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First of all, hooray for the new baby Israel! So wonderful. Also wanted to throw out that I wasn’t named at first, either. My parents let me marinate for about three days before they decided on “Rebecca” (of course, never to call me it, and it has now become my “slave name” or a name I must respond to when formally rewarded or punished). Of course, “Becky” soon followed, and my mother stuck with it because she thought, though perhaps slightly campy (come on, other Beckys, you know you’ve felt the burn), it was the name of the most popular girl at my mother’s high school. On the shoulders of giants! Whatever, I like the obverse meanings: Becky=”ensnarer”; Rebecca=”faithful Hebrew daughter”–prime for all kinds of schisms. Back to the real reason of the this post: a New Zealand couple who named their baby Superman, after they were prevented from naming him 4Real:
Mum and Dad decided to call their son 4Real after seeing an ultrasound image of him. It was then they realised that their baby was “for real.”
They are considering legal action to force officials to reverse the ruling.
4Real. Hmm. Okay. It’s also the name of an excellent song by Okkervil River. Apparently, Superman’s parents are already referring to him as his vetoed name. Interesting, too, how people are inspired by technology. I used to date a guy named Manhattan, named because his heartbeat on the EKG resembled the New York skyline. Is your name derived from a technological inspiration, or are there names you narrowly escaped?
umm..if his ECG resembled the NY skyline either: a) whoever named him must not have seen the manhattan skyline or b) by God how is this man still alive?!
posted by bones on 8-10-2007 at 3:00 am
My children escaped their original names narrowly. I like reading mythology, so I wanted to name my first son Merlin. Everyone in the family thought I was nuts. I instead named him after my father, and had to change the spelling to make my mother happy (they are divorced).
My second son, I wanted to name him Beowulf. We had relatives paying us up to $200.00 each to change his name. I did, and set up his college fund.
posted by Charlie on 8-10-2007 at 5:15 am
As a fellow Rebecca/Becky, just wanted to sympathize… I often tell people that the only person that calls me Rebecca is my father when I’m in trouble. And my automatic response to this day is, “I didn’t do it!”
posted by Becky on 8-10-2007 at 6:59 am
My mom named me Diana because as a youngster in Colombia her hobby was shooting rifles and the bullseye targets were called (in spanish) diana (pronounced dee-an-ah). My dad had suggested Sirdar (a hindu goddess) but my mom said it sounded too much like cerdo (spanish for pig) so she vetoed it. Thanks mom, I owe you big time.
posted by Diana on 8-10-2007 at 7:08 am
I threatened to name my daughter after both my grandmothers - Louella Eulalah. That would have been cruel, though.
posted by Larriann on 8-10-2007 at 8:40 am
I’m another Rebecca in disguise, sort of. My given name is Rebecca-Allison. Do y’all have any idea what that was like learning to spell???? Close family already called me Alli, so Allison became my official name . Rebecca was already taken by my mom and great granny (Both Rebecca Hayes- btw. Hayeses seem to like that name LOL)In high school, I did go by my full first name, but the kids shortened it to Albecca. I tried for Rebal, but it never took.
posted by AllisonW on 8-10-2007 at 8:41 am
My middle name is Tyne. It means river. I’m not really sure where this came from either, all my sibling’s names are ‘normal’.
posted by Coliel on 8-10-2007 at 9:28 am
You have the perfect name, AllisonW. Rebecca & Allison are my two favorite girl names, probably because of the movie & song. They were both vetoed when considering names for my daughter.
posted by DW on 8-10-2007 at 10:28 am
I narrowly escaped being named after my Grandfather. God bless him, but ‘Elmer’ just wouldn’t do. The grandparents were old world Bible belters who assumed I would take his name. Mother adamantly refused, and instead offered up John David. At first they balked, “Where’d you get THAT from?”
Mom: “The Bible.” Approving smiles all around.
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-10-2007 at 10:46 am
If the Kiwi’s decided on 4Real because of the ultrasound - why did they end up with Superman? Does the kid look like an alien? If not, I think they should have stuck with the mortal name - Clark.
posted by Aaron on 8-10-2007 at 10:53 am
I wish I could remember the comedian who talked about someone who was named after a wine his (her?) parents consumed the night he was conceived. “I found out I was this close to being named ‘Ripple’.”
