As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

What's in a name? Your name, baby names, terrible names, awesome ones

MedopineMedopine __BANNED USERS regular
edited October 2008 in Debate and/or Discourse
So names can be terrible, bad, good, okay, hilarious.

Do you like your name? Hate it? What do you want to name your kids (if you're having any)?

Here's the top baby names from 2007

Jacob
Michael
Ethan
Joshua
Daniel
Christopher
Anthony
William
Matthew
Andrew

Emily
Isabella
Emma
Ava
Madison
Sophia
Olivia
Abigail
Hannah


Personally I like my name. I want to name my kids with names from antiquity and myths. Artemis, Diana, Perseus, Jason...

Medopine on
«13456711

Posts

  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Man, Emily and Matthew. I know at least seven people that I see regularly with each of those names.

    I have met less than ten people in my life who share my name (Travis). I guess that's kinda neat? I wish I had a more badass name, like the guy at my high school named Cal Murdock. Of course there was also the guy named Clint Torres, so I don't feel very bad.

    Evil Multifarious on
  • evilbobevilbob RADELAIDERegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Never name your child Adrian. It is the worst name.

    evilbob on
    l5sruu1fyatf.jpg

  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Good to finally see Nevaeh off that list.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • AsiinaAsiina ... WaterlooRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I'm so annoyed with Abigail suddenly being popular again. Ever since I was a child I wanted to name my first daughter Abigail. It's an old name not used very much, but it's not totally out there. It also shortens to Abbie which I think is adorable.

    Now suddenly it's popular. I had a problem growing up with a common name that wasn't all that common before I was born and I don't want my kid to be Abigail S. in her class.

    Asiina on
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2008
    There's a great documentary called "What's in a Name?" by Alan Berliner.

    Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner Alan Berliner !!!

    Sheep on
  • GanluanGanluan Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I think I'd hate myself if I was named Artemis or Perseus :P

    What's odd is the names my wife and I picked for our first child aren't on that list, but I assumed they were more popular (Trevor and Kayla).

    No joke, on any given day in my office I will be communicating with six different people named Mike. We usually reference them by their last name at this point, like a drill sergeant.

    Ganluan on
  • Premier kakosPremier kakos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited October 2008
    I wish I had a more unique name than Mark. I've long considered changing it to something. Much like Medo, I covet names from antiquity. Octavian would be a cool name, for example.

    Alternatively, if I ever have crib midgets, I might name them after famous mathematicians and/or computer scientists. Ada would be a cool name for a daughter and Haskell for a son.

    Premier kakos on
  • OptimusZedOptimusZed Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I used to run a canvass office in Philadelphia. We hired for short time work, so we were doing interviews constantly. I saw all sorts of crazy names come through.

    Personal favorite: Saf-aye-en-aye
    spelled: Caffeine

    My wife is a med student. Apparently there are horror stories about mothers trying to name their kids with words they see on the charts, most notable "miconium."
    Baby's first poo.

    OptimusZed on
    We're reading Rifts. You should too. You know you want to. Now With Ninjas!

    They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    OptimusZed wrote: »
    I used to run a canvass office in Philadelphia. We hired for short time work, so we were doing interviews constantly. I saw all sorts of crazy names come through.

    Personal favorite: Saf-aye-en-aye
    spelled: Caffeine

    My wife is a med student. Apparently there are horror stories about mothers trying to name their kids with words they see on the charts, most notable "miconium."
    Baby's first poo.

    What the fuck? Why would you do that, in the first one? Make it deliberately difficult? Fuck.

    I mean, it's retarded beyond that, but why would you try to "fake someone out" with a name?

    Evil Multifarious on
  • clownfoodclownfood packet pusher in the wallsRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    i love my name (anthony). But I am of the same mindset as my father. He wanted his children to have a name that no one else in my family has. There are already too many people in my family with the name John, Chris, C(K)athy or Lisa.

    I think if I have a boy, the name I will push hardest for is Gabriel. as for a girl... Rebbecca is something I like. Who knows if that will happen though, I really don't think I should breed.

    clownfood on
    photo-4798.jpg?_r=1355437546
  • PantsBPantsB Fake Thomas Jefferson Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Medopine wrote: »
    Here's the top baby names from 2007

    Jacob
    Michael
    Ethan
    ...

