Why do parents give their children english names which are difficult to spell?

Question

Personally, I think it is neglectful and selfish on the part of the parents. I mean, they will be forever spelling out their names to other people because they are incomprehensaible compared to your usual Benjamin or Natalie etc. All for the sake of their parents trying to be trendy.

There are plenty of nice names out there that pretty much everyone would know how to spell straight off the cuff. Such as ones from Biblical times etc. Also, most of these names can be shortened down whereas your stupid retarded names can't.

So, why do parents try and make their childrens lives difficult with retarded names?

I think perhaps some of the respondents have missed the point.

This is not about me, this is about the children who have to live with the strange names. The children who will forever have to spell out their names to services such as call centres. Personally, I would get sick of it and change my name to something more common.

This is what I am talking about.

Answer 1

Because parents do not consider their children when they choose names.It's not only in the spelling. I know at least three people named David Davies - and why dont they take their initials into account too? I mean Steven Thomas Daniels or Pamela Irene Griffiths....

Answer 2

Yes... I'm sure people wake up and say exactly what you said " I want to try and make my childrens lives difficult with retarded names." Do you really see that happening?

Sound like according to you the world should be filled with Smiths, Jones, Mary, Josephs, and Elizabeths and other Judao-Chrisitian names.

Well that ethnocentricism-- wanting the whole worlds actions to cater to your ease and standards. Maybe you dont realize it, but with that reasoning you are advocating that everything be white, Whie angle saxon protestant actually-- done and spelled in the tradition of conservative white America. Further elaborated, ethnocentricism boils down to being self-centered, lazy, and selfish.

Its that kind of disregard for everyone's person feedom and identities that made it seem ok to change immigrant's names on Ellis island because the guy who was not CULTURED enough to understand or spell it.

You probably have strong opinions of the creativeness of Black people's name too so for your information SOME of us name our unconventional names with unconventional spellings in an attempt to reestablish a cultural uniqueness that was stripped during forced assimilation during slavery. (Point being, not wanting to honor a culture that has perpetuated poor opinions like yours by continuting to name our chlidren in it)

Yes, sometimes it gets over board, but I'm not too fond of European last names with no vowels in it either. If you don't have the sense to ask how to spell it, and the capabilities to memorize it, then allow me to express my heartfelt pity for your shortcoming.

Answer 3

umm, English is your native language, right? there are thousands of names that have an ancient heritage in this language. Some of them take a couple more brain cells to figure out than others when it comes to spelling them, but that shouldn't stop any intelligent person.
My name and my father's name are so similar, that we were always getting confused- who was Mom hollering for?
My husband and his father have the same name. Wasn't that confusing?
Our three daughters have authentic names that can be confused with very few others. we wanted to avoid fashionable names and confusion. Their names are in English, and they are easy to spell.
My sister-in-law, normally an intelligent woman, has named her son after his father, and combined the first two syllables of each of their names for their daughter's name. I find that self-serving.
By the way, Memphis is Egyptian, isn't it?

Answer 4

My children were all given UNIQUE names but I don't know about 'stupid retarded'. However, as I see you're talking about insensitivity towards children when throwing the word 'retard' around so carelessly. That's a pretty harsh, unneeded word. Especially to those of us who have and deal with mentally challenged children.

Answer 5

I think the cutesy spelling names are worse. If you are going to give your kids screwy names go whole hog. Zappa calling his boy Dweezel is a case in point. Who could forget a name like that.