If you're not a white Brit - what names in your culture make you go "holy C**p what were they thinking!"?

[lambbone]

I am a white Brit, so I get all the threads on here which basically go "you can't call your DD Magenta Pixie what if she wants to be a High Court judge"

I work in a massive school which is only about 1/4 white Brit so there is a terrific array of names - none of which convey any message to me other than being the child's name.

Perhaps it is only us class obsessed Brits who read messages into name choice?

So - are there names in your culture make people go Or

The President of Nigeria is called Goodluck Jonathan.

yep those Irish names excist but extremly rarely would you hear them in anyone under about 50 in my experience. They are considered very old fashioned by most people (obviously not everybody!).

I know of one woman whom everyone know as Connie but whose name is actually Concepta.

Mind you in my fathers generation (people over 60) it wasn't unusual for boys to be given the second name Mary. It was a blessing. Thank God Ireland is a multi cultural society these days. Less influence by the Catholic Church is a good thing!

An African child in Ds school is called Peculiar, which makes me smile. Her siblings are Precious and Darlington.

I worked in Ghana for a short while and came across some fabulous names. I met women named Blessing, Gift, Beauty and Happiness and men named Courage and Awesome. I did once meet somebody with a little boy named Ridiculous though!

My mt is spanish, and there are loads of names that would make people go if you think about it but that are completely normal names to anyone of my culture - mercedes (mercies), consuelo (consolation), dolores (pains).

The names that go people in my culture go are the misspelt English names - for example I know a Yesica (pronounced how someone of my culture would pronounce Jessica)

This is really interesting!

Curious now...what's Connor in French?

Belen is another Spanish one, from Bethlehem. I like that, it sounds nice.

In french con is a mild expletive meaning damned.

German name Birgit pronounced Beer Git

Velve, Yrjö is George isn't it. I take it the name hasn't made a come back in Finland then :)

Irish.

Quite a few, actually. My b-i-l (who is a fuckwit) told me my kids' names weren't proper names, but were bastardised Irish

He wanted me to spell them with dozens of extra dh/ch/bh combinations and extra vowels.

Think Orfthlaidh instead of Orla, and you'll get the idea.

Also, I know a couple of Concepta's and an Assumpta Dymphna, which I thought was a bit of a mouthful, which are all very Irish Catholic.

And quite a few middle aged men with Mary as their middle name, all born in 1954 as well as many JohnPaul's born in 1979.

My parents have travelled a fair bit for work, and at one point were in a Dutch speaking country. Kip means chicken in dutch. Fair enough - until I was watching an American TV show where one of the boys was named Kip. It did make me laugh!

Friends teach an Al Capone and a Tupac.

I speak to nurses called Precious, Blessing, junior and ..er..Baby which makes me wonder whether his mother had lost inspiration by the time he came along

Love Aoife - but couldn't do it as not Irish and therefore everyone would think I was a pretentious twat

VSM Yes, Yrjö is the Finnish derivative of George, beautiful isn't it. I don't think it has made a come back yet, when I was little there were still old folk around with that name. It might make a comeback in a decade or so, who knows.

My name is was considered an old woman's name so I grew up hating it but it is now very much "in".

And quite a few middle aged men with Mary as their middle name, all born in 1954

What happened in 1954?

It was a Marion year Pintameel - designated as such by Pope Pius.

Pretty much everyone in Ireland who was born in 1954 is called Mary.

Oh that's very interesting, thanks!

I'd compare with DH's family, but they're all called Maria anyway

My mother for instance.

Please tell me your mother wasn't born in 1954.

I am very old

To be fair, having Mary or a variation (Marie, Maria) as a middle name for boys isn't just an Irish thing. For example, Jose Maria in Spain and Jean-Marie in France

Connard (pronounced a bit like Connor) in French means bastard. Con doesn't mean damned but is usually used like twat.

A fave is Tokyo Sexwhale. Think he works for the FA or FIFA?

Re Connor - French pronounce this name very similar to 'connard', which means 'asshole'. (When talking about a person, not literally). I know a boy called Connor in France who was terribly bullied at school because of his name.

Con means 'idiot' or 'stupid' not 'damned', which would be 'maudit' or 'foutu'.