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Strange baby names

(255 Posts)
Grammaretto Tue 19-Mar-19 15:40:51

I've just read the list of names chosen last year in Scotland. There's a Lucifer and a Corbyn.
Why would anyone inflict such a heavy burden on a baby?
I have no objection to unusual names or old fashioned ones and I appreciate you don't want the child to be one of 4 or 5 in the class with the same name - as I was, but really awful to name your child after the devil. Perhaps Corbyn's sister is May.

Grandma2213 Thu 21-Mar-19 01:26:13

When I was a little girl I thought everybody grew up to have two names. My Dad's name was Clive but he called himself Cliff. My mother's name was Maude but she called herself Pat. With Dad's family they were Clive and Pat. With Mum's family they were Cliff and Maude. With their friends they were Cliff and Pat. As children we were never confused and just accepted this was what happened when you were adults!

GrandmainOz Thu 21-Mar-19 02:04:07

marmight Puffin and Otter!?! I can't decide whether that's adorable or absolutely awfulconfused
I suppose at least it wasn't Hippo and Gerbilsmile

BradfordLass72 Thu 21-Mar-19 05:06:14

Jalima1108 In my elders group we have several ladies named Kuini, the spelling is not an affectation but the Maori spelling.

Thank you for the information in Newt smile

My cousin-twice-removed is called India and it's not until I began reading this thread (some lovely names here) that I began to see it as unusual.

Oscar has just been born into their family too.

Esspee Thu 21-Mar-19 05:18:43

I've come across an Attila (wondered if the mother referred to him as Hun) and an Aristotle. Had to bite my tongue to prevent me from asking about the names.

BradfordLass72 Thu 21-Mar-19 06:21:09

Years ago I worked with a man called Tertius and once said to him, 'And are you the third child?' He was quite surprised I knew what his name meant as in all the years he'd been working for the local city Council, no one else had ever known.

Rosina The name Kathleen has morphed into 'Caitlin' (now pronounced Kate-lyn) as the correct pronunciation of that name, in Gaelic, IS 'Kathleen'. Few people seem to know that either. smile

My name means 'beautiful' in Spanish and Viet-namese.

I don't see anything wrong with Pocohontas, urban legend or not.

She was renamed Rebecca when she converted to Christianity, came to England with her husband John, had a son and died in Gravesend (macabre but appropriate) at the young age of 21.
She was quite famous in her day.

Kalu Thu 21-Mar-19 06:26:21

I was convinced an article I read years ago stated Zowie Bowie disliked his name and wished to be known as George!

Old memory playing tricks again blush

Blinko Thu 21-Mar-19 07:25:54

Damian Grammaticas on TV. What a great name.

My OH can't help recalling and rhyming it with 'the ladies at the court of King Caractacus' whenever DG is on TV. smile

DanniRae Thu 21-Mar-19 07:43:47

My father-in-law used to recall going to school with a boy names Arthur Dick.........I don't suppose he was grateful to his parents for calling him that! shock

MissAdventure Thu 21-Mar-19 07:44:21

grin

BradfordLass72 Thu 21-Mar-19 09:43:36

Bradford's Anglicans may remember the Rev. Arden Constant, vicar of St Barnabas Church in Heaton.

My mother could not talk about him without a suspicious smile (he used to visit her for tea and cakes) and I was well into my 40's before I knew why. I had just accepted the name in all innocence.

Kalu I remember that article too. If I were called Zowie, I'm not sure I'd like it either so the fact he no longer uses the name could well indicate our memories are not at fault. smile

SueDonim Thu 21-Mar-19 09:56:46

A frind has just informed me that a child in her area is named Kingdom. Sadly, his surname is neither Come nor Brunel. grin

Grammaretto Thu 21-Mar-19 11:51:31

Surnames matching occupations is another interesting curiosity.
The person in charge of the estates dept was a Mr Talltrees. When my DC were members of the young ornitholigist club their newsletter had names and addresses of all the local leaders. There were a surprising number of names such as Robin, Finch, Starling, Bird & Wood.
So Miss Bunn the baker's daughter didn't seem strange.

SueH49 Thu 21-Mar-19 12:16:06

My mother who will turn 97 in a month or so is Ailsa. She has spent her whole life correcting people who really make no effort to pronounce it correctly. As Mum says beer (ale) and salsa and you have it. Not Elsa, Alice or Alica, Elsie, or any of the multitude of other names she is called.

My DGS's are Angus Lachlan - good Scottish heritage there (we are Australian) and Eli Patrick. Took me a while to get used to Eli but I love it now although it unfortunately is becoming a popular name here.

Littleannie Thu 21-Mar-19 13:00:00

There is a little girl in my granddaughter's class called Pagan. Oh dear.

joannapiano Thu 21-Mar-19 14:01:06

I once taught a Shernade, her mum said she liked Irish names.

Miep1 Thu 21-Mar-19 14:48:39

Grandma70....it's Penny-loap in France! Quite caught me on the hop until I thought about it

Jalima1108 Thu 21-Mar-19 14:56:09

I know a couple of Australian Lachlans SueH49 - presumably named after Lachlan Macquarie!
His name lives on.

KatyK Thu 21-Mar-19 15:06:24

What about the woman in the news last year whose daughter was called Abcde - pronounced Ab-city apparently.

paddyann Thu 21-Mar-19 15:07:09

Bradfordlass72 do you know what Kuini means? My Son and his partner are making lists of names for their expected baby and I think Kuini might just make the grade .They have the meaning of the name beside it on the list .

Jalima1108 Thu 21-Mar-19 15:09:42

I've just finished the Land of the Long White Cloud trilogy, BradfordLass and my head was spinning with Maori names!

kuini ataahua means beautiful queen (I think)

Grandma70s Thu 21-Mar-19 15:10:43

When I had my interview for a university place to read English Language, I was asked if I knew the meanings of my two forenames. Thanks to my parents, I did! I don’t think people always think about meanings.

Jalima1108 Thu 21-Mar-19 15:16:56

I did check the meanings of my DC's names before registering them!

grannyactivist Thu 21-Mar-19 15:19:31

Bradfordlass72 there were a number of names I came across in NZ that I really liked, but my favourite was Tui. There was a young girl of that name that we met in one of the churches we visited, she was just as chirpy and friendly as her bird namesake. smile

Having said that, I've just remembered that one of my daughter's has a Maori name. blush

Marmight Thu 21-Mar-19 16:25:43

My Mum had school friends called Elsie Leatherbarrow and Pearl Button.
My name means 'Princess' and DD3's means 'in the image of' or 'last born daughter', which by chance she was!
Grandmainoz My reaction to Puffin & Otter was 'what the f***!'. Ok when children but imagine when they're adult or elderly ?

phoenix Thu 21-Mar-19 18:22:20

I believe that there was a court case in ND that resulted in the parents not being allowed to call their baby daughter Talluladoesthehulainhawaii (breaks down into Tallula Does The Hula in Hawaii)