Silly Names

My daughter`s neighbour called her little boy Sean, but got annoyed when people pronounced it "wrongly", because she called him See-an! It caused all sorts of confusion at school.

Yes - deliberate mis-spelling could be the bane of my life! How would you pronounce Callie. Wrong! That was yet another version of Kayleigh!

As a former secondary teacher I used to see "waves" of names which echoed what was on TV - Kylies and Jasons, to name but 2. And then there would be all the fantastic variations in spelling! Sharon/Sharron, Aaron/Aron, Chantal/Chantelle/Shontelle Kerry/Keri, Jonathan/Jonathon/Johnathon etc etc
I remember arranging to visit a -pupil- student on work experience who I assumed was a boy with an old-fashioned Biblical name - Elisha.
Yes, you've guessed it was a variation on "Alesha"which I suppose is a phonetic version of Alicia!!
I used to get frustrated at report writing time because if the little dear had been christened "Micheal", "Mathew" or (really) "Jacququeline" - that was how you had to spell it.
Oh for Pat, Ted, Bob, Sue, Janet and John!

I can remember, years ago, reading that the actor, David Carradine, had named his son Free Seagull. I`ve often wondered what he called himself when he grew up!

That reminds me of Titty, in Swallows and Amazons. If Arthur Ransome was writing now, I don't think he would use that name.

Annobel You think Ophelia is a a problem – and it's a middle name. I know someone whose first and only name is Titania. Misery for her at primary school, poor child.

Dogberry and Verges or alas poor Yorick? One of my GDs has Ophelia as a middle name. A pretty name, but the character did come to rather an unfortunate end.

That's fabulous Ariadne! I hope they're happy with their names now.

In a very formal legal situation DH asked a woman "So what is your oldest daughter's name?"
"Sue," is what he heard.
"And the second daughter?"
"Cheyenne."

dontcallmegramps – Malvolio? Timon? Coriolanus? Volumnia? Bassanio? Tybalt? Caliban? Thurio? Proteus? Puck? Florizel? Mopsa? Pericles? Cymbeline? Goneril? Regan? Othello? Iago?

And, by the way, Macbeth appears in Shakespeare's Scottish play.

My mother hastily changed my middle name just before the christening because someone pointed out that her original choice would have given me the initials, C. A. T.

My great-grandfather was the manager of a brickworks and I was always told the story that one of the workmen had the surname Waters and called his first daughter, Lavender, the second, Virginia and the third, Mineral, always known as Minnie. My grandmother said Minnie Waters was one of her playmates.

My husband went to school with Rosemary Sole and Robert Sole (just say the christian name initial and surname).

We have made it clear that we think only names used in Jane Austen or Shakespeare*, or by a a post 1066 King or Queen of ENGLAND* are OK

* with Apologies to any Aethelstans Ebgerts or Canutes and to any Malcolms or Duncans out there- and the Shakespeare qualifications has provisos ie no Macbeths

My youngest daughter is Elizabeth and her partner is Phil(ip) we do laugh heartily(hollowly?) at suggestions that any kids thye might have might be Charles , Anne etc.

donecallmegramps So how about David, Ian, and Fiona? Not English.

We have both glowered furiously and made our position clear... a name is OK if it has been used in Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or by a King or Queen of England*.

*(post 1066 that is - we don't want any Aethelstans or Ebgerts and note .... England so Duncan, Malcolm or Macbeth are out too)

One of my pupils in Kenya was optimistically christened Beauty. After she left school she sensibly changed it to Betty.

How about being called 'Godsgift' or 'Justice'? True names of schoolchildren in a London borough.

I thought it was unkind of Mr & Mrs Young, being Welsh, to name their son David; surely they knew he would get called Dai Young!

My SIL named her two eldest Philip and Elizabeth.Her third one did not get a royal name though.

Well I hope the medical family in Queensland, called Slaughter, didn't!!

And then there really was a stationery store in Belfast called Reade and Wright.
Do you think any of these above mentioned folk chose their professions because of their surnames?

Please don't burden your children with names they will hate and surely will want to change.

At one time DD3 had three tailors in her class: Taylor, Tailer, and Taighler! SIL, who is a teacher, says every other girl in his school is called some variation of Mia: Maya, Meeya, Mea.

A long time ago I worked in the Electoral Registration Office locally, and came across a Euphemia Gilchrist, and my favourite - Queenie Pretoria Balls.

A colleague many years ago told me about a local family called Diamond who gave all their girls jewel names, so there was Pearl Diamond, Ruby Diamond etc.

i once met an Alwyn Crump: don't know why it sounds peculiar but it does. I also met a Poppy Corn - it was her married name though.

Here in Australia you get a lot of made up names like Raeleen, Charleen etc. and weird spellings of otherwise normal names. Why would you do that? Poor kids have a lifetime of spelling out their names.

Once a male colleague was all excited about the imminent birth of his new grandchild, but after the grandson was born, he refused to tell us his name. In the end the truth came out - D'Artagnan. The poor man was beside himself with shame and embarrassment. We told him the child would no doubt end up with a shorter form of the name, like Arty, or Darcy, but he was inconsolable.