Posted on 06/27/2006 10:33:31 AM PDT by qam1
Many parents, especially celebrities, are choosing distinctive names or spellings to make their children stand out
Choosing a name for your newborn requires a certain level of sober reflection, contemplation and introspection.
Expectant parents consult relatives and friends, leaf through scores of books and scour the Internet for just the right handle to reflect their little cherub's shining personality, obvious brilliance and unquestionable character.
So it makes you wonder what the recent spate of Hollywood celebrity parents were thinking - or drinking - when they chose such distinctive names, to put it kindly, for their high-profile offspring. That goes for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who named their daughter Shiloh, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who named their girl Suri.
Sure, we've had a chuckle at some and scratched our heads over others, but before you go calling your sons Dilbert after your favorite cartoon character or christening your daughters Brangelina because you adore Couple-of-the-Moment Pitt and Jolie, give it some thought, baby and parenting experts say.
Like all parents, celebrities see their children as extensions of themselves and choose names that reflect their tastes and values, says Babytalk magazine senior editor Christina Vercelletto.
"What's driving this is this whole sort of Gen-X competitive parenting trend," Vercelletto says. "Parents who are now in their 30s, they have their children, and they feel that from birth it's practically a competition. You want your child to stand out. We live in a competitive society, and you don't want your child to blend into the woodwork."
"Names are really brands," says Rachel Weingarten, a branding and trends expert and the president of GTK Marketing Group in Brooklyn.
Take Brangelina's baby, Shiloh. "You're saying we have turned this into a money-maker from birth,"
"It's this whole, 'Look at me' kind of thing."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
"Paul and Matthew are converts and they’re a bit much with the zealotry."
So was Peter, if you think about it. Indeed, probably all the apostles.
I had a great aunt Jake. Actually a nickname. Her real name was Jesse.
Before she died she got Alzheimer's. She and her daughter visited us once and we called her Jake. She was very adamant and said "my name is Jesse." We didn't know she didn't like to be called Jake. We never knew.
Also, my aunt's second husband was named Louis. We all, including my aunt, pronounced it like Louis XIV. They were married over 30 years. He got sick with cancer, and before he died he said that his name was really Lou-is, like St. Louis. I guess she started calling him that and he never corrected her.
Amen.
A rose by any other name...
I do.
Leaf Phoenix changed his name to the more-normal (though still a bit unusual for an anglo) Joaquin. A few years later he was nominated for an Oscar. Let that serve as a lesson.
Or his cousin, Dustin.
Oh, I know what you mean, and agree.
But they were all Jews, and thus "coverts."
Just being a stickler. It's the Matthew in me.
James Daniel
That's a good, easy to spell, classic name. Glad we picked it nearly 20 years ago.
I almost suggested that you should have tried dating her sister, but then I remembered that two Wongs don't make one right.
(Thank you, folks. I'll be here all week.)
My daddy left home when I was three,
And he didn't leave much to ma and me,
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid,
But the meanest thing that he ever did,
Was before he left, he went and named me Sue.
We wanted something different, so we took a chance and named our son Stephen. All of his pals have random surnames as first names: Cooper, Brady, Tate, Reese, etc., but we just had to be different. I just hope he doesn't come to us one day and say, "why couldn't you have given me a normal first name like, Fergus, Brinson, or Calloway".
I actually know a guy named Phil Morehead.
Ganoria, spelled gonorrhea was always my fav.............
Which reminds me of the joke about what the Indian brave asked the mermaid.
How?
I think you're right. They are a great bunch of folks. The kids turned out remarkably well adjusted.
I was thinking John Wilkes, myself.
I think it's good to name your baby a name different from anyone else baby, because there is so many people who have the same name your baby have or it's very difficult. Also, it's hard to name your baby a different name, because when you think that no-one have that name there will be someone who have the same name your baby have when think you have named your baby different. so, you really can't think of any name that's different from anyone unless it's something made up.
I really, really hope English is this person's second or third language, and if she were writing in Albanian or Farsi or whatever she would be so eloquent you'd weep.
I do too. Some character from soaps or check out aisle lit? Just wierd...
Yep. That's the one. One of my all time favorite dirty jokes.
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