More Strange Baby Names

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Apr 29, 2005

I worked L&D in southern Cali, and had a family come in to deliver their first child. They were poor illiterate migrant workers, and did not know what to name their son. So Dad had been walking around the nurse's station for awhile that night. The next day, we found out they had named the baby "Nosmo King" (last name withheld). It took us awhile, but we figured out where he got it: the sign at our nurse's station---NO SMOKING. LOL

:rotfl: Oh my goodness! I actually knew an illiterate migrant couple when I used to live in Arizona, who named their child Canyon (like the Grand Canyon) and her son Somerton, like the city Somerton. We all felt bad for the children...:chuckle

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Apr 29, 2005

Latest unusual name I've seen a couple of times is Neveah. Its "heaven" spelled backward according to the parents who have picked it.

We just had one of those but I'm not sure how to pronounce it. I think neveh comes out as "never", hopefully like "never again" :chuckle

We had the first little "Apple" deliver yesterday, too. I'm sure we'll see more of those.

stevierae · Apr 29, 2005

:rotfl: Oh my goodness! I actually knew an illiterate migrant couple when I used to live in Arizona, who named their child Canyon (like the Grand Canyon) and her son Somerton, like the city Somerton. We all felt bad for the children...:chuckle

Actually--I kind of like those names. Kind of '60s, hippieish, individualistic. Like the song "Arizona" (girl's name) popular in the late '60s, early '70s. What's that girl's name---help me out here, on "Saved by the Bell--" starts with a "T"--after a Southern California canyon? Very unique; earthy. Oh--I think it's "Topanga."

stevierae · Apr 30, 2005

:rotfl: Seems to me that she must have been having strong cravings for Jello while pregnant with them!! :chuckle

Actually, according to snopes, the choice of these names is always attributed to an illiterate, usually poor minority mom who chose them after looking at her meal choice menus in the hospital, and seeing them listed under desserts (not being able to read) sounded them out phonetically (apparently clueless that she was mispronouncing lemon and lime jello) and thinking that they sounded like good names for twin boys.

That's why I don't buy the stories that somebody knows somebody that has actually been there when kids have been there and been named that--to me, those stories perpetuate covert prejudice toward poor minorities, particularly those who are illiterate.

I would think nurses are beyond perpetuating these myths, or, on the slight chance that they are true, ridiculing these people. Why not utilize your teaching skills in these situations--call for an interpreter, if need be--instead of making fun of them?

Variations on this story go back to the early 1900s.

Lawnurse · Apr 30, 2005

That's why I don't buy the stories that somebody knows somebody that has actually been there when kids have been there and been named that--to me, those stories perpetuate covert prejudice toward poor minorities, particularly those who are illiterate.
I would think nurses are beyond perpetuating these myths, or, on the slight chance that they are true, ridiculing these people. Why not utilize your teaching skills in these situations--call for an interpreter, if need be--instead of making fun of them?

It seems to me that even someone without a lot of formal education has been in a grocery store and seen the jello box...its not an expensive food. Secondly, when people are sounding out words, they do so by finding a part of the word, or letter, that they do recognize - such as "lemon." It is far more common for people to mispronounce words by accenting the words as if they were two words instead of one. What I'm saying is, its hard to get someone to read lemon jello and mistakening pronounce it the way the legend says. Say it were spelled "lymonzhelo" - there is such word as lemon, there is not such word (in English) as leMON. English speakers would first think of this word as lemon, not leMON. This story also requires that the menu has "lemon jello" erroneously spelled as one word.

btw - isn't snope a great resource?

I have been in situations where a name choice seems inappropriate. More often, the way the parents spelled the name does not actually create the name they are pronouncing. I'm a pretty confrontational person, but I was often totally at a loss to try to "teach them" what their baby's name should be.

Also, sometimes they already know - but have disregarded- what you would "teach" them. I couldn't convince one of my patients (who named her daughter Ms. Kay) that she didn't need to add the "Ms." part because everyone can have the titled mr or ms...

sparkyRN · Apr 30, 2005

I can't believe the lemon jello, orange jello and nosmo king stories are still around!

We heard all those when we were in our first ob clinicals 20+ years ago.

NancyJo · Apr 30, 2005

Know a couple who named there daughter Jody and son Joey. Kind of confusing.

Have a neice Mandolyn and my grandfather was Abslom.

maythen · Apr 30, 2005

My husband and I don't plan on having children, but we both LOVE weird names. I'd love to name a boy Vladamir and call him Vladdie. I'd love to have a girl and string along several names like Freya Winter, Twilight Dreaming, or Pyretta Blaze. I know they're strange and impractical. I know that it's a teasing waiting to happen. But in my ears they sound lovely and unique. Maybe that's what those moms are thinking when they give their kids unusual names.

