going to name my child Prospekt.

 

[Mise]

How about Stakhanov? From the Winter Collection.

 

[Winner]

Eh, that's way off in the distance so I don't put much thought into it. My last name stands out as it is, so I don't feel any particular need to. In fact, I think my problem is going to be settling on names that sound good with my last name that we'd both agree on.

The last name is a problem, so many nice names don't go well with mine. Changing surnames in this country is allowed, but usually only people with funny or derogatory surnames ask for it. I unfortunately have a very common surname, so I'd have to do some explaining as to why I want to change it. Something tells me that "I want to give my hypothetical children strange names that don't go well with my present surname" wouldn't be looked at with much sympathy by the registry office

my great grandfather's name was Nero......

Did he live in a small town named Rome that was destroyed by a fire?

 

[Veles]

The overwhelming majority of modern Russian names are Slavicised Christian names of Greek, Roman or Hebrew origin, like Aleksandr, Sergei, Dmitriy, Andrei, Ivan, Ilya, Pavel or Piotr. Since 19th century Slavophile revivalist movements old names like Vladimir (which is to be read vluh-DEE-meer), Yaroslav, Sviatopolk etc start to gain back the popularity.

There's a an increasing trend nowadays to give old pagan Slavic names, like Radomir, Bogdan, Stanislav, Milivoi, Yaropolk etc.

@ Winner, warpus
Do you have a tradition of using patronymics?

There needs to be a theme. I just read about a group of siblings called Ask, Brage, Njård, Odin, Idun, Embla and Frøya, who are all Gods or other figures in Norse mythology.

That's classy.

 

[Winner]

Since 19th century Slavophile revivalist movements old names like Vladimir (which is to be read vluh-DEE-meer), Yaroslav, Sviatopolk etc start to gain back the popularity.

There's a an increasing trend nowadays to give old pagan Slavic names, like Radomir, Bogdan, Stanislav, Milivoi, Yaropolk etc.

I'd say the trend here is opposite. To me these names sound terribly old-fashioned. Stanislav is quite common, actually.

@ Winner, warpus
Do you have a tradition of using patronymics?

Maybe in some rural parts of Moravia where old traditions are still kept, otherwise no. My middle name (which I've never used anywhere for any purpose) is that of my grandfather - but then, the village my mother came from used to be one of these places where such traditions lingered.

But in any case, even there it was nowhere near what you Russians do.

 

[Veles]

I'd say the trend here is opposite. To me these names sound terribly old-fashioned. Stanislav is quite common, actually.

Maybe because of the fact, that we (unlike you, it seems) were barred by the Church to use them for like nine centuries, they don't seem so old-fasioned to us. Archaic maybe, but that's fine.

But in any case, even there it was nowhere near what you Russians do.

Yep, you guys gotta catch up in this department

To these days the correct polite of adressing to a Russian, say, Yaroslav Vladimirovich Petrov, would be not gospodin Petrov (Mr. Petrov), but Yaroslav Vladimirovich (Yaroslav, son of Vladimir). When you think of it, this looks something straight of 9th century

 

[Masada]

I Amalasuntha, Annelies and Anaise for girl's names.

You don't have a right to cll your dchildren just anything you like. I wouldn't call my children 'Takhisis', it'd be stupid, it's just a screen name. What'd happen if you had a son called 'Winner'? Can you even calculate how many stupid jokes people can make about him?

I have a little Brother-in-Law called Winner. For correct pronunciation just ignore the E and roll the R.

 

[Winner]

Maybe because of the fact, that we (unlike you, it seems) were barred by the Church to use them for like nine centuries, they don't seem old-fasioned at all to us. Archaic maybe, but that's fine.

Ha. I am not aware of any past restrictions concerning names of Pagan-Slavic origin.

In any case, the names which are popular today are disgusting, which only proves to me that I am totally out of sync with the Czech society

Yep, you guys gotta catch up in this department

To these days the correct polite of adressing to a Russian, say, Yaroslav Vladimirovich Petrov, would be not gospodin Petrov (Mr. Petrov), but Yaroslav Vladimirovich (Yaroslav, son of Vladimir). When you think of it, this looks something straight of 9th century

I don't particularly miss that - I have trouble remembering two names, three seems even more redundant

 

[Veles]

Ha. I am not aware of any past restrictions concerning names of Pagan-Slavic origin.

I think I remember reading some old Polish church document, forbidding pagan names, bar the ones related to establishing of the local Christianity, like Vladislav, Mechislav, Kazimir, Vaclav etc.

In Russia pagan names were prohibited at some point later, but survived among peasantry as nicknames.

In any case, the names which are popular today are disgusting, which only proves to me that I am totally out of sync with the Czech society

Is it true, that in Czech Michelle Obama would be Michelle Obamova?

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

I'm going to name my child Prospekt.

Ironically leaving him/her with very little . Possibly the only career path remaining would be to independently search for gold .

 

[Cynovolans]

In the US, I've noticed that it's quite common for first names to be what would normally only be surnames in the UK. It used to surprise me and I thought it odd. Now I scarcely notice. It's very much about local culture.

I think we southerners once had a tradition of naming a child after his or her's grandmother's maiden name. Of course that tradition is mostly forgotten or ignored now(at least in my part of the South), and I think it is stupid. Surnames sound like terrible first or given names.

 

[Godwynn]

Hahah Southerners!

That's why people were called by their middle name, since that was the normal first name at the time. I once met a hyper-conservative Baptist from Alabama who had a last name for a first name, and was called by her middle name.

It's still alive in some parts of the South.