Choosing a name for your child?

Discussion in 'Parenting & Family' started by Forza_Totti, Nov 19, 2007.

  1. Forza_Totti

    Forza_Totti Member

    Oct 16, 2006
    Toronto
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Anyone have any interesting stories when they chose a name for your child. Have them named after someone etc. Also, what name did you choose for your baby :)
     
  2. IASocFan

    IASocFan Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 13, 2000
    IOWA
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We named my first son after me with a Junior. We shortened Thomas Edward to Ted. We liked it, and he goes by Ted, but has issues whenever he needs to use his legal name which does not match the name he goes by. I also know a lot of people who go by their middle name - who call their children by their real first name.

    Suggestion: give the kid a first name that you're going to call him or her! It make life a lot easier!

    Also try not to use the current popular names - they don't want to be one of the 5 Jennifers or Emilys in their class. And try to use the most common or simplest spelling! My daughter once received a certificate with all three names misspelled!
     
  3. Smurfquake

    Smurfquake Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2000
    San Carlos, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For our son, we wanted to go with a classic (aka biblical). We had it narrowed down to two, and we thought we would see what he was like for a day or so before we chose.

    If he had been fussy and crying a lot, we would have called him Thomas, the doubter.

    But he was very calm and steady, so we went with Peter, after the apostle that Jesus called the "rock" to build his church on. It's a good name -- there are not many Peters around at the moment, but it's a classic -- I don't think we'll regret it in 10 years, unlike some people I know who named their son Kiefer.

    For hypothetical child #2, we'll probably go with something from the family. The names on my side of the family are not that great -- my dad is Emery, his dad was Irving, and my mom's dad was Wilmot, and I don't want to inflict any of those names upon a child. My wife's dad is Polish, his name loosly translates to Alexander, so that's the leading candidate right now. On the off chance it's a girl (unlikely given my family history -- three brothers, four nephews, and no girls anywhere), my mom's name is Emily and she has been suffering with all boys for decades so we may go with that.
     
  4. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm a big fan of naming all your 8 children with the same initial for the first name. "J" is the best, especially if you want biblical names.

    Obviously "Z" would cause a little trouble, unless you want to make up some names after the 6th child. Zhivago is a great name for a boy, though. It really goes well with three syllable last names.

    That is one thing that is often overlooked. If you want to name your child a three syllable first name, like Jennifer, with the accent of the first syllable, that's fine with a one syllable last name, like Flynn, and it works well with two syllable last names where the accent is on the first syllable, like Harris or Gordon. But there are some combinations that just don't work that well.

    Peter Thomas McGuinn isn't anywhere so euphonious as Christopher David Watson. Feel me?
     
  5. skijerze

    skijerze New Member

    Jul 9, 2006
    Wallington
    My son's name is Bradley Henryk.

    I originally wanted Kyan Lukasz*, but hubby vetoed. He don't want our son getting tortured in school because of his name Kyan= Cyan pepper, Lukasz= Luke I'm your father !!!
    (*after Lukasz Podolski)

    We finally agreed on Bradley Henryk 2 days before we found out the sex.

    Henryk: My husband's first name. He's Polish.
    Bradley: I was reading the baby book aloud and came across Bradley. Hubby said, "I like Bradley- just like General Omar Bradley." I did a little bit of research about Gen. Bradley, and I liked him.


    If we were having a girl, her name would be Alicia- after my mom.
     
  6. FRYE!

    FRYE! New Member

    Oct 21, 2007
    KC
    we kept with our family tradition of having the middle names be a family name on the mother's side. our first daughter's middle name, McCarron, is my wife's mother's maiden name and our second daughter's Kernan, is my wife's maiden name as well as her father's last name. i love the tradition. my middle name is Vaughan, after my mother's maiden name. it's our family's way of recognizing the mother's side of the family, since the last name is from the father's.
     
  7. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    I have a few rules that I'm going to follow when I have kids. I hope the mother of my children is tolerant of them.

    1. No name shall coincide with that of a U.S. state.
    2. No name shall be spelled counter-intuitively.
    3. No name shall be ostentatiously elaborate.
    4. No name shall provoke images of old people, bogans or Edwardian aristocracy.
    5. No name shall coincide with that of any of my spouse's former significant others.
    6. No name shall be greater than two syllables without a workable and palatable shortened form.
    7. No name shall rhyme with the child's surname, in either its complete or shortened form.
    8. No name shall provoke the reaction "oh, that's interesting" from any person upon hearing it.
    9. No name shall be one easily-ridiculed in the playground.
    10. The name "Caesar Junior" will not ever, under any circumstances, enter into consideration. On pain of death.

    I should point out lest I offend anyone that the tenth item is more a product of my culture - it's unheard of over here, whereas I take it that it's at least a semi-common practice in the U.S.
     
  8. 96Squig

    96Squig Member

    Feb 4, 2004
    Hanover
    Club:
    Hannover 96
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    As far as I know are the Scandinavians the only ones naming their kid's after their name in Europe. Peter Peterson is a classic :)

    Also naming kids after their grandparents or so is something I've never come across on this side of the pond, at least for first names.
    Also, it seems that having no middle name is something that can be founded quite often in Germany, compared to other places.

    My kids are likely to end up with an interesting German(*) or Latin name, but not knowing their mother yet means of course that the last word about it is not spoken yet ;-)
    Also, knowing where exactly they will grow up may help.

    (*=this includes some Scandinavian names which are quite common in Northern Germany nowadays. I actually like Lars)
     
  9. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    there's always Caesar/Kaiser, then

    and Lars is a Latin name, too.
     
