Ezra or Loki?!

[Lauralastic]

Both quite unusual names I know. Theory is choosing a name so that he is the only child of that name in his class at school. My 1st son is Jago and it really suits him. What do u think of these 2 names, I also like Phineas but worried it's a mouthful with our 3 sylable surname begining with N. Ideas welcome. Thanks.

"Hate all this modern 'cult of self' tendencies."

Yes, you bunch of bastards giving your children NAMES.

NAMES so that they can be IDENTIFIED as INDIVIDUALS.

Don't call your children anything. Force them to make their way in the world without a name of any kind!

Isn't the point of naming someone to IDENTIFY them as uniquely as possible? So surely it makes sense to try to give all people as different names as possible. SO THAT THEY CAN BE IDENTIFIED!

How boring life would be if we were all called Steve A., Steve B. or Jack C., Jack G. etc. [yawn].

So shouldn't we be encouring more name diversity?

And to make fun of Chardonnay, just because it is commonly used by the lower classes or 'chavs', isn't very nice either imo.

Actually I love Loki! Wasn't he Thor's brother? Love Thor too.

Maybe I'll opt for something sensible like Boy or Child2... I didn't and still don't much like having to put the 1st letter of my surname on the end of my forename, wouldn't want a child of mine to hav the same prob. My heritage... ermm.. Jago is of cornish origin, we went there for a 4day holiday last yr so that must mean I'm allowed to use it, I'm English or do I hav to say British?

I wasn't "making fun" of any name but telling you of an observation about something we like to call Real Life.

Real Life is where people's names are strong indicators of their family backgrounds and socio-economic status. Clever ones from lower classes skew these expectations in their favour by naming their kids either timeless classics or names popular with the upper classes in their time. The not-so-clever ones name their kids "original" non-names which they think will make unique flowers out of their offspring, but instead mark them with a time & class stamp for all their lives.

Real life?! Maybe u need to get a life n stop being so judgmental of people.

Again: This is not me being judgmental. This is me trying to explain the way everyone in Real Life judges people on their names, before they even meet.

If you have read my earlier messages, I was specifically referring to how this works in recruitment, in DH's experience.

If you ever think about handing in your CV for anything, you might also like to run a spell check on it.

I agree to some extent, Cote. A non-Italian friend - absolutely no connection to Italy on either side of the family, in fact - recently called her twins Dario and Enzo, which I find extremely odd, I admit. But what is the harm....really?

I used to work in recruitment and we frequently had to deal with racism from employers who blatantly refused to select candidates with obviously Nigerian or Muslim or Eastern European ...or whatever... names. It used to drive me mad (very hard to prove it, too).

Real Life is all well and good, but shouldn't people be allowed to call their children whatever they want, when push comes to shove? The people who are judging have the problem, surely?

What about Condoleezza or Barrack - luckily the Americans aren't as judgmental about names .

"This is me trying to explain the way everyone in Real Life judges people on their names, before they even meet. "

This is you trying to justify your prejudice by claiming that it is universal and inevitable.

It's like arguing that gay couples shouldn't have children because their children will be bullied due to homophobia.

Naming your child based on what you imagine the prejudices of recruiters might be in 20 or 30 years is daft.

Agree with Rachel. I bet Condoleezza and Barrack would be slated on mumsnet... .

Cote I see what you are saying, but with regards to this thread, and the OP's possible names, it's not really relevant is it?

The OP wants to choose names that are not in common use, but are still proper names, not made-up non names like Chardonnay.

Anyway, the world's a big place, we can't rule out all possibility of being judged by our names when we apply for jobs. Who's to say our children will be applying for jobs in the UK? What if little Angus grows up and wants to be an oil engineer out in the Middle East?The arabs will chuckle at him being called Chicken Pox.

Or even Barack. "Barrack" is somewhere soldiers live.

Although I know it doesn't matter, I still find it odd when people give their child a name from a different culture. From my (old-fashioned prejudiced) viewpoint it means one of two things: a) they're trying really hard to be different or b) they're ignorant and just don't know.

There was a thread about the name Cohen the other day. Now, having grown up in North London, that name is very strongly identified by me as a Jewish surname. Nothing wrong with giving your non-Jewish child a Jewish surname (unless it's offensive to Jewish people) - but why?

Loki is just silly and ugly to boot. Would you pronounce it "Low key" or "Locky"? As someone else has said, I know some boys called Lachlan who's nickname sounds a bit like the latter.

I agree with CotedAzur - names ARE a often mark of social class and the era you were born in. This need for your uber precios little darling to have a totally unique name is bizarre and unnecessary, unless you think your child is going to be so personality-free that they wouldn't be noticed without a ludicrous original and unusual name!

precious

No, Ezra is not "ultra unique" but Loki would be.

I think the conversation has moved on a bit from OP's choices and towards the silly desire to choose ultra unique names for one's offspring.

By the way, I have a name that is very common where I'm from but is unfortunately "ultra unique" where I have been living for the past decade. I cannot begin to explain to you the exasperation of having to spell out your name every single time you say it to someone, the puzzled look on people's faces, the "So can I call you xx instead?" (Err... no.), etc. Truly, you are not doing your baby any favors.

If they become a pop singer one day, they can adopt some unique stage name. You really don't need to give it to them at birth.

By the way, Cohen is not just any Jewish surname. It is one of the two most important Jewish surnames (the other being 'Levi'), claiming direct descent from the brother of Moses. There are special treatments reserved for people with these surnames in synagogues.

Any non-Jewish person naming their son Cohen has to be woefully ignorant.

"This need for your uber precios little darling to have a totally unique name is bizarre and unnecessary"

Why does it annoy you so much if someone chooses an unusual name for their child?

Please stop trying to qualify the word unique. Something is either unique or it isn't.

Nobody on this thread has suggested using a unique name. The OP is looking for an unusual name.

She has a common name and doesn't like it. So telling her that it's "bizarre and unnecessary" for her to choose an unusual name for her child when her own life experience tells her it's a sensible and desirable choice seems more than a little bossy. It isn't really any of your fucking business.