    This is the annoying thing to me. I'm 26. In 1981 (You can get the list year-by-year here), it was an unusual name. There were ~40 names more popular than it on a good year and in the 60s and 70s there were a few hundred more popular names. I got teased for it being weird, for the rhyming of Jake with many words and I was the only one I knew named Jacob in a school system for three years in either direction that graduated almost 400 kids a year.

    Then, somehow it becomes the most popular name in the world during the Clinton administration and has been for almost a decade. What the hell happened? I know I'm awesome but I'm not that awesome. Its like your favorite band that only you follow suddenly is on 14 different commercials and Abercrombie and Fitch are selling their tshirts.

    PantsB on
    11793-1.png
    day9gosu.png
    QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
  • tsmvengytsmvengy Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Asiina wrote: »
    I'm so annoyed with Abigail suddenly being popular again. Ever since I was a child I wanted to name my first daughter Abigail. It's an old name not used very much, but it's not totally out there. It also shortens to Abbie which I think is adorable.

    Now suddenly it's popular. I had a problem growing up with a common name that wasn't all that common before I was born and I don't want my kid to be Abigail S. in her class.

    Helen is also a good old name that people don't use as much
    or Ellen



    Interesting to note is that the baby boy names hardly change over the years. Girl names change all the time.

    http://www.weddingvendors.com/baby-names/popular/2005/

    You can look at different years/decades there.

    tsmvengy on
    steam_sig.png
  • AsiinaAsiina ... WaterlooRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Ganluan wrote: »
    No joke, on any given day in my office I will be communicating with six different people named Mike. We usually reference them by their last name at this point, like a drill sergeant.

    Yah, but it's not like the people you work with were born this year, which is where the names come from. I also know a whole pile of people named Mike.

    Asiina on
  • saint2esaint2e Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I think I have a pretty cool name, Sean.

    For the longest time I've wanted to name my kids Liam (William) and Imogen, but since Liam is now stinkin' popular, I've gotta re-think that one.

    saint2e on
    banner_160x60_01.gif
  • JamesJames Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    My name is James.

    If I have a girl I would name her Amanda or Tracy.

    If I have a boy I would name him Constantine.

    James on
  • PantsBPantsB Fake Thomas Jefferson Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    OptimusZed wrote: »
    My wife is a med student. Apparently there are horror stories about mothers trying to name their kids with words they see on the charts, most notable "miconium."
    Baby's first poo.

    The urban legend I like best from that is the woman who names her twins (pronunciation:Oran-gelo and Lamongelo)
    spelled Orange-jello and Lemon-jello

    To add to my earlier personal comment, I was named Jacob because my father's name is James and he didn't want a Jr but liked the idea of his son being named after him. Jacob is the equivalent. My girlfriend's name is Jamie because her Dad is James and he was like the 4th so they wanted to both keep the tradition and quit it with the #s.

    PantsB on
    11793-1.png
    day9gosu.png
    QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
  • kilroydoskilroydos Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    When I was born, there were no Logan's anywhere. Now, it seems like every redneck family has themselves a Brayden, an Aishleigh, or a Logan. Ruined.

    kilroydos on
  • GanluanGanluan Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I know it's a tradition in certain families, but it seems almost narcissistic to name your kid after yourself. The practice seems to have faded a lot over the past couple decades.

    Ganluan on
  • InvisibleInvisible Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    If I ever have kids and they happen to be boys, Alexander and Maximilian. I don't know why, but I've always liked those names.

    Invisible on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    My name is Matthew. Eh, I don't think much about it.

    Couscous on
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    It'll be a strange day when we refer to our grandchildren as Gretchen, Gertrude, Beatrice, Etta, or Zelma.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • DoxaDoxa Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I like my name, trevor, my g/f likes to say "you're my favorite trevor ever" which is hilariously cute. On the flip side I get a lot of "whatever trevor"s thrown at me.

    I've thought about naming my children names of famous people. One name I play with the idea is Robert, its practically trevor backwards (Rovert) so I can poke fun for years to come. Some of my favorite famous people are named robert, Robert E. Lee; Robert Frost; Robert Kennedy.

    Girls names? well...lets just say I'm hoping its not a girl :lol: (I kid, I kid). I thought about naming her Jezebel but that would be cruel, I'll leave that up to the wife.

    On a different note I want to change my last name. Its been family tradition for the males to disassociate from their father by changing their last names as a mark of defiance for many generations. I have no idea what I am going to change it to.

    Doxa on
  • linkswordlinksword Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I actually really like my name (William). It's sort of been popular for a long time though, and my best friend has the same name. I think it's one of the only names I've ever known someone of every race/ethnicity who has it.

