Baby Names that have been done to death

[princesspiglet]

When I was in HS and was a CIT one summer at a sleep away camp, I had a girl in my cabin whose name was Artemis.

And IIRC, wasn't Athena the goddess of wisdom and beauty? I think it's a beautiful name.

Yes, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and war. She is also the patron of the arts and crafts. Which fits my DD perfectly, she loves arts and crafts and DH is in the military, so it works for us.

I love that name! It's such a cool, unique name. Definitely not one you hear everyday.

Thank you, I agree. We have only met one other person who was named Athena and that was the "ghost" lady we met in Disney World (who convinced us we were meant to have a child) and that was her name. (long story!) We have never met another one since she was born.

Another thing, what is up with making names out of other names but backwards? I have a Daisy Scout troop and I have two Neveah's (Heaven) one Enola (alone), one Nala (Alan is dad) and one Traeh (heart). I hope this doens't become common!

 

[tinatark]

My dh's cousin has 4 kids - Kearsten, Jaden, Brealyn, Braydon... yikes... btw, the last one is a boy! Another cousin has a boy, a little younger than Braydon, named Bryson. Yet another has 3 kids, Layla, Billy, Colin. These cousins are all under 8 years old, I give up at family times, trying to keep up with the names! The older generation of grandchildren is a little more traditional, Neal, Bradley, Evan, Kennedy and Kerigan... That group is from 12 to 16 years old.

I didn't want trendy names - and my boys' names have been great choices, not really duplicated - we have seen one or two other kids named "Bradley" - actually one was a girl, named Bradlee Kay and no other boys named "Evan" - although we have seen one girl named Evan.

 

[EMom]

I have to say that the worst name that I've heard is ****head (pronounced Shh-theed). This girl was in a high school class with my DD two years ago. They had a sub one day and she wouldn't even attempt to pronounce the name.

A neighbor of mine is an early childhood teacher. You wouldn't believe some of the names she's told us. Twin boys named Lemonjello and Orangejello (pronounced Lem-on-je-low and Or-on-je-low).

Every time the Shy-theed name gets posted, someone says it's an urban legend. I wish. This is second hand, but considering the soursce, I believe it. I know a minister who did some teaching at a school in a rather rough area before he found a church to pastor. The first day, he looks at the roll and sees "Sh*thead." Was it a prank? A typo? What? So he goes down the roll with the students. When he gets to Sh*thead, he wisely asks her, "And how do you pronounce that?" Without batting an eyelash, she replied, "Shy-theed." Imagine THAT name on a business card. Given that he is a minister and really not a leg-puller, his story has credibility. That and the fact that I met a "Washateria" at Astroworld. Anything is possible.

Out of curiosity, did the Lemonjello/Oranjello (sp?) story originate out of Texas? In about 80% of the cases, it does, for whatever reason. A lot of folks don't believe that either, but I don't know. I have an male ancestor who was named "Orange" back in the mid-1800s.....and no one was even Dutch in the family. Why would someone do that? They'd probably never even seen an orange back then where he lived. Anyway, Oranjello is not a huge leap from Orange.

BTW, if someone has never heard the name Athena, they won't even understand when you ask them, "You don't know who Athena is?" I'd probably crack up if someone said, "Athena? Where did you get that?" Mentally I would be saying, "This place I used to go to as a child. We called it school. You'd be amazed at what I learned there!" But I'd just give them a polite explanation, after which, I would be considered an egghead, rather than someone who just learned what anyone ought to learn along the way. I can just hear it, "Little Miss Brainiac over there named her kid after some goddess or some such. Poor kid. Why couldn't she just name her something normal like Chardonnay, Lexus, Evian or L'Oreal?"

I too, do not get "Nevaeh" or "Heaven" backwards. Isn't that like naming your kid "Hell"? I'm not sure the parents thought this one through.

 

[Momvic5]

My dd Kirsten (sounds like Kerstin) gets called Kristin every day in school by the same teacher she has had for two years. It doesn't even sound like Kristen. She has trophies, certificates etc that all say Kristin??? Eventually even she said mom, what were you thinking? Who would have guessed I would have that much problem with names.


