Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
McAfee Secure sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams
Stacy Conradt
Names Too Long For Name Tags (Even Comically Oversized Ones)
by Stacy Conradt - March 20, 2008 - 12:25 PM

hello.jpg
We’ve all heard about celebrities who give their children, ah, unusual names. Pilot Inspektor, Moxie CrimeFighter, Audio Science, Kal-El. But this really isn’t a recent phenomenon. People have been giving their kids interesting and unusual names (I’m trying to be diplomatic, here) since, well, people have been having kids.

Nicholas Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee- Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barbon

There’s no documentation, but it’s thought that he is the song of Praise-God Barebone/Barbon, an English preacher. Nicholas Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died… OK, let’s just call him Nicholas. Nicholas was an important part of London society and was integral in rebuilding the city after the great fire of 1666. All records show that he went strictly by the name of “Nicholas”. I wonder what his gravestone says?

Louis George Maurice Adolphe Roche Albert Abel Antonio Alexandre Noë Jean Lucien Daniel Eugène Joseph-le-brun Joseph-Barême Thomas Thomas Thomas-Thomas Pierre Arbon Pierre-Maurel Barthélemi Artus Alphonse Bertrand Dieudonné Emanuel Josué Vincent Luc Michel Jules-de-la-plane Jules-Bazin Julio César Jullien

Louis was born on April 23, 1812 in Sisteron, Alpes-de-Haute Provence. His 36 names were given to him by members of the Sisteron Philharmonic. It appears that he preferred to go by “Louis Antoine Jullien”, which is what he became known by when he became world-renowned for his orchestra. After traveling Scotland, Ireland and America, he settled in Paris where he was jailed for debt.

Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff


Hubert was born in Germany in 1904 and later settled in Philadelphia. I know; you’re reading that name and thinking, “That’s long, but it’s not that long.” Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff is actually the shortened form of his name. His full name was: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenberger-
dorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewaren-
wohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurch-
ihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvoran-
dieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauch-
lichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischen-
sternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohn-
barplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonver-
standigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenan-
lebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvon-
andererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, Senior
(which begs the question… is there a Junior? And why would he do that to his son?)

The Museum of Hoaxes has looked into this one to verify it and has decided it “seems to be true,” unless the people at the Guinness Book of World Records were victims of a hoax themselves. Guinness named Mr. Wolfe+585 (the name he started going by) as the man with the longest name in the world from the mid 1970s to 1983. Apparently the entry for “longest name” disappeared altogether in the late 80s.

Anna Bertha Cecilia Diana Emily Fanny Gertrude Hypatia Inez Jane Kate Louise Maud Nora Ophelia Prudence Quince Rebecca Sarah Teresa Ulysis Venus Winifred Xenophon Yetty Zeno Pepper

Anna was a British lady profiled by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in 1929. Apparently her friends just called her “Alphabet” for short.

Sometimes, though, people given conventional names at birth just aren’t satisfied to be ordinary.

Tarquin Biscuit-Barrel

John Desmond Lewis, a 22-year-old student, changed his name to Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F’tang-F’tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel, the name of a character from Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He did so to contest the 1979 general election in the U.K. When the results of the general election were declared, the Returning Officer referred to John Desmond Lewis as “Mr. Tarquin Biscuit-Barrel.”

bond

James…Bond

David Fearn changed his commonplace name to James Dr No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill Golden Eye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Bond. No word on whether Fearn is a James Bond fan or not.

Then, of course, you have families who can’t resist giving their whole brood coordinating names. Here’s a couple:

poppyPoppy Petal Emma Elizabeth Deveraux Donahue Montgomery

Yep, that’s Without a Trace’s Poppy Montgomery’s full name. She has sisters named Rosie Thorn, Daisy Yellow, Lily Belle and Marigold Sun. She has a brother too. Anyone want to take a stab at his name? You’ll never guess. It’s Jethro Tull.

