Is it me or are these kids' names getting weirder every year?

[Kutnupe14]

In the circles we run in, there are a lot of very "old" names coming back in favor. Rebecca, Hannah, Jordan, Antonio, Jeremiah, etc...

My wife went to school with someone named "Lover". His mother didn't know his father's name, but he was a good.... well....

If we're talking old, when was the last time you saw a little girl named:

Mable, Ethel, Berta, Ester, Gertrude, Eustis, Mlldred, Gay, Ursula,

 

[churchmouse]

If we're talking old, when was the last time you saw a little girl named:

Mable, Ethel, Berta, Ester, Gertrude, Eustis, Mlldred, Gay, Ursula,

My aunts from "Way" back in the day.
Had a cousin named Eustis I believe.

 

[rob63]

I used to be an elementary school librarian, consequently, I saw the names of every kid in the school. It was astonishing how many different spellings there were for the exact same names. (On a side note, you would also be amazed how many siblings have different last names, but share the same last name with a "cousin" due to mom marrying the same man her sister shacked up with.)

The one that really took the cake though, was a young man whose mother allowed him to pick his own name each year. Yes, you read that correctly, he changed his name each year to whatever he wanted it to be. The mother did not go to the trouble to actually go to court to legally change his name, she just simply came to school to fight with anybody that dared to call him by his real name instead of the name he picked! The "compromise" was that we were instructed to use his legal name on paperwork, but call him by his chosen name. (It was usually a variation of "Prince" or "King.") The best part was that anytime any paperwork went home, you could expect a visit from mom complaining about how we still used his legal name on the paperwork! You can't make this crap up!

 

[eldirector]

If we're talking old, when was the last time you saw a little girl named:

Mable, Ethel, Berta, Ester, Gertrude, Eustis, Mlldred, Gay, Ursula,

Had a nurse the other day named Ester.

We have a Malachi and Zipporah at my kiddo's school.

Head out of central Indiana to get into those strong German and eastern European names. Central-ish Indiana has a lot more history with English, French, Irish, and Scots families. Of course, Marion County / Indy is much more of a melting pot, with names a varied as the people who carry them.

 

[MarkC]

This proliferation of unique names and alternative spellings of more common names makes me wonder if Iceland doesn't have it right with their naming laws. From the Wikipedia article:

First names not previously used in Iceland must be approved by the Icelandic Naming Committee (Icelandic: Mannanafnanefnd) before being used. The criterion for acceptance of names is whether they can be easily incorporated into the Icelandic language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_name

Limiting names, like Iceland, might be a little constricting, but these parents fail to consider that their kids are going to have to go live out in the real world, and people are judgmental.

The one that really took the cake though, was a young man whose mother allowed him to pick his own name each year. Yes, you read that correctly, he changed his name each year to whatever he wanted it to be.

Not to mention the indulgence of allowing the child to pick his own name for each school year. Teaches junior that the world revolves around him and his whims. What's going to happen when he can no longer live in his parents' basement and has to function among those of us who don't automatically accept his brilliance and his individual super-special needs?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

This proliferation of unique names and alternative spellings of more common names makes me wonder if Iceland doesn't have it right with their naming laws. From the Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_name

Limiting names, like Iceland, might be a little constricting, but these parents fail to consider that their kids are going to have to go live out in the real world, and people are judgmental.



Not to mention the indulgence of allowing the child to pick his own name for each school year. Teaches junior that the world revolves around him and his whims. What's going to happen when he can no longer live in his parents' basement and has to function among those of us who don't automatically accept his brilliance and his individual super-special needs?

I've heard that before...

[video=youtube;WOHPuY88Ry4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHPuY88Ry4[/video]

 

[MCgrease08]

I subscribe to the Tom Griswold standard for vetting names. If it would sound silly as the name for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, you shouldn't use it for your kid.

If we're talking old, when was the last time you saw a little girl named:

Mable, Ethel, Berta, Ester, Gertrude, Eustis, Mlldred, Gay, Ursula,

My daughter was named after her great grandmother, Ruby.

There is a little boy that goes to my son's babysitter that's named "Seven." I don't know if his parents are Seinfeld fans or not.

