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Naming your baby
Newsday ^ | 6/26/06 | Pat Burson

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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: genx; lemonjello; orangejello; stupidbabynames
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To: qam1
I've considered "Hernan" for my son. Love to poke the eyes of the politically incorrect by nameing him after a GREAT conqueror.

I've also considered "William Tecumsah" after the GREATEST AMERICAN GENERAL of the Civil War! It would piss off the southron TRAITOR-lovers too!

341 posted on 06/27/2006 6:46:10 PM PDT by Clemenza (The CFR ate my bilderburgers! Time to call for a trilateral commission to investigate!)
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To: Gumlegs

It's also a soda ;-)

http://www.mainegoodies.com/beverages/moxie.shtml


342 posted on 06/27/2006 6:46:59 PM PDT by annie laurie (All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost)
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To: Gumlegs

Sorry about that! I copied the wrong link on the first one, and was too slow to click "stop" ;-)

Second post is the one I was trying for :)


343 posted on 06/27/2006 6:48:14 PM PDT by annie laurie (All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost)
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To: annie laurie
I know. Pop history is a hobby. They tried bringing Moxie (the soft drink, not the celebrity daughter), back in the late 60s or early 70s, but it didn't catch on. From reading the descriptions of the way it tasted, I'm not terribly surprised.
344 posted on 06/27/2006 6:49:41 PM PDT by Gumlegs
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To: Gumlegs

I suppose I should clarify that I meant "popular history," and not "this history of soft drinks," although the latter is unquestionably part of the former.


345 posted on 06/27/2006 6:51:37 PM PDT by Gumlegs
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To: Clemenza
Bill's gonna get you if you don't spell his name right.

P.S. . . . you're wrong about the old time Southerners' attitudes towards him, anyway. He was a popular speaker at UCV Camps for years after the War. My gg grandfather admired him. He was popular because he was an advocate of "Total War - and Total Peace" - unlike the Radicals who ground their boots into the Southerners' faces for years.

Now, somebody we can ALL love to hate is "Spoons Butler" - see his obit. from the Nashville American for January 1893:

"Old Ben Butler is dead! Early yesterday morning the angel of death, acting under the devil's orders, took him from earth and landed him in hell. In all this Southern country there are no tears, no sighs and no regrets. He lived only too long. We are glad he has at last been removed from earth and even pity the devil in the possession he has secured.

"When Grant died, it was with the respect and esteem of the Southern people. When Sheridan died, all the harm he did our cause during the bloody contest of more than a quarter of a century ago was forgotten, and his seeming cruelty had grown to be held as love of country and his terrific assaults as great generalship. When old Tecumseh Sherman passed away, the people who he devastated and robbed of property and precious lives were pleased to forget the bonfires he made of our cities, the path of death he cut to the sea, and they now hold him as one who loved well his country and was cruel only to be true.

"But with Ben Butler it is different. His stay in the South was a curse to our people and his dead body cannot shake the estimate formed of his character when he sat in New Orleans as a military satrap upon the lives and property of defenceless men and women.

"We have no love for him, and praise of any kind, solely because he is at last dead, would be the veriest hypocrisy from Southern people.

"There is nothing in his whole life to excite our admiration. When it is said that he was possessed of great intelligence and undaunted energy, all that is to his credit has been said.

"He was a truckling demagogue, whose selfishness amounted to pollution; he was an autocrat who used power to wreak personal revenge; he was mean and malignant, a hangman from prejudice, the insulter of women, a braggadocio, a trickster and a scoundrel whose heart was as black as the smoke from the coals that are now scorching his soul.

"If there be a future of peace in store for Ben Butler after his entrance upon eternity then there is no heaven and the Bible is a lie. If hell be only as black as the Good book describes it, then there are not the degrees of punishment in which some Christians so firmly believe. He has gone, and from the sentence which has already been passed upon him, there is no appeal. He is already so deep down in the pit of everlasting doom that he couldn’t get the most powerful ear trumpet conceivable to scientists and hear the echoes of old Gabriel's trumpet; or fly a million kites and get a message to St. Peter who stands guard at heaven's gates.

"In our statute books many holidays are decreed. It was an egregious oversight that one on the occasion of the death of Ben Butler was not foreordained. It should be a day of merry making. The 'Beast' is dead. The cymbals should beat and the tin horn should get in its exultant work. Butler has gone where he can issue no more orders making the rape of Southern women a gala pastime. He has gone where there are no more spoons to be stolen. He has gone where it is not in his power to order hanged Southern gentlemen for alleged treason against Butlerism.

"Good-bye Ben! You strutted through a few temporal triumphs; now rest if you can in the brimstone glare of hell fire. You laughed twenty five years ago when you branded your offensive personality upon the memories of your superiors; and sunk so low as to be beyond the sympathy of even Christian men and women."

[Emphasis supplied.]
346 posted on 06/27/2006 6:57:47 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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To: AnAmericanMother
I know all about the respect Sherman received from Confederate soldiers and officers. I also know how much Jeff Davis was hated in the South until he passed away, for being incompetant.

Sadly, "revisionist" historians popular with many on this site would have you believe that WT Sherman was Hitler and Idi Amin combined.

347 posted on 06/27/2006 7:03:31 PM PDT by Clemenza (The CFR ate my bilderburgers! Time to call for a trilateral commission to investigate!)
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To: stevio

"Since we're trying out names here; any thoughts on 'Malachi Joesph'?"

