My daughter is named Tali'Zorah. I suppose I'm crazy : )

Chaos Isaac

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Robin Williams used Zelda, right?

Ain't nothing wrong with that. Could use worse names... like Peach... or something.
 

Zeraki

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Tali'Zorah is a horrible idea for a first name. It's too strange, it will call attention to them and they will get singled out and picked on because of it. Kids are monsters, they'll take any chance they get to make others suffer.

Now if you just make Tali the first name, that would be far more socially acceptable.

Chaos Isaac said:
Robin Williams used Zelda, right?
Zelda was also an established name a long time before the games. Shigeru Miyamoto named the character after Zelda Fitzgerald, who was a novelist in the 1920's.
 

Camaranth

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DrunkOnEstus said:
Anyway, tomorrow my daughter is scheduled to be born.
I realise that right now you're busy exhausted and emotionally rung out but I'm going to ask anyway,can we get an update?

Is little Tali'Zorah in the world and healthy?

Also HUGE congratulations!
 

Peter Toering

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Not going to add on the big pile of "Tali = good, Tali'Zorah = bad" so,

Congratulations, dude! Hope your daughter is doing ok.
 

Whateveralot

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Just a random question:

Would you change your last name into "Vas Normandy", or does that sound stupid to you?
 

Caiphus

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SNCommand said:
I'm not predicting a thing
Very well. Sorry.Your actual argument was more along the lines of "It's not so bad, they can always just have people shorten it.". To which my argument is still: Why not shorten it to begin with?

SNCommand said:
nothing is stopping that person from calling herself something else
Aside from the fact that she'll be unable to legally change her name until the age of 18 (in my country, yours may vary).

SNCommand said:
Anyway, names for children are always mostly for benefit to the parents
Perhaps. Like I said, even if that is the case, most parents have the foresight both to choose a name that they like and to choose a name that won't likely hinder their child. To do otherwise is selfish.

SNCommand said:
I say parents should be free to name their children whatever means the most to them
And this is where I feel neither of us will be able to convince the other. I don't think, frankly, that parents have a right to name their child what they want at all.

Children have a right to a name under Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child:

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/UN_Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#Article_7

Article 3 says that in all governmental matters concerning children the interests of the child are a primary priority.

Article 36 protects against other forms of exploitation prejudicial to the child's welfare.

I don't think there are any equivalent rights of the parent to name their child whatever they please. But if you can find some, then you may have a point. Choosing a name is more akin to a responsibility or a duty than a right, and I think there should be limits. And clearly there are limits, because the government, at least in my country, can and does stop parents naming their children "Formula One Racecar" or whatever:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2452593/Talula-Does-The-Hula-From-Hawaii-not-a-girls-name-New-Zealand-court-rules.html

I don't think that Tali'Zorah should be disallowed by any government, it's clearly not that bad. I do, however, think it's unwise and unfair, and that OP should reconsider. Clearly he loves the name, but it's not his name. And thus it should be kept to a nickname or middle name. If he introduces it to his daughter and she loves it, she can legally change her name to Tali'Zorah when she is 18. Not the other way around.

SNCommand said:
And you can't take into account that it might make getting a job more difficult, it never was a problem for my wife having an Asian name so it shouldn't be something to be considered in my opinion when me or any other parent considers names, if it's that much of a hindrance that person could always legally change their name
Of course you can take it into account, along with the likelihood of bullying. If the likelihood is real enough, then it would be negligent not to do so. "Who cares if this name might cause my child grief, I like it?" isn't good parenting. And I'm afraid those studies would seem to trump your wife's anecdotal evidence.
 

EternallyBored

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I don't know why I'm responding this late in the thread, OP probably isn't going to read this, but I work with kids for a living and actually have run into this issue on multiple occasions so whatever I'll say it anyway. Weird or unique names tend to be a minefield, they can turn out well, or blow up in your face and cause your kid a lot of unnecessary grief. Of the kids I've worked with over the years that have eventually gotten old enough and changed their legal names, they were all kids with unique or quirky names that their parents thought was cute or awesome when they were born.

