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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: Xenalyte

Malachi means 'messenger'. The one usage that makes me uneasy is James Joyce's use for his awful medical student Malachi Mulligan. A real nasty character.


81 posted on 06/27/2006 11:06:55 AM PDT by BelegStrongbow (www.stjosephssanford.org)
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To: .cnI redruM

That is a very interesting chapter.


82 posted on 06/27/2006 11:07:46 AM PDT by pollyannaish
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To: Dont Mention the War


Agnesse and Byoolah inspect the goods procured for them by Myldredd, who with Gurtrude are off to their jobs at the Pink Pussycat.
83 posted on 06/27/2006 11:08:21 AM PDT by Xenalyte (We all know power corrupts, yet we all want electricity.)
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To: ElTiante
Luke - The GF is in Med School and St. Luke is the patron saint of doctors and we like Luke's gospel (Mathew scares me…)

Luke wouldn't be too bad. It's got a history in my wife's family (her paternal grandfather, oldest uncle, and two cousins). But its almost at the point where it is too popular amongst her relatives.

I like Fiona as well...although two things pop into my head when I hear that name:
1. Shrek
2. Fiona Apple
But of course, don't let that discourage you!

84 posted on 06/27/2006 11:08:30 AM PDT by CT-Freeper (Said the perpetually dejected Mets fan.)
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To: leda

on the other hand - look at my name...LOL


85 posted on 06/27/2006 11:09:05 AM PDT by patton (...in spit of it all...)
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To: Xenalyte
The "Book of Malachi" is kind of menacing, kind of parallels today's world.
86 posted on 06/27/2006 11:09:08 AM PDT by stevio (Red-Blooded Crunchy Con American Male (NRA))
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To: Screamname

If I did that, they would be Bleachers and BikePath.


87 posted on 06/27/2006 11:09:18 AM PDT by Recovering Hermit (Apparently, most who protest for peace do so at the expense of hygiene.)
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To: shawnlaw
Roy Prononced "WAH"? (ref. Hockey Goalie).

Sure, if you live in Quebec or France. If you live in the USA, pronounce it like I do (like the the Yiddish exclamation "Oy!" with an "R" on the front end).

88 posted on 06/27/2006 11:09:43 AM PDT by brewcrew
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To: agooga
LEMONJELLO and ORANGELLO

That's about as bad as another one I've heard recently....Aquanetta

I guess it's cool to name your child after hair products in some circles.

89 posted on 06/27/2006 11:10:53 AM PDT by Kellykoop (All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people.)
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To: hispanarepublicana

It does! I am cracking up and will have to pass that to Dad and the bro. (Taft is actually the guys' middle names.)

The story is that my great-grandparents were on their way to see William Howard Taft speak at a political rally, and had to detour when she went into labor. When she produced the 13-pound (!) boy, the doctor said, "Well, here's William Taft now!"

So William Taft he became, and so did my dad, and my little brother is the third.

It came in handy when we were growing up - when Mom hollered, "Taft!", only one kid would pop up, where the mothers hollering for Justin and Mark got about a dozen takers each.


90 posted on 06/27/2006 11:11:08 AM PDT by Xenalyte (We all know power corrupts, yet we all want electricity.)
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To: qam1

How's this for a distinctive name: Pasquale (it's an Italian tradition to name the oldest boy after the father's father)?


91 posted on 06/27/2006 11:12:43 AM PDT by Deo et Patria
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To: Xenalyte
When she produced the 13-pound (!) boy,

A college football player, like I said earlier...

92 posted on 06/27/2006 11:13:11 AM PDT by hispanarepublicana (Don't fall for the soft bigotry of assuming all Hispanics are pro-amnesty. www.dontspeakforme.org)
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To: agooga

I've always been fond of Jenna-Talia...


93 posted on 06/27/2006 11:13:24 AM PDT by Andonius_99 (They [liberals] aren't humans, but rather a species of hairless retarded ape.)
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To: .cnI redruM
We named our son Tiberius, most all of our bloodlines are British so it doesn't really fit but Cap't Kirk says it's all right. ;-D
94 posted on 06/27/2006 11:15:07 AM PDT by #1CTYankee (That's right, I have no proof. So what of it??)
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To: qam1; Foxfire4

That's why I'm proud of my daughter's name. Grace Diane. Diane from my wife's beloved godmother, and Grace because, well, that's what we're all saved by, isn't it?

Should we have a boy next, he'll be Patrick Henry. Not just because I'm a Virginian...Patrick's my wife's stepfather's name, Henry is my father's name.

The irony is that both my wife and I go by our middle names, not our first names. I think we're going to break that string with our kid(s). Maybe.

}:-)4


95 posted on 06/27/2006 11:16:11 AM PDT by Moose4 (Dirka dirka Mohammed jihad.)
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To: qam1

What comes to mind is PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, where the chief male character -- and famous hearthrob -- is Fitzwilliam Darcy. Throughout the book he is only called "Mr. Darcy."

I wonder why.


96 posted on 06/27/2006 11:17:48 AM PDT by MoochPooch (I'm a compassionate cynic.)
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To: Xenalyte

Don't forget Zebedee


97 posted on 06/27/2006 11:18:01 AM PDT by ElTiante
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To: ziggy_dlo

Daniel Daniel ('Ner do well)

(LOL Don't ask)


98 posted on 06/27/2006 11:19:35 AM PDT by Libertina
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To: CT-Freeper

That's funny!. I also insisted in Sebastian when I was expecting. Finally we traded: Alexander (my idea) Joaquin (father's idea; that one is the kind of grandpa's name, actually like my grandpa; even more traditional than Alexander). Alexander Joaquin. Weird combination, but I LIKE IT!!!!.


99 posted on 06/27/2006 11:20:12 AM PDT by angelanddevil2
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Those wacky Gen-Xers...


100 posted on 06/27/2006 11:20:39 AM PDT by wtc911 (You can't get there from here)
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