Have you given your kids fantasy names?

[Voadam]

I've seen articles on black families' use of stereotypically "black" names (Latisha, etc.) and how that becomes yet another obstacle in these kids' lives.

IIRC Freakonomics did an economic study on the impacts of wierd name choice. It was a while ago but I think the conclusion was that though many people thought it would be, it was not a factor in professional success in any measureable way.

Barak Obama kind of sounds like a Fantasy character name to me.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Freakanomics is a great, great book. And light enough that one can actually get to the meaty stuff without wading through a few hundred pages of blah first.

I hadn't heard about dual-income families in decline, and it's certainly not true in my personal circle (anecdotal evidence, of course), but it could certainly be true. And not all economic conditions are equally prevalent throughout the country. A single income could be well be viable in some areas while it's decidedly not in others.

On another topic, I worked as a temp at an insurance company a few years ago, and when processing names, we would make note of some of the crazier ones. One family I personally entered into the system had kids named Neo, Trinity and Morpheus. I bet those parents end up murdered in their sleep one day.

 

[Ambrus]

I bet those parents end up murdered in their sleep one day.

In funky 'bullet-time' slow-motion no doubt

 

[Richards]

We ended up with two sons, but one of the girl's names we had both agreed on was "Andromeda." We probably would have gone with "Andromeda Rae."

Incidentally, our youngest son is named "Logan" -- don't cringe, BOZ! -- but he was named not after the X-Man Wolverine, nor after the "Logan's Run" movie; rather, my wife's maiden name was "Logan."

Johnathan

 

[Gilladian]

Anybody who wants to explore name frequencies or commonalities in the US may be interested in this website from the US Census:

http://www.census.gov/genealogy/names/

I'm a librarian and sign people up for computers. I can tell you that there is not a name in the world that would surprise me any more. Airedale, PregNancy, SheeTa'haid (I'm SERIOUS) and more have passed through our library's doors.

 

[drothgery]

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

I figure I'd argue for giving any (rather unlikely at this point, given that none exist now, I'm 30, and I'm not invovled with anyone) kids of mine at least a normal, easy to spell (by native English-speaking American standards) first name or middle name. The other one could be a bit out there, and they'd still have something straightforward to go by.

Though I think I'd try for something a little more obscure than my own; I didn't have a class in high school without at least two other guys named David ...

 

[Olaf the Stout]

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.

Which bit did you have difficulty with, Whizbang or Dustyboots?

Personally I have no chance (or real desire for that matter) to give my child a fantasy name. I think that I would soon find myself separated from my reproductive organs if I put a strange fantasy name on my child's birth certificate while my wife was recovering from giving birth.

I have had enough trouble getting my wife to like any (relatively normal) names that I have suggested. Greg, Quentin, Quinn, Declan have all been laughed at in my face by my wife (she of course has suggested no names, just laughed down mine! ).

I do feel sorry for the children who have to deal with the weird names that their parents thought would be cool or funny to give them. Even some of the names that people have posted here makes me cringe (not that some of the names that I listed above are exactly common either).

Olaf the Stout

 

[The Lemon Merchant]

I haven't used fantasy names for my kids, though I never thought to run any past my wife.

However my son, Joshua Michael, bears the same name as my Cyberpunk character. My daughter Emerson, bears the name of my GURPS Steampunk character - Emerson Kensington III.

 

[Ace]

Are you so geeky that you gave your kids fantasy or mythic names? My daughter's middle name is Brynhild and my son will have Beowulf as his middle name. One of my players named his first son Alexander and the second son Arthur. Another player named his daughter Raven. Not quite the same, but an ex-GF legally changed her name to Aeryn.

Anyone else?

never have never will. Other than as a middle name (maybe) I disapprove of the practice of giving kids odd ball names on gneral curmudgeonly principles.

I do have gaming buddies who names a daughter Wista -- an acronym for the Wisconsin Transit Authority. Goo knows what it did to the kids poor psyche

I know some Tolkien geeks who named thier kids Aragorn, Eowyn, Eomer and IIRC Galadriel -- Eowyn was a nice girl. This was before the current Tolkien Mania in the late 80's .

whats tough for the kids is that they were short and swarthy like Sothron Mumakil riders. Not cool


I also know a Tarl Cabot -- dad was a big Gor fan. The guy wasn't a big red head and I didn't get to visit the Towers of the Morning or get a slave girl either

just kidding --

thats a normalish name at least though only Gor Fans and some erm .alt folk will recognize it. If you aren't in either category it might be unwanted attention.

Middle names aren't a big deal as 9 for 10 no one will hear the whole name-- I would not saddle my kids with an odd one though thats just me

 

[der_kluge]

My youngest daughter's middle name is Alyse - which is the name of my Baldur's Gate character!