Names

[Freypower]

Just saw this on the ABC website:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...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 ). 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]

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]

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 ). 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.

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.

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!

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!

[Molly]

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!

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.
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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 ( ) 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]

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 ). 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!