[video=youtube_share;NRUdaWZ4FN0]http://youtu.be/NRUdaWZ4FN0[/video]

 

[KMaC]

A girlfriend's mother worked in IPS and told of a family of boys named Huey, Louie, Dewey and what she assumed was supposed to be Gooey based on the naming theme (rhyming, not Donald Duck nephews), but it was actually spelled Guy.

 

[hopper68]

Dick Trickle was racing for years before somebody figured out his name sounded like a venereal disease.

When my nephew Derek was born, my sister went over with the nurse his name and how to spell it. Then the nurse brought the paper work with the name spelled Derrick and and argument ensued with the nurse first refusing to correct her mistake. Finally my sister said she did not give birth to an oil rig and she was making the baby, not the nurse.

Had a buddy who spells his name Mathew make a bank reprint every page of a loan application they spelled his name Matthew.

 

[WWalker]

https://www.today.com/parents/40-most-unusual-creative-celebrity-baby-names-t113468

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-...G6_5Eny-d9Vy4Cb4D_h-KaFcm84ZOcn0DZOaqe8-vBXvY

 

[Wolfhound]

https://www.today.com/parents/40-most-unusual-creative-celebrity-baby-names-t113468

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-...G6_5Eny-d9Vy4Cb4D_h-KaFcm84ZOcn0DZOaqe8-vBXvY

Most of those names should be considered child abuse IMHO.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Dick Trickle was racing for years before somebody figured out his name sounded like a venereal disease.

When my nephew Derek was born, my sister went over with the nurse his name and how to spell it. Then the nurse brought the paper work with the name spelled Derrick and and argument ensued with the nurse first refusing to correct her mistake. Finally my sister said she did not give birth to an oil rig and she was making the baby, not the nurse.

Had a buddy who spells his name Mathew make a bank reprint every page of a loan application they spelled his name Matthew.

There's a gospel singer named Richard Smallwood. For some reason people are always confused when I laugh when someone says his name.

 

[funeralweb]

My wife is a teacher and is getting the joy of making her 3 X 5 cards with her student's names on them. I get to listen to her rant about the artistic license on the spelling of common heard names. Hokey smokes!! I can't give examples but I am just truly jaded at their parents. Wow!!!

I've been writing obits for 36 years. Early on, I could count on one way to spell most names but started running into erroneous assumptions more and more. Now I find myself asking families how to spell everything. A couple of years ago, a granddaughter of the deceased proudly pronounced her daughter's name that sounded like "Absody", like Rhapsody. I asked her to spell it. No , she spelled her daughter's name "A-b-c-d-e". That was the day I realized I'm not sure who I have more sympathy for, poor teachers like your wife or the kids....

 

[kramer5702]

I have an Uncle named Josephus *spelling?!*, biblical he says. He also hates it when I call him his full name, just Joe he says followed by some cursing and calling me a smart*** lol. My name is super vanilla, Dennis but Im a Junior being named after my father so Im perfectly fine with that. A kid of the 80s, what happened to the Brittanys and Emilys, whats wrong with that? Jason and Jeremiah?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

In the circles we run in, there are a lot of very "old" names coming back in favor. Rebecca, Hannah, Jordan, Antonio, Jeremiah, etc...

I have my father-in-law's old John Deere riding mower, and when I get parts at the dealer, I give them my FIL's phone number, so they can look it up on the computer and know the model # and year of the tractor, and they always give a funny look when they see what they think is my name, Buford Thomas.

 

[Vigilant]

My wife was formerly with the State Police, you’d be amazed at the names. One that was mentioned previously, Absiduh, a-b-c-d-e. But others such as ****head, pronounced shi theed, Madeinusa pronounced Mahday in oosa. I’ll ask when she returns about some of the other winners, like La-a, yup you guessed it La dash uh.

 

[Thor]

When we named our son I had a list of classic names for the wife to choose from starting with Thorfin Skullsplitter. She settled a ways down the list on Erik after Erik the Red who sailed from Denmark for manslaughter's sake; father of Lief the Lucky.

Now she wishes she'd gone with #1.

 

[Spike Jones 5 2002]

I was talking to a lady that works in SUBWAY.
She named all her children after a "city".
Denver, Reno, Philadelphia, and Ely.
She has never visited any of the cities.

 

[kramer5702]

What about the football player HaHa Clinton-Dix?

 

[jagee]

My great unlce was named Usona.

United States Of North America.