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Freypower
05-13-2008, 12:20 AM
Just saw this on the ABC website:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/13/2243271.htm?section=justin

And I thought the interminable variations on 'Jayden' only occurred in Australia!

Why are Ava and especially Madison so popular (I guess I shouldn't mention Taylor :wink: ). I have never understood the proliferation of what I consider surnames used as first names. I can't believe the surge of Madison came from a huge number of people who had Madison as their surname. I can't help thinking 'why Madison especially? Why not Park or Pennsylvania'?

I understand the reluctance to standardise spellings, but wouldn't it be easier? Taylor in this country is also spelled 'Tayla' and 'Taylah'... not 'Tailor' though. Can it be long?

As for Destiny, etc, I am afraid I don't get that. And 'JaMarcus' - I had to Google him to make sure I wasn't wrong when I said that many African Americans seem to have names like this.

Any thoughts on any of this?

glenneaglesfan
05-13-2008, 11:45 AM
It's always struck me as bizarre when people vary the spellings. sometimes I think it's down to ignorance, other times I think there's a trend nowadays to name children something different to try and establish them as personalities. It doesn't always work. The Jayden varieties don't seem to have come over here yet, but it's probably only a matter of time. Nearly every kid I pass on the streets seems to be called Tyler at the moment, whether male or female, and that's another puzzle, names that are given to boys and girls. Ashley/Ashleigh being a prime example.

Surnames used to be popular as middle names, usually to honour a family tradition, but it's odd how they have crept in as first names.

Brooke
05-13-2008, 01:51 PM
And I thought the interminable variations on 'Jayden' only occurred in Australia!


That's funny! This is the first time I've ever heard the name Jayden or any of those spellings! I asked my co-worker and she knew of one though. :?



Why are Ava and especially Madison so popular (I guess I shouldn't mention Taylor :wink: ). I have never understood the proliferation of what I consider surnames used as first names. I can't believe the surge of Madison came from a huge number of people who had Madison as their surname. I can't help thinking 'why Madison especially? Why not Park or Pennsylvania'?


I've never understood Ava especially. It seems that most people who use Madison call them Maddi, which I like. And I like some of the surnames used as first names. Although not Smith!



As for Destiny, etc, I am afraid I don't get that. And 'JaMarcus' - I had to Google him to make sure I wasn't wrong when I said that many African Americans seem to have names like this.


It seems most of the black community likes this sort of name. They are always adding a Ja, Ka, or La to another name to make a new one. :roll:


Nearly every kid I pass on the streets seems to be called Tyler at the moment, whether male or female

That's funny, gef! My son is named Tyler, which I love. But 25 years ago, he was the only one around and stayed that way till just a couple years ago. Now there are lots of little ones! I haven't heard of a girl named that though. :D

What gets me about names is the people use the last name again for the first name such as Robert Roberts, Will Williams, and Jim James! :roll:

And the one that takes the cake for me is Skeeter. I actually know of a Skeeter (yes, legal name!) that named his newborn son Skeeter just a few months ago! We laughed for days over that one! Redneck? Just maybe! :rofl:

Molly
05-13-2008, 05:02 PM
And the one that takes the cake for me is Skeeter. I actually know of a Skeeter (yes, legal name!) that named his newborn son Skeeter just a few months ago! We laughed for days over that one! Redneck? Just maybe! :rofl:

This made me laugh. My uncle George gave all his nieces and nephews nicknames -usually a nice one and then one that he knew annoyed us. My brother, Steve's nickname was Skeeter and we only called him that when we wanted to make him mad. :evil:
He chased me across the yard many times yelling "Don't call me Skeeter!!"

Working with medical charts every day, I get to see what all the babies are named at our hospital. I often see the name "Nevaeh" which I didn't understand the significance of. Someone recently pointed out to me that "Nevaeh" is Heaven spelled backwards. :?

And...Great Auntie Molly has to brag, I have a brand new great-niece, born the day before my birthday (April 26th) Kaelin Abigail!

glenneaglesfan
05-13-2008, 05:14 PM
Molly, congratulations on your great-niece! You really aren't old enough to have a 'great' anything, but I know you have older siblings, so that explains it!

