This morning, as I pulled up MSNBC to check out the headlines in the States, I saw this headline: "It's a boy for Ashlee Simpson." Ordinarily I have no interest in Ashlee Simpson or her husband, but as I do like to read about babies, I clicked on the story and read that they have named their son Bronx Mowgli. So they have followed the celebrity trend of naming their kid after a city, which I sort of get. But Mowgli? He's the main character in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, but I daresay the couple is unaware of the colonial implications of the book. In fact, I'm quite certain they named him after the Disney version of the film. I mean, do they love this movie so much that they couldn't resist naming their newborn son Mowgli, a name that he is sure to be ashamed of later in his life?
But here is my real point: do people not think about their children as adults before they name them? Seriously, the odd names I've come across since Wild Man was born (who has what I think is a fairly normal, albeit a bit yuppie, name). We've met an Ayvree (Avery), a Salome, a J'Mikal (Jaymichael), a Brittaneigh (Brittany), a Unique, and a Circe as well as countless other fairly normal names that have been so misspelled that I have been unable to decipher them on my own. While I understand wanting to give your child a name that he won't share with everyone else, I don't understand purposely choosing an unusual name for the sole sake of being unusual.
I really wish people would remember that their children will have this name for the rest of their lives. Naming shouldn't be a joke (why would you name your child Pilot Inspektor, as Jason Lee did?), nor is it a place for a parent to live out his or her childhood fantasies (Nicolas Cage named his son Kal'el, which is Superman's birth name). It also isn't a place to demonstrate your love of history (Gretchen Mol named her son Ptolemy). I say this as someone who seriously considered naming Wild Man "Scout" if he had been a girl; luckily, C convinced me that, my love for To Kill a Mockingbird notwithstanding, it is not a great name to give a little girl. . .
12 comments:
Have you read Freakonomics? One of the chapters proves that there is a direct relationship between socioeconomic status and misspelled names (i.e., Jasmyn). For lack of better terminology, the more blue collar you are, the more likely you will give your child a misspelled name. Also, the book pointed out that a celebrities have a lot of influence on children's names as well; when Britney Spears was not trashy and cute and fun, the name Britney was one of the top baby girl names. Now Mowgli, I'm not so sure about. I actually seriously considered the name Christian for R. But D vetoed that quickly and reminded me how hypocritical that would be of me and what a stigma it would put on him. Whatever. I still like it.
Harrogate and I were discussing this name this morning. Really: Bronx Wentz? That sounds terrible. The poor kid isn't going to be able to pronounce his name until he's at least 10!
Supa-T's name (and names that sound like his) ended up being way more popular than I had imagined. And it bugs me sometimes. Also, his name is extra popular for girls. Hopefully, this won't be a problem for him as he gets older.
I suppose celebrities and the super rich feel that they can get away with giving their kids weird-o names because they're privileged. As though growing up wasn't difficult enough--now they have names that are ready-made for mockery!
That's my point exactly. I mean, as you and L well know, I have to correct every person I meet on the pronunciation of my name because my parents chose to spell it one way and pronounce it another. I know what a hassle it is to constantly correct people or to have to explain your name. But many parents seem to think this isn't a big deal, especially when it comes to alternative spellings. What is wrong with nice, plain names that everyone can spell? Sometimes I think we're too concerned with being different.
And L, I'm not sure naming R Christian would have stigmatized him as D suggested. It probably would have been antithetical to your beliefs, but I don't think that particular name would have traumatized R.
I'm squicked out by the colonial overtones.
I'll always remember your committee member's story about why her mother named her what she did. It's hilarious and so true!
Hey M--- I am here looking for a little help---
M, I hear you on the pain of having to spell a name. And Jennie is my full name...can't tell you how many times people have changed it to Jennifer for me on forms (even for a passport, marriage license, etc.). That is one major reason our son has the name he does. His last name is difficult to spell and pronounce, so we wanted him to have a short, easy first name.
PS-I seriously thought about Atticus for a middle name, but Gabe vetoed me, his love for To Kill A Mocking Bird notwithstanding.
Oh dear. Mowgli? Seriously?
Hmmm.
I know finding a baby name isn't easy, but ...
We started out with a set of criteria:
-Feminine
-Fitting for both a young girl and a successful adult woman
-Common enough that you've heard it before and know how to spell it and pronounce it without a problem, but uncommon enough that you don't know many people who have the name
-Standard spelling of name
It wasn't hard to find a name that fit. Really.
Your second point, Profgrrrl, is the one that I think many, many parents overlook. As much of a pain as it is to constantly spell my name, at least it is a name that is equally appropriate for a girl and a woman.
I'll be the naysayer here. I like creative names, and frankly, the population-to-name ration is such that creative names are more and more necessary. In ten years, there will be so many freaking Aidans/Cadens/Jadens and Emilys/Emmas/Emmalees in the 5th grade that they'll all have identity crises.
And give them some credit: colonial subtext aside, at least Mowgli isn't a first name. Middle names are a useful place for something more creative that isn't necessarily included on every form and nametag.
E, actually given the growing population the popular names aren't actually as popular as we might assume (I can't find the link to the article I read on this topic a few weeks ago, but there is a scientific study to back this up--done by the Social Security administration, I think). So even though Emily has been in the top 10 for about 15 years, most Emilys only know 2 or 3 other Emilys, not 10 or 15. And I don't have a problem with creativity per se, but I do think parents should consider the affect a name might have on their child.
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