I think there are really strict laws in Germany regarding what names you can't give to your kids. So no "Peppermint" or "Apple" for us. But those names are fine, I guess. I actually like Maes a lot, Lyra sounds a little over-feminine. But I generally don't like girls' names that start with an L. Except for Layla. Layla is an awesome name.
I knew a guy once whose surname was Artz. He wanted to call his son Marshall.
Another thread has brought up the issue of parents giving their children easily taunt-able and generally goofy names. My question to you all is this: am I dooming my children to the same fate by giving them uncommon names (Daughter: Lyra; Son: Maes - - yes, my wife and I are super nerds)
Also; any of you giving/or gave your children unique names?
I have an unusual name and I don't think I was every picked on for it. (It's Xuan if you wanted to know and no, it's not pronounced X-1. I wish it was though.)
Then again, I do have a habit of choosing names that make my friends stare at me like I am crazy. I mean named my child after the following: a tree, a suggestion from a 9 year old, and a character from an opera. (It's Rowan-Olivia Izolda. I spelt it with a z because my mother kept trying to pronounce it I-sold-a.)
i sign this. a lot
lyra might need a clever bully (a lyra is some kind of a harp isnt it?no good material harp-y?) but gaes the cornboy will be punished
greetings from dennis the menace (yes a comic character, but the names true origin makes up for that)
SpecJoe Magic said:
We named our daughter Eisley, which is uncommon, but I don't foresee any teasing. The only problem I see with it is some people want to pronounce the long "E" sound instead of the long "I" sound, but I explain to them that it's like the name Eisenhower or Einstein, and then it makes complete sense to them. I'm baffled that some people don't already know that.
Well Ike and Albert both have german surnames, that people dont get this pronounciation as english speakers isnt that surprising. If Eisenhowers ancestors did a better job of translating their name he would be called Smith, or Ironbeater if translated word-by-word, which would be a great dwarven clanname.
OT: Seriously, every name can be made fun of. At the very least, their names will be unique.
Katatori-kun said:
...you giver your child a conventional middle name so if one day they get sick of the odd first name you gave them they can choose to go by their middle name.
I think I can contribute to this discussion in a way few others can. My parents gave me a pretty unusual name. I'd rather not say what it actually is but it's a latin word that shows up in scifi writing fairly regularly.
I do not like it.
I won't bore you with a lot details, but nothing positive has ever come from it. Mostly I just have to correct people, repeat myself and spell it for them. Also, I'm really tired of the 'That's an unusual name!' conversation.
I have given serious thought to changing it but dispite how much I dislike it it is part of my identity now and I can not decide on a 'normal' name that I'd like to go by instead and doing so really is a lot of trouble to go through. I might still change it one day though.
I have never told my parents I wish they'd just given me a normal name and I probably never will.
So, from someone who has an unusual name, don't do it. Do not make your child carry that (admittedly fairly small) burden because you think it's cool.
I appreciate your insight on this topic. I have a mildly unique name myself, and did not have the same problems as you, but then again, my name is not so different that I am the only one with it-not by a long shot actually. Though, are our proposed names THAT unusual? I don't really think so (Lyra certainly isn't that weird and will happen regardless, as that character has great personal meaning to the both of us), but I can see the potential problems with Maes
I was just speaking in general, my post wasn't really directed at you. Your choices are less unusual than the name I got stuck with. In the end it's not THAT big a deal unless you plan on naming them something ridiculous like Apple or Pretty, but you are not.
My experiance with my unusual name has been wholly negative and I still recommend going with a normal name but that is just my experiance.
No, I really don't. I'm way to young and since I'm not a father I really wouldn't know. But, if you want to be adventurous with your children's names then it's not the child's problem, it's the problem of the person who has a problem with it.
Close minded people will be close minded.
I mean, look at Robin (motherfucking) Williams. He named his daughter ZELDA and she now loves the name.
And from another view point: my girlfriend, if we ever have kids, wants to call them (if it's a girl) Moira after Bioshock and (if it's a boy) Wheatley after Portal 2.
I have an uncommon name (mainly because it's foreign) and have been on the recieving end of some pretty silly, and some fairly creative insults (the most annoying of which succeeded the release of the film Finding Nemo because my name sounds irritatingly similar to Nemo). It's also frequently mispronounced by people reading it.
Nevertheless you get used to these things and I've always quite liked my name.
Another thread has brought up the issue of parents giving their children easily taunt-able and generally goofy names. My question to you all is this: am I dooming my children to the same fate by giving them uncommon names (Daughter: Lyra; Son: Maes - - yes, my wife and I are super nerds)
Also; any of you giving/or gave your children unique names?
I don't think you're dooming your children. Those are some pretty cool and unique names. They can be pronounced by people and would definitely get them a little bit of attention. They might get picked on a little by bullies, but bullies would try to find a way to pick on anyone by attacking their name, regardless of what it is. It's the names that are waaay far off that you would have to worry about, such as Space Cadet or something...
Also, I like the name Lyra. Maes isn't bad in my opinion but it sort of sounds like 'maze' to which people may get confused.
Believe or not children will bully your children no matter what their name is. You can't doom your children anymore than you can protect them from being bullied, they will be bullied no matter what you try.
Your avatar amuses me greatly, just letting you know.
OT: Probably not. Your children will grow to respect and even be proud of the names you gave them, even if they are a bit eccentric. This is, of course, if you teach them the proper notions to be supportive of their given names. So other children will make names. So?
They're just jealous of your offspring's awesome names.
I tip my hat to you good sir.
My son will be named either Khan or Krum....... or maybe that's not a good idea, because that will be ridiculed to death. BUT Nicolas Cage has a son named Kal-El, so i don't find it that bad. I guess i'll just name my child Alucard, regardless of gender.
To those with the great hate for Maes as a name, because it's too strange or too eccentric or too hard to pronounce - and there seem to be quite a lot - I see your point, but I disagree. In fact, I believe, now that I've seen some of these posts that most people will simply think he is named after the greatest baseball player in the world (Willie Mayes - the spelling difference probably wont even register). So I claim victory. And yes, it would be awesome if he became a brigadier general like is actual namesake.
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