Posted on 02/14/2003 11:27:55 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
In a previous article, I introduced three members of my family: Brianna, Brianna's mother and Brianna's still-baking sibling.
After learning that my aunt intended to name a female infant "Taylor Jade," I gave my opinion of the name.
"What a wonderful name, I exclaimed, for a future professional hooker! If you want your daughter to augment her breasts and slurp other things in lieu of water, stick with that name."
A look of horror washed across my aunt's face, and she left. To her credit, she didn't stick with that name. To my amusement, she went with one even worse.
It's a girl!
Huh? Wha? It's 2 a.m. What's a girl?
I had a girl! Isn't that great?
Who the heck is this?
It's your aunt, and I had a girl!
Huh? Oh, Taylor Jade made her arrival?
We decided on a new name.
Well, bully for you.
We settled on "Riley"!
Oh, God, Riley is so trashy. Why dont you just hand her over to the porn industry to raise? Because when I think of Riley, especially with your last name, I think, "How much does she charge?"
Thats awful. Thats a really rotten thing to say. Besides, were spelling it R-Y-L-E-E. That makes it classier.
Oh, sure, if the class youre trying to rise above thinks a double-wide trailer is luxurious. Dont you know theres a direct correlation between extraneous "y"s in a kids name and the number of laws theyll violate? And whats with the "-ee"? How cutesy is that?
You can be really rotten sometimes.
I know, its a gift. Im just trying to save the kid some pain. Theres a cardinal rule in naming kids, and it is "Thou shall not mix ethnicities." Rylee sounds Irish. Your surname is LeManne. Rylee LeManne. Its like me being Rosita Connelly. Its not allowed.
But Im all about the nicknames. You know that. I named Brianna "Brianna" because I like "Bri" for a nickname. I picked "Rylee" because "Ry" is so damn cute.
Jesus Christ. Bri and Ry? Like cheese and bread? Youre naming your kids after cheese and bread?
Well, I never thought of it like that.
You should have. Its perfect for an incestuous lesbian stage show, though. "The Incestuous Lesbian Duo, Bread and Cheese LeManne." Whats the tagline going to be? "Hey, Bri, come over here and spread some on me?"
*click*
That's the last time I try to help a family member.
But my aunt isn't alone in doling out cutesy or "unique" names to her living accessories. It's a nationwide trend.
With society churning out Columbine Borg at a rapid pace, naming a child is one of the few remaining acceptable outlets for individuality. We want our kids to conform because conformity is the glue that holds society together. But giving them a name that no one ever thought to bestow upon a child -- Dysmenorrhea, for example -- allows parents to demonstrate some level of non-conformity.
Of course, buying a child a chemistry set and encouraging the exploration of the wonderful world of chemicals is far less embarrassing than saddling a child with the name "Cannon."
Along with creative names come creative spellings. Maybe the parents weren't clever enough to invent a name. Maybe they liked the sound of a traditional name, but they still wanted their child to have a leg up on the Lakens and Teagans.
But does spelling matter when the teacher calls on Julie, Jullee, Jewlee, Julliee and Julye?
"Rylee" is but one example of misspelled monikers. Traditional names become undecipherable.
Mayghan? Is it pronounced like the more traditional "Megan"? Or May-ghan? May-gun? My-gun? How can anyone tell in a country brimming with Brinleys, Hollyns and Kestins? Where Matthew becomes "Matthue," a too-trendy Carson becomes "Karsyn" and an overdone Taylor transforms into "Teighlor"?
Then there are the parents who completely lack creativity. They give rise to the Trumans, Willows, Xanders, Dawsons and Dharmas. They're television or movie addicts, and a name that fits a fictional character will surely fit their snookums.
And the stranger the name or spelling, the more apt the parents are to eschew discipline.
During finals, I escaped to the local public library to study. Libraries are quiet, or so I've heard.
Fifteen minutes into studying, a book fell on the floor. Again and again, a book fell on the floor. I got up to see who the klutz was, and it was none other than an adorable female toddler.
She purposely threw the book on the floor. Again and again. After five minutes of that, and perhaps noticing annoyance on the faces of other people, the mother half-heartedly attempted to discipline her angel.
"Kinsey, stop it. Stop it, Kinsey. Please, Mommy is trying to read, Kinsey."
What the heck? Kinsey? Like the Kinsey Institute? Either Mommy is kinky or stupid.
My vote was on the latter because for 20 minutes, Kinsey entertained the library with her antics.
I doubt a Jennifer would do that, but I bet a Jenypher would.
Mulva?
The name? Velvet Glasscock.
Honest to the Almighty in Heaven.
T-minus 30 days until the birth of Tha SYNDICATE, the philosophical heir to William Lloyd Garrison.
101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that Internet Explorer cannot.
*sigh*
Names like Elizabeth, Catherine and Rachel will never go out of style.
Well... two boys and no "Bertha Gertrude" yet. Fingers crossed..
was told that it took more than fingers crossed to get one of these baby women childs..
People want a spin on the names that run in their family, but they don't want a name that sounds like Grandma or Grandpa's.
Amen to that! (and I'm an agnostic!)
What's with all these stupid people who give their kids last names for first names, anyway? The only reason I can figure out for why people don't give their kid a normal name is that they must know others they don't like with those normal names.
Cutesy names are bad enough for girls, but if you're tempted to give one to a boy, just save yourself the trouble of looking through those stupid "name" books, and call the lad, "Snap-me-on-the-ass-with-a-towel-in-PE" and get it over with!
Is there a black family in America who has given their kid a normal name in the last fifteen years?
I was named after my dad's grandfather. Although looking back in my family tree, most of the names even back 4-5 generations are used commonly still today.
Bwahahahah.
Is there a black family in America who has given their kid a normal name in the last fifteen years?
Actually, yes, although they make me look liberal and they are republican.
And I still don't think it is pretentious. Fer Christ's sake, it's nothing like some of the ones we've read on this thread.....
Well ok, I believe you, but Utah is the only place I've lived with a significant Mormon population, so I wouldn't have know that!
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