Kelly

I have a good friend who named her daughter Kirstin (the "i" in Kirst makes the short i vowel sound). I know I confuse the two names Kirstin and Kristin. When I see this little girl, I know her name is Kirstin, but it comes out as Kristin, and when I see a Kristin, it comes out as Kirstin.

 

[tinatark]

I don't know about the sh*thead name, but I have one -

This one is very true - my friend married a guy, Curtis Dick. His brother was Peter and his dad was Leslie (Les, for short). My friend joked they would name their kids Anita and Harry. Thankfully, they divorced before that could happen!

My mother's husband's last name is Lick. It's just funny.

 

[robinb]

We have only met one other person who was named Athena and that was the "ghost" lady we met in Disney World (who convinced us we were meant to have a child) and that was her name. (long story!) We have never met another one since she was born.

Ohhh! Sounds like a good story. I have time .

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Yes, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and war. She is also the patron of the arts and crafts. Which fits my DD perfectly, she loves arts and crafts and DH is in the military, so it works for us.

See..I knew that paying attention to that movie Clash of the Titans would come in handy some day.

I hear the name Kerrigan and I think of either Nancy Kerrigan or the evil woman portrayed in the Caspar movie who tries to evict Caspar and his three ghostly uncles from the house.

 

[Laura]

I don't know about the sh*thead name, but I have one -

This one is very true - my friend married a guy, Curtis Dick. His brother was Peter and his dad was Leslie (Les, for short). My friend joked they would name their kids Anita and Harry. Thankfully, they divorced before that could happen!

My mother's husband's last name is Lick. It's just funny.

Those are two last names that should never be hyphenated!

 

[NotUrsula]

Another thing, what is up with making names out of other names but backwards? I have a Daisy Scout troop and I have two Neveah's (Heaven) one Enola (alone), one Nala (Alan is dad) and one Traeh (heart). I hope this doens't become common!

I'll agree on the others, but Enola is a name that has been around awhile. Though unusual, I don't think it's really meant to be "alone" spelled backward. The most famous example is the plane that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was named the Enola Gay -- after the pilot's mother, Enola Gay Haggard Tibbets.

 

[dogluva]

I had a student who spelled her name Ailsa. Ail-sa is what we called her. We sounded it out and she never seemed to care. Her mother came in for a conference and said her name was Alisa(she didn't understand why we called her Ail-sa). We tried to tell her it was not phonetically correct. She didn't care. Guess what her name was? Lisa. I just didn't get it.

 

[robinb]

I'll agree on the others, but Enola is a name that has been around awhile. Though unusual, I don't think it's really meant to be "alone" spelled backward. The most famous example is the plane that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was named the Enola Gay -- after the pilot's mother, Enola Gay Haggard Tibbets.

I visited Hiroshima last year and stood at ground zero. That alone would keep me from ever using that name.

 

[kellyg403]

I have a good friend who named her daughter Kirstin (the "i" in Kirst makes the short i vowel sound). I know I confuse the two names Kirstin and Kristin. When I see this little girl, I know her name is Kirstin, but it comes out as Kristin, and when I see a Kristin, it comes out as Kirstin.

Yes, that is what her teacher said..she knows what her name is but somewhere it gets muddled and comes out Kristin. The good news is she has been the only Kirsten ever in any class. Last week I heard one of her friends call her "Paige" which is her middle name. She said she gave up and told this particular friend to just call her Paige, she called her everything but Kirsten.

I just think it is funny sometimes because it sounds like it is spelled! Yet, she has had it spelled every which way and said every which way. Simple is not always best in this case! My name is Kelly and oftentimes people will say i or ey and I have to say neither...just a y.

Kelly

 

[princesspiglet]

Ohhh! Sounds like a good story. I have time .

Ok, long story. DH and I went to Disney in December 2001 and we were sharing a soft pretzel outside of the American Pavilion in Epcot, playing checkers. We were discussing all the kids we saw and debating whether we would be good parents, should we have kids, etc. This older lady dressed in civil war garb came up to us and said she overheard our conversation. She reminded me so much of my grandma who passed away 5 years prior. She had on a name tag with "Athena" so we thought she was a cast member there.

