(no subject)

[katallison]

From time to time someone will rant a fine sulphurous rant about the goofy-ass names that people give their babies nowadays (this website often being referenced.) Should you ever feel such a rant coming on, my advice is to go to the Social Security Administration's list of top baby names throughout the decades, go to "Most Popular Names of the 1910's," and go down toward the bottom of the list. I mean, my lord; back in the sedate sane decade of 1910-20, people were naming children things like Exie, Emogene, Ozella, Delfina, Romaine (for girls), or Furman, Garnet, Waldemar, Pershing, Junious, Laurel (for boys). There's a wonderful assortment of non-Anglo names to be found, reflecting the fact that a century ago the US was still very much a nation of recent immigrants. Anyone looking to find unusual names, whether for a child or a character, might do worse than to scan these lists.

I am in general fascinated by the naming of things, and a wonderful website, if you share this interest, is here, one of those glorious weirdness of the web that allows us all to benefit from one person's obsession. Italian Profession Names, Natural Phenomena Named After Frank Zappa, Norway Farm Names, Quilt Block Names, Scottish Given Names of the 13th Century, Naming Your Homeschool, Subway Line Names, all these and a gazillion more.

Comments

[luminosity]

I enjoy names as well. Since I transcribe for hospitals from North Carolina to Hawaii every day, I usually see odd names all the time. The ones that intrigue me lately are the Afro-American baby names that the mothers *make up*. Names like "Q'nider'ph" or "Escofael." I asked a A-A new mom a few weeks ago how she named her baby girl -- "Raqenka D'avio" (she had to spell it for me, obviously) -- and she said that she just made sounds that were beautiful to her and named the baby.

There are also names that make me laugh out loud and names that make me cringe. I hooted with AIM friends the other day with "Playto Socrateez," but my favorite name of all was one I heard about eight years ago-- "Fantasia Spite."

[lexcorp-hope.livejournal.com]

My friend's grandmother (born in 1898) was named Ozella! (I really have nothing else important to add to a great post, I just got all excited when I saw a name I recognized.)

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

My cousin's grandmother, born in 1898, was named Voltairine, but usually called Wally. My mother's mother was called Sadie, but after her death we found a birth certificate listing her as Sarah -- such a disappointment! (She also evidently had the date (not year) of her birth wrong, so either there was a mis-filing or she really was as forgetful as she seemed to be.)

[reginagiraffe]

If you go to Part XIV: Voyage to the Bottom of the BBS, she talks about the Kalabrians website. Here is the name analysis for "Toilet". I nearly fell off my chair at the last line. *g*

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

That is so apt. Why, my toilet was suffering from "disorders in the fluid functions" just last week! I never realized she was such a tortured soul. Maybe I should flush something nice down there to make it up to her.

[reginagiraffe]

Others are inclined to take advantage of your generosity and friendliness and then, when there is a lack of reciprocation, you can feel very despondent and disillusioned.

Yeah. You know? You do your best for people and all they do is give you crap in return.

[caille.livejournal.com]

It's a mystery. (Heh...MysTereigh)

There's a salesclerk in a nearby store, who's bright, pretty...and whose parents named her Latrina. Latrina. It's right on her nametag.

I know a family with a tradition of exotic names for the girls, and plain ones for the boys. Stormie, Paradise. (And Bob or Jim or whatever.)

My great-aunt was named "Jacquetta" after a character in a popular novel her mother had been reading. She was always called simply "Jack" (well, "Aunt Jack" to me).

When I was little, one of my mom's closest friends in the neighborhood was named "Arbutus". A woman across the street (the one who tortured me with Toni Home Perms) was "Theresa", but it was always reduced to two syllables, TREE-suh. A few years ago I might a young woman named Therese who was so tired of hearing her name mangled into TREESE or TREE-suh that she started spelling it "Trez".

If I'd remembered to have children, I'd have ordered twins and named them Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Neat, huh?

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

I actually know a Delphine, a Waldemar, several Juniuses and a Furman. My favorites that I've come across at the school aged child care program where I work were wonderful because of the lovely way they combined with the last name. My favorite has always been Devarious Askew. A couple of years ago we had a little girl name Diamond Beavers and knew the poor child was doomed to become a stripper.

The ones that bug me are twins' names that you can barely tell apart. We have one set named Orlando and O'lando and another named Dashawn and Deshawn. I figure is someone is clever enough to come up with Orlando, they ought to be able to come up with a name for the other kid.

sigh.

on naming

[colleenkane.livejournal.com]

My father named both my brother and I. Channing is called after William Ellery Channing, the Unitarian minister whose writings were a sort of precursor to the American Transcendentalists. Apparently, Dad was reading 'Slavery' while Mum was in labour.

I was named after an Inuit/Irish girl that Dad used to date when he lived in Anahim Lake (BC) circa 1967. He wanted to spell it the Irish way (Cailí, pronounced the same) but my mother already had a three-year-old *boy* that people kept calling 'Shannon', she wasn't about to have people calling her daughter 'Colin'. The other finalist for my name was 'Miali' (Mee-AH-lee), which is Inuktitut, and basically means Mary.

Ah, Dad, the AnarchistPagan who went Native and never really came back. I need to call him. *g*

Colleen is a funny name, there still aren't many, and most people don't know that it's actually a word (in Ireland, you really won't find people naming their daughters Colleen). I'm surprised at the number of people who can't pronounce it - let alone spell it.

If, when, I find myself having children, my short list is: Anna, Elen, Mary, Libby, Oliver, Jack, Thomas and Kenneth. Which names will probably be considered unusual. ;)

[tracy-rowan.livejournal.com]

I love the naming of things, too. The only naming rants I'm likely to go on are the ones about people picking their own fantasy names, and how they're always gonna be Artemis Dianasbosom instead of Potatobug, or Stormflinger Musclehead instead of Weaseltips.

People just tickle me.

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

"Toolio DeSac" is a prospective name for a boy on the website. Sounds like a porn star.

I had an aerobics instructor named Rainie Ronkaronie. Really. My favorite, other than the guy my mom went to school with named Dudley Farfel.

[amadyce.livejournal.com]

Yikes, some people are just not thinking. I recently had a party book a reservation at my work under the name "Betty Wetters". "Hi, are you the Betty Wetters party? Your table is ready, complete with plastic lined seats." I know, I'm evil, but really, what were her parents thinking? I can only hope it was an unfortunate married name.

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

I was almost named "Anastasia." My father thought it was pretty and would offer all sorts of possibilities on nicknames (Stacy, Ann, Anna, etc.), but my mother vetoed the idea.

I did have a great grandfather named Frobel. I've never quite figured out where it came from, though I think my mother once said she thought it was Dutch.

I think one of my favorite name I've ever come across was an engineer researcher named Loveday Conquest. It sounds so fake, I always thought it had to be real.