Posted on 12/08/2012 12:50:55 PM PST by NYer
Living and working the African American Catholic Community I have been subject to some time with names that are often unpronounceable. It is a controversial practice even in the Black community for parents to name their children all sorts of crazy, made-up names that are often intentionally misspelled.
DeQuanna, Sharkeisha, LaDarrius, Shamyra, Marketta, Shontella, LaRochelle, Shandrika, Charmonique, Myosha, LaKeisha, DeQuan, Rhondella, Raviona, Rominthia, Tomika, LaVenia, Trishela, LaTasha, ABCDE, Tyeisha, Mootron, Knoshon, Keyshawn, Tarquisha, Q’J'Q’Sha, Laquintas, Jamarcus, JoNathans, et al.
I trip over this especially at Baptisms when I am supposed to solemnly pronounce the name of the child. Even after the irritated mother tells me the third time, I still can’t get it right. But why be angry with me? Why name your child such a strange name? Its all so crazy. They put in apostrophes where none are needed and there seems a minor obsession with the letters ‘Q’ and ‘K’.
Now some may speak of racism, but I have been in the Black community too long to be deaf to the fact that an awful lot of African American folks hate the practice too.
Oddities are spreading to other ethnic groups too. In a recent article in The Atlantic Phillip Cohen writes:
The number of girls given the name Mary at birth has fallen 94 percent since 1961…..The modernization theory of name trends, advanced most famously by the sociologist Stanley Lieberson, sees the rise of individualism in modern naming practices. “As the role of the extended family, religious rules, and other institutional pressures declines,” he wrote, “choices are increasingly free to be matters of taste.” Mary—both a traditional American name and a symbol religious Christianity—embodies this trend.
Second, America’s Christian family standard-bearers are not standing up for Mary anymore. It’s not just that there may be fewer devout Christians, it’s that even they don’t want to sacrifice individuality for a (sorry, it’s not my opinion) boring name like Mary. In 2011 there were more than twice as many Nevaehs (“Heaven” spelled backwards) born as there were Marys. (If there is anything more specific going on within Christianity, please fill me in.)
The Full article can be read here: Why Don’t Parents Name their Daughters Mary Anymore
I have referred in this brief article to the “curse” of individualism, because frankly I think some of these names become a hindrance later in life and mothers trying to be creative and individualistic, often saddle their kids with troubles later. Frankly people don’t like to be embarrassed, and when someone tells you their name and you can’t pronounce it, or have to ask again, and even a third time, social relations, and things like job interviews tend to go badly. I mean how do you even pronounce Q’J'Q’Sha? A lot of things break down when you can’t even pass the “go” of exchanging names.
As you might expect, many of these children given strange names, end up going by other nick names. Like “Q” or Shawn or something easier. But really they should not have to, and their strange names will still have to come up at formal occasions and all the awkwardness. And even some of the names that are more pronounceable convey a kind of strangeness that makes people uncomfortable. While not necessarily fair, strange names convey an impression of the person who carries it. We tend to read a lot more in to names that perhaps we should, but the tendency is pre-conscious and is unlikely to change that much.
Interestingly, in Biblical times people were more creative with names than currently. However, they were careful to name their children with a name that was intelligible, that actually meant something. For example, Jesus means “God saves,” Michael means “Who is like God?” Sarah means “princess” and so forth. Thus, observing the essence of a child, the parents named the child on the eighth day after birth.
Controversial article? Sure. But don’t turn it into a race thing, there’s plenty of divided opinion in the African American community as well. Also if you feel offended, try not to take it personally. It is a cultural trend that is being critiqued, not you. The bottom line, in a culture where strange forms of individualism are increasing and exotica is proudly displayed by more and more, it’s good every now and then to ask about limits and encourage some moderation.
By the way, my name almost backward is Epop Selrach if your looking for a clever new name….for your pet, that is. 
I'm one of those. My mother's maiden name was Mackenzie, and my full name is Daniel Mackenzie Ryan.
That's a LOL! At least there aren't as many ways to spell "Madison." (My pet peeve most-loathed girl name.)
How about Humbert Humbert?