Especially names of fictional characters that stand out, I knew one kid who was saddled with the name Skywalker, yes, I don't know exactly why his parents gave him the last name of a Star Wars character as his first name, but he claims that's where they got the idea from because they thought it sounded cool, and he pretty much refused to answer to anything except Walker. When he turned 18, the first thing he did that day after school was file to have his name changed to just Walker. I've never encountered that with people with more widespread names, so be prepared, because your girl may very well end up loathing that name and counting down the days until she can change it herself, kids sometimes don't like their given names, but it's always the more unique and quirky ones that seem to ignite that all-consuming passion to change it as soon as possible. Still, it's a crap-shoot, the more unique names tend to inspire more hatred from those saddled with them, but I've also met kids that like them, so who knows, maybe she'll love it, and maybe she will have her name change paperwork filled out and ready to mail in years in advance.

Another issue people bring up is jobs, and as much as it sucks, there are definitely biases in Human resources departments when it comes to hiring people with out there names. If you have two equal resumes, except one person is named Arthur Mason, and the other one is name Superman McGee, I can guarantee the guy with the normal name is going to get the callback almost every time. Dunno how much you'll have to worry about this though, Tali'zorah sounds more foreign than just outright wacky, but then again, depending on where you live, a foreign sounding name can get you passed over for jobs as well. That's not really, your, or your kids fault, but it's a risk you take with names like that, just be aware of the possibility and a smart person should be able to mitigate the problems.

Although, I do have to question, why bother to actually put her name down as Tali'zorah, if you're just going to call her Tali all the time, seems like a pointless complication to me. The only thing it accomplishes is making official paperwork more of a pain in the ass, and the apostrophe is going to cause a screw-up by the government bureaucracy somewhere down the line. Last time I remember a kid with an apostrophe in her name ended up spending hundreds in court fees, after a computer system fucked up her name because it couldn't process apostrophes in the name field correctly. Not really your fault, but be aware that somewhere down the line that apostrophe is likely going to fuck something up, and you'll need to be extra careful in any paperwork you or she fills out that will require her full legal name. I can't begin to tell you the number of times someone with a name with odd punctuation in it has resulted in people not getting paperwork properly sent, or important calls and notices not going through properly.

It probably won't be some terrible burden on your kid, and if she ends up liking the name, it will certainly be an uncommon one, (not unique, I'm willing to bet there are already a couple Tali'zorahs out there) so yeah, good luck, just make sure you fill out her full legal name properly or you're going to be giving some poor government bureaucrat a major headache down the line. Also, don't take it personally if she ends up fucking hating her name, it's a risk with this type of thing, but changing your name isn't too hard in the U.S., kind of a pain in the ass, but hey, that's what nicknames are for, and there are a lot worse things you can shorten a name to than just Tali.
 

Blow_Pop

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Elvis Starburst said:
Blow_Pop said:
If you potentially want your child to hate you later in life, then by all means name them that.

My name is fairly common. I STILL get shit for it. I hate my parents for the name. And fucking despise my name. I can't figure out a name I like enough to change it to So for now I am stuck.

Tali is a good name but seriously think about the possible ramifications. Girls are evil, vile, vicious creatures from personal experience. Especially to each other (thanks hollywood and society you fucks) so be prepared for possible coming home from school in tears days/months/years. On the flip side, your child name her what you want. It could work out well. And could prevent her from gaining employment because employers are shallow assholes.
Come now, it can't be THAT bad if it's fairly common... Right? (PM me it, out of curiosity? I won't tell a soul!)

