Names

Jalima. Why give a name then shorten it.?
My grandsons are Tim and Kye and my niece is Pat.

Their parents were determined any names they gave their children would be difficult for any one to shorten.

My name is French, and quite unusual, even in France.
DH has a very ordinary, but old English name, neither of us had middle names inflicted upon us.
DS has an unusual name, first known usage dating to about 1350, but it's a 'proper' English name, very traditional, and it really suits him.
DGS has another unusual name, the first known written example of which is in a Latin manuscript dating to the 7th Century. It's an Old English name, and we couldn't imagine him being called anything different.
Both DS and DGS have the middle name James, named for my Grandad!

Jalima. Why give a name then shorten it.?

It was a joke.
None of my DC or DGC are called Midnytesnak
Nytie for short

I can't imagine being called where I was probably conceived - my parents lived in Edinburgh and their honeymoon was in Machrahanish!
Having struggled all my life with both first name and surname unusual and difficult to pronounce, I gave my sons common names.

Juggernaut.... you're right, your name is unusual ( for France or anywhere)

sarahellen did you really think that Jalima was serious?

Brekken? How about Brocken(spectre)?

LindyLou, they must have named the child after the well known spicy dish, chicken Tarka - like chicken tikka but (h)otter.....

Maggiemaybe - I thought Hero was a girl's name too. I know there is a celebrity who has a daughter called Hero. Can't remember whether it's Myleene Klass or Hermione Norris.

Hiro is a Japanese name ( a boys name)

Some parents should be shot. It may sound "different" and appeal to the parents but most kids don't want to be different, they want to blend in.

I like Jamie Oliver but his kids names..., definitely not. But the ones I really feel sorry for are those named after Dad's favourite football team - all of it.

Mylene Klass called her daughter Hero. I think it's a lovely name.

What about Russel Sprout!! And that is absolutely true.

Sorry, the sur name was spelt Sprowt.

A rather disconsolate grandparent I met told me his gs is called Shadrak. Also heard of a child named Kviiitlin (Caitlin) !9

I once taught some children whose parents were sexually incontinent; they had about 12 children. Father named one, mum the next, etc., so they had Fred and Venus, Jane and Odin, and twins called Star and Amy...

My name is the French version of an unattractive English name so I have to spell that, then the surname, then the house name and the street name... - I'm exhausted by the end!

My parents gave me a Latin name meaning 'beautiful' but in the dialect of the village where I was born( which they did not speak), it was perilously close, with bad pronunciation and emphasis, to the word for "rubbish". Fortunately, we did not live there for long! I only ever use my middle name, which I also dislike, but is not so bad.

Our children and grandchildren have classical, interchangeably international names, melodic and lovely. They can live in just about any country and their given name will be adaptable.
Our youngest, now 7 months is Mary Helen, Marie Hélène, Maria Elena. This covers the 3 countries of her heritage and more.

Even if you give your DC names which you think can't be shortened, someone at school will make some kind of nickname from it - or lengthen it.
You can't win!

roses
I know it's hard to believe, but I wasn't actually Christened 'Juggernaut', that was a nickname given to me many years ago!

As a teacher I noticed that the top sets always had children with traditional English names from the bible, literature or monarchy usually. The bottom sets were full of misspelt names and oddities.

I often notice that criminal and misfortunate individuals have non standard names.

Parents should think carefully before choosing a name. It has to fit the adult as well as the baby and be acceptable to others. Has there been a prime minister or judge called Kai or Tremaine?

sarahellenwhitney You are so right. I knew someone whose daughter was called Titania. Nice and fairy-like, even queenly, but she spent all her school years being addressed as Tittie or Tits. That must have been fun when she was a teenager. I also knew a family whose surname was Nutt and some idiot relative christened his daughter Hazel. One of my father's friends was called Percy Hersey. Why would you do that? I have also met two men called John Thomas.

Children have to live with these names and are unable to change them until they are adults. My name is not peculiar (although my initials do spell a word) but I never liked it (still don't) and it is one of those names locked in its time – the 1950s. I was at school with several other girls with the same name but you never hear it now! Absentdaughter was called Grace. I thought it was a lovely name and one that you couldn't muck about with much. Also absentfather and I found it hard to agree on any names so it was a great relief when we settled on that one. Absentgrandma was shocked because, she said, "it's an old woman's name". It has since become very popular. Absentdaughter hated it and from about the age of 11 or 12 told everyone that her name was something quite different and has since changed it legally.

The worst child's name I ever heard was an acquaintance in Scotland who called her son Judas.

I've mentioned this before on a similar thread but I'm saying it again Sorrow is the worst name I've had to call out in a clinic ( actually it's so bad I didn't call it out I called the surname) but why would you, why would anyone do that. The parents were incredibly proud really believing they'd come up with somthing original! My colleague and I were flabbergasted. The other thing is people get very sniffy when you mispronounced their child's name. Secretly I want to say "well spell it correctly then" I don't I just smile indulgently. My poor sister has a very old fashioned name. In her 40's she decided to change it. She gets very upset that the family don't use her new name but it's hard when you've known somone all their life and suddenly without warning they 'tell you off' for saying it. Its been almost 20years and still none of the family use the new name. She thinks we do it to deliberately wind her up. We don't , so I do think you need to be careful when naming a baby. They won't be babies for ever.

My dgd health visitor had a nephew call Hill!
I gave my daughter an Irish name (her father & my grandfather both Irish). It's not said how it's spelt & it has pissed her off all her life ?( it means vision or dream and there was a warrior princess of that name too ?)
She corrected one of her teachers at school who said 'whatever '!!
Age 22 she has only met one person with her name.
Getting things with her name on was a nightmare!
She decided to give her daughter a traditional name but not spelt the traditional way and we're having the same issue buying off the peg name stuff for her!

Neil Down was my brother's contemporary at school & I taught Russell Hobbs. My DDs have fairly ordinary short names but call each other 'Aims' & 'Lou'.

DGS have 'unusual middle names. One is the road where we lived when DD and her DH met(aged 3) and the other is the road where they lived and where both DGSs were born.

DGS has a girl in his class named Marvellous.