The Geldof/Yates kids

peachesBob Geldof and Paula Yates had three daughters together – Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa (that’s her on the right), Little Pixie Frou-Frou and Fifi Trixibelle. They divorced and Paula moved in with Michael Hutchence from INXS. They also had a daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

The Phoenixes

riverDid you know River Phoenix’s real name is River Bottom? Seriously. River Jude Bottom. His dad’s name was John Bottom. River’s brother, obviously, is Joaquin. He had three younger sisters – Rain, Summer and Liberty – and one half sister named Trust. River, Joaquin, Rain, Summer and Liberty’s mother’s given name was Arlyn but she changed her name to “Heart” in 1988.

The Zappa Kids

moonObviously I can’t end this post without mentioning the Zappa kids. First, there’s Moon Unit Zappa, who just goes by Moon Zappa. Dweezil Zappa’s given name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa because the hospital refused to register him as Dweezil. His whole family continued to call him that, though, and he legally changed his name to Dweezil when he was only seven. Ahmet Emuukha Rodin Zappa is named after Ahmet Ertegün, one of the founders at Atlantic Records who was responsible for Frank’s career. Finally, Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen Zappa came along in 1979 and earned her name because she was the loudest baby in the nursery (according to Frank).

I know I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg – let’s hear about the strange names you’ve come across!

Comments (73)
  1. never been so glad to have a normal name!

  2. man and i thought i had a weird and long name.

  3. Has anyone ever thought of giving their child several “interesting” names which first letters would then read an acronym of a more normal name? *evil laughter, muharr*

  4. You know, I read the first one and thought, “wow, that sucks.” But by the end, Nicholas looked pretty fortunate. :)

    You know, a lot of European countries have a lot stricter standards for names than the U.S. I remember reading a story about a year ago about a couple who couldn’t name their daughter “Molli”–the country insisted it be “Molly”. I think it was a Scandanavian country, but I’ve heard of similar things in other places in Europe. Not sure how I feel about that…on the other hand, naming your kid Moxie Crimefighter is only a little bit removed from child abuse–you’re basically assigning your kid to a life of butt-kicking on the playground and sky-high therapy bills.

  5. My parents once had neighbors, the Lears. Their daughter was named Kristal Shanda…Lear.

  6. I love how the second guy has the name Thomas four times in a row in his name.

  7. I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI, and my dad was (and I believe still is) friends with a man whose birth name was Laurence Terryberry. He went by Larry.

  8. And i thought my mom had a long name… i’m changing the last names to protect her identity :)

    MAGDA INGEBORG THERESE MARIE JOHNSON ATKINS FARLEY

  9. I’ve seen a few…

    -My sister went to school with a girl named Holli Day

    -An agent I worked with had a legal name of Margarita Beers, another has the last name Whynot

    -also, if I see anything addressed to Mr. Casey, I just toss it.

  10. I have a friend–David Angell. He named his son Heaven Lee Angell.

    He’s the boy named Sue.

  11. I have a friend who went to school with a dude named Harold “Harry” Pitts. Those are some sadistic parents right there.

  12. Why is it that the world never remembers the name of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm?

  13. Even if he was in the Guinness book I still believe Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff is a hoax, since the long long last name doesn’t make any sense at all and looks like something German sounding the Monty Python guys would have come up with.

  14. Just begs the question: WHY?

  15. ArtF: When I meet or hear of someone who just has an unfortunate name (my poor teacher Richard Head, for example), I have to wonder if it’s sadism or parents who are totally unaware. It’s still a ways off, but I know that when I name a child I will chose interesting names (have my heart set on Niamh), but I will also go over the name with great care to avoid and possible unfortunate nicknames, initial acronyms, etc. I don’t understand how parents give out such names. Were they never children?!

  16. Makes the song “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” see less funny, especially the ‘F’Tang F’Tang’ guy.

  17. s michael c : Yup, I always wonder the same thing. I also beleive in choosing interesting names for children, I named my daughter Romann. I always tell her that I can pretty much guarantee that she’s the only girl with that name.

  18. My cousin used to work with a girl named Resurrection Day. (Her sister’s name was Judgment.)

    I asked if they had nicknames for Resurrection at work.

