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Time for some rules on names

Funny article, Dug.

I agree 100%! I've kind of a weird name researcher myself. I have to say it boils down to pure selfishness. The parents naming their children odd names and odd spellings aren't thinking of their children. They're thinking of themselves. I say this because it's obvious they didn't think for a minute as to the future of their child.

I met a young man in California who had the actual name of LZ (short for "Landing Zone"). I am not sure what his parents had in mind, but he may have had to defend himself in school. I could never to that to a kid.

Great article Doug. Couldn't agree more with your rules. I hate it when people try to get creative and give their kid a last name for a first name. Also knew a kid named Nephi. He was really weird. I blame it on the name. There's others ways to pay homage to book of mormon prophets than naming your kid after them. It's the kids that gets punished not the parents.

A friend of mine named her kid Rocky Mountain!

I have an easy name to spell (at least I think so), but everywhere I go people spell it with a "J". Sometimes even with two "n"s. So, I still end up having to spell it to people. Oh, brother!

And please don't give a child a first and middle name and then make the middle name the one the child goes by. That first day of school can be rough when the "unknown" name is called at roll call. Also, a first initial doesn' work well on computer forms. I'm speaking as a middle namer myself.

. . . don't give your kid a name like Barack Hussein Obama! He'll never get elected president with a moniker like that!

what ever happened to freedom .... this is america people are free to choose what ever name they wish for their child.
yes some are different and odd but who cares.

Funny stuff, Doug. My mother-in-law is a nurse in St Louis. She knew of a woman whose name was Female, pronounced fuh-MAHL-ee. Apparently, the kid's parents didn't know what that box meant on their birth certificate.

Are these names first or last names?
Allen
Alexander
Brooks
Clark
Craig
David
Douglas
Duncan
Felix
Gordon
Henry
Irving
James
Joyce
Kelly
Lee
Lewis
Lincoln
Marshall
Martin
Nicholas
Parker
Quentin
Richard
Ross
Russell
Scott
Simon
Stewart
Tanner
Taylor
Thomas
Tyler

What are we going to do - institute a name police squad?

You probably aren't familiar with Doug Robinson and his writing style. I can't remember any of his articles that didn't use sarcasm. If you're not sure what that means, just know that when you read one of his articles, you shouldn't take it seriously.

Consider the names of Frank Zappa's children: Moon Unit, Dweezle, Ahmet & Diva. Poor kids. Then there's this from the 12/18/2008 Denver Post "Heath Campbell said he named his son after Adolf Hitler because he liked the name and because "no one else in the world would have that name." Adolf Hitler Campbell and "The Campbells' two other children also have unusual names: JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell turns 2 in a few months, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell will be 1 in April." Was anyone surprised when all 3 of the Campbell children were taken from the home by the county Children's Services? Officials said they had doubts about parents who would name their child Adolf Hitler. The Campbells' say they they want people to respect their kids names which begs the question: Is a name just a name? Or do you think these parents should have their heads examined and their name choices will have a negative affect in their kids lives?

No one has questioned anyone's freedom as to what you can & cannot name your child. The point is that you need to do it with the CHILD in mind & not how cool you'll look as a parent because you were so "clever" as to come up with a "unique" name and/or spelling... just like everyone else. My mother-in-law is named Clyda... like Clyde-uh... because they were going to name her Clyde, thinking she'd be a boy. Her last name is difficult as well, making it so that she has to spell everything out for everyone & she hates it. No one was thinking, "Gee, this girl would love to be named Clyda!" People are judged by their names all the time. I know that, as a manager of a business, when I'm looking at resumes in order to hire someone new, I get turned off by strange names or improperly spelled names because it makes that person look less intelligent, less capable & less professional. Bottom Line: Stop being selfish (like someone said earlier) & think about your CHILD.

The bottom line: that cutsie baby name you really really really want sooooo bad for your cutie-patootie has to turn into a grown-up name one day.

This was so funny! Why do people do these things to their kids? My mom worked at a school and there was a girl there named Princess Arora. Come on! That is so unbelievably ridiculous!

My name is not common, but it's not weird. But since it isn't used much, people spell it in the weirdest ways. I've had people spell it: Maurriane. Huh? The funny thing is that almost everyone I've met who shares my name spells it like I do.

Yes we live in a free country. You can name your kid anything you want. Amoung our freedoms id ther freedom to be stupid.

And it is the child that suffers.

wow, for those who feel it is okay to name a child what ever a person whats (ie @Anon and Anonymous) This is not really a call to end made up weird names. It is just a statements about how in an effort to be different we can cause a child to be embarrassed about their name. Children have enough to stress about so lets make it easy for them anyway we can. A name like Jet Force (yes a real name for a real cute boy) is a horrible way to start his schooling. Can you imagine what the child will go through in Middle/Junior high? Or Elementary school? I knew another person who's mother named her "Anglea." How do you pronounce her name? As an adult she is embarrassed that her mother couldn't spell Angela. Sometimes people just need to be reminded of how serious it is to name a child.

So lighten up people. It is all good.

I love the Russian spelling of my name but I always have to spell it to people and most often, pronounce it. It IS a pain and it's not even that weird. For those of you wondering, it's /tawn ya/. The first day of kindergarten, just after my mom explained how to say my name, the teacher called me /TAN juh/. I told my husband that when we have kids, our son would be Adam and I'm not sure about a girl's name, yet. BECAUSE, our last name is another that has to always be pronounced and spelled. I'm all for giving kids easier names! I've lived with this for 41 years and it does get tiring. I agree that naming a child IS serious... it's who they are--it becomes a part of them.

Loved the article! :)