Edit: Just checked your profile again. Blow Pop can't seriously be common in some place in the world... Could it? o_O
You checked my profile but didn't check the link to my facebook which has my actual name on it? Please tell me you are joking that you think my name is actually Blow Pop? (spoiler: It's not. It's a nickname from a job)

But since you asked. My actual name is April. Naming your child after a month that has plenty of songs/rhymes about it is NOT a good idea. And it makes it worse when your parents tell you that you got named that because you looked like April sunshine when you came out of your mum. And it's wonderful being in any month NOT April and getting told to shut up or go away or something because it's not your month and people actually expecting you to do so and getting pissy with you when you don't. Ape-face was a very popular one too during my school years. And April fool's day (April 1st) is the worst fucking day ever with my name. That and the general assumption I was born in April (I wasn't. My birthday is coming up really soon actually). Also having phrases associated with your name and books associated with your name like "Crazy April" (there is seriously a book called That Crazy April, I own it thanks to someone's idea of a joke gift) isn't fun either.
 

Dominic Crossman

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Robin williams (not the singer but miss doubtfire if I got the names confused) named his daughter Zelda after the video game and that is widely know to anyone who has seen a Zelda advert from a couple years ago. As for the embarrassment it could cause, if a kid wants to be cruel, then it doesn't matter if you have the best intentions while naming a kid, they can and will take the piss out of it if they want to be mean. People used to take the piss out of an Adam at school because of the biblical Adam, and Aaron because it was spelt with 2 a's. Then there is my own name which I had trouble saying due a childhood speech impediment. Not to mention I hate being around Toms as I regularly hear their name as mine and end up looking moronic when I respond, to the point that I insist people use my first full first name instead of the shorted version, which makes me sound pretentious.

... I think I'm going off topic.
Also I would never bully Zelda Williams because she is hawt. (Sorry had to get that out there)

Edited: for typos and clarification. 3X
 

Fredvdp

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[REDACTED said:
]Dude. You're naming a person. Give them a person name. It's not complicated.

Tali would be. Tali'Zorah would not be fine. It would be very, very bad.
Agreed. Tali sounds like a reasonable name, but Tali'Zorah is a name I wouldn't even give to a dog. And the dog doesn't care. The kid will.
 

Tsun Tzu

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Starnerf said:
Tali seems fine as a first name. Zora is also a fine name. Perhaps you could split it into first and middle names? That seems like it would be a bit more acceptable. And I suppose the amount of teasing she gets would depend on how popular Mass Effect is in 5-10 years when she gets into school.
As open as I am to breaking naming conventions... this option seems like it would make the most sense and cause your child the least potential "problems." I absolutely love Tali as a first name and, frankly, it's one of the primary options I'd consider for my own offspring, should they be female.

Then again, I'm adamant about naming at least one of my children, regardless of gender, some variation of "Gryphon/Griffin/Griffon" so, I can't really judge you too harshly. >.>
 

CloudAtlas

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SNCommand said:
And you can't take into account that it might make getting a job more difficult, it never was a problem for my wife having an Asian name so it shouldn't be something to be considered in my opinion when me or any other parent considers names, if it's that much of a hindrance that person could always legally change their name
Good for your wife that she didn't have problems, but one individual example doesn't disprove all the scientific studies who came to a different conclusion. Besides, as you hopefully know, Asians don't exactly suffer from the same stereotypes as Arabs or Africans do, so your example is of limited relevance anyway.
And I doubt that many people would associate "Tali'Zorah" with a smart, well-educated, hard-working Asian person. If anything, it sounds somewhat Arabian-African-ish, what with the apostrophe and all, to an ignorant person.

I just... I still can't understand the OP, not a little bit. I get it, they love the sound of the name so much, but why not at least change it "Tali Zorah" instead of "Tali'Zorah". It sounds exactly the same, but the omission of the apostrophe & having a somewhat regular first name alone would already save you and your child so much trouble. At least she wouldn't have to spell out her name "Tali-apostrophe-Zorah-with-H-at-the-end" every fucking time on official documents.
There's just no fucking benefit to the apostrophe whatsoever.

