This is my Tabitha (we call her Spot). She says she likes the name just fine. It's Aramaic for "gazelle," IIRC.
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 ...
I loved that chapter in Freakonomics too. I work in a hospital. Actual first name I saw on an emergency department record last year -- AquaNet.
My boys are Alexander Edward, Oliver Bailey, and Elliot Avery....last two are twins. Middle names are all family names. I think they are pretty strong names.
Nobody names their son Roy anymore.
Diva Muffin?
DIVA MUFFIN?!!!
Holy cow, she must stay out of the lime-light, I didn't know that name.
I'm sticking to Catherine Elizabeth and Michael Anthony, should I be blessed with children.
Just got "Freakonomics" yesterday. Am heading up on the baby-name chapter. Cannot wait!
Hey TC, ping to a thread near and dear to our hearts!
As in surrogate?
Sadly, what I think of first is the battle that took place around Shiloh Church.
Nah, it'd be Phoryst.
"Unique Beaver"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we're talking!!!
I really like the use of family names. Sets a standard; reminds kids who they are; gives them something to live up to or proves to them what can be overcome......
I knew I should have named my kid Chrysler.
My dad's middle and confirmation names are Antoninus and Augustus, respectively. Oddly, his first name is Rudolph (grandma was a big-time Valentino fan, apparently).
I used to work with an Indian immigrant with the last name "Dikshit" ... he eventually had the spelling changed to "Dixit", to match the correct pronounciation.
Since most names are chosen before the birth of the child, how does it reflect their personality, brilliance and character which are not yet developed? Just a thought.
Happy to announce my son is named after me, Martin Jr. And yes I am a redneck.
cool side note :
that beat up and burned Stratocaster slung over Dweezils shoulder is one Hendrix lit afire onstage
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