  10. Lizzie Bee

    Lizzie Bee Member+

    Jul 27, 2004
    Utah
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There's an interesting chapter in "Freakonomics" on the social aspects of choosing a child's name. I'd recommend it as an interesting read.

    My kid's names are relatively common and boring, but I like to think they're "solid" and "ageless": Joseph, Thomas, Elijah. All bible names, and strangely enough, all six letters. If I ever have another son, I think I'll name him Caesar after reading this thread: it's six letters and is also found in the bible. ;-)

    I am firmly, firmly against the practice of all names starting with the same letter. It was an unhappy coincidence that my first son's name was the same letter as mine and my husband's. People thought we were getting all cutesy and I had to firmly axe that idea. When we were naming the twins, we got all sorts of suggestions like "Timmy and Tommy" that made me want to vomit.
     
  11. malby

    malby Member+

    Liverpool FC
    Republic of Ireland
    May 11, 2004
    Rep of Ireland
    Club:
    Drogheda United
    Nat'l Team:
    Ireland Republic
    As I go by a shortened version of my middle name can I totally agree with this.
     
  12. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Russians have cool nicknames: Sasha, Vanya, Misha, Petya, etc. I wish my name had been Alexandr so that people would call me Sasha.
     
  13. Forza_Totti

    Forza_Totti Member

    Oct 16, 2006
    Toronto
    Club:
    AS Roma
    I was named Davide. It's an Italian version of David obviously. But, here in North America, they call me David, Dave, Davey etc. But if i was in Italy, i would be called Davide and nothing else.

    That's the problem with having an italian background in North America. There are many great Italian names, but they always gets translated into a English version. Giovanni=John Guiseppe=Joe etc.

    But choosing a name for a child will impact the rest of their lives. Sometimes you have to think about choosing a standard name bc kids can be so cruel at school. And you don't want your poor child to suffer years at school getting teased bc of their name.

    I wouldn't mind having my name as a middle name for any future children i have. Past down the legacy of their father. But no Jr. I have my fathers middle name with a Jr in it as well...don't like it one bit.
     
  14. Iceblink

    Iceblink Member

    Oct 11, 1999
    Chicago
    Club:
    Ipswich Town FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My son, Da'kot'a Humphrey Joe Friederling Charlez Sunray Weiner Caesar Lakota, Jr., and I disagree with your stinkin' rules.
     
  15. Bluto11

    Bluto11 The sky is falling!

    May 16, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    this can get out of hand. take the family on "Keeping up with the Kardasians" on E!...

    there is a Khloe Kardasian and a Kourtney Kardasian
     
  16. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    sorry, buddy, but i was kidding about the same initial. i know i should have put a winkie in there, but i thought the 8 kids was a give-away. my bad.

    Zhivago Kardasian
    Zwingli Kardasian
    Zarkov Kardasian
    ZdzislawaKardasian
    Zimbabwe Kardasian
    Zambia Kardasian
    Zara Kardasian
    Zelig Kardasian

    and this doesn't even cover the common names, like Zia, Zha-Zha, Zenobia, Zoe, and, my favorite, Zephyr
     
  17. Bluto11

    Bluto11 The sky is falling!

    May 16, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    d'oh! went right over my head.

    should've known you were kidding, but then people do take it overboard so I thought you were being serious!

    I know a family that has 4 kids and all the names start with the letter M. They are all normal though. Matt, Molly, Megan, and Michael. the parents are also Ms (Mary and Mike)!
     
  18. FRYE!

    FRYE! New Member

    Oct 21, 2007
    KC
    i've got a student in class right now named Zylyn. teaching in an "urban-american" setting, i hear lots of interesting names.
     
  19. Forza_Totti

    Forza_Totti Member

    Oct 16, 2006
    Toronto
    Club:
    AS Roma
    I agree with this one...or my former relationships.

     
  20. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    i really like Molly and Megan. Michael and Matt, not so much. now if it was Misha and Matka:).

    PS: i'm so not Russian
     
  21. Own Goal Hat-Trick

    Jul 28, 1999
    ColoRADo
    its pretty ********ing annoying. my last name ranks 10th in popularity, and my first name is generally a top 5.

    i dont even bother responding to it in public anymore, since 95% of the time its not directed at me.
     
  22. StiltonFC

    StiltonFC He said to only look up -- Guster

    Mar 18, 2007
    SoCal
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    my suggestion: move to Nigeria or Thailand
     
  23. supersport

    supersport New Member

    Oct 17, 2001
    San Francisco
    I wanted a unique name for my child, nothing odd or hippish, Being Italian American I thought an Italian name would be good. I'm a big AC Milan fan favorite player has always been a bigPaolo Maldini fan. Maldini, also has many great qualities I would like to see in my son. So, Paolo it was. As far as namesakes go, I think it was a good choice. Its funny too because at 4 years old he is already, tall dark and handsome, all the girls at his pre school love him, as well as the moms and female teachers. He is turning out to be exactly what you would expect a Paolo to be.
     
  24. BusbyBabes

    BusbyBabes New Member

    Jun 30, 2007
    Up North
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I know you are joking but my mother's cousin has seven kids and they all have names beginning with 'J'.:rolleyes:Really stupid in my opinion. My name is quite rare and I do not believe that many have it in my part of the world. On names for any potential children I like the name Edward as I want an English name for any potential kids..and a girl it would be Elizabeth.
     
  25. GringoTex

    GringoTex Member

    Aug 22, 2001
    1301 miles de Texas
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    First name and last name should have different number of syllables.
     

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