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 ...
How about Ophelia Longbottom. Pretty sad.
Is it Because of
I'm saddened to say, I know a 3 different couples who named their daughter Morgan because they liked the rum
And no more Dylans, Brandons, Kyles, Codies, Tylers and Talyors
My youngest daughter is Killoran - it's an Irish surname, pronounced Kill-OR-an. She LOVES her name, even though she constantly has to spell it for people.
And my granddaughter's name is Teegan.
Well, it sure beats Debbie, Kathy, and Susan which is what I grew up with!
After my grandfather died, we found his college yearbook. We learned not only that his school nickname was "Puffer," but also that one of his classmates was Eli Herman Fischbein. That was a family in-joke for years. But I have to admit Alouishis Boudreaux Glockenspiel beats it all hollow.
3 Menachem Mendel's
2 Shneur Zalman's
Mushka
Chaim
Rachel
David
Moussiya
Levi
Shalom
Israel
Esther
Sarah
When I was growing up, in my town was a family who had three children. Their last name was Rabbit, or something that was pronounced rabbit but may have been spelled differently. They named their children Jack, Bunny and Peter. While I snicker at those names, I never felt the urge to write an article about them or gloat about how smart my parents were to not give me a retarded name.
>Jermajestry???????Is that a JOKE???<
It's no joke:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Jackson
Family
Jermaine Jackson has been married three times and has eight children. He first married Hazel Gordy in 1973 while still in the Jackson 5. Her father, Berry Gordy, was their current manager at the time at Motown Records. When brothers changed label due to financial reasons, Jermaine left the Jackson 5 and produced a solo record under his father-in-law's label. Hazel and Jermaine had their first child Jermaine Jr. (often called Jay) in 1977. Their daughter Autumn Jackson was born in 1978.
In 1985 Jermaine had a daughter called Dawn. However, her mother was not Hazel. The couple did, however, remain together until son Jeremy Jackson was born in 1986 to a woman named Margaret Maldonado. Hazel and Jermaine divorced in 1987 after fourteen years of marriage as Jermaine expected a second child to Margaret. Jaimy Jackson was born later that same year to Hazel. Jermaine began his relationship with Margaret Maldonado in 1988. A year later in 1989 Jermaine and Margaret had son Jourdyn Jackson. The couple lived together in the Jackson family home in California (owned by brother Michael) until 1994 when they separated, having never married.
A year after separating from Margaret Maldonado, Jermaine Jackson married Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza. Alejandra had previously left and divorced brother Randy Jackson the year before - after fourteen months of marriage. They shared daughter Genevieve and twins Randy Jr and Donte. However, after the divorce, Alejandra was granted custody and the children lived with their mother and step father (Uncle Jermaine) in the same Jackson house in California. In 1996 Jermaine and Alejandra had a child of their own together - Jaffar Jackson. They had another child together in 2000 named Jermajesty before their divorce in 2004. This marriage of Randy's ex-wife was rumoured to have caused a rift between the brothers. They have now, however, sorted it out as seen at brother Michael's trial.
Two of my favorites! I just wanted to make sure it wasn't Abbott and Presley.
I remember getting the paper a few years back and they would run the birth announcements.
I swear nearly half the boys born one week were named Jaden/Jayden.
I bet every mom thought that was such an original name, too. Won't she be in for a shock when she finds out her child will be the fourth Jaden in his prekinder class.
Was always a Bacardi person myself. The first time I got 'Puke-ing drunk' was off Bacardi. Had too many Rum and Cokes one new year's eve when I was a teenager. Damn older brother.
You want to know what's scary, click on boys only and look up female names like "Betty" , "Mary" and "Nancy".
I'm hoping those were somehow typos in the birth certs. that got passed on. It could happen, right?
I hope??? Better stuck having a typo on your BC than to be a guy with the name Melissa.
FWIW, I will tell you, "Sue" doesn't come up on boys. But "Susan" does, go figger.
You might want to look back some more generations.
Americans for some unknown reason began naming their children the most awful dissonant names after the Civil War.
I mean, seriously, who was the nut who thought Floyd had a ring to it? Or Myrtle?
My first born male...
Rush Hudson ####
my next...
Ronald Wilson ####
I like the Hebrew name Alisheva.
Tabitha has been a common name down through the generations in my family since the 1700's. Great name IMHO.
I like the name Fiona.
I can't believe the Brangelina. They had 9 months and several continents to think up a good name and they came up with Shiloh Pitt. Which sounds like Pile O' Sh**.
A quick perusal of Mencken's "The American Language" will show that this has been common in the US before US was. The "Fancy Belt" has lots of interesting names from the early 1900s. Increase and Cotton Mather should roll over in their graves as would Gouvernor Morris (the man who actually wrote the Constitution.)
How did you find out my full name??
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.