    “Nope. If she is ever running late, it’s like ‘Is Resurrection Day here yet?’ ‘No, not yet.’”

  19. My mom’s good friend named her youngest son

    Samuel
    Oliver
    Fellows
    Traver

    When I was in elementary school my only thought was, wow, that kid can never have a monogrammed backpack.

  20. The most annoying girl in my sorority (and that’s saying something) legally changed her name to Jolly because she was just “soooooooo happy” all the time. Barf. And she somehow got her little sister to change her name to Happy. Double barf.
    I could be wrong about this, but I think there was some guy who changed his name to include all of the songs by Level 42 (you know, the “Something About You” group from the 80s).

  21. My name is not long but unique here in the States and where I am from (Puerto Rico). IF you know anything about Spanish you will understand how hard it is for me to be around Spanish speakers…my name is Unna.

  22. Yes, Scandanavia, or at least Denmark, has stricter rules about their names. In Denmark there is a book of traditional Danish names and you either must name your child one of the names in the book or submit a request to the queen to name your child something else.

    The best name I have come across was a person my aunt knew. She’s a pharmacist and filled a scrip once for a lady who named her kid Placenta. She said the doctor said the word at her daughter’s birth and she just thought it was really pretty.

  23. This isn’t a long one persay, just a weird one… One summer while working at a state park I had the pleasure of registering one Taco Monster for a stay at our wilderness retreat…. I had all I could do to refrain my laughter when I read this poor man’s ID… His obvious European extraction, and limited english skills only served to make the whole exchange an even more comical one.

  24. Penn Jillette, of the Penn & Teller comedy duo, has a daughter named, Moxie Crimefighter Jillette.

    Coolest. Name. Ever.

  25. A girl in our neighborhood was named Penny Nickel.

    The cruel kids called her “6 cents”.

  26. My fiance and I are a study in contrast. My full name (first, middle, last) has ten letters. Her full name (first, middle, saint, last) has thirty six.

  27. My cousin once had a teacher named Rosie Hiney.. endless amusement for us as children.

  28. I have a friend whose name used to be:

    Vanessa Marie Kayla Starr Ariosto Nicole {Last Name}

    She’s changed it since turning 18.

  29. Weirdest first name I’ve ever seen: Babygirl.

    I suppose this was to avoid confusion with any male family members.

  30. You forgot Picasso!!

    Full birth name: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso

  31. Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 AKA Albin is, by far, my favorite unusual name that, quite possibly, fits the overly-lengthy-for-a-nametag bill.

  32. I know someone whose first two given names are Zzyzzx Aacaab…need I mention his parents were children of the 60’s? He mostly goes by “Z”.

  33. Hmmm…a few names I’ve run across.

    One of the girls at my college was named Megan Fagen. Her twin was Elizabeth. Don’t ask me why.

    My mother worked with a doctor named Dr. First…Safety First. He has a sister named Ladies.

    Why do people feel the need to inflict such cruelty on their children?

  34. My cousin dated a guy who went by Toaster, and my mom knew someone in college who went by Tuna, but the worst. And then there was that story about the swedish couple trying to name their kid “Brfxxccxxmnpcccclll mmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116″

    click my name to go to the article

  35. I knew a woman named Dancer Flowergrowing. And also various people with first names like Water, Sugar, Tinker, Man, Space and Be. Not bee, like a buzzing bee, but Be, as in Be Here Now.

    And I work with a woman named Kelly Kelly. She took her husband’s last name, Kelly. I think I would have kept my maiden name if that was the situation.

  36. I once had a dentist named Dr.Mallow and his wife’s name was Marsha

  37. Joaquin Phoenix went by Leaf as a child…he’s credited as Leaf Phoenix in “Parenthood”

  38. I danced for years with a kid named Trump Card. He just went by Trumpie.

  39. My dad went to school with a guy named Harold Butts. Cruel.
    He also went to school with someone named Kelly K. Kelly. The K stands for….. Kelly. So the initials are KKK. This person is also a man. Even more cruel.

