What Is This World Coming To?

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maplebeez

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My friend is beside herself since learning her expectant daughter gave in to her husband & agreed to name their son, after his childhood dog! He hated/rejected every name his wife liked, along with names of his/her family members. He made up his mind years ago when he had a son, that boy would be named for his late, beloved dog. I told my friend to take a breath & not dwell on it, since they're going to call this boy, "baby," "cutie", or "sweetie," for a while & she laughed. But fast forward a few years, when little "Sparky,"(not the actual name, but you get the picture) enters kindergarten & has to deal being being teased throughout his school years, because of his unusual first name. Then imagine "Sparky," encountering problems at the DMV, applying to enter the Military, College or Job Applications (no nicknames, son) or frequent heated arguments with his parents about why they gave him such a dumb, stupid name......which he Hates. Or she can carry on like my grandmother did when she heard the name my mother chose for me, saying she didn't like it & would call me something else! :)
 

I think it would depend on what the name is. Rex, Rover, Spot, etc etc but what if he called his dog William , David or John My two dogs are called after my deceased mother, her first and middle names and she would be thrilled.
 
When one of my younger sisters was born, my mother chose a quite lovely name for her, but my maternal grandfather didn't like it. He sent a telegraph that said, and I quote, "When you run out of names, it's time to stop having children." That telegram is in her baby book to this day.
 

I think she should keep her opinions to herself if she expects to be allowed to spend any time with Buddy, or Rex, or Skipper. He can change his name when he's an adult if he's so inclined.
 
maplebeez said:
My friend is beside herself since learning her expectant daughter gave in to her husband & agreed to name their son, after his childhood dog! He hated/rejected every name his wife liked, along with names of his/her family members. He made up his mind years ago when he had a son, that boy would be named for his late, beloved dog. I told my friend to take a breath & not dwell on it, since they're going to call this boy, "baby," "cutie", or "sweetie," for a while & she laughed. But fast forward a few years, when little "Sparky,"(not the actual name, but you get the picture) enters kindergarten & has to deal being being teased throughout his school years, because of his unusual first name. Then imagine "Sparky," encountering problems at the DMV, applying to enter the Military, College or Job Applications (no nicknames, son) or frequent heated arguments with his parents about why they gave him such a dumb, stupid name......which he Hates. Or she can carry on like my grandmother did when she heard the name my mother chose for me, saying she didn't like it & would call me something else! :)
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You can't do this to us! Please, please, please....tell us the weird and wacky name! We promise we won't phone them up to laugh;)!
 
The native Americans left the naming of children to the 1st meaningful thing they witnessed, sometimes that could be a bad thing, said my friend "Two-Dogs-Screwing" Sorry, couldn't resist.....:highly_amused:
 
Aunt Bea:

(1) That baby's family will love him no matter what his name is....... it's how everybody else he interacts with him when they hear his name's Ranger.

(2) I'm a bit concerned by giving into so easily to her husband, on this baby name thing, my friend's smart, outgoing daughter has hooked
up with another "Mr. Wonderful," like the one who quickly swept my relative off her feet & turned out to have a nasty Jekyll & Hyde-like personality. She
never knew if he would praise/attack her looks/ her intelligence/housekeeping skills/work accomplishments/interests/ability to care for the kids/relationships with
friends, co-workers parents/siblings, neighbors. She left him for a while, but returned, when he begged for forgiveness & suggested her parents
move in with them. Until the night, he went into a rage & immediately demanded his in-laws get out of "His House." After that incident she left him again for a
bit, but returned once he apologized. They're still together & she refuses to ditch him saying she doesn't want her kids affected by a divorce, but she's
no longer the happy, outgoing person she used to be. Just saying.....
 
I think Ranger has a solid masculine ring to it and would be a great name for many young men.

As far as number 2 goes that wasn't part of the original post and doesn't have much to do with the name. IMO opinion your friend can't do much other than keep the lines of communication open, offer support and let her daughter make her own decisions regarding this person.
 
Considering the trend for celebrities to give their kids odd ball names, there cannot be a much worse one. A bit of advice I once read was to fast forward about 25-30 years and imagine your child's name followed by MD. or CEO. See how it sounds. What is "cute" or "different" for a newborn may be totally wrong as an adult.
 
Aunt Bea said:
My cousin named his daughter Harley after his motorcycle.

IMO the way people in the immediate family react to the name will have a great deal to do with how the child grows up.
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I went to school with a guy named Harley Davidson, and another named Roy Rodgers.

Nobody made a big deal out of it that I knew of..
 
Yes, it's hard to say without knowing what the name of the dog is, but I assume it's a real "doggie" name. Maybe by the time the child hits school there will be so many other children with crazy names (seems to be a trend these days) that it won't be a big deal. I sometimes wonder if these celebrities were doing drugs when they name their children.
 
"Ranger" is a cool name for a young fella. Harley for a little girl is okay, but my first wife (may she RIP) had an Uncle Harley.
 
Rex

Wilberforce said:
I think it would depend on what the name is. Rex, Rover, Spot, etc etc but what if he called his dog William , David or John My two dogs are called after my deceased mother, her first and middle names and she would be thrilled.
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Funny you should mention the name Rex, as I have a brother with that name, and he was born when Rex Harrison was at the height of his fame (not sure if that made my parents choose the name).

All was absolutely fine for my brother In the UK and in fact he used Rex as the middle name for all his four sons would you believe. However, when he moved his whole family to France some years ago he discovered he'd be laughed at over there for his name so he changed to his other first name thereafter (though in the family we all call him Rex obviously :))).
 
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I've read that people with more unusual first names end up in prison more. That doesn't mean it's true. I just know I read that someplace.

I knew a guy in the early 80's first name James, middle Dean. He went by Dean and hated that his parents named him after James Dean.

Much may depend on who this kid turns out to be. Should he be a very good looking and outgoing young man, perhaps the name will not be a problem. Should he be unattractive and have other problems, the name could become an added burden.
 

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