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AIBU?

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Original poster

to feel right sorry for these babby's with unique names?

242 replies

Nowithadoublei · 05/09/2011 22:57

They'll be respelling for there whole life.

Amieeleigh.

Maizii-Faii.

Demilea.

Reah-Neavah.

Jay-dee.

Rylee.

Maisy-Maee.

Ezmai.

Courney-Alice.

Izaeyah.

Jorgea.

Jerzey.

Daisey-Jai.

Dolci'Lou.

Sorry if these are any of normal spellings but I don't recognize them.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 06/09/2011 07:29

"TBH there are so many unusual spellings nowadays that even if your name was Jane people would still ask you to spell it"

Um... You have always had to spell Jane because of the alternate spelling Jayne. bad example :o

pinkytheshrinky · 06/09/2011 07:34

I know a small boy called Armani-blu - am wracking my brains to remember what she called the younger one but it was equally fucking chavvy and dreadful

Horrible just a horrible thing to do to a child

And I speak as a woman who has uniquely named her children but in a nice way Confused

talkingnonsense · 06/09/2011 07:35

I don't know if this thread is for real or not, but kudos to the op for some great names- I particularly like reah- nevaeh - is that heaven hear? Surely it should be ereh!

Andrewofgg · 06/09/2011 07:45

They will get teased rotten at school. I knew a Mr and Mrs House who called their daughter Wendy!

I also know of a woman called Victoria who married a Mr Cross but that was her own choice. So far as I know they did not call their son George!

Mitmoo · 06/09/2011 07:51

Silly to judge on a name, having unusual names can be a great conversation starter. Imagine if we all stuck to the boring usual names, Mary, Jane, John, Michael, nice as they are but nothing wrong with being imaginative.

I chose a name from my Irish background there is no reason why anyone else from any other culture shouldn't chose a name they like and if it's unusual good luck to them.

I think it's daft to think you can judge a child's future by their name.

marriedinwhite · 06/09/2011 07:55

Hopefully they will all grow up knowing the difference between their and there Grin

GloriaVanderbilt · 06/09/2011 08:00

One word. Condoleezza.

BedHog · 06/09/2011 08:01

The names on your list aren't unusual names though, they are common names with largely phonetic spellings.

Please don't confuse them with genuinely unusual names, some of which are beautiful.

Againagainagain · 06/09/2011 08:04

I have to spell my name all the time, don't see the problem

hairylights · 06/09/2011 08:10

At least they'll have their names as excuses for bad spelling ;)

Andrewofgg · 06/09/2011 08:12

Condoleeza, Condoleeza, tiny little thing!
Condoleeza, dance, Condoleeza, sing!

Anyone remember who sang Thumbelina?

unpa1dcar3r · 06/09/2011 08:14

I must say I fancy the pants off Johnny Depp- nowt unusual there, but am pleased to report his kids also have normal names (think one's called Jack) which is unusual in the celebrity world and puts him further up in my estimation Grin
The Beckhams calling their daughter Harper was Ok (although 7 as a middle name was strange) but in the USA apparently and Oz that's quite a common name; I have a rellie with a grand daughter called Harper.

ThePosieParker · 06/09/2011 08:15

Do you have to write in Northern OP?

ZZZenAgain · 06/09/2011 08:19

it is not my taste but ok

Courney-Alice strikes me as unfortunate. Is this pronounced corny? Corny Alice?

cleanteeth · 06/09/2011 08:19

I do feel a bit bad for OP, so she made a couple of spelling mistakes, there's no need to keep banging on about it. And there's nothing wrong with being northern.

EdithWeston · 06/09/2011 08:21

GloriaVanderbildt: that's possibly a unique example.

I can't remember the reference - it's been linked on MN before though - but there is US research which shows that your name DOES affect your life chances. And it shows which kinds of names have an adverse effect. And there is a huge body of research which shows that, no matter how unguarded and open-minded people think they they, their actual decisions show that first impressions count. Your name is a huge part of the first impression - especially when the first encounter is in writing.

So, I don't think a post which allied to this body of research "stinks of ignorance" - it shows an awareness of what the research shows about actual human behaviour. That however may be uncomfortable to some - very evident from some posts here. But is it better to pretend - in contradiction to the evidence - that something doesn't matter? Or just remain silent - probably better manners to do that, but doesn't stop the phenomena.