Freypower
05-13-2008, 07:38 PM
I don't know why but I'm fascinated by names. Compare the American use of surnames for middle names for example in some Presidents with our more prosaic Prime Ministerial names:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Harry S Truman (the great exception)
Dwight David Eisenhower (for me as an Australian it's the first name which is unusual here)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Richard Milhous Nixon
Gerald Rudolph Ford (I had to go to his Presidential Library site to discover that)
James Earl Carter (down here Earl isn't given as a first name)
Ronald Wilson Reagan
George Herbert Walker Bush
William Jefferson Clinton
George Walker Bush

We had:

Robert Gordon Menzies
Harold Edward Holt
John McEwen
John Grey Gorton (that is unusual)
William McMahon
Edward Gough Whitlam (so is that, and he was, and still is, called Gough, of course)
John Malcolm Fraser (known as Malcolm)
Robert James Lee Hawke (Bob)
Paul John Keating
John Winston Howard
Kevin Michael Rudd

There's just a notable difference in the type of middle names they have.

I bet you are all glad I posted that. :?

AzEaglesFan
05-13-2008, 09:02 PM
My husbands name is Bobby. When we do legal paper work everyone wants to change his name to Robert. Thank GOD he has a good sense of humor about it.

sodascouts
05-13-2008, 10:00 PM
Names and naming trends are interesting to watch. As a teacher, a name that I see a lot now is Caitlyn (with various spellings), but the old stand-bys John and David also pop up a lot. Now, these kids were born in the 80s, so their trends are long past. I also had a Candace (Candy) Kane a couple of years ago.

Other oddities: My sister has a friend who named her kid Meredith but spelled it "Maridythe." My Mom knew a girl named Stardust Horn. My oldest friend (also named Julie, FP!) named her son Taylor back in 1995, despite it being much more popular as a girl's name (ask the Freys, lol). People were constantly calling him "Tyler." Another close friend of mine calls her daughter "Lou" (short for Lucy - but it still makes me laugh!)

A horror story: When I had a job teaching a preschool class for underprivileged kids via the Head Start program in Conroe, Texas, there were twin girls named Lashawnta and Lashawna. The twins were fraternal - one was a lot heavier than the other - but those names still got mixed up constantly. At least we tried to call them by their names, though. When the mom came to get them, she simply called them "Fatty" and "Skinny."

Talk about scarred for life!

I like the in-between names - not crazy odd, but not terribly common either. Weird spellings - eh. Bad idea, IMHO. I can imagine what a pain it must be to have to correct the spelling of your name TIME after TIME after TIME due to how weird it is! Look at poor Steuart Smith!

Freypower
05-13-2008, 11:29 PM
Regarding Steuart I have seen old English documents from about the 17th century with that spelling. It seems to be a combination of the Scottish 'Stewart' and the French 'Stuart' (It was going to be my name if I'd been a boy, the Scottish spelling, I think).

I grew up with endless Debbies, Jennies, Janes, Sallies, Annes, that sort of stuff. The boys had the traditional saints' names (Peter, Paul, Patrick, Michael, Christopher). There weren't many of the other biblical names which are now so common like Joshua, Daniel etc. There were and still are many Australian men called things like Wayne, Shane, Darren, Todd (:roll: ) and women called Narelle, Janelle, Sharelle or Noelene, Charlene, Doreen, Maureen (at least Maureen is a traditional Irish name).

When people name kids things like 'Britney' they should stop and think whether they really want the kid to be so 'dated' in that way. My mother is Norma, after Norma Shearer, but the name really hasn't dated (although believe it or not, she's Norma Jean, as in Marilyn Monroe's real name).

Molly
05-14-2008, 07:55 AM
Weird spellings - eh. Bad idea, IMHO. I can imagine what a pain it must be to have to correct the spelling of your name TIME after TIME after TIME due to how weird it is! Look at poor Steuart Smith!

I know how Steuart feels! I tend to introduce myself as "Sheryl with an 'S'". It seemed to give Glenn a "duh" moment when he was signing my picture. Maybe I should say "Sheryl as in Sheryl Crow".