And contrary to popular grade-school belief, “John” is NOT derived from the toilet.
posted by JHaydon on 8-10-2007 at 11:47 am
I know someone whose middle name is actually Gandalf! I think I got off pretty easy with my name given my relatives. My mother is Wanda, my grandmothers Vesta and Bobbie.
Also, my mother’s old boyfriend, his surname was Snodgrass! Thank God that broke up!
posted by Kim on 8-10-2007 at 11:47 am
Ahhh. . . *sigh*. . . My mother almost named me Symphony. I mean, come on! It’s not even a cool hippie name like Rain or Sunshine or something–it’s something that stodgy old men enjoy! Ew! I guess it would be memorable, but jeez! She never really told me exactly what it was that made her come to her senses, but I have loved my name ever since I first heard that story as a kid.
posted by Cynthia on 8-10-2007 at 12:16 pm
My original birth certificate says Baby Girl. A few months later, my adoptive parents named me Lindsay, after Lindsay Wagner. Dad thought the Bionic Woman was hot. I suppose that’s technological inspiration.
posted by Lindsay on 8-10-2007 at 12:19 pm
My mother teased her mother-in-law that she’d name me “Lyda Rose” (song from The Music Man), but somehow at the hospital she decided on Melissa. I use LR as a pen-name. There are several Violets in the family, but that got vetoed for my daughter - who ended up Sarah (still my choice)- but now she’d rather be Violet! Ha! My son got nicknamed “Bug” by me - from “Aliens” where the one marine asks “is this going to be a stand-up fight or a bug-hunt?” - I was so glad to see the 1st ultrasound that showed he was human! I watch too many horror movies!!
posted by Melissa on 8-10-2007 at 12:34 pm
If I was a boy, I was going to be named Bruno (I still laugh at the thought of the picture a white, french/irish, Bruno would have made). As a girl, I was to be Susan but for some reason mom went with Karen. Nana was so upset that she refused to refer to me only as Susan for the first year of my life.
On the whole, though, I got off easy compared to one of my coworker’s sisters- Amityville.
posted by Karen on 8-10-2007 at 1:17 pm
This is not a personal story but, a few years ago The San Antonio Spurs won the Championship in Basketball, and a couple from San Antonio acutally gave their child the last name of each player as a middle name, Tom Duncan Ginobili, Bonner, and so on)
Sad huh?
posted by Lindsey on 8-10-2007 at 2:18 pm
If I am not mistaken, didn’t actor Jason Lee name his child Pilot Inspektor. 4real v Pilot inspecktor, you’re really just cutting straws as to what is more ridiculous. On a non-technological side, I do work with a man named Captain John Smith. Hooray historical leaders and hooray for a first name like Captain.
posted by Tom on 8-10-2007 at 2:20 pm
My mother originally wanted to name me Damien, because she had recently seen Rosemary’s Baby and actually thought I was the child of Satan. Luckily my dad lobbied in favor of Robert, the same first name of at least 75% of the men in my family, and she relented.
posted by Not Damien on 8-10-2007 at 2:36 pm
My mother was going to name me April, but once I arrived (and it was September???) she couldn’t think of anything. My older brother finally decided that his baby sister should have a name and named me Rebecca. I actually like it, but most people call me Becky. However, somehow a bar (well the bartenders, doorman, barbacks, and eventually patrons) I frequent began calling me Becca. Not bad, just not my name. I tried to correct people, but no one listened in their inebriated state. Now I have three names: Rebecca (formal or extremely close, like my mother or brother), Becky (the majority of the world), and Becca (easily identifies the people that are only acquaintances from the world of libations). Not so bad.
posted by Becky B on 8-10-2007 at 2:44 pm
My wife actually was the one to luck out and not get stuck with an odd name. Her mother wanted to name her Dewey Eugene if she was a boy or Yevette Yvonne if she was a girl. Thankfully my mother-in-law was knocked out from the drugs and my wife ended up with the rather standard Amanda Lynn.
posted by Nathan on 8-10-2007 at 3:11 pm
We have named all our children’s first names after non-family members so we definitely have a lot more names to pick from. The latest rugrat was named after my best friend but we have resorted to calling him Shakespeare because of how the hair settles on his ears and continues to grow outwards. Hopefully he’ll be talented enough at prose to support his parents during retirement
posted by Phil on 8-10-2007 at 3:46 pm
I’m actually quite fond of my name. In “Chinese” (my ethnicity), it supposedly means “peace-maker”, which my mother often reminds me when im upset after school.