And please, folks, don't come with "well she can change the name later if she doesn't like it" or "she can just abbreviate her name to Tali". If you expect that a child will legally change her name later with some likelihood (and resent her parents for giving her such a stupid name), and if you believe that a name is too troublesome for anyone actually bothering to use the full name, how the hell can you defend giving a child such a name in the first place as a good idea?
 

Mikemc

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Tali is a cute name, so is Zorah. Just be sure the bullies don't clue in that
Tali = Taliban
Zorah = King Zorah is a fat, ugly, lazy, fish-face (Zelda 64)
 

SNCommand

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Mikemc said:
Tali is a cute name, so is Zorah. Just be sure the bullies don't clue in that
Tali = Taliban
Zorah = King Zorah is a fat, ugly, lazy, fish-face (Zelda 64)
Kids can make fun of any name though [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNSf-KQORRk&t=1m23s]
 

Batou667

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Tali'Zora is quite a cute name. In defence of it, there are plenty of exotic or cross-cultural names out there at the moment, and as for the bullying aspect, kids will make fun of literally ANYTHING. Whether it's your first name, or your surname (which can't even be blamed on "irresponsible parents"), if your name rhymes with something funny (or even something unfunny), or is similar to a celebrity or character name, or can be deliberately mispronounced - some genius in the playground will notice and attempt to use that as a way to wind you up.

My only caution would be to consider changing the apostrophe for a hyphen, or just make Zora the middle name. Tali-Zora is cute, exotic, whimsical. Tali'Zora is the middle name of the Gungan ambassador to Naboo. Basically, it screams "sci-fi/fantasy bullshit".
 

Meghan Barksdale

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Tali is and arabic name meaning my dew or my lamb, zorah is a slavic name meaning dawn so they are both real names. so if you use zorah as a middle name she should be fine. also grats by the way.
 

McElroy

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My friend has just about the toughest name to make fun of on its own, but then there was a tv commercial with a quirky kid with the same name playing Indiana Jones with an imaginary penguin and eating ice cream in the end. So he got teased a bit a couple of times. It happens.

I'm gonna go with the general consensus, though Tali on its own would suck here in Finland as it is the Finnish word for tallow.

My own uncommon first name is always overshadowed by my hilarious surname which is the Finnish word for "a little deer" and, of course, completely unpronounceable to any foreigner.
 

Attercap

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First off, congrats on increasing the population by one!

The vitriol of forums is rarely a good gauge for what true human interaction will be like. One would think that cultural barriers would be lessened by global communication tools, but instead it seems to bring out far more backwater, backwards thinking, knee-jerk reactions. Anonymity is the antithesis to empathy.

I don't see anything wrong with the moniker of "Tali'Zorah." While it may be from a video game, it's unlikely that her peers will have played the game by the time she's in school and, in the end, most people won't care. At worst the name will be viewed as exotic or quirky. A person--regardless of how staid or unique their name might be--will always have to deal with stupid people and jerks. One's name could be "John Smith" and some people would find a way to make fun of it, or have to deal with someone who couldn't quite pronounce it or spell it correctly. So, what's important is that they have a caring family and have a decent group of friends.
 

shrekfan246

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Attercap said:
First off, congrats on increasing the population by one!

The vitriol of forums is rarely a good gauge for what true human interaction will be like. One would think that cultural barriers would be lessened by global communication tools, but instead it seems to bring out far more backwater, backwards thinking, knee-jerk reactions. Anonymity is the antithesis to empathy.
Of course, on the other hand, kids don't tend to hold much empathy in the first place. So if people who are ostensibly adults are getting all riled up and frothy about it on the internet, who knows what will happen with the children who don't have those filters in the first place. But, at the same time...

While it may be from a video game, it's unlikely that her peers will have played the game by the time she's in school and, in the end, most people won't care.
This could likely be true as well. Unless we have time travelers on these forums, none of us can really accurately predict exactly what will happen in this child's life due to their name being a bit strange.

I still think "Zorah" as the middle name would be a superior choice, though.