Then, of course, there are those people who spell it Sherly.
(ahem :wink: ). I usually just say..."and don't call me Shirley!"

gef -Being much younger than my siblings and from a big family, I'm not only a great-aunt, I'm already a great-great aunt!

Glennsallnighter
05-14-2008, 12:14 PM
A horror story: When I had a job teaching a preschool class for underprivileged kids via the Head Start program in Conroe, Texas, there were twin girls named Lashawnta and Lashawna. The twins were fraternal - one was a lot heavier than the other - but those names still got mixed up constantly. At least we tried to call them by their names, though. When the mom came to get them, she simply called them "Fatty" and "Skinny."

Talk about scarred for life!

I like the in-between names - not crazy odd, but not terribly common either. Weird spellings - eh. Bad idea, IMHO. I can imagine what a pain it must be to have to correct the spelling of your name TIME after TIME after TIME due to how weird it is! Look at poor Steuart Smith!

My goodness thats awful Soda! Can you imagine how those poor girls must feel now. I've noticed particular trends too. When I started teaching in the early-mid nineties (and I teach secondary level - 12 -18 yrs) a very common girls name was Sabrina! Taken of course from 'Charlies :angel: s' which was a popular show then.
'Kelly' was also common for the same reason I think!

A lot of boys over here have been named for men who are /were soccer heroes.

My mother christened me 'Elizabeth' as some of you may know. While it has to be on official documents there are very few left who use it :roll: . It makes officialdom very messy to say the least!

I chose what I thought would be classic, middle of the road names for my kids as I didn't want them to stand out, particularly if they decided to move overseas, their names would be fairly 'international'

However if I EVER have another boy........

Lets just say his name will have 4 parts to it :wink:

rcknalwys
05-14-2008, 12:56 PM
OK, I admit it....I'm guilty of using unusual names...guess it runs in the family though. My mom started it...my middle name (that she called me by until I was about 15) is Leandra. Now how many of you know someone named Leandra? When I had my first child, she was given 3 middle names, but her first name is Siobhon, which is probably familiar to our Irish members, but unusual for America. She followed suit by giving her daughter the name Rhiannon, another good Irish name, with not only 3 middle names but an initial. So her name is Rhiannon Lea Valena Grace J Roberts. Several years ago the same daughter married a guy from Pakistan and they named their daughter Laiyba Imran. It means something like God's angel. I'm also guilty of using a bit different spelling for my other daughter's name, Jayme, although I don't think that's too weird. But I think we're a bit tame in comparison to a lot of other names and spellings LOL.

Brooke
05-14-2008, 01:54 PM
Yes, rckn, your names are different. I've never heard of Leandra. It's pretty though.

That's horrible for your poor twins, Soda!

I'm open to different names. First let me fess up to my own, though, Gaye Lyn. Back when my mother named me, Gaye meant gay! Happy, joyful, fun! Well, with the gay movement in the 70's (when I was a teenager) all I had to tell someone was "Hi, I'm Gaye!" and of course everyone laughed and said, "oh really?" So I tried using my middle name, too. But people could never understand it. They would call me Gail, Gay Lee, Gayla, but couldn't quite grasp Gaye Lyn, which most of my family does call me. I finally put it together as GayeLyn with emphasis on the Lyn (as family does), but I still get Galen from time to time. People that do know me do know how to say it or Gaye. It's a mess. I'd love to change my name! :roll:

I love Rhiannon, too, rckn. My daughter is named Lindsey Rhiannon which I found on the Fleetwood Mac album back in the day. I was reading the liner notes on that album and looking for baby names. Usually a girl Lindsey is spelled with an a, but I liked Lindsey Buckingham's spelling with the e to be different. Lindsay Wagner was also popular as the Bionic Woman back then. I also picked out Rhiannon because I liked the song and the name.

Now in our family we have an onslaught of M names. Molly, Mira, Maura, and Madelyn are all great nieces. And I have 3 Jason nephews!

sodascouts
05-15-2008, 11:28 AM
Terrific choices for the kids, Brooke! ;)

It's funny - in Texas, all the female Lindseys I knew spelled their names with "e" and it was the one male I knew who spelled it "Lindsay" with an "a." In the Mac world, poor Lindsey Buckingham gets his named spelled Lindsay in the magazines even more often than Glenn gets his named spelled Glen. lol

Freypower
05-15-2008, 07:10 PM
A lot of boys over here have been named for men who are /were soccer heroes.