Love that name...the name of several of my female ancestors..spelled slightly differently "Dorothea." One little bit of a girl traveled to America from Germany at the age of 18, all by herself to the middle of completely unsettled Iowa, to join her fiance. Her full given was named "Sophia Margaretha Dorothea Nitch" (but she was known as Dorothea)...a rare female name that was passed down for several generations.
My other favorite ancestral family name was a GG Grandmother, Celestia (Heavenly).
Fahrenheit 451
There used to be an Acquanetta - with the c to make it original - working at my local Walmart. Nice lady ... the other cashiers called her Aqua.
I couldn't take it after a few weeks and told him that "Individualism" was bunk and that it actually made more folks similar by limiting the methods (dress/hair/tattoos/piercings, etc.) by taking God out of the equation. I told him that real individualism meant just being you and not trying to be an individual because God made all of us different than the others in some wonderful ways.
He didn't like it much, but his father was a good friend so i still got the grade I deserved.
Then he asks why "Emma" has this pattern, but not other once popular names such as "Mildred" and "Bertha." I suspect this reflects the changing ethnic composition of the United States. Mildred and Bertha are distinctively Germanic names, and German-Americans, having often been in the U.S. for five generations or more, give their children standard names rather than ethnic ones. Then there's simply the ease and simplicity of "Emma," compared to other names that were once popular.
I think another reason many parents today want "uncommon" names for their children is that, like me, they were one of seven girls with "Common Name of 1966" in their elementary school grade, and one of nine women with "Common Name of Late 1960s" in a department at work. In my department at That Insurance Company, there were so many employees with my name that our boss called us "Mrs. Jones," "Mrs. Collins," "Mrs. Garcia." (Very dignified, actually - I kind of liked it!)
My sons have names that often make the top-10 lists - William, Thomas, Patrick, James, Daniel, Francis - but the only one who regularly finds himself in a class with duplicates is Daniel. It seems every family has a Daniel! The girls are "uncommons" - Josephine, Eleanor, Sabina, and Kathleen - because I was traumatized by Common Name 1966 ;-).
Sometimes the weirdest names are older than we think. I had a boy in Cub Scouts a couple of years ago whose name was “Jett.” Dreadful, I thought, how could they ... but when I was doing a cemetery tour this fall, I saw a stone for a man whose first name was Jett, and he’d lived in the 19th century.
The same cemetery had a woman named “Adder Belle.” We looked for her sister, “Viper Sue,” but she wasn’t there ;-).
“Kristin Lavransdatter” has stuck in my mind for a long time. I find myself lying in bed thinking about her choices: “But should she have...?” “Why did her father Lavrans...?” “Why did they decide to ..?” “Could it have turned out differently if she had...?”
Winifrieda Katharina Emma Yochim.
Went by "Wynne" (pronounced "Winnie.")
We had a lady called Winnie in our church. She was very old, died a few years ago. I figured her real name was some variant of Winifreda, since she was from Belgium.
We get some interesting names in the Spanish congregation, because they’re often named for the feast day on which they’re born. One of my best friends is Asuncion, “Assumption,” and the father of one of my Cub Scouts is Dolores, for Our Lady of Sorrows; his wife is Maria Amparo, “Mary, Help of Christians.” Both men and women are commonly named Guadalupe, which sometimes confuses the record-keeping for Sunday School: my list is off on the boy/girl count, because whoever entered them thought both Guadalupe and Genesis were boys, but they’re girls!
That's fine - but that's not the same as saying those names are in the BIBLE.
Nevertheless, Remigius is a fine name to give to a child. Patrick Remigius O'Baniondoodaley.
I'm partial to Turibius, myself. Turibius of Mongrovejo (Link): my fave lawyer of the Inquisition.
I wanted to name a daughter Mechtildis, but the suggestion was received negatively.
I dropped the middle o so that it would be more fluid with her middle name Dorthea Rose rolls off my tongue better than Dorothea Rose.
It is also a paternal great aunt’s name and strangely they have similar stubborn and bold personalities. This gives my father-in-law a big kick, that she is so much like his big sister “Dodie”.
My adorably clueless husband had no idea his Aunt Dodie’s given name was Dorothy until she called squealing with joy that we had named a child after her.
..and a daughter named Isolde.
Was that the name from his Hawaiian birth certificate?
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