Names

[Portia]

Kayleigh Buhagiar, lawyer and regulatory officer at the Financial Services Commission of Gibraltar, looks like an excellent resource for financial advice. Glad she said "screw that" to silly stereotypes of what women (it's always women!) with or without a certain style of given name can do.

I like traditional names more than most: if it didn't exist as a name before 1900, not going to use it. But impugning someone because they happen to bear a non-traditional/trendy '80s name is (a) classist (b) illogical (did Kayleigh choose her name?) (c) ironic, considering, unless your given name is Mary or Joan, say.

[Concorde]

I really agree with you on that one, Portia. My answer was sort of tongue-in-cheek. While my mother did get my name from a romance novel, I really like my name, despite the fact that it's also associated with several 'adult' actresses. Judging a woman's ability to do anything based on what someone else named her is completely illogical, in my opinion as well.

Aren't all names technically made-up at some point, really?

[Portia]

I'm having fun with this one. Looks like the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics decided a Kayleigh could be worth hiring, and here we have a recruitment consultant in IT who's my age and has racked up a boatload of professional recommendations (interesting points on the British secondary education system in that one).

As a fellow child of questionable '80s (Mormon, no less) romance novel naming, I feel there is a world of difference between saying "my taste is traditional" or even "don't name your baby something trendy/cr8tive/ehtnic," and saying "I would not trust someone who has a cultural marker of being young, female, and from the 'wrong' social class or racial group or religion to do some professional service for me."

I know upper-middle-class, educated white people are all naming their kids Hazel and George and Lucy and Max these days, and power on 'em, but just because a Brentleigh or Jaiden or Nevaeh wasn't in your kid's playgroup and was saddled with a "stupid" name, doesn't mean that they should be subject to stereotypes and passed over in hiring. What next ... I don't feel "comfortable" working with a Rumit or a Mehmet or a Nadia, so adapt, non-WASP parents?

My boyfriend's nephew has a stupid name. (It's a Mormon one. And contains the word "moron.") And a stupid fauxhawk. Not his fault.

[UffishThought]

Even though I recognize it's unfair of me, I probably am going to feel a little safer in the financial hands of a Jane instead of a Trixie or a Brent instead of a Crusher. I know their parents gave them the name (well, probably), but they could have changed it. And while I recognize they shouldn't HAVE to change their name to be successful at life, my first response is remarkably insensitive, and it's a big part of my decision-making process.

Kayleigh doesn't bug me so much I'd avoid her, but I still prefer simpler spellings. At some point, it comes down to personal preference.

[Portia]

This cuts both ways. Kayleigh and Braxton have the markers of youth that a Barbara and Ronald don't, so at a company like mine, Barbara wouldn't even get in the door. (Did a count. There are 7 Kayl*s and 1 Barbara, who is Asian. One Braxton, no Ronalds.)

I also am unwilling to change my name, although it's non-traditional, because my mom chose it and it's a tie to her. I work in a very different industry than finance, though. I mean, I'm wearing yoga pants right now.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I just want to say that Andrew nicknamed Ender is totally on my list.

[Tally M.]

Now that, Gio, is a name I'd be up for.

[mic0]

I've considered naming my future child "Anna Mae" - it is my grandmother's name, and even though it sounds like "Anime" when said quickly I don't feel like it is a deal-breaker. Every single name has something silly about it. Around age 12 I realized my full name made a sentence. Around age 13 a movie called "AI" (Artificial Intelligence) came out and people realized those were my initials and thought it was funny. I also had a weird nickname after a certain brand of car. My name is perfectly conservative! Someone above gave the example of "Pete" as name with the potential to be made fun of. Yeah, don't name your kid "Grape" (my cat's name), but otherwise names are so versatile that (1) anything can have a bad connotation for SOMEONE, (2) everything can be made fun of, and (3) all the decent people in the world will get to know the person behind the name.

I realize that a lot of the answers on the Board were being funny, but I still felt like... geez. Take it easy, guys. ANYWAY, some of you might like this article about baby-naming practices among young, upper-middle class parents.

[Portia]

Love the article. (Read it when it was published. It's a classic.) Love the 1930s names. If I reproduce, the girl's middle name would be Irene, after my great-grandma's middle name.

I don't think of my kids as part of my "brand." I'll give them a name I like, and not worry about how many will or will not share it. They're a person, not a character, and it's so pompous to think that a name magically imbues your kid with qualities like leader/follower. It's this particularly grating style of being different by being exactly like everyone else. Milo and Arya will be just as dated as anything else in 20 years.

But then, a lot of the UMC values of specialness and uniqueness and carefully curating a certain taste grate on me in general. It's like ... the twee apartment that was all done by a designer anyway, carefully made to look "authentic," therefore being as inauthentic as possible. I want my kid(s) to know early on that they're not some special snowflake, and that it's better to do something than artfully pretend you do something. It's what I'd call an Instagram Lifestyle ... filtered, faux-aged, but ultimately, fake.

[Portia]

Can't agree with this comment more:

Brad Seattle, WA NYT Pick
There's something vaguely narcissistic in needing your child's name to be unique and thus a reflection on your cleverness. What's wrong with naming your child a name you like, whether or not it's popular?

[Imogen]

I prefer more traditional names, and, as a teacher, I HATE weird spellings on names! It takes me FOREVER to figure out how to pronounce a child's name, and the kid is ALWAYS embarrassed. I was embarrassed by my name growing up, but it's not nearly as weird as some of the names I encounter now.

My kids will get the "Chief Justice" test: if I don't think it sounds good after the words "Chief Justice," that will not be their name. And the names I have picked out for my hypothetical future children all pass.

[Tally M.]

I like the name Alice Hermione. Plus some last name.

[Dead Cat]

I really like names from mythology, but I don't think I could give my kids a name like Polyhymnia or Andromeda, no matter how cool I think they are. Though, on a side note, I am so very tempted to give any sons I have the middle name Severus. I guess it'll depend on how much of a Potter nerd the guy I end up marrying is.

[Portia]

I had a meeting in Andromeda today. Seemed weird. But you get used to anything.

[Tally M.]

Nickname of Andy? Which I've never been a fan of for girls, but it might work.

[NerdGirl]

My kids will get the "Chief Justice" test: if I don't think it sounds good after the words "Chief Justice," that will not be their name. And the names I have picked out for my hypothetical future children all pass.

I LOVE this.

I try not to judge people with made up names that sound like something out of Seriously So Blessed, but I reserve the right to judge the heck out of their parents.

And I feel like this is somewhat related: I have a friend who had a baby girl about a year and a half before the first Twilight novel came out, and she named her Isabella after her grandmother. And then Twilight came out and everyone assumed she named her after the girl from Twilight. And my friend absolutely hates Twilight. Very bad timing. So it might be nice to also have a time machine when naming your children to see if anything major will happen with the name you picked out in the near future.

[Owlet]

I really like names from mythology.

Me too! My name comes from mythology, sort of. I've seen a few Athenas. Iris might be possible...eh, no. I like how Rick Riordan took Perseus and nicknamed him Percy (The Lightning Thief). Maybe Cassie from Cassiopeia?

I hate all these names, but one day I'm going to find something that works.

[bobtheenchantedone]

One great thing about being a writer is that any strange-ish (or otherwise unacceptable) names I really like I can give to characters.

[Imogen]

The name from mythology I really love is Persephone, but I know kids would call her "Purse-se-phone," and I can't do that to my kid.

[Portia]

The name from mythology I really love is Persephone, but I know kids would call her "Purse-se-phone," and I can't do that to my kid.

My best friend is planning on making that her daughter's middle name.