I'm sorry but I actually consider naming a child like that is an act of child cruelty. That said, I'm not sure the government should be telling parents what they can name their children but I do think it needs to be easy for an adult to change their names.
I also think some people just have absolutely no business breeding.
Should the government step in? Not unless it is harmful (such as in the case of "K", and because *she* indicated it was). But seriously, the stupidity never ends. Although, at least people can spell "Superman". That gives it points above "creative" spellings which only make the child needlessly suffer.
And children can suffer on a number of levels. Imagine how tough it'd be for a kid with a highly unusual name like 4Real to get a driver's license or a credit card, for instance. And for the parents who name their kids after random places or things, like "Fish and Chips" or "Hitm'n", they may be hindering their child's ability to find decent work when they grow up. Would a guy named Hitm'n have an easy time boarding a plane? I wonder if these parents had any semblance of foresight when they decided to call their kids these things.
Then, should children have to live with their crummy names until they're legally able to change them? Or is it okay in some cases for the gov't to step in, in your opinion?
I have a plastic bag in my home that has a missing persons' ad on it. One of the abducted children is named Kaktis. Cactus? hrm... My friend's two adopted cousins had given names of Vegas and Paris. They were changed when the girls were adopted.
Kind of OT but I was watching this really sweet story about a young woman who wanted to adopt triplets who had been born with a crack addiction, but she was too young. So her family fostered the kids until she was old enough. I thought it was really sweet, until I heard that she changed the kids' names to Asia, India, and Africa. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT.
I mean, it's still a sweet story, but talk about a corny choice of names for these kids. Phew.
my wife's cousin's daughter's name is India. I've heard other girls with the name India before, and there was an American Idol contestant named Asia'h.
I feel the same way about government interference. In some countries, you have to choose from a list of acceptable names, which definitely hinders creativity and may pose a problem if the parents want to name their child something of significance that isn't on that list. I know these laws are in place to protect kids from being named Shithead or 0100101110101, but where is the line drawn?
Your 2nd paragraph also brings up a good point: Sometimes odd names don't hold people back at all. In my original post, I mentioned a baby named If-Jesus-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned. Well, he was born in the 1600s and grew up to pioneer the notion of fire insurance, which many people today are quite happy about! It's also funny to know that parents named their kids ridiculous crap even back then. ;)
Poor Talula. She's turned into an amusing email forward all around New Zealand, and the rest of the world I guess. I was in the city she's from last week (Taranaki). I'm really not surprised that's where it happened. Small town New Zealand wigs me the heck out.
When I'm a parent, I'm making thing easy for my kid and not giving them confusing names or names that people would confuse. I also wouldn't want to give a boy a girl's name or a girl a boy's name. So I'm not naming a boy "Kelly" or a girl "Billy".
Why would someone name their child "Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii"? Why not just "Talula"? WHy do parents give their kids weird names?
I think people should give their kids normal-sounding names, but I don't know if I feel comfortable with the government regulating names.
As for "Superman"? What if he ends up liking Batman better instead?...
Kelly is, unfortunately, one of the dozen or so names that are actually boys' names that, for some reason, parents decided would work for girls, too. And more boys' names are becoming unisex by the day. Names that end in -son, for example, are quite obviously meant for boys. Madison, for example. You only see that name on girls, but if you look at the definition of the name, it is clearly meant for a boy. Ergo, I don't see any problem with a parent deciding that they'd name their son a traditionally male name that has been hijacked by girls.
And as someone who has a name that people get wrong more often than they get right, I don't think it's such a big deal to have a name that is "confusing". However, this is where there is a line to be drawn. Is it a bad idea to name your kid Cristina vs Christina if you live in the USA because people get confused that there isn't a superfluous H in there? Is it just as bad to name your kid Kymbrrleigh instead of Kimberly?
Yeah. I think a lot of boys used to be named Kelly, but they're using that name for girls now. THat's why I wouldn't name my son that these days. I've met quite a few men with "girls" names in my time. Gale. Page. Lindsey Graham is a Senator. Torii Hunter is a baseball player. Someone named Brooke was a Catcher for the Baltimore Orioles when I went to a game. As for Madison, I guess I've thought of it as a girls name since I guess its been used as a girls name since I could remember. I think its a good name b/c when I think of Madison, I think of James Madison, one of the Founding Fathers
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I have a cousin named Kerry, who got some teasing growing up, but for the most part, I've never associated how he spells it as strictly a girls name, whereas Carrie or Kerri I think I would more associate as feminine.
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I also think some people just have absolutely no business breeding.
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Should the government step in? Not unless it is harmful (such as in the case of "K", and because *she* indicated it was). But seriously, the stupidity never ends. Although, at least people can spell "Superman". That gives it points above "creative" spellings which only make the child needlessly suffer.
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Cactus? hrm...
My friend's two adopted cousins had given names of Vegas and Paris. They were changed when the girls were adopted.
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I mean, it's still a sweet story, but talk about a corny choice of names for these kids. Phew.
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Still not a common name though.
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Your 2nd paragraph also brings up a good point: Sometimes odd names don't hold people back at all. In my original post, I mentioned a baby named If-Jesus-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned. Well, he was born in the 1600s and grew up to pioneer the notion of fire insurance, which many people today are quite happy about! It's also funny to know that parents named their kids ridiculous crap even back then. ;)
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I was in the city she's from last week (Taranaki). I'm really not surprised that's where it happened. Small town New Zealand wigs me the heck out.
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Why would someone name their child "Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii"? Why not just "Talula"? WHy do parents give their kids weird names?
I think people should give their kids normal-sounding names, but I don't know if I feel comfortable with the government regulating names.
As for "Superman"? What if he ends up liking Batman better instead?...
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And as someone who has a name that people get wrong more often than they get right, I don't think it's such a big deal to have a name that is "confusing". However, this is where there is a line to be drawn. Is it a bad idea to name your kid Cristina vs Christina if you live in the USA because people get confused that there isn't a superfluous H in there? Is it just as bad to name your kid Kymbrrleigh instead of Kimberly?
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