Parents that give kids 'special' names...

I do think there are some really silly names out there. But I wouldn't judge the child for it. My personal tastes are not relevant. There are quite a few

"normal" names I don't personally like as well. So?

Anyway, maybe the child won't grow up to be a banker or a lawyer (yawn). Maybe she'll be a rock star, the next Picasso, a photographer, writer, yoga guru, chef, baker. Not everyone aspires to work in an office. Maybe not everyone wants to be just normal. Maybe she'll change her name. Maybe the child name Cornelia will change her name, too.

Well, I guess that is the difference. I would never hide my name, identity or origins as I don't care what others think of them. If you care what others think of you I guess you care what others think of others too.

Let's not hear all the name with anglophone ears. If some strange sounding name actually means something very special in the home culture of parents, why not then.

I think I only have slight problems with people who give names without getting educated what they culturally and historically refer to. Ie - if one lives in a culture that really dwells on say Italian names referring to Italian heritage of that family, or Jewish, or Irish, Chinese, and one randomly chooses say Irish name without realizing the entire country will assume that kiddo comes from Irish background, it's just weird to me.

I love my girl's name since it's a good fit in all three cultures, not usual in the female form and has a cute nick (which sounds very unrelated).

But I come from a culture where absolutely all last names have strong meaning (usually adjectives, or medieval professions, ownership, or so), so we do not really care so much for some special, uber important first names. After all, until recently, we were allowed only 365 first names (since we celebrate saints' days, name days) and if somebody wanted to name their child something else, you had to apply, committee had to decide if it is ok (considering the child's future and onomastics). So, we made up for it with nicks. Jan is called Honza, Anna is Andula, Mary is Marenka, Jozef is Pepa, etc. You actually rarely get called by your real name.

Re last names, my good friend kept her last name and took her hubby's too, which in translation, made a lovely combo of "Hardworking Gardener".

Francophones here misspronounce anglophone names too, Matthew, Jennifer, Jessica get their "new" versions here. It takes a little adjustment to not call kids by the original English versions but by the Frenched one.

Sound advice. Some Chinese names get translated poorly into English

That's not right...

Sum Ting Wong

Are you harboring a fugitive?...

Hu Yu Hai Ding?

See me ASAP...

Kum Hia Nao

Stupid Man...

Dum Gai

Small Horse...

Tai Ni Po Ni

Did you go to the beach?...

Wai Yu So Tan?

I bumped into a coffee table...

Ai Bang Mai Ni

I think you need a face lift...

Chin Tu Fat

It's very dark in here...

Wai So Dim?

I thought you were on a diet...

Wai Yu Mun Ching?

This is a tow away zone...

No Pah King

Our meeting is scheduled for next week...

Wai Yu Kum Nao?

Staying out of sight...

Lei Ying Lo

He's cleaning his automobile...

Wa Shing Ka

Your body odor is offensive...

Yu Stin Ki Pu

I laughed so loud, gotta check if bub's still asleep...

I expected to see this a thread about actually silly names - or really "strange" spellings of names.

I like "interesting" spellings but take it out on my pets, my game characters or (sometimes) my forum names / avatars. (My dog is Harriet Josephene on her paperwork, we call her Harri though.) I have long liked the idea of naming daughters names like Georgina, Stephanie, Nicola and Francesca but calling them Georgie, Stevie, Nicky and Franki... if / when though, hubby says no.

Meanwhile, the thread did remind me of this article about poor Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii .

One solution though for kids who may be shy / embarrassed about foreign or strange sounding names could be to research the name meaning and go with a "local" name with the same meaning or maybe one THEY like for some reason. I went to high school with plenty of kids who officially had one name but used a Hawaiian name with their friends, it was only on first day roll call that it was confusing... James / Kimo, Jacob / Kavika, Susan / Kika.

I have the name everybody knows (which is a very old french name) and this name is on my passport.

But I have also 3 others names on my birth certificate. It was popular when I was born to give middle name (s) on the birth certificate and Baptism certificate. I have my name, my Godmother's name, my Grandmother's name and Maria's name.

Nobody knows them except my parents and my husband.

My daughter and son have names that are easy to pronounce in every languages. I gave them a middle name. My daughter's middle name is my husband's grandmother's name (kurdish) and my son's middle name is a french name.

I won't tell you the meaning of my kids name because you'll definitely judge me of being pompous and putting my kids on a pretentious level.