  40. I’ve heard of these three from friends who’ve subbed in the public schools:

    1.Orangejello
    2.Lemonjello
    3.Shithead

    Not pronounced the way they look, of course.

  41. Marijuana Pepsi-Cola Jackson. Seriously.

  42. How about the guy who legally changed his name to Optimus Prime and then led a unit to battle in Iraq…yikes!

  43. Someone mentioned the Level 42 guy – there was also a woman in Britain who has 25 middle names, all famous boxers. Her family is just really really into boxing, I guess.

    I went to school with a girl named Fashun – cool chick.

  44. The longest surname I’ve ever come across belonged to a kid at a hockey tournament (in minor hockey the players names are usually posted near the entrance of the arena) This one really stuck out – VANDENMAAGDENBERG.

    I’ve been keeping track ever since, but it’s still the longest, even including some pretty interesting inuit surnames.

  45. I’m serious about naming any future children I have Captain Clementine, Bok Choy, and Facsimile. Fax for short.

  46. I worked at a bank, we called names like this “justifiable homicide”. We always said if someone killed their parents, because of a name like one of these, we would testify that it was justifiable homicide.

  47. Needless to say, I’m a BIG fan of Moon Unit Zappa!! Her book was great!

  48. Needless to say, I’m a BIG fan of Moon Unit Zappa!! Her book was great!

    This new “capture” thing sucks. Go back to the old way.

  49. I do believe that Joaquin Phoenix used to be called “Leaf.”

    RIP, River.

    PS: I LOVE the reCAPTCHA!

  50. My mom knew a girl named Penny Cashdollar. She had issues.

    My mom’s name is Liz. In college, she was friends with a guy with the last name Ard. She actually proposed to him once, simply because of the idea of what her married name would be — Liz Ard.

  51. I know a ‘Penny Nichol’ who would sign her paintings as “6 cents”…(the cent sign)…

    i was watching Graham Norton the other night and in his audience was someone w 28 names…they could rattle them off from memory w/ no trouble at all…

    There was an episode of Dick Van Dyke were we found out that Richie’s middle name was ‘Rosebud’ – which was the first letter of every middle name he was given…

  52. The Lemonjello, Orangello, and Shithead names must be urban myth. Every teacher has hear about them…

    But what about:

    Olypmic Stats? I’m not kidding. Not one of my students, but he was in the class of a colleague

  53. My grandmother lived down the street from a girl named Leetha Lousiana Fleecy Flossy Orgay Womack.

  54. I know a Virgil Stirgil. I’m pretty sure his parents were related.

  55. I went to school with a girl called…

    Teresa Green.

    No idea how her parents missed that…or how i missed it until the 3rd year of secondary school….hmmm

  56. Not really that cool…but my name is Noah Ward. Say it together and it sounds like No Award. And to make matters worse, my middle name is Yearby. Don’t ask what it means, because I have no clue.

  57. I know it’s popular to name children by interesting names, but people, CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES!!! Also, it’s really dangerous to name anyone Harold, Harry for short. A few Harry’s I’ve come across:

    Harry Ho
    Harry Mole
    Harry Eye (my personal favorite)

    I also knew of a guy in college whose name was Highly Devine.

  58. There are two siblings at my school, Storm Heaven and Blaze Heaven. They’re brother and sister.

  59. Megan! When my mom was giving birth to my youngest brother, the woman that shared the room with her decided to name her daughter Placenta, because she thought it was lovely. I wondered if she had never taken a health course in school, or read any books on pregnancy…

    Also, I grew up down the street from a girl named Anita Tequila. Big surprise, her parents were party animals.

  60. A coworker said she had a niece named, “Abcde” pronounced “Ab-sid-dee”. God awful. People should name their pets these things. How about the Australian or New Zealand couple that wanted to name their daughter “4-Real” and the government wouldn’t let them. Anyway, I have a female friend named Barri (full name) and she liked this guy whose last name was “Rich” – so she could have been “Barri Rich”. I also know a girl whose married name is Crystal Temple. I feel sorry for the people who started out with normal names and then someone made them popular. At my job, I have talked to a Jennifer Lopez and an Austin Powers and it’s hard to get past that when you first talk to them. I kept hearing Soul Bossa Nova in my head and was wanting to say, “Yeah Baby!” to Austin.

