What’s in a Name?
Although this edition might be more appropriately named What The Crack Were You Thinking?, OR Just How Much Crack Were You Smoking?
Just go here for the story. It’s lengthy…but I’ll wait.
The Subheadings & Hilights that cause the most concern…
Attaching Meaning-Parents are looking for names to evoke positive memories of places and things that are important to them -- a blissful honeymoon destination(excuse me!?!?!), a favorite relative, a song, a childhood experience (or all of the above). *scratches head*uuhhhh could somebody please explain to me how that one works?
Presidential Names-Jackson, Carter, and Grant are in the lead for boys and Madison, Kennedy, and Reagan are in the lead for girls. On the rise: Lincoln and Jefferson, and Clinton is in the top 1000. (Pretty sure those names were used well before, and even during their respective reigns, but honestly very few presidents in our history would, by my standards, be worthy of bestowing their last name upon my beloved child based on their public service record.)
Customizing or Inventing a Name-"We Googled the name to make sure it wasn't being used for some strange purpose," says mother of Phenix (Whiskey.Tango.Crackhead!), Dina T. of Worcester, Massachusetts. "You never know these days!" (Don’t get me wrong, my name is spelled phonetically, and I like it, but seriously…can you say “sketchy?” Maybe I’ll name my kid that! )
Just Say the Word ie lyric? Sunday? (Oh yeah…that’s not gonna be made fun of!)
All in the Family-Parents are even choosing to let two siblings split or share a name - witness pairs such as Ellie and Nora or Alex and Xander. (Those names are fine, but the logistics behind picking it...that’s where it gets dicey. It actually put me in mind of this...)
I digress.
Foreign Names-Thea and Nyah? (All I can remember is that sports drink catch phrase…”Hungry for life, thirsty for Nya” )
Last Is First-One rocking surname that's been popping up: Jagger…again cuckoo!
Heavenly Creatures-Instead, new creations like Nevaeh (Heaven spelled backwards). Trinity, Genesis, Miracle, and Messiah…I have serious issues with most of these names…talk about giving your kid a complex!
All of the Above
In the increasingly obsessive quest for names that are creative and unique but not too far out there, parents are often following more than one trend or style-pairing a foreign name with a flower, city, or word name, creating a trendy spelling for a surname, or mixing a short nickname-name with a longer, more substantial or traditional choice for a middle name. There are no hard and fast rules - just choosing names parents love and can live with long-term is the, um, name of the game.
***DISCLAIMER: I do not mean to offend. I fully support the use of family names etc whether they fall into this category or not. Some of this just struck me as a little freak show-ish, and people trying too hard to be “different” or “unique.” It’s like that quote goes… “Remember you’re unique, just like everybody else.” Names are important because it’s a big part of who you are and sometimes how you live your life, which is why I feel so strongly about some of these.
Did anyone happen to read that book?
5 months ago
2 comments:
I didn't actually read that book, but I heard most of it from Shelby while she was reading it... and I do feel bad for some of these kids with their crazy names.
shouldn't you be eating dinner? ;)
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