Normally I wouldn't slag someone (to their face) for choosing a really dumb name for their baby. The one exception being "Moroccon Scott." Still can't get over that one! But the author of What Yo Nayme Iz? says you're setting your kids up for a host of problems by saddling them with an undesirable name.
Rodney Kellum told CNN that his research shows that unique names are not the way to go. You may think your baby looks like a Trixie when she arrives, but her resume is going to get the shaft when she tries to make a living. You're basically making your children unemployable, people, so stop before you go for the name you think will make the biggest splash.
Some other crazy names Kellum came across in his research will really make you laugh, and never, ever hire this person to be responsible for anything.
- Dae 'Moni
- Pornwadee (really???)
- ESPN (someone needs to put down the remote)
- Congratulashayla (I see where you were going with this, but you shouldn't have.)
- Ish (a Dr. Seuss fan?)
While we're used to celebrities tossing out wacky monikers like they're valet tickets, I'm just not as worried about Pilot Inspektor or Zuma, as everyone knows who they are and they have rich and famous parents. They'll be fine. Or in therapy. But at least it will be paid for.
It's the babies who will grow up to be regular people without the benefit of professional connections that lose, as shown in Kellum's resume experiment. More "normal" named applicants were contacted than the weird ones. Even with the same qualifications. So think about that, Mom and Dad, when you're staring down at your beautiful new baby. And lean more towards Vivienne than Vavavoom.
Did you give your child an unusual name?
Image via paprutzi/Flickr
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Comments 59
haha, Ish is what my grandma called me because apparently when I was little, that's all I would say! I'm glad it wasn't my given name :P
justme: this is all april writes about. she is obssessed with trying to get people to agree with her that unique baby names destroy people's lives. unfortunately, it's just not true. I suspect she's just pissed that he parents named her 'april'
No, we did not give our son a "unique" name. We gave him a very traditional name that we love and that suits him perfectly. He is unique all on his own. He does not need a crazy name to be "unique".
My test for names is will it look as good on them at 50 as it does when they're 5?
I refused to give my child a "unique" name. I have a really unusual name, and trust me, my life has been nothing but heck. With the exception of my immediate family and friends, 99% of people don't pronounce it correctly. 100% of people can't spell it. I know for a fact I've been passed up for great jobs that I was qualified for, all because of my name.
I gave my daughter the name Victoria Mae, and it's so nice to not have to spell her name everytime I make a doctor's appt!!!
No; I had an unusual name (well, for where we lived. I've moved to a place where it's more popular) when I was a kid and I hated it. Nobody could spell it or pronounce it right. I was lamenting that my parents didn't name me something simple, like Sarah or Ashely. My kids got nice, traditional names. Ones they won't get made fun of for or be embarassed when they're 30 and filling out forms at the doctor's office.
My name is Cyra, the female version of Cyrus. I was named after the queen of Turkey and YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FUNNY SECOND GRADERS FIND THAT NAME. Still, my name caused no real anguish, despite the fact that no one pronounces or spells it correctly the first five times. What caused anguish was my know-it-all tendencies and my need to be the center of attention. For my future children I plan on old colonial names like Millicent, Hester, or Agnes. For boys Roman names are my favorite, like Cassius. And I don't think it'll go any different than it did with me.
I think some of his has to do with pronunciation, too. If I had a stack of resumes with the names Thomas, Vanessa and Congratulashayla on them I'd be most likely to call Michael & Vanessa for interviews and skip the third one because I have no idea how to pronounce it. Calling and saying, "Is, um, Congr..uh..atu...aah.... there?" isn't something I'd like to do. If I've got tons of interviews to schedule and not a lot of time fumbling around with names I can't pronounce isn't something I'm going to waste time on.
I think there's a big difference between unusual, old fashioned and rare names vs. just plain weird names. One poster mentioned Millicent, Hester, and Agnes. Those names are unusual but they have history, character and meaning so I don't think they're weird or bad at all. Now if you were to combine the three in to Millhestnes or Anhesticent or Hagnecent then I would say weird. Not that you shouldn't give your kids weird names, just keep in mind that by doing so you're setting them up for some obstacles they wouldn't otherwise face.
Whether it's right or wrong, people make judgements based on names. I don't think most of us are aware of it consciously at all. If you choose to spell your son's name Mykhulle but pronounce it Michael you're not giving people the impression you're creative and unique. You're most likely inspiring eye rolls and sighs - and making it that much harder for him to get a job when he's older.