We got so many great comments on our post yesterday, that I have to say, being named "Barrie" hardly seems out of the ordinary (THANK you Chantilly Lovelace!!). Today's the day you can call in, and hear Neal say, "Brooklyn from Detroit, you're on the air," or even "Apple from Charlotte, go ahead." (For more on Neal's personal name drama, go here.) In a kitchen conversation today, both Neda Ulaby and Love Henderson said they had to "grow into" their names; I know that's true for me. And now parents have to worry about names that Google well. I wonder how many of you contemplated changing your name? Did anyone change it from a more common name to something wacky? Anyone go from Jennifer to Sunshine?
Blog Of The Nation
When I was growing up I knew a Copper Penny, a Holly Wood, and a Rocky Beach. My last name was the subject of some ridicule (Tank). My brother, who was somewhat large, was called Sherman by his friends.
My name, Talus, (pronounced with a flat A and a schwa U), gets many questions. It can mean two things: an ankle bone, or crumbled boulders on a steep hill. I like to think the latter applies to me. In school, whenever there is a substitute teacher... oh, boy. It is NEVER pronounced correctly.
Howdy, My name is Clay and any time anyone yells out "hey!" in a crowd i turn and look. But worse than that, ever since Clay Aiken won American Idol, upon introduction I get "Oh, Clay Aiken!". Arrgh!
Keep Smiling! -Clay
My name is Eris, the same as the Greek goddess of discord. My name is often a conversation piece for me. People first always want to ask how it's spelled. Then they want to know why on Earth I would've been named that. I joke that my father wanted a son for his first born instead. I always get a polite, waning smile and then, "Well, it's a pretty name, at least." Thanks for the show.
I went to college with a girl named Jeni4 (no kidding). Apparently, her mother liked the name Jennifer and her father liked the number 4!
I met a person named OK Doke when I was in college. It turns out that he was the son of someone named Donald Doke which proves that whimsical name choices can span generations.
My personal experience with names isn't so bad. I've got the same first name as my dad which made for some confusion when people called the house. My last name is unpronounceable for most people, but that's about as bad as it gets.
My name was made up of sounds inspired by a family name (Calligaris) and my father's profession (geology). I'm the only one and I love it. I grew up with a Happy, a Spirit and a Wednesday.
hi my name is chandra renee walker. my first name is hindi and it means "the moon" and my middle name is french and it means "re-birth". however, in hidi rene means "queen". and when i last re-newed my driver's license, the clerk who was sikh, and processed my form shouted throughout the dmv, "oh, CHANDRA RENEE, YOU ARE QUEEN OF THE MOON!!"
My grandmother use to tell me a story about sisters she grew up with named Ima Pig and Youra Pig in Washington. What fun parents they must have had.
My full name is Lindsay Uvahn Zscheck, pronounced "check". Uvahn is a name from my mother's side, and Zscheck is, of course, my father's last name. I don't know of any other family in America with the same last name, but I usually let someone else order pizza to aviod the confusion of spelling it out!
My name is Willis, which hasn't gotten me a lot of ridicule, but has connected me to Gary Coleman for the rest of my life. The first words out of anyone's mouth when they meet me is "Whatchoo talkin' about Willis."
My mother's name is Jetta. She was born in 1951 and everyone always assumes her parents must have loved the car. Most don't know that the VW Jetta didn't debut in the US until the 1980s. She's always thought it would be neat to own a VW Jetta and just recently she and my father bought one as an anniversary gift to each other.
Growing up with the name of Jay was fine, and never really thought about the nickname Jayme. That is not until a girl moved into our fourth grade named Jaimie. I went home and asked that my name be changed to Bob.
In college, after professors struggled with complex names on their rosters, they always were relieved to come across a nice simple one like mine.
Jay Smith
Tainter Lake Wisconsin
My name is Airen- Pronounced just like Erin. I've had a coworker when I was introduced say "how cool... it, like, has Air in it!" and because of that I've been Air Bear for most of my life. Most people pronounce it Irene or Arian. When I was in High school, we had to write essays about what our names meant and my spelling was nowhere to be found. Now, thanks to Google, I have found that it's a French wine grape or is an increasingly common name in Japan (for boys or girls). I've come to really like my name's spelling, but growing up there were times it was quite a pain. I have even been told "your parents spelled your name wrong".
My last name is Pickering Pick, a name I tried to conceal for years as a child by shortening it to just Pick, until I developed a new respect for its peculiar Englishness, and reinstated the 'Pickering'. At the same time, I learned my friend's mother's name was Gay Pope, so I knew I couldn't really complain.
