Naming children - should the state step in?

Haven't read all the comments.

I gather there's some argument about the freedom of parents to be idiots vs. Protecting the children of the idiots.

My own knee-jerk reaction is that the state should step in and possibly execute (or at the very least sterilize) rubbish parents. Actually execution is better because otherwise you'll have some angry parents running around whining.

Whining hurts my ears.
 
Professor Yaffle said:
I have a nephew called Ruairidh; you should hear some non-scots try to pronounce that...
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Like Rory, but with a more uurr sound for the first o, and ee for the y, no?
I wanted to say "like X word" but I realised I don't pronounce anything like I do the start of that name.
 
ZirconBlue said:
Unusual, yes. Likely to be a burden? No, I am not prepared to agree to that. For one thing, the name on a child's birth certificate, and the name they actually go by are often different.
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Hell, just having a name that's hard to spell is a burden.

There's a way to have an original name that's also easy to spell and isn't stupid.
 
Morrigan said:
You CAN have English signs in Québec. But don't let that stop you from spreading off-topic disinformation, people. :rolleyes:
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You can't have English-only signs, to my knowledge. You can have English signs if French is also there, usually bigger, but I'm not sure if that last one still applies.
 
MRC_Hans said:
I guess it is all down to culture. And probably a very marginal problem.

Hans
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Indeed.

zooterkin said:
You have it backwards; the 'r' is not pronounced in the circumstances described. I realise you may find it difficult to believe, but as far as I'm concerned, and those with similar accents (non-rhotic, according to the Prof), the endings of "horn" and "yawn" sound the same. Choosing whether to represent the last syllable of Siobhan as "-orn" or "-awn" is therefore an arbitrary decision for us, and probably depends on which word with that ending that we thought of first.
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Y'all talk funny. ;)

Belz... said:
There's a way to have an original name that's also easy to spell and isn't stupid.
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Which is what (I hope) I have accomplished with my daughter's name.
 
I disagree with all attempts at the government trying to protect you from yourself. Why live life to someone else standards? Kids can make fun of any name, or really anything. It just takes Charisma, and determination to own it, wear it like armor and make it the coolest name ever.
 
Xulld said:
I disagree with all attempts at the government trying to protect you from yourself. Why live life to someone else standards?
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So you chose your own name when you were born? If not, I don't see how your comment is relevant to the topic of this thread.
 
I think parents should be allowed to name their children whatever they damn please. The idea of the government stepping in for something like a name seems patently un-American.
 
"Un-american" ? What does that even mean ? The government steps in for lots of reasons, primarily to protect its citizens (in theory).

What if the child is named something I can't type here without the autocensor blocking it ?
 
Professor Yaffle said:
I have a nephew called Ruairidh; you should hear some non-scots try to pronounce that...
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My friend's daughter is called Aoife. That usually stops them in their tracks. I have been known to help them out by explaining that it's pronounced "... as in 'Brick'" but never when my friend is likely to hear about it.
 
I would classify name "issues" clearly as being 1st world problems. I mean seriously people.

Based on the racism that is endemic to our society I bet you that naming your kid a standard "black" style name harms them more than naming them something weird like moonbeam or toiletbowl.

I wonder which resume gets me call backs moonbeam of shaniqua.

Should we also be forced to spell names a certain way? My gal has a very common name but with an oddball spelling.
 
NewtonTrino said:
I wonder which resume gets me call backs moonbeam or shaniqua.
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Depends upon the job. If you are applying for Governor of CA, the answer, based on the last such applicant to get the job would clearly be 'Moonbeam'
 
cwalner said:
Exactly, about 55 years ago, some jerk politician from Michigan decided to saddle his newborn son with the ridiculous name of Willard and a middle name after a piece of sporting equipment. Clearly, such a name stigmatized him, and he never amounted to anything.
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That's almost as silly a name as Condoleezza, another name doomed to failure.

Seriously, although I understand the point of not wanting children to be saddled with horrible names by horrible parents, the cure of putting the government in charge of it seems worse than the disease.

Who is to say when a name is inappropriate? Here in the US, a significant number of African Americans make up names with little or no precedent (my example of Condoleezza Rice being an obvious one). As a complacent white middle class Vermonter, I can observe that it seems a poor idea to saddle a kid with a racially conspicuous name, but they know that when they do it, and who the **** am I, or anyone else, to tell anyone they shouldn't?
 
Aarrgghh. This is one of my pet peeves: people who want to give their kids some ordinary, boring name! One place I worked at, there were 3 guys named Phil, in the same department!

When asked about his daughter's name, Moxie Crimefighter Jillette, Penn Jillette said:

I think it’s pretty cruel to give a kid a name that others are going to have. I think it’s very important to have a unique name within any group you’re likely to be in. It’s more friendly to go to school being the only “Penn” then to have to be called by your full name, “Mike Jones” or whatever. I always felt sorry for the Mikes and Bobs. There’s just so many, how do you know when they’re talking to you?

I love the name Moxie, I love that’s it’s a purely American word, and those are rare, and I love that it stands for old fashioned spunk and energy. EZ pushed for her middle name, “CrimeFighter” because EZ doesn’t have a middle name and thinks middle names are stupid. So, it’s just a joke. When she gets pulled over by the police she can show her license and say, ‘We’re on the same side, officer, my middle name is CrimeFighter.’
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Axiom_Blade said:
Aarrgghh. This is one of my pet peeves: people who want to give their kids some ordinary, boring name! One place I worked at, there were 3 guys named Phil, in the same department!

When asked about his daughter's name, Moxie Crimefighter Jillette, Penn Jillette said:
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If you're rich your kid will probably get over a bad name. But I wouldn't even consider "Moxie" a bad name. I doubt it would get you teased as a kid, because it sounds like it could be a name, and it sounds similar to several more common names. The bullies in elementary school probably wouldn't even know the meaning of the common noun, or that it even is a common noun. Middle names don't matter as much, because you can always omit or use the initial.

I agree with those who point out that unusual or original names are not necessarily a detriment to a child. I am also sensitive to the difficulty of line-drawing. I think that very wide latitude should be given to parents in naming their children. After all, naming trends, like language in general, are somewhat fluid: both evolve naturally and defy (or at least resist) top-down control. That said, I have no problem with the government telling a couple who want to name their kid "Number 16 Bus Shelter" to go get stuffed.
 
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