<p>My orthodontist was Dr. Buck, My first and maiden name both mean things, have never liked it, I tried to name my children “normal” names because of it. Sorry but Starr Silver sounds like a stripper name.</p>
<p>My folks knew a family who named their kids after all the musical notes, from Dodo, reirei, mimi, etc. One of my ex-BFs married a Holly Fields. I knew a boy in high school whose legal name was H A Smith. He was a very nice guy. I know someone who named all 3 of her sons names that ended in “ston,” but she was irked when her BIL named their twin boys names that ended in the same 4 letters.</p>
<p>FREAKONOMICS talks about unusual names in its first edition book. Not sure what is covered in the “More Freakonomics.” I find the book and concepts fascinating. We made sure to give our kids gender specific, easy to spell and pronounce names. Both said they’re very happy with their names.</p>
<p>I know a girl named Colby and another named Riley. The parents for the latter wanted to have a unisex name.</p>
<p>Have known at least two girls named Mercedes as well.</p>
<p>My MIL’s best friend is named Mercedes, but they pronounce is “mur-suh-dees” so it didn’t dawn on me that it was the car’s name until I saw it written down.</p>
<p>^^The girl doesn’t have a car’s name. The car has a girl’s name.</p>
<p>Mercedes used to be a perfectly good woman’s name with no vehicular connotations. Early in the 20th century it first got associated with cars when the Daimler-Benz company named one of its cars for the daughter of one of the company’s board members. The daughter’s first name happened to be Mercedes.</p>
<p>There’s a young man around here named Derry Ayers. </p>
<p>My daughter who goes by her middle name is working in Korea. Apparently her middle name sounds like a dirty word in Korean, so she has to use her first name there.</p>
<p>I used to know a lady named Terry Terry (married into it). And then there’s Hunter Green.</p>
<p>I have a different name, and won’t even post it here as it is very rare, and I am a woman with a mans name. Ii go to Starbucks and they never ever get my name right, my daughters have simple four letter Irish names. Didn’t want to saddle them with complicated names. But I enjoy my name. </p>
<p>My dad had a friend called Harold Bahls. Yup</p>
<p>We know a very nice woman whose married name is Fran Franz. I also know a beloved professor–his first name is Francis and middle name is Marion. </p>
<p>Oh yea, we know a young girl named Riley Joe. That is her first and last name.</p>
<p>PsychoDad10…OMG! you must live in Bay Area!<br>
Friend of mine was nurse for the twins Orangejello and Lemonjello. I recall the names were pronounced with accents on different syllables than expected (i.e. sounded more like La MON jallo and o RAN jallo). poor kids!</p>
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<p>It’s not true, it’s a really racist urban legend, along with Syphilis and Gonorrhea, and Le-a, and Lemonjello, and many others.</p>
<p>My mom went to a school with a girl whose last name was Whorehouse. My best friend is a cake decorator and she once had to make a cake for a boy named Shadiamond. I went to high school with a guy named Jason whose name was spelled J’sen. </p>
<p>My name is super normal, so I kind of dislike that in a way. My middle and last names are just as conventional as the first. I’d like to give my kids names that aren’t completely plain, but still pronounceable. I will definitely be consulting trending names before I name my children someday. I was one of four Julies in my high school class alone. I hear that the name Olivia is trending right now which makes me pretty sad. I love that name.</p>
<p>ETA: This post does not flow at all. D:</p>
<p>My mom works for the Department of Children and Families and she, sadly, has come across quite a few unusual and sometimes cruel names given by the parents. One was a set of two sisters named Strawberry Kiwi and Cherry Vanilla (first and middle names). She also had an Oranjello and Lemonjello although they were siblings not twins. La-a is another one (pronounced Luh-dash-uh), and then there was also Nosmo King (mother was crazy and saw a No Smoking sign an decided to rearrange it for her sons name). Those are the only ones I remember right now, but I’m sure there are plenty of others.</p>
<p>New Zealand actually has a registry of banned names, apparently prompted by this case back in 2008:</p>
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<p><a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/25/newzealand[/url]”>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/25/newzealand</a></p>
<p>Sweden also has a banned-names registry which includes</p>
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<p>My kids know a kid named Babaloo Danger Jones, seriously. I’m not joking. Danger is his middle name. This kid has all the personality and then some to pull off this gargantuan moniker.</p>
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<p>We used to run into a girl named B’Kardi at gymnastics meets… yet another relative?</p>
<p>I’ve known a Wynter and a Spring, and of course many Summers and Autumns. Also a September and a Sunday.</p>
<p>A family in our town has sons named Hunter, Trapper, Skinner and Fisher. I promise I’m not making this up. Their daughter’s name is Heather. Thank goodness she was a girl, because I’m not sure where they would’ve gone next. Taxidermer? </p>
<p>We also know a family who we affectionately call the Cheeseheads, whose children are named Colby and Bri (short for Brianna). I’ve always wondered if they realize their kids both have the names of cheeses.</p>
<p>I have run across many unusual names after 29 years as a teacher. Here are some standouts: Amiracle, Mister, Icee, Sincere, Princesslisa, Sade (pronounced Sadie), and my favorite- Clinique.</p>
<p>Here is another- Zeplin.</p>
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<p>Is this a rural area where the sons actually do those activities?</p>
<p>I have always enjoyed the story that Sigourney Weaver once told a reporter that her daughters were named Regan and Goneril.</p>
<p>My sister is a high school teacher and has many immigrant names to deal with - she teaches PE and does roll call out loud - this is the one name she told me caused her to chuckle and she refused to say it out loud - spelling is obvioulsy not right but it was pronounced “Nasty Ho”</p>
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<p>I have an unusual name as well. Although it should be fairly easy if it is just pronounced phonetically. Not silent letters. But very few people get it right the first time and I almost always have to repeat when asked my name. I am very tired of it.</p>
<p>Anyway, when I place an order anywhere (pizza, take-out, reservations, etc.) that require a name, I give them something more well known, like Debbie.</p>