My mother's name was supposed to be Wilma Jean and she would be called "Billie". Her twin died shortly after they were born and my grand mother was too weak to attend her baptism. Aunt Lillian and Aunt Olive took mom to church to be bpatised and instead of baptising her Wilma Jean she came home baptised "Olive Lillian". My grand mother called her "Billie", and changed it to "Olivia Lillian". My mother hated her name and to this day she goes by the name "Billie".
Now all these years later "Olivia" is pretty popular, and this tickled mom.
While Neal is speaking of strange names, what about his son, Connor Conan??
I have proof that living in Utah has an ongoing history of "unusual" names. Visit the Utah Baby Namer at:
http://wesclark.com/ubn/
Click on the "Cream of the Crop" area for some insight into Utah culture. Be sure to read the article "What's In a (Utah) Name?" by Cari Bilyeu Clark that's linked on the home page.
Some of my favorites (These are real names taken from birth announcements in the local newspapers):
Vinyl, Truckston, Codiene, Pledger, D'Loaf, Thermos, Dianarea, LaFawnduh, Chinchilla Zest, Sleeza, Slayer, Sterile, Slaughter, Jynx, Nudity, VulvaMae, Tugdick, and, yes... Clitoris.
Hi,
I am happy with my short name, Nitu. But would like to share my cousin's story. His name is short and sweet Indian: Beepin. He was 5 years old when he thought it was too short compared to my grandfather's long Indian name and that it was too child-like name. Now I guess he is happy with it now that he is 23 years old :).
My name is Jillaine, pronounced like Elaine except it is Jill-Lane. Helpful people always "correct" the spelling to Jillian or Jullian. I was born in '72 and mother wanted me to be unique but not a "hippie" name. I find it helpful now in life to be "unique."
My parents named me Kelly and although it is a common name, they chose to spell it KELI, which led to a lot of mispronunciations. This spelling secretly tortured me for years when I was in elementary school and I went through a phase where I wanted to spell my name like all the other Kellys. Even though I hated my name for quite some time I recently had a son and named him Thelonious (like Thelonious Monk). Almost everyone in my family disliked the name at first while all of my friends love it. Just in case he really hates the name when he gets older, we gave him two normal middle names to choose from just in case.
My name, Beverly, was given to me in honor of my mother's best friend. When my name is called I picture a waitress that might have worked in Flo's Diner; Red hair, tight pink dress, white frilly apron, bouffant hairdo, way too much gum in the mouth. I really wish my mother would have asked her best friend if she like her name or not. Bet not!
I'm sure Neal can relate to this one. My name is Neil and although it isn't an odd name per se it is definitely rare. Often, when introducing myself, people will repeat my name back to me just to be sure they have it right..."Neil?". And don't get me started on the spelling! Why do so many people want to spell my/our name Niel? One last bit...I knew a General in the Marine Corp named Richard Head...no more comment needed!
you name them--rhyming names and naming after fruit or alcoholic beverages does not show much respect. I do not think much of parents that would put such a burden on the child
My name is Jan Smid, Im a guy born in the Czech Republic back when it was Czechoslovakia where this name made since, when I started elementary school in the US you can imagine this name caused some confusion (Brady Bunch) and what did you say?!?! Smith? No, no with a 'D'.... :)
Hello, my name is Cedate (pronouced just like the word sedate, as in sedation)and I will say that as a child having an uncommon name was very difficult. However, as an adult it is nice to have the unique distinction. The most common problem I encounter is at the doctor's office... I can usually tell that it is my turn when the nurse comes out and just stands there looking at her sheet of paper.
Thanks to all for sharing their own unique names!
I do not have an unusual name, Elizabeth. However, as a preschooler, I had trouble spelling it. I spotted a pretty actress on a daytime soap opera and announced I would now answer to Betsy (just a coincidence that Betsy is a common nickname for Elizabeth). It stuck immediately and permanently. Once in high school and once in college, I tried to go back to Elizabeth, but it never sticks. People shorten it to names I like less that Betsy. Moral of the Story: if you change you name, you can't go back.
I named my daughter a name I knew to be unique: Ethne. I didn't realize it was totally unheard of. I must spell it for everyone we meet. But she can always go by her middle name (Elizabeth)
PS I must say, I know a young girl name Unique (we call her Nikki)
My name Ardis Bartle, as a saleswoman in the natural Gas business, my name is unique and only one on google. In my business, its not unusual for pipeline engineers to be talking about a project and my name to come up, and incredulity that my name is immediately recognized.
My last name is Dolphin, my family migrated from England in 1848. Other than the nickname "Flipper" which always seems to get stuck to me in any situation I really like it. I have even had people ask if I had my last name changed to it.
I have never met another person with my first name, which is Kee. Then I heard about Kee Malesky, the librarian at NPR. I read her bio on-line, so I know here name is short for Christine. Mine is short for Kathleen. Please give Kee Maleski my e-mail address. I'd love to hear from her. I'm sure we've had many similar experiences over the years.
