"What's in a name?" I do believe Shakespeare said that. What I think it means these days is this. Don't name your child something is going to embarrass them. Simple!! These people in Hollywood kill me with the names that they are giving these poor children. When I was a kid I hated my name and I wanted my name to be "Kelly", like my best friend's name was. Well now I just want to thank my parents for not naming me "Apple"!! Of course, Apple is the most normal name that has come out of Hollywood in years! How about Jason Lee's son? His name is "Pilot Inspektor". Google it!! I swear it's true!! David Duchovny and Tea Leoni named their kid, "Kyd". No, I am not kidding. How about "Moxie Crimefighter"? Yes, Penn Jillette named his daughter that. The very best, I saved for last because they are Motown Royalty. Jermaine and Michael Jackson take the cake with the naming of their sons. Jermaine's son is named, "Jermajesty" and Michael's son is named "Blanket". If you didn't know this, you have lived in a box for the past few years. Who names their child "Blanket" or "Pilot Inspektor"? These people are seriously insane. They have been drinking too much Kool Aid in Hollywood.
So what do we do in the burbs? Could we get away with naming our children crazy names? No, we could not. We just try not to give our children names that won't get them beat up on the playground or names that rhyme with curse words. My sister ruled out "Tucker" this way. Seriously, people, please don't name your child something embarrassing like "Sweatsock Larry" or "Moonstruck Luna Milan Anastasia Fredrika Lowlight". I swear when I was pregnant my husband and I went through the book of baby names and we could agree on one name and that is what we named him. It is an ordinary name and doesn't rhyme with anything inappropriate!! Yay, me!!
Now, Look at the list of the names of the Presidents of the United States. Until you get to Barack Obama, every one of them have a very Presidential sound. Of course, George Washington sounds presidential because our nations capital is named after him but even William Jefferson Clinton sounds very presidential!! Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, William Henry Harrison...see...Presidential, right?? One day we will have a president named Moxie Crimefighter? I don't think so. Great name for a detective though. How about President Pilot Inspektor Lee? Bahahaha! No, but again a great name for a detective. Apparently, there will be a lot of Hollywood children in the crime fighting business.
Okay, now that I am off of my soapbox about the crazy names, let's really try and come up with names that mean something to us. All of the old names are coming back in style. A lot of the Biblical names are still great to use. Think of someone who was influential in your life and tryout their name. What about a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or in law? You could even use a last name in the middle name slot! I did this. My mother-in-law's maiden name is my son's middle name. I love this!! So the reason this is important is because this Name will be with this baby/child/teen/adult forever. It will be on their birth announcement and their gravestone. Their diploma and their drivers license. What's in a name? Hopefully, not a fruit or vegetable. Profound, right?
Best advice I got when pregnant with my oldest came from my mom: "All I will say is this, name her something that would look right on the cover of a GOOD book." Morgan Evelina (middle name is my Great-x4-Grandmother's name) and Emlyn Margaret (my grandmother-in-law was Margaret)... I could see them both.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog once again girlie!!
Thanks, Erin! I love those names!! Perfect names for an author!!
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