  61. Oh, I have heard some doozies…I graduated high school with a guy named Ryan Ryan. At a different high school, I went to school with a girl named Genny…it was short for General Lee (lastname). Her sister was Libby, short for Liberty (lastname). My ex was in the military with a guy named Wilmore Gilmore. His middle name began with A, so my ex used to irritate him by calling him WAG. And let’s not start with the completely non-creative names…I’ve known a Dave Davidson, I’ve seen the name of a store manager as Andy Anderson, so on and so forth. On a non-personal note, I once read that a former governor of Texas, James Hogg (I think the first name’s correct), named his only daughter Ima.

    I seriously wonder about the mental stability of some parents. I also work for a financial institution, and some of the names I see make me shake my head in disgust. I also feel bad for people with initials that spell out things they shouldn’t. I know I tried to make sure my kid wouldn’t have such a horrid fate. When my ex and I were thinking of possible names for our daughter, I really liked the name Melody. He wanted the middle name to be Ann. Problem is, our last name starts with N, so her initials would’ve been MAN. To my disbelief, he couldn’t see what the big deal was. Good thing I did!

  62. I went to school with grils named Autumn, Summer, Seasons, January, and my personal favorite (and still my friend) Stanlee…yes, she is a girl.

  63. I went to school with girls named Autumn, Summer, Seasons, January, and my personal favorite (and still my friend) Stanlee…yes, she is a girl.

  64. Earlier in my military career, I worked for a E-9 whose last name happened to be Fagg. In the Air Force, a E-9 is a Chief Master Sergeant, so in effect EVERYONE called the poor man Chief Fagg. And before that he was called Sergeant Fagg…

  65. My parents were going to name my brother Welden Owen Williams until they realized what his initials would be. Luckily they came to their senses and changed their mind.

  66. Names Too Long For Name Tags! | Deliggit.com…

    \r\nWeve all heard about celebrities who give their children, ah, unusual names. But…

  67. Let’s not forget The Animaniacs’ Dot Warner, whose full name is Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third.

  68. I know two sisters, one who’s name is Melody, and the other is Mandy Lynn…
    their father owns a musical instrument store, go figure.

    and by the way… my captcha says “devoted horney”
    interesting x]

  69. My great-grandmother’s name was Maria Benedikta Hilaria Leuchten. Hilaria. Seriously.

  70. my husband wants to name our future son leonidas optimus prime. he’s serious. he says that our son will the biggest bamf ever. =(

  71. My brother went to school with a girl named Cinnamon. (I also happened to go to college and become friends with a girl named Cinnamon.) The Cinnamon my brother went to school with had a daughter and named her Tequila Sunrise.

  72. I went to high school with Abe Lincoln and Harley Davidson. My best friend dated Michael Jackson. Working in an office, I came across Ginger Spicer and Don Chiapetta (he was my favorite).

    I’m a few years away from having kids, but anytime I think of a name that I like, I run it through rigorous tests of every possible rhyme, nickname, letter combinations…I guess it’s helpful, because I’ve discovered that nearly every name combination I love ends up with initials of KEG, LEG, or BEG. I just can’t do that to my possible future kid.

  73. I work in neonatal ICU. Some recent gems: Magnavox -(brother of Zenith and son of Philco), Cleveland Brown, William Williams, twins – Jameel A and Jameel B. Spellings – how many ways can one spell Dakota or Brooklyn? We had a Vagina some years ago, mom called her “Gina” with a long “i”. Semaj has become popular (spell it backwards). Neveah (another reverse) seems to be going by the wayside – thank heaven. We’ve had multiple Heaven Lees with variations on the middles name – Lea, Leah, Leeh. The creativity is underwhelming. Some other gag-me names – Precious, Diamond (and Diamonique), Sparkle, Peaches, Peachy, and Fatman. Can you fathom the world of hurt Fatman is going to experience?

Comment

commenting policy