My mother christened me 'Elizabeth' as some of you may know. While it has to be on official documents there are very few left who use it :roll: . It makes officialdom very messy to say the least!

I chose what I thought would be classic, middle of the road names for my kids as I didn't want them to stand out, particularly if they decided to move overseas, their names would be fairly 'international'

However if I EVER have another boy........

Lets just say his name will have 4 parts to it :wink:

GA, I love the name Elizabeth because I'm a Tudor history fan. But when I had my own daughter it had to be a Shakesperean name (although that is still the Tudor/Jacobean period, I guess).

Regarding giving names for soccer heroes, there is one that would work for me at the moment - 'Gerrard'. :twisted: Imagine being called after some of the other current Liverpool players - 'Crouch' or 'Kuyt' for instance. I vaguely remember the late John Peel gave Anfield and Shankly as middle names for his kids.

Toonlass
05-16-2008, 04:12 AM
Most of the kids I have looked after seem to have long names which are always shortened, so Sabina was bibi, Sebastien was Seb. The worst one has to be one child, Orlando who was called "Noo-noo". He wouldn't respond to his own name. That was rather annoying from my perspective.

As for me and my siblings we all have German names and I can't count the amount of people who spell and/or pronounce it wrong. The most funny must be when in one report home from high school, my teacher spelt my name three different ways!!!

tbs fanatic
05-18-2008, 05:57 PM
Oh my gosh :? My parents decided not to give any of their children a middle name. My Mom didn't like her middle name and my Father was always called by his middle name (as were his sisters and brother) Who knows why???? Of course, because I didn't have one I always wanted one - lol. Both my boys and my neices and nephews do have middle names.

Glennsallnighter
05-19-2008, 04:56 AM
A lot of boys over here have been named for men who are /were soccer heroes.

My mother christened me 'Elizabeth' as some of you may know. While it has to be on official documents there are very few left who use it :roll: . It makes officialdom very messy to say the least!

I chose what I thought would be classic, middle of the road names for my kids as I didn't want them to stand out, particularly if they decided to move overseas, their names would be fairly 'international'

However if I EVER have another boy........

Lets just say his name will have 4 parts to it :wink:

GA, I love the name Elizabeth because I'm a Tudor history fan. But when I had my own daughter it had to be a Shakesperean name (although that is still the Tudor/Jacobean period, I guess).

Regarding giving names for soccer heroes, there is one that would work for me at the moment - 'Gerrard'. :twisted: Imagine being called after some of the other current Liverpool players - 'Crouch' or 'Kuyt' for instance. I vaguely remember the late John Peel gave Anfield and Shankly as middle names for his kids.

Well you chose a gorgeous name for your daughter FP. Thanks for the comps on mine. Over here quite a lot of stadiums are nakmed after people (Croke Park, Nowlan Park, etc) so naming after your favourite stadium wouldn't work out so bad!!

freyfantastic61
05-19-2008, 02:10 PM
:roll: My middle name which I'm known as is Lorinda-I actually like it but other people insist on variations such as Linda,Lorraine,Lorna etc! Very annoying!

sodascouts
05-19-2008, 02:42 PM
German names, eh, Toonlass? I've always wondered. I think they're great, BTW.

"Noo-noo" at least probably heard him name a lot. "NOOOOOOO!" lol

I like your name too, FF. And as for middle names TBSF - who needs 'em! ;)

glenneaglesfan
05-19-2008, 05:54 PM
Oh, I'm catching up a bit here. Brooke, that must have been so frustrating having to change your name, and how interesting that your son was Tyler before it became so popular.

Fp, your observation on Presidents' names is fascinating. It makes you wonder if a slightly unusual middle name encourages kids to achieve!

Although you don't really need a middle name, I remember a playground game where we called out letters and jumped forwards a step for every time that letter appeared in our name. I was always hoping for A, as there were four in my full name then. And on the subject of spelling, even a traditional name like Katharine has its pitfalls. I have been Katherine (understandable), Kathryn, Kathleen and Karen, the latter on a birthday card my hubby had signed for me by a rugby player I admired!!