She proceeded to tell us that she just knew in her heart that we were meant to have a child and that we would be lucky to blessed with a little girl. She went on and on about what a joy a child is and basically talked us into having a child. We told her that we would come back and visit her when we eventually had a child.

Flash forward to February 2002 and I got pregnant. We were debating about names and DH mentioned the lady we met at Disney. He said I really like that name and what it stands for, so that is what we agreed to.

Flash forward to December 2003. DD was 13 months old and we went back to Disney with her for the first time. First place we went to was the American Pavilion and looked for "Athena". She wasn't there, so we asked around for her. Nobody had ever heard of her. We eventually went to the main HR department and they looked that name up and had no record of her- or at least no CM with the name of Athena. We spent the entire trip looking at every old lady CM we saw and asking if she was Athena!

So, that is my ghost story. Personally, I beleive she was my grandma's ghost and DH thinks I'm crazy.

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

I don't know about the sh*thead name, but I have one -

This one is very true - my friend married a guy, Curtis Dick. His brother was Peter and his dad was Leslie (Les, for short). My friend joked they would name their kids Anita and Harry. Thankfully, they divorced before that could happen!

My mother's husband's last name is Lick. It's just funny.

Here in town there's a Harry Head who's a Realtor. His wife? Anita.


Not joking. They're with Century 21. Nice people.

 

[mom2aredhead]

By any chance are you from a certain borough of NYC???

If you mean the one sandwiched between Brooklyn and Jersey, yes.
I'm not "FROM" here, just living here currently, under protest, because of my husband's job. Which is why I get a chuckle out of the names - among other things.

What is that, the cast of Goodfellas?

No, but their parents think that they are. Especially the ones with the boys named Chrissy.

Yep, very popular names here in NJ - dd7 has 2 Daniellas and 2 Giannas in her class, and there are 3 Isabellas.

They must be people that have made the migration....
Brooklyn -> SI -> Jersey -> FL. The natural progression of life.

 

[dogluva]

Ok, long story. DH and I went to Disney in December 2001 and we were sharing a soft pretzel outside of the American Pavilion in Epcot, playing checkers. We were discussing all the kids we saw and debating whether we would be good parents, should we have kids, etc. This older lady dressed in civil war garb came up to us and said she overheard our conversation. She reminded me so much of my grandma who passed away 5 years prior. She had on a name tag with "Athena" so we thought she was a cast member there.

She proceeded to tell us that she just knew in her heart that we were meant to have a child and that we would be lucky to blessed with a little girl. She went on and on about what a joy a child is and basically talked us into having a child. We told her that we would come back and visit her when we eventually had a child.

Flash forward to February 2002 and I got pregnant. We were debating about names and DH mentioned the lady we met at Disney. He said I really like that name and what it stands for, so that is what we agreed to.

Flash forward to December 2003. DD was 13 months old and we went back to Disney with her for the first time. First place we went to was the American Pavilion and looked for "Athena". She wasn't there, so we asked around for her. Nobody had ever heard of her. We eventually went to the main HR department and they looked that name up and had no record of her- or at least no CM with the name of Athena. We spent the entire trip looking at every old lady CM we saw and asking if she was Athena!

So, that is my ghost story. Personally, I beleive she was my grandma's ghost and DH thinks I'm crazy.

I was undecided about my fourth baby's name. I knew he was a boy but was stuck on what to name him. A boy came up to me at Walmart and asked me what I was naming my baby. I was suprised because I was only about 18 weeks pregnant and didn't look pregnant really. I thought it was weird that a kid would care. Anyway, I said "Thomas". I don't know why. It was my father's name and the name I gave my oldest son for his middle name. It just came to me. He said, "Good, because that is my name!". His mother yelled to him right after that and said his name so I know it really was his name ( also heard him called over the loud speaker later on-he must have been a wanderer). I took this to be a sign from my late father to name him Thomas. He is the spitting image of my father as a boy and acts like my brother (another Thomas!).

