<p>My former step-mom had a name-sharer with a porn site. </p>
<p>Sometimes when I hear odd first names I can’t help but try to picture new parents looking at their precious baby and thinking/saying, "we are going to name him/her (weird name). </p>
<p>My mom always hated her French name and always went by her nickname…most people had no idea what her real name was. We put her real name (nickname) last name on her headstone.</p>
<p>Thankfully, both of my kids like their names. One is a timeless name. One is more trendy, but not too much…both are historical/Biblical.</p>
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<p>I think it’s fairly common. But I think its more common counterpart is the befuddling, misspelled “Chasity.” WHY??</p>
<p>Definitely a generational thing. Mom’s friends include Peggy, Helen, Alma, Hattie, Alberta, Martha. I haven’t met anyone under 70 with any of those names. Which is a shame since I really like the name Martha.</p>
<p>Martha will be a forever a dog’s name because of the show, Martha Speaks.</p>
<p>I’ve known a number of contemporaries named Martha, although it seems to have disappeared since then. I also know Peggies, although Meg seems to have taken over long since as the preferred nickname for Margaret. </p>
<p>I’ve actually become very fond of Hattie, which was my great grandmother’s name. The “real” name for which it is a nickname, Harriet, I don’t like. </p>
<p>What gets me is when people use Millie instead of Amelia, which is a beautiful name IMHO. Millie sounds like a washerwoman.</p>
<p>I never understood how you got “Peggy” from Margaret??</p>
<p>I have four friends named Martha, all in their 40s! </p>
<p>One name that made the final cut for our son in 1992 was Beavis. This was before the tv show . I still wonder if we might have had to go through a name change.</p>
<p>There are lots of Helens where I live. A few Hatties and Marthas too.</p>
<p>The two old-but-now-trendy names I dislike the most are Ruby and Stella. And I actually know someone whose two girls have those names.</p>
<p>The other thing I never understood about nicknames–if your name is already one syllable, like John, what is the point of having the nickname Jack? It’s no faster to say.</p>
<p>I work with people from all over the world. I can’t be bothered by a “weird” first name. It’s all relative, after all. And I don’t think that weird first name can ever overshadow real talent and drive and positive results that a job calls for.
I will say, though, that a few of my co-workers from elsewhere adopt an American nickname for everyday use as they have found it’s simply easier that way. Some foreign names also can sound/look very much like something naughty or unacceptable in English. That’s awkward!</p>
<p>I’ve known a first name Major. </p>
<p>Did he sing “Monkeytime”, or play QB for Texas? </p>
<p>You’ll be pleased to Martha is really common in the UK (due to a character in Dr Who).</p>
<p>I think there’s a difference between names that are respected in another culture but are unusual to the American eye and ear (Seamus, e.g.) and names that are just silly (Sparkle, e.g.).</p>
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<p>In some (not all) cases, the child shares his name with a father, grandfather, or uncle…so another name is used to avoid confusion.</p>
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<p>I can understand that. we’re the generation that often saw those names on tv/movies associated with (dont mean to insult anyone) lower class folks/jobs. I think a soap opera that I watched in college had a Stella that was a former hooker and a Ruby that was a maid.</p>
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<p>One name that made the final cut for our son in 1992 was Beavis.
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<p>Really?</p>
<p>One of my first jobs, was credit card collections… There was a customer named Cinderella. Needless to say I barely got thru that call, lol!!!</p>
<p>Attended a graduation recently. One of the graduates was “Cheyenne Autumn”. I wonder if her parents knew about the movie of the same name with Jimmy Stewart? </p>
<p>For me, Millie will be forever associated with Enron. Amelia and Amelie are beautiful names, IMO. </p>
<p>^^^ until today, I never knew that Millie was short for Amelia. I just thought it was short for Mildred.</p>
<p>for me, Millie will always be associated with the lady next door on the Dick Van Dyke show.</p>
<p>I dislike odd spellings of more common names because it just causes problems for the person. The mom of one of my kids’ friends is named Mechelle…and it is annoying for her…and just looks funny. She said it was because her mom couldn’t spell and didn’t know it was “wrong.”</p>