unusual names for children these days:

My son in law's brother in law's surname was Gordon so he called his son Flash (they're American!!!) Despite everyone's misgivings he seems to have grown up quite normal.
My daughter was once criticising a family we knew. One child was called Imogen and the others had similar slightly archaic names. "Fancy giving them such odd names" she said, so I pointed out that as Eugenia Maria Antonia she was hardly in a position to comment. Her own children are called Roman and Luca which are at least easy to spell.

Jane ,Imelda, bernadette, were favourites at my junior school.

When I was in primary school, the girls were largely Ann(e), Margaret and Elizabeth with a couple of Helens and a Mary thrown in.

Going back to calling children after the place of their conception, we had a friend whose daughter had the initials M.G.B. for that very reason. DH had an MGB but we decided we could never manage to do the same without the risk of serious injury.

People often see the names in those little books and then don't know the connections that others will make. Isadora immediately conjures up visions of scarves and bugattis but Zelda for me indicates wild excess which I think is a good thing. Martha is always the poor drudge. I always had to call my mothers friends auntie so and so and they were all Marjorie's Beatrice's and Hilda's . ( ipad is throwing in handfuls of apostrophes) when I was at school Susan Norma and Gillian seemed to be the most frequent.

Grammar Zelda is a pretty name.

Grammar However, Zelda Fitzgerald is not the ideal role model.

The latest addition to our extended family is called Zelda, which made me think of Nintendo games, however, I've been informed that it was also the name of F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife.

Isn't strontium uised in fireworks for it's red colour?

Frank Zappa's son was named Dweezil - and he likes it because people remember him, he says. I don't know what his sister thinks of her name - Moon Unit!

Strontium 90 is a radioactive isotope of Strontium. I don't think Strontium itself is radioactive. I have to take Strontium Ranelate to prevent osteoporosis developing as a result of taking steroids and slow or reverse the progress of existing osteoporosis.

I agree with you Dorset I think it is important to think about what the teachers and pupils at school will think about the name. It should also be easy enough to spell. I worked for a man in Surrey who gave his sone a completely unspellable Welsh name and I felt really sorry for the little chap.

My parents called my brother by his second name, which they wanted to be his first but didn't want him to have the initials A.I.L. so named him I.A.L.

We know a couple whose GCs are called Sam and Ella,(true) which does seem a bit unfortunate.

My favourite awful names, and I have a long list of awful names that I have come across, belonged to a couple of little blonde darlings of 3 and 1, The oldest was Ebony and the second Trinity. So Ebony, like calling a black child Blanche, or Trinity which means 3, and she was one of two children. I honestly think the mother had no idea of the meanings of the names, just thought they sounded nice.
I remember saying to my DIL when she was expecting her first child. Picture a school playground, go out into the playground and call out the name you are considering. If everyone falls about laughing or looks puzzled, wrong name.
Luckily we have Jeanne Beatrice and now Charlotte Rose. A lot of the old names are coming back like Ivy, Martha [always loved that name], Matilda etc. When I worked at a medical centre a lot of ladies who'd be born in the 1930s were called Phyllis, so I daresay that will come back too.

yes but Strontium is a radioactive element. We were all very worried about it's effects in the nuclear testing years.

We had a neighbour called Arnem Cross, after the battle which his father fought at. and another Windsor Gates!!!!

Shysal I love Jam Sandwich!

Flower I've also worked with a Memory, and a Temptations.

Watched a morning program once years ago with article about strange names. A poor man came on who was called Peter Enis (I don't this his parents realised) another woman named Nelly married a Mr Jelly. Can't remember the others.

We had a neighbour called Arnem Cross, after the battle which his father fought at. and another Windsor Gates!!!!

Strontian (similar) is a village at the on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, Scotland. Strontianite is a rock found near there.

Richard Gere's middle name is Tiffany. True. he said it was on TV last night.

There's a butcher in Cromer called Icarus Hines. So perhaps it's not really a new thing

My Great Grandfather managed a brickpit and my grandmother always used to tellus that one of the labourers there had the surname 'Waters' and he called his three daughters, Lavender, Virginia and Mineral, always known as Minnie, who was playmate of my grandmother.

I have no idea whether that was true, but it makes a conversation subject.

A judge I sat with the other day has the answer. He has numbered all his numerous GGCs .he now says 'and which are you?' They reply with the appropiate number and love it

Still it would save me going through all three names before I get to the right one !

My family would be very confused. All three girls concieved in the same town.

More likely the tasting sessions after the distillery tours. They pour you a large drink to "sample".