• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    659 months ago

    I’m a big proponent of normal/semi obscure normal first name, weird middle name. John W Smith if you work in sales, J Wolfgang Smith if you’re an author. Perfect compromise.

    • Flying SquidOPM
      link
      31
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      We gave our daughter a somewhat disused but normal and formerly not uncommon name which was the name of a plant. We just wanted a name that wasn’t religious but still normal enough that she wouldn’t get bullied for it (she got bullied anyway). We realized later that it actually made sense in terms of her ancestry because her mother has a plant name, her grandmother has a plant name and her great-grandmother had a plant name. One long lineage of plant names.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        179 months ago

        Dude I see you around here on the regular, so I’ll mention that this is ironic for me to read this, because we also named our daughter an old, obscure but “real” name that is also a plant (a flower, specifically).

        It’s from France, so I asked a French friend before using it if it was ok to use and not a weird name, and they said “sure it’s ok, but it’s like an old grandma’s name no one uses anymore.” And that’s when I knew it was the one!

        • Flying SquidOPM
          link
          129 months ago

          Yep, that was basically our reasoning. Vintage name, so it’s memorable, but not a weird one and spelled normally.

          And absolutely not religious.

        • Flying SquidOPM
          link
          209 months ago

          She was bullied for other reasons. Most significantly being as eccentric as her parents.

          • @trashgirlfriend
            link
            249 months ago

            That does tend to happen to children that are half human and half flying squid

          • @Zekas
            link
            119 months ago

            Honestly being bullied for a weird name just feels like victim blaming. It’s just someone else’s shitty behaviour we’re expected to dance around? That was the one problem with the name.

            • Flying SquidOPM
              link
              109 months ago

              I don’t disagree, but it’s also a parental responsibility, in my opinion, to help your child avoid bullying. It’s not possible to avoid entirely, but there are definitely ways to make it worse. And a weird name is one of them.

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                79 months ago

                Give a kid a weird name and the bully will pick on them but set a bully on fire… no… wait, I think I got that wrong.

            • @AA5B
              link
              59 months ago

              It may be someone else’s problem, but as a parent , you should consider your child’s well being when naming them, and try to avoid obvious pitfalls

              • @Zekas
                link
                39 months ago

                I mean yes obviously, but still. Just angering me we have to fight human shittiness with something like this

      • @pivot_root
        link
        99 months ago

        a somewhat disused but normal and formerly not uncommon name which was the name of a plant

        Describing it like that makes it really tempting to try and guess the name. Out of respect for your and her privacy, I won’t, though.

        • Flying SquidOPM
          link
          219 months ago

          Okay, I admit it. Her name is Cannabis Indica.

        • Dharma Curious (he/him)
          link
          fedilink
          69 months ago

          Same boat. I think I guessed it, and it’s absolutely killing me knowing I’ll never know if I’m right. But also, my brain itch doesn’t trump doxxing a person (or even a squid) or their kid.

    • @Korne127
      link
      17
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      Ngl having “Wolfgang” as an example for a weird name was really strange to read for me… but I’m German.

    • @TexasDrunk
      link
      59 months ago

      It’s a pretty common practice where I live for a kid to be named after someone for their first name, but go by their middle name. So I think it’s perfectly fine to have one normal name and one weird name in any order.

      A. John Smith is an accountant. Atreyu J. Smith is a musician who wears leather pants and some sort of studded headband.