Kids are cruel when it comes to teasing. There's no name you can think of, no matter how unusual or traditional, that a bully can't mangle into a taunt.

But, on the other hand, sometimes you wonder if the parents were deliberatly cruel. I went to high school with a girl named Cocaine and her brothers Jack Daniels and Harley Davidson.

I attended junior high with a boy whose first name was Driver and his sister Nussins ('cause "she was just a cute widdle bundle of nussins" according to the mom). My moms best friend named her daughter Holly Bush. One of the girls in my 4th grade class was Tafetta Ann Gold, her sister was Silver Ann Gold and their mom was Emerald Ann Gold.

One of my best friends in high school was named Ruby (which isn't so bad) but her last names was Mount. Everybody teased her and said she would end up a Media star.

Last week we had a couple in our OB (Oleg and Nona) who named their beautiful baby boy Lucifer.

allnurses Guide · Apr 30, 2005

Actually, according to snopes, the choice of these names is always attributed to an illiterate, usually poor minority mom who chose them after looking at her meal choice menus in the hospital, and seeing them listed under desserts (not being able to read) sounded them out phonetically (apparently clueless that she was mispronouncing lemon and lime jello) and thinking that they sounded like good names for twin boys.
That's why I don't buy the stories that somebody knows somebody that has actually been there when kids have been there and been named that--to me, those stories perpetuate covert prejudice toward poor minorities, particularly those who are illiterate.
I would think nurses are beyond perpetuating these myths, or, on the slight chance that they are true, ridiculing these people. Why not utilize your teaching skills in these situations--call for an interpreter, if need be--instead of making fun of them?
Variations on this story go back to the early 1900s.

Hi Stevie . . . why do people assume that just because someone is illiterate that they don't know any names to name their child? Just because you can't read doesn't mean you don't have alot of names in mind . .what about family names?

It just bugs me that because someone may not read well they are automatically assumed to not be able to name their child something normal.

Illiterate = lemonjello . . .right.

steph

nursescar · Apr 30, 2005

Hi Stevie . . . why do people assume that just because someone is illiterate that they don't know any names to name their child? Just because you can't read doesn't mean you don't have alot of names in mind . .what about family names?
It just bugs me that because someone may not read well they are automatically assumed to not be able to name their child something normal.
Illiterate = lemonjello . . .right.
steph

well, when I worked on OB the first time.....back in the 80's---there was two babies

born with odd names. One was Harley Davidison Spell the other one-I kid you not--

Clitorious Ureathra Rose. They have suddenly reappeared-in the criminal report section of the local paper. One for DUI, one for petty larc. Only this time she had

changed her middle name to Areatha!

LydiaNN · Apr 30, 2005

Hi Stevie . . . why do people assume that just because someone is illiterate that they don't know any names to name their child? Just because you can't read doesn't mean you don't have alot of names in mind . .what about family names?
It just bugs me that because someone may not read well they are automatically assumed to not be able to name their child something normal.
Illiterate = lemonjello . . .right.
steph

Wayelll....

In general, I agree with your statement. We have thousands of Moms who are completely illiterate in this country, and probably millions who are functionally so. They have all managed to give their children names, and I've never seen any indication that they saddle their kids with odd monikers in any greater proportion than anyone else (maybe less, so, too, IMO, given my distaste for some of the pretentious sounding names I've heard rich people come up with).

The lemon and orange or lemon and lime jello stories have been around at least since I was in nursing school, and that was a looooooooong time ago. It makes sense to me that it would have had its origins in a nurse telling about working with Moms who couldn't read (English, anyway). I've never seen any proof that any baby has ever been named such a thing, but if at some point, someone was, whyohwhy would they choose that? Yes, I believe that illiterate people have plenty of names to choose from. That's why I don't buy the lemonjello story. But it did have to come from somewhere, and whoever started it had to have put it in some kind of context for it to be believed.

allnurses Guide · Apr 30, 2005

I guess I just don't see how people who didn't learn to read well were so isolated that they never heard anyone's name while growing up and in school. Surely they knew their schoolmates names. John, Joe, Cindy, Mary, Alecia, Bob, Brian, etc. Surely their parents and grandparents and cousins had names.

I think it is the current trend of the media elite to name their kids funny sounding or "kreatively" spelled names and that filters down to the rest of us.

And while bullies will always find something to tease a kid about, in general, if your name is normal most kids won't stereotype you into a certain mold. Even the nice kids would laugh at a girl named "Apple" or a boy named "Wolfgang". Look at how we are snickering . . . . :)

steph