One of my friends, however, once let slip that her parents nearly named her Christabell, or perhaps it was Kristabell…
Anyways, she loathes her almost-nominer, and the rest of us tease her mercilessly if we happen to remember.
posted by Annie on 8-10-2007 at 5:26 pm
I think I am the only one who read this and was excited about the Okkervil River reference. Woo!!
Anyway, I am names Jacqueline Patrice. That is my first name. I am named after two of my aunts. Then my middle name is my mother’s last name and my last name is my father’s last name. The whole four names with no hyphens caused problems with my social security card and driver’s license, and caused a wide array of nick names and misspellings.
posted by Jackie on 8-10-2007 at 6:28 pm
As I was a girl, I escaped what is now my little brother’s oddball name–ok, nickname–Hardy. Theodore Eberhard, the first name after our grandfather and the middle after our parent’s deceased friend. He’s been Hardy since the day he was born, right up until he started 6th grade. Then he was sick of people always saying “what? Harry? Harold? Harvey?” and now he goes by Theo at school (although he’s still Hardy at home).
posted by Alice on 8-10-2007 at 6:38 pm
I don’t personally have a name escape story, but my cousin and his girlfriend almost gave their baby a crazy name. If the baby had been a girl, she would have named Shaniqua. It was a boy, so he ended up with Caiden.
My middle name is Yetta, though. That’s not so great, but at least it;s not my first name.
posted by leofishy on 8-10-2007 at 7:00 pm
My oldest brother dated a girl in high school whose sister’s name was Princess Strawberry. I think the mmom might of had some wierd cravings…
posted by Becky B on 8-10-2007 at 11:19 pm
My mom was Allison Wonder until she took my dad’s last name, but nothing compares to a Starbuck Cloudtree I once met.
posted by Frances on 8-11-2007 at 10:52 am
A technology-inspired name for an unplanned baby: “System Error”
posted by nicola on 8-11-2007 at 3:04 pm
I had a nick name in my younger days, I still remember it…..John Clod Clod-hopper Swingle Tree Jr. Johnathon Tee Hall Askew Dynamic Brown!
posted by John Brown on 8-12-2007 at 11:43 am
I like my nice plain name, but I had to share what my former boss named his kids… He was always a huge Star Wars fan, so his son’s first and middle name are Roger Annakin and his daughter is Cleopatra Skywalker. Keep in mind this is over ten years ago, before the newer movies came out… I kind of like “Cleopatra” because they just call her “Cleo,” and that’s cute. But overall, pretty nerdy. Does that count as being named by technology? :)
posted by Amanda A on 8-12-2007 at 1:18 pm
My name is Jessica, from the book Dune. My parents almost named me Galadriel, which my dad was pushing for, but my mom thought they should name the cat that instead of me. Thank you Mom!
My brother’s middle name is Horton, so I try to find “Horton hears a Who” or “Horton hatches an egg” cards and merchandise for his birthday. I found boxer shorts one year. Woohooh!
posted by frogandpig on 8-12-2007 at 1:22 pm
My near miss was Steely Ian, after Steely Dan and Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull). Apparently, my parents had no idea what a “steely Dan” is.
I once met Michael McDonald (who sang backup for Steely Dan) and told him my Steely story. His response? “Lucky you were a girl, then.” Too true, Michael. Too true.
When we were trying to name our son, my husband vetoed any name he deemed “too biblical.” No Noah, Jonah, etc. His original choice was his own name — John. He was unimpressed when I pointed out that there are four books in the Bible called “John.”
posted by Amanda on 8-12-2007 at 7:52 pm
I’m a girl Jordan with two middle names, one of which is usually a boys’ name and the other of which is Alexandra. As a kid I was always annoyed when the school ran out of room on computer-generated nametags, forms, etc. and had to shorten it to Alex. Don’t I get to have at least one feminine name? Of course, my parents didn’t even consider Jordan as a boy name for me.
posted by Jordan on 8-13-2007 at 12:16 pm
*wanders in late to the party*
My son’s middle name is Kirk. Why? Because I had some genetic testing done early in the pregnancy. My Perinatalist was very cool, and gave me a printed copy of the baby’s genes. My husband pointed out the first 3 genes spelled out K I R K (although I still contend they spell K I C K, as the baby started dancing around in there not long after). Why his middle name? I didn’t want to burden him with Capt’n Kirk as a nickname.
A pic of his genes can be found at the website link.
posted by Alli on 8-14-2007 at 8:36 pm