 

[robinb]

Ok, long story. DH and I went to Disney in December 2001 and we were sharing a soft pretzel outside of the American Pavilion in Epcot, playing checkers. We were discussing all the kids we saw and debating whether we would be good parents, should we have kids, etc. This older lady dressed in civil war garb came up to us and said she overheard our conversation. She reminded me so much of my grandma who passed away 5 years prior. She had on a name tag with "Athena" so we thought she was a cast member there.

She proceeded to tell us that she just knew in her heart that we were meant to have a child and that we would be lucky to blessed with a little girl. She went on and on about what a joy a child is and basically talked us into having a child. We told her that we would come back and visit her when we eventually had a child.

Flash forward to February 2002 and I got pregnant. We were debating about names and DH mentioned the lady we met at Disney. He said I really like that name and what it stands for, so that is what we agreed to.

Flash forward to December 2003. DD was 13 months old and we went back to Disney with her for the first time. First place we went to was the American Pavilion and looked for "Athena". She wasn't there, so we asked around for her. Nobody had ever heard of her. We eventually went to the main HR department and they looked that name up and had no record of her- or at least no CM with the name of Athena. We spent the entire trip looking at every old lady CM we saw and asking if she was Athena!

So, that is my ghost story. Personally, I beleive she was my grandma's ghost and DH thinks I'm crazy.

Awesome story! I am not a spiritual person and I don't believe in ghosts but every once in a while a story like yours makes me go "Hmmmm...". Thanks for sharing. I also really like the name "Athena" .

 

[Michelle67]

I prefer common names over the weirdly spelled ones - stop sticking in random "Y's"!

I agree. I am acquainted with a woman whose daughter has more than one random Y stuck in her first name. Their child their choice I guess, but the poor kid is doomed to have nobody ever spell her name right.

Funny about another poster mentioning the Brittany's of the 80s, too. That was my first thought when I read the OP. The week my daughter was born the doctor who delivered her had just delivered eight Brittany Nicole's in a row. He was oddly relieved when he asked what my daughter's name was to be and I responded with her very common and traditional Irish name.

I don't really think of the parents as dull with the over-used names, but I think it is amusing how these things go in cycles. My mother inadvertantly gave all three of us the "name of the year." She'd never known anyone named Michelle before she had me, but anyone in my age group knows there are gazillions of us from the late 60s and early 70s.

 

[HelenePA]

Around here, if you meet a blondish boy 6 years old or younger, there's a very good statistical chance his name is Aiden/Aidan.

I have a brown eyed, brown haired 3 yr old Aidan and yes we are from the Northeast and I had NO clue it was popular until after I named him

 

[SunshineOR]

We adopted our children at older ages and kept their names, so I have had experience with just about every aspect of the name spectrum and am enjoying this discussion. My two older daughters have slightly unique names, Mirna and Estrella (although the names are not that uncommon if you go to areas where there are many Hispanics), and our other two have very standard American names, Jason and Hailey.

My older girls do get tired of people mispronouncing their names. Even the teachers at school can't say them. I tell them it's okay to correct people one, two, or three times, then after that just politely give it up. They handle it pretty well. Actually, people catch on to Estrella's name more easily because it's more unique and they have to focus to learn it and it sticks. People always assume they're pronouncing Mirna correctly and even though we'll pronounce it correctly for them, for some reason it doesn't stick. She has learned to just go by the incorrect pronunciation, even though she doesn't really like being Murrnuh and prefers the correct Spanish pronunciation of Meer-nuh. However, my older girls seem to kind of enjoy being unique and it's exciting when occasionally they find a girl with their same name. However, there is a family in town now with the last name Estrella, which is making things a little interesting for her.

My younger two have common names and there's several of them in their classes and school. It's nice because everyone can pronounce and spell them, but it does get a little tiresome, especially for Hailey when every other girl is named Hailey and she is stuck for life as Hailey D. Jason is sometimes the only Jason in his class, but also often has to go with the D as well. I do confess to changing the spellings for Jason and Hailey when we finalized the adoption. When they were our foster children, they were Jaysen and Haylei. I was so tired of spelling them repeatedly and people looking at me like I was an idiot who can't spell. The basic spellings make life easier for sure.