<p>My name is frequently misspelled or mispronounced. My last name is extremely rare. Basically, if you have this last name, then you’re in the family. One positive is that I’ll never be at a school, workplace, or any other setting with the another person (other than my siblings) who has my last name. Until I marry, that is. </p>
<p>Do you want those two ladies’ phone numbers? They might have been pulling my leg, but I’m not pulling yours. :-)</p>
<p>Nope…that’s the point. You heard this from someone. You don’t know these people. None of us do, because they don’t exist.</p>
<p>Same with my last name, and I’m glad it’s distinctive but thankfully my parents gave me a standard first name. My DH has a very common last name and that’s D’s last name as well. At her pediatrician, we always had to give her middle name to differentiate her from the other little girl with the same name. And there was another girl with the same name at her college. </p>
<p>I was happy to rid myself of my last name - way to many vowels and often mispronounced and impossible to spell to someone on the phone. I have a nice simple Anglo last name now thanks to H and it even rolls nicely with my first name.</p>
<p>Really didn’t matter that my first and last names and DH’s are common enough. People mangle or replace, getting the sounds mixed up with something else. I’ve been called by slightly different versions often enough that I answer to them, if needed, when I know they mean me. The equivalent of a Fred being called Frank. My mother did Americanize her surname- because it did sound like a not-pretty string of words.</p>
<p>*correlation versus causation</p>
<p>My kids all have ethnically appropriate spellings of their names, but not as common to the American eye. They are doing quite fine.</p>
<p>More likely to find causation showing better educated parents tend to name their children in a more conventional fashion. Also, there are many examples of highly successful people with unusual names. Mitt Romney? Who is named after a baseball implement?
*</p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence. There’s actually some experimental data showing that it is, indeed, a causative property - it is the name and not the socioeconomic status that changes things.</p>
<p>Also, Shannon and Shane haven’t become more popular in just the last decade. The popularity of Shannon and Shane peaked in the mid-1970s. Paige peaked in the mid-1990s, so it’s just about time for those kids to be in college.</p>
<p>Ah, yes. That failure of Zbigniew Brzezinski. Condoleeza Rice. or Barack Obama. So hampered by their weird names.</p>
<p>Again, anecdotal evidence. Besides, these people stand out precisely because of their names. Statistics in sociological studies doesn’t say that because a person has a strange name, they will surely fail. The idea is just that people with different/strange/weird/less-common names might have more of an uphill battle because of their name, especially if the name signals “low-income” or “black” or “Latino.”</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Also, about the La-a, Oranjello, Shi…d, “I swear my coworker told me this”:</p>
<p><a href=“Have Babies Been Named After Embarrassing Medical Terms? | Snopes.com”>http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/names.asp</a></p>
<p>It’s racist/classist humor that’s mutated into urban legends.</p>
<p>Well, Sally, I did know a kid named Notorious and a boy named Cherub. Can you imagine being a farm boy named Cherub? There are lots of names that are too creative for me.</p>
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<p>My impression is that the study in the original post suggested that the unusual names had lower test scores, as well as the “subjective” challenges associated with their names. I would assume it was referring to standardized tests.</p>
<p>Anecdotes: Years ago, I came across an official document from someone named “Doctor” (first name). And there is the more recent and public example of Lawyer Milloy, who was a fine defensive back for the Patriots and three other teams. Can’t say what the parent’s were thinking. </p>
<p>Onward, I believe those two. It’s the urban-myth names such as in juillet’s cited post that I don’t buy.</p>
<p>Sally, i know my sister and I know my fiance. They worked in schools and said that they had students with those names.</p>
<p>Students plural? </p>
<p>prezbucky, YOU don’t know these people. It’s hearsay. And it’s a story that apparently a LOT of people have picked up on.</p>
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<p><a href=“Pregnancy, Parenting, Lifestyle, Beauty: Tips & Advice | mom.com”>http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2009/10/ledasha-legends-and-race-part-one</a></p>
<p>In college I actually worked with a guy named Adonis. It struck me as being a tough one to live with. He didn’t look even remotely Mediterranean and was a fairly slight, pleasant looking but not especially handsome guy. </p>
<p>Obituary in my local newspaper announced the passing of Makita, who was survived by her sisters Monique and Unique.</p>
<p>No, my name did not hinder my chances of success. My name probably is not replicated anywhere else on the planet. Finnish last name and unique first name. I knew who I was, always. Most likely, my unique name helped me understand I was not one of the masses.</p>
<p>I knew a boy “nicknamed” (by which I mean went by, even though that was not his name) Birch. Forget what his real name was, but I remember thinking he was a “good” kid, and that was a cool “nickname”… </p>
<p>(Am I allowed to say my first name on here? I think I remember it saying not to use it as your username). Anyways, I’m white (well half white, half filipino) and my name is hispanic but people also say it’s a black name. Went to my friends house once and she was introducing me to my brother and when she says my name he goes “I thought you were black!” Doesn’t bother me but just makes me wonder how people picture me when they see just my name. </p>
<p>Then there is Ima Hogg, known as the First Lady of Texas, philanthropist, and actually rather beautiful woman:
<a href=“Ima Hogg - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg</a>
Apparently she used “I. Hogg” or “Miss Hogg,” to downplay her first name. She did <em>not</em> have a sister named Ura.</p>
<p>I am rather fond of the name Icie G. Macy Hoobler, because of its cadence. I wouldn’t wish it on a child, though. Hoobler was a biochemist: <a href=“Icie Hoobler - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icie_Hoobler</a></p>
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<p>In the last few decades sociologists such as Gilbert break the “Middle” Class into Upper and Lower, and it is a significant divide. The UMC, chiefly self-directed professionals, is probably where many on CC aspire to be. The UMC is not naming their children those names. </p>