Friday, January 09, 2009

You named your baby WHAT?

I saw a flurry of talk on Twitter yesterday about strange baby names given by celebrities to their poor unsuspecting offspring. I don't think Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell's names for their twin daughters are all that odd - Dolly and Charlie. At least those are real names that other people have named their children in the past. But some of these others...

As someone who grew up with a strange name (yes, in the '70s and '80s it was nearly impossible to find another Jana), let me tell you what these poor children are in for. First, if they have one of those names with thirty letters, they will have to learn to spell it. For me, that wasn't so much an issue. Then, for the rest of their lives they will have to spell it for other people. Can you imagine?

I knew someone (not a celebrity) who gave her daughter the first name Sarajane. For the rest of this little girl's life, she's going to have to say this: "It's Sarajane, all one word, no H." Why would you do this to your child?

Then there are the laugh-invoking names. "Hi, my name is Pilot." Say what? This kid is going to grow up with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. Don't think Dweezil and Moon Unit didn't hold a long grudge against their parents, either.

I've really grown to love my name since becoming an adult. It's still relatively unique, and even though I go through the spelling thing every time, at least it's short.

So, what's the wackiest name you've ever heard someone give their child?

1 comment:

  1. I hated my name growing up but my mother thought a common last name needed a great first name. On top of that I have no middle name. The only thing was there were no other Shannon's back in 1950. Oh how I longed to be a Kathy or Linda. I got teased constantly. Now days kids won't get teased because there are so many different names.

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