No Nil, because to me there is a difference between calling your kid a name that MEANS, for example, "Princess of the Moon" and actually calling the poor mite "Moon Princess" in her passport. My brother's middle name means "king", which combined with his first name meaning "leader of men", is quite the "big" name but they were also chosen based on family tradition and my mum was perfectly aware of the meaning.

Insufficient, the hypothetical offense stands!

I wouldn't either. Now.

Earlier, as a child, growing up with an apparently "weird" name , I would have done anything to be a "Sarah" or "Jennifer" or "Nicola" like my friends. At best, my name was often greeted by other kids with a "Whaaat?", other times was an outright piss-take.

Rather than rolling with the piss-taking and it making me a stronger person and embracing my individuality, I was secretly cursing my parents for lumbering me with a "stupid" name - they liked it; I bloody didn't.

Kids, up through childhood and through teen years desperately don't want to stick out and really want to fit in with their peers. As a parent, I gave my son a name that would be regarded as a "fit" through many cultures and languages. If he wants to shorten it to a snappy nickname when he's older or change it for his more unusual middle name, or even change it to the team names of the entire 1966 England football squad, that's up to him.

That's just my take on it based on my own experience.

Yes but in Italian, the correct name is Luca (no S), she combined with Gian which is the correct Italian for Juan..but the combination Gian Lucas sounds so ridiculous ,,sorry

You called your daughter Blitzkrieg Bop?

Considering this is an ex-pat forum, I think we all need to chill out a bit. We are mostly all foreigners. Portuguese names might sound to a Swiss as odd as an Indian name, the same way Swiss names sound odd to me. Example: the name Urs. I shall never get used to that very typical Swiss name, since I’d never call my child “bear”.

On the other hand, no one has the right to judge how one names their children: what sounds odd to you, might sound perfectly normal to the parents. And I am not going to name my children Urs and Hans so they theoretically “integrate” better.

I am married to a German who thought my name (all 6 of them) sounded odd, and way too long. When I explained the origin and the tradition behind it, he accepted it and actually started wishing he had 2 forenames too. My parents always call me by my first 2 given names, and you know what? It’s perfectly normal and doesn’t disturb me, or any other person I know. It's my identity and I am happy with it.

This stigma “if you call your child Apple all the other mean kids are going to be mean to her” starts with the thought that you should make fun of a girl because she is named something that you consider “abnormal”. Having teacher parents I was taught from young age that even “mean” children will get tired of making fun of someone’s name because after a week, that name becomes normal.

P.S.: Edit I have a perfectly "normal" western name. But in the end, everytime someone calls my name, they are calling me "Sunshine". Sounds stupid to you calling a girl Sunshine, right? Well, the Greeks thought otherwise a couple of hundred years ago...

Reminds me of an old, slightly non-PC joke:

"After her suicide, police were able to gain access to Paula Yates' flat. During an extensive search, they found Angel Dust and PCP, but there was no sign of the third daughter."

The irony is, as hard as we try not to, we will ALWAYS judge people on their names, as you just did in your post. Using the subjective word " odd " in conjunction with the the name "Urs" was, in fact, judging it.

I don't mean it in a bad way but it just happens naturally.

I remember there was a girl in our school called Phillipa and she was a shockingly bossy and almost overpowering child. From that time I have always slightly, inwardly cringed at someone when they introduce themselves as "Phillipa" regardless of how their personality turns out to be thereafter.

I actually was careful enough to chose the word "odd" because, at least as I learnt it in my English classes, it does not include a positive or negative meaning. I see odd as "uncommon" or "unusual", which to me has no negative feeling to it If it does indeed include a negative feeling to the word, then I am sorry I really only meant "unusual", because that what that name is to me: not ugly, not pretty, just unusual (and believe it or not, extremly difficult for me to pronounce, like the German name Ulf) ^^

Have the same problem with the name Peter... Very bad experience leads to an imediate first bad reaction to the name Peter. Fortunately, though, I have met many nice Peters that proved the name is not to blame hihi ^^

Close, but no cigar.

Tom

Yes, some years ago, some people I knew from an internet motorcycle group were coming to visit (they live in the US, but had a vacation apartment near Lugano), and they were Bill and Urs. At first, I was wonering if they were a gay couple, but it turns out 'Urs' was short for Ursula, which it sure isn't here or in Germany!

Tom

I know its a popular name but I always titter at "Mercedes".

Maybe you dropped in I in Urs i there...

I was just tell Damian Lucifer III Jr that he doesn't have to enter the world of devil worship if that's an issue for him, but carrying the trident to school is a wise move in this day and age anyway.