It's fine, just don't misspell Joseph as "Joesph." 8)


348 posted on 06/27/2006 7:09:31 PM PDT by LibertarianInExile ('Is' and 'amnesty' both have clear, plain meanings. Are Billy Jeff, Pence, McQueeg & Bush related?)
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To: McLynnan

...younger sister to Maybelline...:)


349 posted on 06/27/2006 7:10:56 PM PDT by Conservative4Ever (VENGEANCE FOR OUR FALLEN WARRIORS......NOW!!)
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To: hispanarepublicana

I would add two rules:
1. Do not make the name so long the kid can't fit it onto the SAT form. D'Artagnan Artemisian Holographer Smith may look cool, but it's a bitch when everyone else is on question 1 and you're still writing your name.
2. Check the acronym, people! At some point your kid may want their initials on something. Hiram Ulysses Grant had to change his name to U.S. Grant to avoid being called "Huggie" the rest of his life.


350 posted on 06/27/2006 7:12:35 PM PDT by LibertarianInExile ('Is' and 'amnesty' both have clear, plain meanings. Are Billy Jeff, Pence, McQueeg & Bush related?)
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To: Alouette

My newest grandson is named Isaiah, our little prophet :) He was unexpected and it was hard, but geez he stole our hearts! So, I have John, Phillip, Michael - and now my precious. I am so glad I talked my son out of "Michael Angel" for the third one, but he wanted to make sure my Mookey had a biblical reference as did his brothers. Aren't grandkids the most precious gifts?


351 posted on 06/27/2006 7:15:26 PM PDT by tinacart (Proud Grandma!)
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To: Xenalyte

"Unless you're from a family like mine, in which case the names you have to work with are Faye Belle and Ernest Buford (paternal grandparents), or Elfa (maternal grandmother), or Mildred and Taft (stepdad's parents)...Blech."

I know, I'm from the south and warped, but I still think Buford is a kickass, good ol' boy's name.

My wife disagrees, unfortunately. But she'll come around after she sees the birth certificate.


352 posted on 06/27/2006 7:16:07 PM PDT by LibertarianInExile ('Is' and 'amnesty' both have clear, plain meanings. Are Billy Jeff, Pence, McQueeg & Bush related?)
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To: rwrcpa1

It's bad when comic books have better plots than most Hollywood movies (not knocking comics, I'm a comics pro myself), and we have to get foreign films or foreign directors or producers to get anything decent. Of late, most of the really good stuff has been made in the Pacific Rim and watch those up-and-coming Bollywood alumnae who are swooping in to eat Hollywood's lunch!


353 posted on 06/27/2006 7:18:14 PM PDT by coydog (Cowardice does not make you safe. It makes you a safe target. - - Dale Amon)
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To: rwrcpa1

We have a Matthew AND a Luke. Everyone thinks we were trying for the 4 apostles. Matthew yes, Luke- after Skywalker.
It took years to get over feeling like Beru when calling him on the playground and outside- " Luuuuuke!"
As fate would have it- Matthew looks the part- blonde and grey eyed, Luke is dark eyed and haired.


354 posted on 06/27/2006 7:20:23 PM PDT by ClearBlueSky (Whenever someone says it's not about Islam-it's about Islam. Jesus loves you, Allah wants you dead!)
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To: Mikey_1962
I have 3 children, Lane (Boy), Landree (Girl), and Morgan (Girl). I would say that all 3 names are pretty much gender neutral but that wasn't by design. I always liked the name Lane, my wife named him after Lane Frost(deceased bull-rider played by Luke Perry in the movie '8 seconds'), I preferred to think of his name in a different way. I always liked Lane Meyer (Fictional Character in the movie 'Better Off Dead') and Layne Staley (Now deceased lead singer of 'Alice In Chains').

Landree's name was originally to be spelled Landry, but to make it more feminine we dropped the 'y' and added 'ee'. If you knew her, you would know it suits her.

Morgan's name was one my wife liked and I guess I grew into, at least she let me pick the middle name (My nickname- 'Del') We actually call Morgan "Emmy" because she has an 'M' name and the others have 'L' names. Had she been a boy, her name would have been Landon (After Michael Landon, of course) I guess alot of our influence was from Pop Culture. Hey, we were in our early 20's when we had them, what do you expect? I don't think any of it is silly, though. If you knew them you would know that their names fit them fine.

By the way, my FReename is my oldest daughters initials. lmr=Landree Macayle Riley
355 posted on 06/27/2006 7:21:07 PM PDT by lmr (You can have my Tactical Nuclear Weapons when you pry them from my cold dead fingers.)
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To: wtc911

"Those wacky Gen-Xers..."

Right, like some wacky Boomers didn't stick their kids with names like Space Moonbeam...


356 posted on 06/27/2006 7:24:38 PM PDT by LibertarianInExile ('Is' and 'amnesty' both have clear, plain meanings. Are Billy Jeff, Pence, McQueeg & Bush related?)
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To: RikaStrom
I'm sticking to Catherine Elizabeth and Michael Anthony, should I be blessed with children.

Just a warning, Catherine Elizabeth is a very common combo (still class). Trust me- I know. ; )

357 posted on 06/27/2006 7:27:12 PM PDT by conservative cat
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To: qam1

My grandsons are named: Dane, Nicholas, Daniel and Michael. Greatgrandsons: Eric and Mason.


358 posted on 06/27/2006 7:28:30 PM PDT by Patriotic Bostonian
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To: .cnI redruM

My favorite is Brasize-pronounced Bra-see-zee. Last I heard he was up on capital murder charges.


359 posted on 06/27/2006 7:37:40 PM PDT by yawningotter
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To: Tijeras_Slim

"Bet he's glad his folks didn't own a Hupmobile."

Or a King Midget.


360 posted on 06/27/2006 7:37:54 PM PDT by LibertarianInExile ('Is' and 'amnesty' both have clear, plain meanings. Are Billy Jeff, Pence, McQueeg & Bush related?)
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