When parents give their kids unique/odd names?

Question

Why do they insist on an even more bizarre pronunciation that you would never guess from the spelling? Then they throw a hissy fit because it's not pronounced "right", so they correct for everyone. In which case, the other group has no idea who the poor person with the odd name and even worse pronuniciation is, who likely chooses to go by the common pronunciation regardless of what the parents think, because they are so different that it may as well be two seperate people/names entirely.

I'm all for unique names but there is a line that has to be drawn.

Answer 1

Awful names should be a form of child abuse.
Really, think of all the mental and emotional problems parents are causing their poor kids when they constantly have to pronounce and spell their names.

Answer 2

I think it's an unconscious thing that parents do when trying to find a name for their kids. They want them to be unique so they give them unique names but sometimes, even unique names get popular and so the parents with "prolific" imaginations can come up with even stranger ways of spelling those names.

I'm a bit in this situation. I live in Montreal, Canada and I'm a french canadian. My mother comes from France and gave me a name that is common in France, Thierry, but not here. The result is that all through my childhood, and even today as an adult, I have been teased and mocked. 9 times out of 10, when people ask me my name to write it down, I must spell it for them.

I like my name enough that I wouldn't change it but there are times that I find it heavy to bear. It certainly didn't help me feel that I "belonged" with the others around me.

Answer 3

I believe some people go to far Oatmeal Raisin if your out there I hope your still sane. Imagine being named after the food your mom craved at pregnancy. anyway i named my daughters Erika and Kortni (courtney) I prefer the letter K to C and wanted it a little different. Kortni does not mind although stupid people add an extra i between the t and n. She loves her name so for her its illiterate people that are the problem. There biggest gripe is that personalized items dont have the spelling they use.

Answer 4

Yes, I agree. Every parent wants there child's name to be cute and unique, but it's not always cute. For example, while I was pregnant, it took me a while to find a nice girl name that wouldn't cause my daughter problems as she got older. I liked the name Chardonnay, however I was not naming my daughter after a wine so that she could get teased to no end. I decided on CharDae ( pronounced Sha-Day), most people thinks she is named for the singer SADE. It cute, not too many girls have it, and her teachers have no problem pronouncing it.

Answer 5

some parents think it's cute to be different but sometimes it's just tacky. i have a fairly common or easy name, but the spelling is an uncommon variation. i'm used to people mispelling or mispronouncing my name. i don't expect it to be said correctly all the time, but it does become a pain when someone knows you for quite some time and they still don't say or spell it right. to me, i don't mind names that are common and spelled differently, or are just unique. but when they are just out there and lame, then i feel bad for the kid. if my boyfriend and i get married, it's going to be alot of fun, because he has a lebanese last name that's not the easiest to pronounce if you're not familiar with him, plus my name sounds easy, but is spelled differently. i don't stress over it, it's fine. it just makes me more like myself and less like every other jane doe. my mom even suggested changing the spelling if i was so frustrated with mispronounciations, but i told her no. my boyfriend loves my name too, and he said he'd be upset if i changed the spelling. i feel for kids with really crazy names like jermajesty or apple. now that's odd.

Answer 6

ok first my name is gemma it is pronounced - jemma -but hey it is a little odd but i like my name and i like odd names it is not my fault that my mom didnt want to name me ann I am just glad that when i walk into a classroom there arent 50 other people with the same name as me heck, i have friends named everything from amy to kiabrianna to alexia to megan and that doesn't mean anything! Its not my fault that people have fun with my name and everyone gets a good laugh( even me) if someone pronounces it wrong, i hope i have made a point that it is nice to be diffrent and unique( if everyone had the same name what fun would life be???)

Answer 7

Jesus...Now I'm really glad my name is Elena and I don't have to explain everyone how to pronounce or spell it:))Yes it's really stupid and even annoying when children have "unique" names.Parents don't quite get the word "unique" as they have to.An unique name shouldn't be a name which makes the child feel embarrased and which,as someone mentioned above,is a pain in the butt.
I know a girl named Maximilyana!

Answer 8

Attention, young pregnant girls: My name is LaTonya. I do not appreciate being named LaTonya. It does not make me sound "special" or "unique". It is a pain in the butt. I have to spell it every time I meet someone new. No one I know who has a weird name likes it. It sounds ghetto and makes us, your loving children suffer. There are perfectly lovely names out there that can be spelled properly. This trend only makes US suffer! We do NOT appreciate your weirdly spelled, bizarrely chosen names. If you feel the need to be creative, knit your baby a blanket. At least that's something we can feel happy to carry around through life.

Sincerely,

LaTonya

P.S. No one will EVER pronounce your child's name right, so get used to it. I get called LaToya as often as I do LaTonya. If you insist on the ghetto name at least be mature enough to not get mad when someone mispronounces it. (and they will)!

Answer 9

My name is Rachele. Pronounced like Rachelle (ra-shell)

All my life, with new teachers, and then at work, I got called Rachel, and ya know what? I really dont care. Also, people have to ask me how to spell my name, or they spell it wrong, and that doesnt bother me either. I have a lot bigger things to worry about, and I actually LIKE my name. I think that SOME are really extreme, but in the end, there is a lot more to life than your name.

Answer 10

couldn't agree with you more, it's like people are going out of there way to make there kids life miserable in the future so they don't have a "common" name. My best friend wanted to call her daughter "Trixibell Jane", I told her that I would by her a stripper pole for a present, as it sounded like a strippers name thank God she changed her mind. My name wasn't made up it is a very standard name in Italy but considering I was born and grew up in Australia it was a pain in the butt.