    Also my initials are WTF.

    linksword on
  • JebusUDJebusUD Adventure! Candy IslandRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I always thought Edgar was a stately name.

    Then I would refer to him as Gar.

    I have a grandpa named Elwood. Whatever happened to that name?

    JebusUD on
    I write you a story
    But it loses its thread
  • clownfoodclownfood packet pusher in the wallsRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    James wrote: »
    My name is James.

    If I have a girl I would name her Amanda or Tracy.

    If I have a boy I would name him Constantine.

    My nephew's name is Constantine Robert. My best friend named her little one constantine vladamir. The best thing was neither was aware of the other's choice. Remarkable names. They are going to suck to fill in a scantron sheet with those names.

    clownfood on
    photo-4798.jpg?_r=1355437546
  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    My name is Jonathan, which is fairly common, but a name I've always liked.

    My last name, though, is Irons, which is badass. :P I mean, I'm cool with any girl I marry not taking my last name simply because I'd never give up Irons.

    Nova_C on
  • YarYar Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I'm not cool with Constantine. It reminds me of Rev. Lovejoy's lecture on constancy.

    In college all my friends were named Mike. Now, everyone I work with is named Matt. Yes, everyone.

    Yar on
  • AsiinaAsiina ... WaterlooRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    There's so many people trying to be unique with names but going about it the entirely wrong way.

    If you give someone a very old name, make sure that most people still know it. Sarah, Cassandra, Jason, Alexander, Julia, Felicia, etc. are all ancient names that people would still recognize as names. If you name your kid Nicodemus or Saturninus you are dooming your child to a very hard life.

    A similar way people go wrong is to give the kid a relatively common name but spell it in magical ways. Do not name your kid Aishleigh or Meighien. What are you doing? They will spend their entire life repeating the spelling of their name and nobody ever getting it right.

    Asiina on
  • BedlamBedlam Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Asiina wrote: »
    I'm so annoyed with Abigail suddenly being popular again. Ever since I was a child I wanted to name my first daughter Abigail. It's an old name not used very much, but it's not totally out there. It also shortens to Abbie which I think is adorable.

    Now suddenly it's popular. I had a problem growing up with a common name that wasn't all that common before I was born and I don't want my kid to be Abigail S. in her class.
    Ive told very few people some of the baby names I liked because Im afraid of them somehow becomeing more popular or stolen.

    Kind of like that seinfeld episode.

    Also William is kind of a dumb name. Mostly because everyone automatically assumes it shortens to Bill which I fucking hate to be called. I guess the upside is that I dont meet as many Wills out there. But I cringe when people think its funny to call me Willie.

    Bedlam on
  • clownfoodclownfood packet pusher in the wallsRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    JebusUD wrote: »
    I always thought Edgar was a stately name.

    Then I would refer to him as Gar.

    I have a grandpa named Elwood. Whatever happened to that name?

    You would figure Dan Akroyd would have made it popular after his performance as one of the Blues Brothers

    clownfood on
    photo-4798.jpg?_r=1355437546
  • YarYar Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Freakonomics had a cool chapter on how names originate in the upper-class as exotic and aristocratic, and then slowly migrate down until they become cliche and ignorant among the poor and uneducated.

    Yar on
  • BedlamBedlam Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Asiina wrote: »
    If you name your kid Nicodemus or Saturninus you are dooming your child to a very hard life.
    Man f that assina, Nicodemus would be a fucking awsome name to have. And it shortens very well to Nick if youd prefer it.

    Id much rather be named something gay like Sage or Dagger then meet every third person with the same name as me.

    Bedlam on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I don't really like my name, for some reason it's hard for me to say. Don't ask me why I falter on "Greg" all the time, but I do during introductions.

    Plus my dad thought it would be good to name me after a pope. That's the uncool side of old school names.

    KalTorak on
  • PantsBPantsB Fake Thomas Jefferson Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Apparently the old school Logans, Abigails and Jacobs of the world must unite to defeat the foul usurpers.

    My grandmother was named Euphemia May, and since there there are 6 girls with May as a middlename that descend from her. No Effies yet though.

    If you're going to give your kid a weird name, make sure there's an easy shorter version. Maximillian=Max. Nicodemus=Nick etc. That way they have an out.

    PantsB on
    11793-1.png
    day9gosu.png
    QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2008
    My first name is Grady.

    Grady is a bad ass, wisened name.