< dismounts from soap box >

IMHO: more ignorant to dismiss "babbies" - loads more successful Scots than among those uniquely named (or should that be "younikeely" named - I agree with BedHog's point that there are many beautiful rarely used names),

rogersmellyonthetelly · 06/09/2011 08:21

I don't have a problem with unusual names, but bastardising a lovely name with a wierd spelling is just silly. And for the record, I don't think it makes your child's name original it just makes you look like a bit of a tit who can't spell, and will lumber your child with a lifetime of having to spell their name out correctly for everyone. As someone with a very unusual and difficult to pronounce surname, I can tell you first hand it's a real pain.

Fecklessdizzy · 06/09/2011 08:40

My sister and I both have very dull and straightforward sort of names, which we spent our entire teenage years trying to spice up by spelling in increasingly weird and unexpected ways ... These kids can always do the opposite and normalise theirs if they want Smile

VeronicaCake · 06/09/2011 08:46

Guys I hate to be picky but there are two zeds in Condoleezza. Dur.

EdithWeston there is a big difference between saying that an unusual name may harm life chances and that a child with an unusual name is unlikely to be academic. MrBloom's post seemed to be saying the latter.

There is also a cultural element to this. Unfamiliar names may be the result of a deliberate decision to create a unique spelling, or they may be typical for the community a child comes from. And having a special name may matter more in certain cultural groups than it does in others. What I can say because I am white British and middle class and teach in a uni full of white middle class students is that white middle class people don't seem to have a problem with all their children being called Matthew and Emily.

SchrodingersMew · 06/09/2011 08:52

I have a misspelled name.... I'm also named after a perfume....

I don't think the spelling of my name affects my life chances and MrBloom, you sound like a racist twat!

Sometimes names that are spelled incorrectly are actually easier.
I will be calling my soon to be born DS 'Eirik' (I'm assuming you would probably look at this and "feel sorry for him" because it's not the spelling you probably deem 'correct'), this is as close to the original spelling we could get so that people would not get confused. The original spelling is 'Eirikr'.

And if names do genuinely affect life chances then maybe if ignorant people would stop concentrating on the way names are spelled or names they don't like then this wouldn't be a problem. It is people like you OP who make these names sound unusual and silly by bringing attention to them.

When you had your DCs (assuming you have DCs) you were allowed to call them whatever you liked, you had that choice. Just because you don't like others choices don't single the children out. It may be the children you feel sorry for and probably think badly about the parents but by bringing attention to it just causes problems for the children.

This being from someone who was bullied half of their life because of their name...

Spero · 06/09/2011 08:56

It's a serious point. The chapter in Freakonomics about 'unique' names is very interesting.

Some researchers sent out identical CVs to employers but using different names. 'John' got interviews, 'D'Shaun' (or similar) got none.

I do judge weird names. I also judge bad spelling and grammar. 'Babby's' indicates the possessive - the babby's ball for eg. The plural does not take an apostrophe.

I also judge anyone who seriously uses the word 'babby'.

You may dislike me for my judging, but I am not alone and I think if you hope for great things for your child you do need to be aware of the standards to which they may be held by others in the world.

thatsenough · 06/09/2011 09:00

Sweeping generalisation PosieParker - Not all northerners speak (or write) this way. I would also like to think that we know the difference between "their" and "there".

For what it's worth I do judge people with the type of names highlighted in the OP (not classically beautiful unusual names) - Sorry, but I can't help it.

fatlazymummy · 06/09/2011 09:01

Do you feel sorry for me OP? I have a very ordinary 4 letter name, yet still have to spell it out as there are 2 versions and everyone assumes that mine is spelt the other way. You really can't win with names, you just have to put up with it.

VeronicaCake · 06/09/2011 09:06

But the point in Freakonomics is surely a lot to do with racism. The same phenomenon has been shown here, when people selecting for interviews see candidates names the number of people with Asian or African Caribbean names who get selected goes down. A good solution is to simply not show the selectors the candidates names, and to have standardised application forms. A bad solution is to expect people from different ethnic groups to all call their kids Thomas and Sophie.

SchrodingersMew · 06/09/2011 09:06

I think people are extremely ignorant if they judge someone solely on the basis that they have an unusual name. After all, it is only a name and wasn't that persons choice.