*blinks*

[conuly]

Aside from the absurdity of "OMG! SOMEBODY MIGHT STEAL MY NAME!!!" I have this to ask...

She named her daughter Sonnet? What was going through her head? She named the kid after a friggin' type of POEM. What's next, Limerick? Haiku? Five bucks says she can't quote from a single sonnet.

Sonnet.

Other names I object to, on principle:

Regan/Reagan: this either commemorates King Lear's ungrateful daughter, or one of the worst presidents we've ever had. I do not see the logic in giving this name to your little girl.
Dymphna: Yes, yes, patron saint of Belgium. Yes, yes, patron saint of the insane. Do you really want to give the "insane" name to a little girl?
Robert: This is my dad's name. I can't let anybody have this name, because if I ever have a little boy, that's what I'll call him. So don't steal it from me!

Honestly, why would you want to steal that name? It's not a name. It's a type of poem!

*sighs*

Of course, I think Magrat is perfectly fine, so maybe I'm not the best judge :)

Comments

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Hey, at least "Sonnet" is a pleasing kind of concept -- somebody on a community I hang out on said a couple of months ago that she works with a young woman actually named LaTrine... :-o

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

LaTrine?
My goodness. What did that poor woman do to her parents?

Magrat is a fine name, yes. Though everyone around here would mis-spell it Margret. A bit like with Elanor and Eleanor.

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

I also had a co-worker named LaTrina.

My cousin once called a woman named Malaria.

And snopes.com has a confirmation of a woman named Vagina.

As far as Regan/Reagan goes, they may be Exorcist fans. I do have the issue with Rosalie... who is the woman Romeo dumps in Romeo and Juliet. It's a fairly common name, but it always suprises me when I hear it.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

I've never seen it with Rosalie. Rosalind and Rosaline, sure. But never Rosalie.

I've just been doing King Lear and every time I see Goneril (abbreviated to Gon. in the text) I read it as gonorrhea. Not helpful.

[ahsirakh.livejournal.com]

There's a Chew Shit Fun in one of our local universities.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

::snicker:: If you named your *girl* Regan, I'd totally think of gouging people's eyes out. And I'm just a sick enough person that I'd possibly do that. Except, if I were going to be that insane, I'd probably name my child Medea. :-P

[conuly]

I know people who have done just that. It's become a stunningly popular (if stupid) name. Regan. The girl was DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for an entire friggin' tragedy, she lied, she was ungrateful - and parents name their girls that.

Name your daughter Cordelia. SHE, at least, wasn't an ungrateful daughter.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

Eh. But what I meant is that I might be sick enough to do it on purpose, knowing full-well the connotations.

But in general, yes, I think it's rather stupid that parents do that, because I don't think most people want their kids to have names with those connotations. Seriously, if/when I teach, if I ever get a kid in my class named Regan, I'd probably ask her, "So you like gouging out eyes, eh?"

I'm so mean! Sorry!

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

At least they didn't go with their first choice for a little girl (Stephen).

From experience, let me just state that the VERY WORST THING YOU CAN NAME A LITTLE GIRL is a boy's name. ANY boy's name. It seems like a nice way to honor an uncle, until the little girl is four years old and the only "Lee" she knows is a frickin' lumberjack, and she's all about the dresses and very femme.

It's not that boy or neutral names are bad for women. It's just that a woman ought to be allowed to decide that she wants that name, not have it shoved onto her like an ugly hat.

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

True, but super-frilly girly names can have the same effect on a girl.

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Yes, well. Just name her something NORMAL and let her choose a boyish nick-name if she wants to. It's far more common for girls to be girlish than for them to be boyish; your odds of not traumatizing your child are lessened if you don't give your little girl a boy's name.

*urps*

[mhari.livejournal.com]

/Someone/'s getting reported to Bad Baby Names.

Re: *urps*

[conuly]

I didn't yet, so I guess you beat me to it?

Re: *urps*

[mhari.livejournal.com]

I'm clever like that.

[atdelphi.livejournal.com]

The first step in naming a baby is to put yourself into the mind of a second grader, and decide whether any prospective taunts are catchy enough to stick.

*pities poor baby Snot Head*

[conuly]

*gigglesnorts*

Of course, not a name exists that can't be mocked. I once saw a special on conjoined twins, and one pair had been given the names "lorie" and "dorie". (At least one changed her name when she grew up). 'dul figured this makes sense. People will tease them for the stupid names, not the conjoined-ness.

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

I find it odd that someone would name their baby girl Dido. Sure, she was a queen, but what most everyone knows about her (assuming they recognize the name) is that she killed herself because "Oh noes my loverboy does not love me and has left me."

Of all the names in the comments here, LaTrine is the most entertaining. I love the addition of La and Le to names; I had a student named LeKevin. I want to have a kid and name him, or even her, LeBob.

I'd like to submit the names Orangejello and Lemonjello, pronounced "oh RAHN zhell oh" and "leh MOHN zhell oh". My fiance babysat them.

[mhari.livejournal.com]

Orangejello and Lemonjello

Funny thing about that (http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.htm).

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

So perhaps I misspelled it--I did, after all, never see their real names written down--but that doesn't change the fact that they're funny names. I understand how names evolve over time from different languages. But this was in the U.S., fairly recently; and certainly to name her two children Lemongello and Orangello (however to spell it) seems like a joke. They are African-American, too, if it has a bearing on the source of the names.

I don't care the origins; they're funny names. More so when paired.

