Comments on: Name, please

By: Cameron

Cameron — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:59:04 +0000

TL and KI,
Thanks! I actually went by the American pronunciation through high school because my last name was a mouthful, but in college I was finally mature enough to use it.

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By: KI

KI — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:30:05 +0000

Cameron, I also like the name Anna pronounced that way. Graceland, I did call TL’s (she’s my daughter) newborn daughter, Noname, pronounced as you wrote, for a few hours after her birth. They took a few hours after her birth to finally decide on her name. In their defense, she was 6 weeks early.

The strangest name we have in the family is my grandson, Bojer, pronounced Boyer. He was named after some famous fisherman whose name was on a statue in Alaska. His father is a commercial fisherman. I have never seen the name anywhere else.

My niece was named Cassie Jones (pronounced Casey) and her father worked on the railroad. They had a write up in the local paper about that. Her brother was named Gerry John Paul Jones. He went by John Paul all his life and was shocked when they insisted he go by Gerry when he was in the Marines. He had a hard time remembering to answer to it. He officially had it changed when he got out.

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By: TL

TL — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:07:04 +0000

Cameron – you wouldn’t think Anna would be so difficult! I like the different pronunciation -

I, too, dislike when people shorten someone’s name without asking. I always use a person’s given name unless they introduce themselves in a different way. I often get checks from people as payment, so I know their legal name – sometimes before I am formally introduced.

My husband’s first name is Greg. That’s all. Not Gregory. But everyone assumes it’s Gregory, since most Gregs start out that way. Always good to ask.

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By: Cameron

Cameron — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:33:21 +0000

TL/#22,
I was thinking of using the Finnish version of the name, Eila – but that REALLY would have thrown people for a loop on spelling and pronunciation!

I inherited the Finnish pronunciation of Anna for my first name, so it’s pronounced Ah’-nah rather than Ann-nah. If they hear it, they can’t spell it, if they see it, they can’t pronounce it, even after repetition. My maiden last name was far worse, so I was glad to marry a wonderful man with a plain Anglo-Saxon last name!

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By: Cheryl D.

Cheryl D. — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:19:18 +0000

One semester I taught college English, and had three boys named James. One went by James, the other two by Jim, and I was nervous all semester that I’d forget which one insisted on James. (I’m bad with names.) The good thing is that the three guys named James were three out of four of the largest guys in the class, so at least I could remember which were named James/Jim. Well, one day I called the fourth large guy (the non-James) “James” by mistake, and he got mad. I told him, “I’m sorry, but three out of four of the students over six feet are named James; it was an honest mistake, but I do know who you are.” He calmed down right away. (But I was glad that he was one of the big guys, and that I didn’t have to say, “All the other short dudes are named James….”)

My mom used to joke about biblical names for twins or triplets: Tryphena and Tryphosa, for instance. Her favorite set was Huz, Uz, and Buz.

My younger brother was once one of four Jeffs in his class. Through the years I haven’t met very many Jeffs, but I’ve rarely met anyone named Jeff who wasn’t born the same year as my brother, 1970.

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By: Anlir

Anlir — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:29:04 +0000

Get with the program HSK!

You sell the naming rights to your baby. There are companies that will pay you to name your child after their company or product. Yes, she will have an (R) after her name, but she will likely have college paid for, and then some.

Think of the possibilities:

Fanta
Ambien
Nyquil
Hickory Farm
Filet-o-fish
Aquafina
ADM (Supermarket to the World)
Disney on Ice

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By: SteveG

SteveG — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:36:00 +0000

Cheryl is nearly always spelled the way my name is–but few people get it right if they write it without asking me first. I’d expect “Sheryl,” and go get it, but what I see as often as anything else is “Cherly.” Also “Sharall” and all sorts of other things. And my last name, which I won’t name, is spelled exactly the way it’s pronounced–but people nearly always spell it wrong anyway. (I once had a co-worker I’d worked with for about eight years–a fellow editor–send me a note with my last name misspelled with the common misspelling.)

I have a friend named Michael who often gets it spelled “Micheal.” It’s a common name but a lot of people don’t know how to spell it.

(He also hates it when people start calling him “Mike” without bothering to ask if that’s what he prefers — it isn’t.)

On another name related topic, I thought it was amusing in the ’70s and ’80s when the most prominent Hollywood tough guys were named Arnold and Sylvester … not names that would have been associated with that image.

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By: Galadriel

Galadriel — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:02:03 +0000

I used to say I was going to name my (hypothetical) boys Dakota and Montana, but now we have two dreadful little hollywood starlets with my precious names. They sounded all rugged and manly before.

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By: bethd

bethd — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:31:31 +0000

Hey, TL, good choice of a boy’s name! We named our 7-year-old son Micah too. And I too was surprised to find girls with the name of a male prophet! I guess it’s just my maternal defensiveness kicking in, but I thought I had chosen a good male name!

The funniest name story I have is when we were using a preschool classroom and saw an unusual name on one of the cubbies – Dimarkchrissy. (Say it out loud 3 times and you’ll get it – LOL) And yes, that violates all the above rules on spelling.

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By: Travis Birkenstock

Travis Birkenstock — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:17:56 +0000

Mumsee,

I like a woman who can bang out a hard G. You must be from higher up the panhandle, where contractions go to die – and all the children are good looking.

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