Have you given your kids fantasy names?

[Voadam]

Heck, I want to get a dog with a drool problem and name it Pavlov.

Get a newfoundland then. Very slobbery. It would be nice to see some not named Bear.

 

[lukelightning]

I'm saddened by freak names. Children are human beings, not pets, and not forums for parents to express their "creativity" on.

Of course, there are plenty of horrendous "real" names.

 

[nyrfherdr]

I have a good friend whose first name is Aragorn. He used the name all the way into adulthood where he finally tired of explaining it and became A.J. Now that the movies are out, he wouldn't have to explain it anymore, but he sticks with AJ.

We joked about naming our son Jareth Xavier after the goblin king and professor X respectively. We couldn't bring ourselves to do it, though.

 

[Tiberius]

He'd be called "Gay Ass."

Well, yes. That's one of the reasons I'd never actually do that to a child.

 

[elrobey]

my son's middle name is not quite Gaius, but the related Caius. Pronounced "keys", it's from the name of the college (Gonville & Caius College) of Cambridge University where my wife and I met.

when I was in law school I knew a girl named Lorien. It's not so much that she hated it as that she was weary of being asked about it.

 

[Ambrus]

A friend of my DM named one of his daughters Galadriel. The other got named Elizabeth.

I also used to hang out with a guy who's real name was James Dean. His brother was named Elvis Dean. The best story relating to this was the time we went to the re-released Episode 4 premiere and he was trying to spot his brother seated in the loud boisterous crowd of Star Wars fanboys before the show. Quickly getting frustrated he finally yelled out "Elvis! Turn on your lightsaber!" The entire theater immediately fell into complete silence as everyone turned to look at us in the aisle. A few people started waving their lightsabers in the air and James, scanning the crowd, waved them off by yelling "You're not Elvis!" Finally spotting his brother James delightedly exclaimed "Elvis!" The whole crowd immediately burst into applause at the odd reunion.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You know, I have to wonder one thing about some of these names:

Will these children ever forgive their parents?

I have had to spell my name every single day of my life and was the last kid in 1st grade to learn how to spell my name (back in the day when kids learned to read in 1st grade, instead of earlier). In my case, it's a family name, and I bear my parents no ill will over it, although I will not be passing it along to the next generation.

Worse, IMO, are the idiot parents who give their kids a common name with a random spelling. At least when people have unusual names, everyone knows they have to ask how to spell them. Our high schools today are crammed with people whose parents had to come up with new ways to spell the most common names imaginable.

 

[WhatGravitas]

I know of other cases of cruel namegiving and always wondered why they hate their children so much.

So very true (PS: In Germany we indeed see some English-influenced abominations, so no need to every name my children after anything remotely "cool" or "funny".

I've got a real foreign name myself and know the pain... especially, because people cannot bother to learn strange sounding names.

So: For my (not yet planned) children: Usual names.

 

[lukelightning]

I have had to spell my name every single day of my life and was the last kid in 1st grade to learn how to spell my name...

What's so hard about Whizbang?

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

Shiny!

I guarantee you that there are a lot of young people (in their late 20s) running around named "Luke" and "Leia". Probably even a few "Darth"s.

I know of someone that I'm reeeeeally tempted to suggest they have a boy and name him Garth, simply because the last name is Fader. But that would've been better over 30 years ago and if he ended up with asthma...

Nevermind. I've mentioned a few 'joke' names like Moxy Crimefighter, Audio Science and Kalel Cage. Didn't some celeb name her daughter Apple?

I've seen a few Conner's around and can't help but try doing a Kurgan impression, which hurts my throat. Worse would be those with double names like I've seen an Adam Adams and a John John. Those are -normal- names given by parents violating the 4th Amendment (Cruel and Unusual Punishment). :\