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

Well, if it makes you feel better, I always name my character normal things.

Jones, Isaac, Edward. I like those names. And Frederick. And If I use other names, I carefully check out the meanings and famous bearers of the name.

*is very careful*

[missfahrenheit.livejournal.com]

... actually, I quite like the name Sonnet. I have not given leave of my senses though, because I still think it's quite mean to inflict a weird name on a child.

Mind you, I really like the name Ophelia although it could be just asking for the kid to go batshit insane.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Icon love.

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

Hey, at least "Sonnet" is a pleasing kind of concept -- somebody on a community I hang out on said a couple of months ago that she works with a young woman actually named LaTrine... :-o

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

LaTrine?
My goodness. What did that poor woman do to her parents?

Magrat is a fine name, yes. Though everyone around here would mis-spell it Margret. A bit like with Elanor and Eleanor.

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

I also had a co-worker named LaTrina.

My cousin once called a woman named Malaria.

And snopes.com has a confirmation of a woman named Vagina.

As far as Regan/Reagan goes, they may be Exorcist fans. I do have the issue with Rosalie... who is the woman Romeo dumps in Romeo and Juliet. It's a fairly common name, but it always suprises me when I hear it.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

I've never seen it with Rosalie. Rosalind and Rosaline, sure. But never Rosalie.

I've just been doing King Lear and every time I see Goneril (abbreviated to Gon. in the text) I read it as gonorrhea. Not helpful.

[ahsirakh.livejournal.com]

There's a Chew Shit Fun in one of our local universities.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

::snicker:: If you named your *girl* Regan, I'd totally think of gouging people's eyes out. And I'm just a sick enough person that I'd possibly do that. Except, if I were going to be that insane, I'd probably name my child Medea. :-P

[conuly]

I know people who have done just that. It's become a stunningly popular (if stupid) name. Regan. The girl was DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for an entire friggin' tragedy, she lied, she was ungrateful - and parents name their girls that.

Name your daughter Cordelia. SHE, at least, wasn't an ungrateful daughter.

[ladyshrew.livejournal.com]

Eh. But what I meant is that I might be sick enough to do it on purpose, knowing full-well the connotations.

But in general, yes, I think it's rather stupid that parents do that, because I don't think most people want their kids to have names with those connotations. Seriously, if/when I teach, if I ever get a kid in my class named Regan, I'd probably ask her, "So you like gouging out eyes, eh?"

I'm so mean! Sorry!

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

At least they didn't go with their first choice for a little girl (Stephen).

From experience, let me just state that the VERY WORST THING YOU CAN NAME A LITTLE GIRL is a boy's name. ANY boy's name. It seems like a nice way to honor an uncle, until the little girl is four years old and the only "Lee" she knows is a frickin' lumberjack, and she's all about the dresses and very femme.

It's not that boy or neutral names are bad for women. It's just that a woman ought to be allowed to decide that she wants that name, not have it shoved onto her like an ugly hat.

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

True, but super-frilly girly names can have the same effect on a girl.

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Yes, well. Just name her something NORMAL and let her choose a boyish nick-name if she wants to. It's far more common for girls to be girlish than for them to be boyish; your odds of not traumatizing your child are lessened if you don't give your little girl a boy's name.

*urps*

[mhari.livejournal.com]

/Someone/'s getting reported to Bad Baby Names.

Re: *urps*

[conuly]

I didn't yet, so I guess you beat me to it?

Re: *urps*

[mhari.livejournal.com]

I'm clever like that.

[atdelphi.livejournal.com]

The first step in naming a baby is to put yourself into the mind of a second grader, and decide whether any prospective taunts are catchy enough to stick.

*pities poor baby Snot Head*

[conuly]

*gigglesnorts*

Of course, not a name exists that can't be mocked. I once saw a special on conjoined twins, and one pair had been given the names "lorie" and "dorie". (At least one changed her name when she grew up). 'dul figured this makes sense. People will tease them for the stupid names, not the conjoined-ness.

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

I find it odd that someone would name their baby girl Dido. Sure, she was a queen, but what most everyone knows about her (assuming they recognize the name) is that she killed herself because "Oh noes my loverboy does not love me and has left me."

Of all the names in the comments here, LaTrine is the most entertaining. I love the addition of La and Le to names; I had a student named LeKevin. I want to have a kid and name him, or even her, LeBob.

I'd like to submit the names Orangejello and Lemonjello, pronounced "oh RAHN zhell oh" and "leh MOHN zhell oh". My fiance babysat them.

[mhari.livejournal.com]

Orangejello and Lemonjello

Funny thing about that (http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.htm).

[ladytalon.livejournal.com]

So perhaps I misspelled it--I did, after all, never see their real names written down--but that doesn't change the fact that they're funny names. I understand how names evolve over time from different languages. But this was in the U.S., fairly recently; and certainly to name her two children Lemongello and Orangello (however to spell it) seems like a joke. They are African-American, too, if it has a bearing on the source of the names.

I don't care the origins; they're funny names. More so when paired.

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

Well, if it makes you feel better, I always name my character normal things.

Jones, Isaac, Edward. I like those names. And Frederick. And If I use other names, I carefully check out the meanings and famous bearers of the name.

*is very careful*

[missfahrenheit.livejournal.com]

... actually, I quite like the name Sonnet. I have not given leave of my senses though, because I still think it's quite mean to inflict a weird name on a child.

Mind you, I really like the name Ophelia although it could be just asking for the kid to go batshit insane.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Icon love.