Thanks!
I'm Misty groves, I went to a hippie sort of college, and my professors teased that I was the only student who didn't have to change her name to moonbeam.
Being a teacher, I have encountered many an interesting monniker. Willow Weed; Champaine Rivers- and her sister Chardonne (accent on the "e"); Majestic Fields, are just a few.
Names connected to professions are fun too! Two medical names I know of are: Dr. Woomer, an OB-Gyn and Dr. Hacker, a surgeon, Dr. Bonebrake, and orthopedic surgeon.
I can't believe TOTN is running this show without consulting the Utah Baby Namer! Please excuse the cut and paste - the site is amazing, and a real window into the widespread Utah practice of making up new names from scratch.
"You can name a kid this, but you shouldn't ingest it: Cola, Vinyl, Orlon, Chlorine, Clorene, Florene, Florine, Lexann, Dow, Tide, Downy, Codiene, Daquari, DeCon, Starbuck, Crayon, Treasure Cocaine, Radon, Ethylene, Chlodene"
The site is maintained by Wes and Cari Clark. I think they'd be good guests for a future "name game" show :-)
My name is Keisha, commonly considered to be, as Neal just mentioned a 'black sounding name'. However, I am white (the name in my case is Swedish in origin) and I have never felt before that my name could be a hindrance to getting job interviews or anything else.
It was just an annoyance to know so many keeshound dogs with my name, and to be teased for that fact for years in elementary school!
My name is Seth Kuiper (said like hyper). My name is not that peculiar, but I married an Indian woman and we had a son. We named him Tejas James. Tejas is Hindi for "Brilliance" and James is a family name from my side of the family. Recently, my father and I had a discussion about names and it turns out his name, James, means "deceiver". So unknowingly, I named my child Brilliant Deceiver.
I hated my name growing up as the jokes are obvious. Now I get mixed responses from "Is that short for anything?" (I often reply Daytona... haha) to many complements. I am always surprised to still hear the same old jokes though. What day is it today, Day?
My father spelled my name "Trena" instead of the usual "Trina" because it better matched my middle name (Lee). Literally hours of my 40 year life have been spent correcting people. I even like the look of the e better but I am worn out. I am all for interesting names but please make them easly for others to phonetically spell or you may be condenming your child to a lifetime of inconvenience.
I was named for my father so I carry that dreadful "Jr." at the end of my name. My dad, Thomas, was called Tom by most people. My mom, Tomptha Louise, was called Tommie Lou. Mom's father, James Thomas, was known as Tom. Mom's brother, James Thomas, was known as James (thank goodness). Uncle James's son, Thomas, was known as Tommy. Outside family functions my name was no problem, but to all the adults on Mom's side of the family I was known as "Little Tom", "Timmy Tom" or "Tim". They still called me "Little Tom" when I stood over 6'3" and was slightly taller than Dad. Dad, of course, was often referred to as "Big Tom". Though I never suffered the nickname "Junior", until the last couple of years I still had family who called me "Tim" or "Timmy Tom". I never liked being "Little Tom", almost hated it. To my chagrin, my wife insisted on naming our son, Thomas, and I finally agreed on the condition that he would always be called Thomas, never Tom. If ever he should be saddled with some bastardization of his name to differentiate it from mine then I will change MY name. It would be the least I could do for him.
My name is Sedelta. Every time I introduce myself to a person they want to know what it means. This is probably a result of the unique nature of the name and the fact that I am American Indian. Unfortunately, it means nothing. I've been contemplating making up a meaning for it. :-)
On a side note my last name is even more impossible to pronounce. As it turns out my family cannot even agree on how to prounounce or spell it. Imagine the poor teacher trying to teach me how to spell my name! In the end, I wouldn't have it any other way.
When I was pregnant we did an amniosynthesis, which among medical information also happens to be able to tell you the gender of the baby. As we were at the house of our friend Johnny in NYC when we heard the results and found out that we were going to have a boy, our friend said we should name him Johnny also.
We joked about it, as this was such an 'ordinary' name, but somehow it stuck. Even though we officially named him Jonathan, we and all his friends still call him Johnny and he introduces himself that way, too.
As he was born during a period, where everybody tried to give their kids a most exotic or new age name, he actually ended up having a very 'unique' name within his generation!
One of the greatest things about Bob Barker is the sense of community he fosters. I deliver meals to shut-ins and could always count on TPIR to be blaring away on the T.V. as it usually is in the common rooms of a majority of the senior living communities in the country.
My name is Autumn - which was unusual when I was a kid. I've since found many other Autumns over the years. I was born in 1975 in April- not Autumn, which is what everyone first assumes. My mother named me Autumn since it's her favorite season. I really enjoy my name- everyone always remembers it and it's a great icebreaker. And it googles well with my last name Fuentes!