    I desperately want to name a child Baloo.

    Sheep on
  • Mike DangerMike Danger "Diane..." a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    I am Mike in Real Life. (I was almost named Mitchell, after my grandfather, but my mother decided it was too old-fashioned.)

    Potential kid names: I like Lionel and Charlotte.

    Mike Danger on
    Steam: Mike Danger | PSN/NNID: remadeking | 3DS: 2079-9204-4075
    oE0mva1.jpg
  • MedopineMedopine __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2008
    I think it's okay to want your child to hve a unique name. I also think it's okay to choose a popular one - in the end I don't think it makes a terrible world of difference and legal name changes after adulthood are always possible.

    There is a line of "okay that's not unique, that's just dumb" which includes stupid spellings and naming your kids after jello, but I'm guessing that line is probably different for everyone.

    I think Constantine would be a great name and I stick by Perseus and Artemis too.

    "goes to page through mythology books"

    Medopine on
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Asiina wrote: »
    There's so many people trying to be unique with names but going about it the entirely wrong way.

    If you give someone a very old name, make sure that most people still know it. Sarah, Cassandra, Jason, Alexander, Julia, Felicia, etc. are all ancient names that people would still recognize as names. If you name your kid Nicodemus or Saturninus you are dooming your child to a very hard life.

    A similar way people go wrong is to give the kid a relatively common name but spell it in magical ways. Do not name your kid Aishleigh or Meighien. What are you doing? They will spend their entire life repeating the spelling of their name and nobody ever getting it right.

    Goodness me, it is infuriating seeing someone trying to over-spell a perfectly normal name because they want to be different.

    Then you get a story I heard a few years ago, that probably won't translate well to text (I'll have to do it phonetically), about a teacher reading off the register to her class of children on her first day. She got to the end and a girl comes up to her and says "you didn't read out my name". She asked what the girls name was, and got the reply (here's where it falls down) "Wivonee".

    Checking down the list of names, she found one absence, 'Yvonne'.

    Apparently her parends had seen the name written down, and didn't know how to pronounce it.
    OptimusZed wrote: »
    I used to run a canvass office in Philadelphia. We hired for short time work, so we were doing interviews constantly. I saw all sorts of crazy names come through.

    Personal favorite: Saf-aye-en-aye
    spelled: Caffeine

    My wife is a med student. Apparently there are horror stories about mothers trying to name their kids with words they see on the charts, most notable "miconium."
    Baby's first poo.

    Yup, first example is the kind of thing I'm on about, and I've heard of people doing the latter, doo.
    Also 'Mileena' is a popular one too.

    darleysam on
    forumsig.png
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited October 2008
    darleysam wrote: »
    Asiina wrote: »
    There's so many people trying to be unique with names but going about it the entirely wrong way.

    If you give someone a very old name, make sure that most people still know it. Sarah, Cassandra, Jason, Alexander, Julia, Felicia, etc. are all ancient names that people would still recognize as names. If you name your kid Nicodemus or Saturninus you are dooming your child to a very hard life.

    A similar way people go wrong is to give the kid a relatively common name but spell it in magical ways. Do not name your kid Aishleigh or Meighien. What are you doing? They will spend their entire life repeating the spelling of their name and nobody ever getting it right.

    Goodness me, it is infuriating seeing someone trying to over-spell a perfectly normal name because they want to be different.

    Then you get a story I heard a few years ago, that probably won't translate well to text (I'll have to do it phonetically), about a teacher reading off the register to her class of children on her first day. She got to the end and a girl comes up to her and says "you didn't read out my name". She asked what the girls name was, and got the reply (here's where it falls down) "Wivonee".

    Checking down the list of names, she found one absence, 'Yvonne'.

    Apparently her parends had seen the name written down, and didn't know how to pronounce it.

    Same thing happened to Bette Midler.

    Sheep on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited October 2008
    Medopine wrote: »
    I think it's okay to want your child to hve a unique name. I also think it's okay to choose a popular one - in the end I don't think it makes a terrible world of difference and legal name changes after adulthood are always possible.

    There is a line of "okay that's not unique, that's just dumb" which includes stupid spellings and naming your kids after jello, but I'm guessing that line is probably different for everyone.

    I think Constantine would be a great name and I stick by Perseus and Artemis too.

    "goes to page through mythology books"

    I like the name "Phaedre," but I wouldn't really want my kid to learn where it came from.

    KalTorak on
Sign In or Register to comment.