Toonlass, whoever would call their kid "Noo-noo"? Isn't that the vacuum cleaner thingy on Tellytubbies?!!

Freypower
05-19-2008, 07:35 PM
My husband Michael doesn't have a middle name, but his brother does (Steven Paul). I am Julie Jean, the same middle name as my mother.

My father and his brothers were all good strong Irish names - Terence John (Dad), Brian Patrick and Paul Francis. My aunts are Irma Valerie and Lynette ? I barely know her, so I can't remember her middle name.

Rosalind's middle name is Sonia after the character in War & Peace (the Russian spelling is Sonya, we used the French spelling). If she'd been a boy she would have been Robert Francis, a nod to Messrs Plant & Zappa.

Oh, and even if I had considered using 'Anfield' as a middle name my husband would have countered with 'St James'. Not quite appropriate. :twisted:

glenneaglesfan
05-20-2008, 06:39 PM
We nicknamed our older son "Flipper" before he was born, due to his pre birth activity. We half considered it as a name... Luckily we saw sense, so his second name is Francis, which I have previously said is also my maiden name, but doubles as a good second name, and I'm pleased to see it in your family, FP. Second son was nicknamed "Fingers" before he was born, based on his first ultrasound.

Your father and his family have good strong names. I need to look into my family names. My grandfather on the paternal side was Albert Edward. On the maternal side, grandfather would have been Charles, father of four daughters, but no son, so my mother, third in line, was Ellizabeth Stephanie , being the Stephen her father was hoping for. She did him proud, being one of the pioneers at dental school when girls weren't supposed to pursue that sort of career, but she didn't have a son. I have ten cousins though - Charles, Alison, Chris, Mary and Michael, who all live in various parts of the US; Kate, Adam, Carole, Krystina who live in Portugal but were brought up in Brazil, and Anne, who is the offspring of Mum's youngest sister.

Toonlass
05-21-2008, 04:28 PM
I really don't know why they called him that. But then I've worked for a lot of parents who seem to actively encourage their children to call things by the wrong name, so I think that may cover their own strange nicknames for the kids.

Yeah, our mum is German, so we have German first names and both WM and I have German middle names too.

Where I now live there are lots of kids who live in the building, and I hear their parents calling for them... "Britney", "Jasmine" but the one I heard today sounded like "Lorry" which I'm assuming isn't spelt like that, at least I'm hoping not :?

Freypower
05-21-2008, 07:44 PM
Presumably it's 'Laurie'? In Australia the name is normally male (it is the equivalent of 'Larry').

Toonlass
05-22-2008, 02:12 AM
It was for a girl, so maybe they shortened Lauren, who knows. I just know that in the really loud "Essex" accent it sounded awful.

Brooke
05-22-2008, 09:48 AM
Lori, Lauren, and Laura are popular for girls here.

Larry isn't used much anymore for guys and is usually short for Lawrence.

Freypower
07-23-2008, 11:25 PM
I'm reviving this old topic because I wanted to share this story. Read it and weep. My question is though - the poor girl had to live for 8 YEARS with this name?!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/24/2313126.htm?section=justin

glenneaglesfan
07-24-2008, 06:07 AM
Good grief, that takes the biscuit. What kind of parents would do that?
(Surely those other names must be made-up? :shock: )

Brooke
07-24-2008, 10:04 AM
:shock: Good grief! People can be so stupid!

Glennsallnighter
07-24-2008, 10:36 AM
What RIDICULOUS Names to call children when there are so many lovely ones around these days, and people are less held by constraints.

The poor little kiddie!

Mrs Henley
08-04-2008, 04:27 PM
Oh Dang what a name!! What kind of good thinking person(although I don't think they do) would name their child like that?! :shock:

tbs fanatic
08-04-2008, 05:29 PM
:shock: Some people are beyond belief. That poor girl. Thank heaven for the Judge.

Mrs Henley
08-04-2008, 05:40 PM
Thank heaven for the Judge.

Oh yes indeed!