In fact I've used it as a part of my business name and everyone always comments on how they remember it easily- Through Autumn's Lens.
Hi, my name is Mark. I know it is pretty common but I live in a place where there are many crows and while walking on the road on numerous occasions I have turned around and looked thinking that someone called out to me when it was actually just a crow crowing.
My given name was Renard and I have no clue where my parents got it from. All I could find when I did a search was a 19th century French mathematician.
It caused me endless problems in school because nobody seemed to be able to spell or pronounce it correctly. Finally, by the time I was 20, I just gave up on it and had it legally changed to Raymond, which I use for anything official, or more informally, Ray.
My parents never called me Renard at home. The nickname they used through all of my childhood was Buster. Well, there was no way I could ever use that one at school, because my last name is Brown!
My name is Kamina. I've never met another, and for a unique name I have never received negative attention. It's been a wonderful experience constantly working to live up to the positive assumptions given to my name. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique name for their child.
My last name is Cox-Palmer. My husband and I still giggle whenever someone awkwardly reads our joined names. Surprisingly, I was only made fun of a handful of times for "Cox". I like to think that people were so stuck on my beautiful first name that they didn't even notice the open-invitation for teasing that followed.
When I was in high school, for a period of time my best friend was Jessie Hitt. Kate Missett
Although I was born to the last name of LuginBuhl, most people just know me as Inger Klekacz. The three most common questions I get are: "Oh, you're Swedish?" (I'm not - my mom liked the first name); "Oh, you're Polish?" (I'm not that, either...my mom remarried); and "Uh...how do you pronounce your [first and/or last] name(s)?"
I suffered a host of unfortunate nicknames as a kid; I've developed quite a few rhyming schemes to help things along for people, including:
"Inger-rhymes with finger"
"Say 'Samuel Beckett.' Now Say 'Becketts.' Now say 'Klekacz.'"
The running joke with my friends is that someday I'll meet a nice Mr. Smith and this won't be an issue anymore. But part of me finds it comforting that there is really only one person with my name in the whole wide world.
We spent a lot of time naming our daughter. We decided on Katrina. Katrina is now 12 and feeling the "wrath of Katrina" It is so unfortunate for her as Hurricane Katrina is not even refered to as "Hurricane Katrina" by the media rather it is "Katrina's detruction" .... "after Katrina"...."the handling of Katrina".
We have given her the option of using her middle name.
Hi,
Excel (yes Excel), Buffus, LoLee, Otha, OraBell, and Earleen are some of the names of members of my family. These individuals range in age from 62 to 85 years in age and mom (Earleen) tells me that they are 'common' names from the South. Yeah, right.
My brother, Bryant, has two sons, Xavier and Zavon. Initally he wanted to name the youngest Javier, the Spanish verion of Xavier but Mom, nor anyone else, was having it. Instead he made up the name Zavon or so he thought. Both Xavier and Zavon are Arabic for Bright!
Unusual, yes. Problamatic, maybe. But the names seem to fit generation after generation.
Heh - a show I can relate to! Growing up with a last name of "Boyink" (yes, like the sound effect) had it's moments.
Now...as a web developer I like the name because it's short, memorable, and Googles very well.
Revenge, at last! :-)
My name is Acacia (pronounced Uh-kay-shuh) O'Connor
When I was younger, the name was a bit of a point of pain for me, mostly because of the attention and pronunciation butcherings it received. I've heard every possible pronunciation of the six-letters imaginable. These days I often encounter people who know enough to say "hey, isn't that the name of a tree?"
My name has no special story behind it really. I've heard better stories for Acacias. My parents picked the name from a baby book -- and they chose it because it was unique, they had never met anyone with the name and it would never remind them of anyone else.
Now, I love my name and I think having an unusual name has formed my personality completely. I wouldn't change it for the world, painful mispronunciations and all.
My name is Luke. Not the most uncommen name, though I certainly have gotten more than enough of the "Luke I am your father comments" in my life. Whats worse is that my parents chose to name my brother Beau. Dukes of Hazzard anyone? Double whammy.
My name is Rachel, I always hated it because it wasn't elegant or soft but rather harsh. I didn't really appreciate my name until I spent time in Israel. In Israel my name is pronounced ra-h-el. It's also a common Jewish name so I feel connected to my faith.
My parents named me Judith Leigh but raised me as Leigh. I had the problem of correcting teachers throughout my childhood who would want to call me Judy since I was registered as Judith L. When I got married, I thought I could finally drop my first name legally, but to my dismay, the Social Security office told me I had to have a court-ordered name change in order to drop my "given" name. After much jumping through of legal hoops, I finally have Leigh as my first name, but I have taken to telling my friends who are planning on having children to give their daughter the name they plan to call her!
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