What's the weirdest baby name?

Specialties Ob/Gyn Nursing Q/A

Hi, I was wondering about some of those weird names that you've probably encountered in L&D and PP. I remember when I had my maternity rotation a couple of weeks ago, one of the nurses said she remembers a patient that named her child Placenta. I couldn't believe it that some child has to live his life named after disgusting afterbirth!

Ok, I had an odd one pass by me the other day in my clinicals.

Milagrosa First name

Concepción Middle name

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This is Spanish for

Miraculous conception

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Poor kid.....

Those are actually fairly common Hispanic names.

As for the earlier post regarding the girl named Cadence, that name has come out of nowhere as well.

Whenever I see an old-fashioned first name, especially a female name, chances are 1) the person is indeed elderly; 2) they're Amish (lots of them in my area); or 3) it's a small child. Ella, Henry, Avery (male or female nowadays), Dorothy, Lola (that was my grandmother's name), Otis, Ava, etc.

The hospital where I work recently admitted a patient named Ella. I assumed she was elderly, since she wasn't on peds, but no, she was 29.

How about these?

I know a woman named Jennifer who's about 80 years old. For 40 years, people have asked her if she's Jennifer's mother.

My friend has a 8-year-old daughter named Helen. She gets asked if Helen is her grandmother, or she's called Ellen.

One of my HS classmates and his wife named their daughter Madison. Maybe not so unusual, but this was in the mid-1980s and I had wondered where THAT came from. He had liked it, that's all, and I'll bet this young woman gets asked the same question as 80-year-old Jennifer does, all the time.

Specializes in L&D.

we had a family whose last name was Hicks recently, and they named their baby boy Braxton.

I had to tell apatient the other day that she couldn't name her baby what she had decided because it couldn't go on the birth certificate with all of the ' and -s in the name. I asked her why she wanted a name where no one could pronounce or spell it, and she said, "I want people to think my kid is smart." I guess it's some sort of logic, but I just told her most of America is not that smart, anyway. I don't know what name she decided on.

I had to tell apatient the other day that she couldn't name her baby what she had decided because it couldn't go on the birth certificate with all of the ' and -s in the name.

Whoa, wait a minute--you told someone they couldn't name their baby a certain name, because it had too many apostrophes and "s" in it? Are there really rules that state only a certain number of apostrophes and s' are to be used? If there isn't, you certainly are on some thin ice, ethically.

What *are* the rules for names on birth certificates? Is it a state by state or federal issue? I know that only certain ancestories can be used--I've seen anglo-saxon and viking be accepted, but gypsy, faerie, and elf rejected (and gypsy is a real ethnicity!!). I've never had a name rejected for too many of anything--I've never had anyone try to use a number, either. I've only seen three apostrophes in a name--I haven't seen anyone try anymore. I really don't know what the other rules are (if there are any more) regarding names, their spellings, etc.

Luckily the letter limit doesn't apply to the letter "i" as in my oldest daughter's name, every other letter is "I". And we completely made up my youngest's name (so we thought). I would have bristled, to say the least, if someone had told me I couldn't name her that because it was something no one could pronounce.

I love the gumption it takes to do something different. Much better than the 1000 Kaleys, with their 150 different ways of spelling it. I wonder if Kalie/Kaleigh/Kaelee's mom would have liked being told that the spelling she chose is too difficult to pronounce and she'll have to change it? Same with Ashley, Megan, Madison, Melissa, Mikayla, and all the other names that are simply variations of the same.

People should be allowed to name their infant whatever they want, no matter what the nurse thinks. Too weird, too normal, it should all be allowed.

Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

I just read that in Italy you cannot name your children ridiculous names or (what's the word for bad words? LOL I forgot) Those kind of names.

Has anyone else read that article? These parents named their son a really stupid name and the government changed it! The parents were quite angry. I thought the boy would have an easier life being named a regular name ( I think it was Gregory) than the awful ones the parents picked out but I couldn't believe the government actually stepped in and changed it.

Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
Whoa, wait a minute--you told someone they couldn't name their baby a certain name, because it had too many apostrophes and "s" in it? Are there really rules that state only a certain number of apostrophes and s' are to be used? If there isn't, you certainly are on some thin ice, ethically.

What *are* the rules for names on birth certificates? Is it a state by state or federal issue? I know that only certain ancestories can be used--I've seen anglo-saxon and viking be accepted, but gypsy, faerie, and elf rejected (and gypsy is a real ethnicity!!). I've never had a name rejected for too many of anything--I've never had anyone try to use a number, either. I've only seen three apostrophes in a name--I haven't seen anyone try anymore. I really don't know what the other rules are (if there are any more) regarding names, their spellings, etc.

Luckily the letter limit doesn't apply to the letter "i" as in my oldest daughter's name, every other letter is "I". And we completely made up my youngest's name (so we thought). I would have bristled, to say the least, if someone had told me I couldn't name her that because it was something no one could pronounce.

I love the gumption it takes to do something different. Much better than the 1000 Kaleys, with their 150 different ways of spelling it. I wonder if Kalie/Kaleigh/Kaelee's mom would have liked being told that the spelling she chose is too difficult to pronounce and she'll have to change it? Same with Ashley, Megan, Madison, Melissa, Mikayla, and all the other names that are simply variations of the same.

People should be allowed to name their infant whatever they want, no matter what the nurse thinks. Too weird, too normal, it should all be allowed.

I don't think the problem was the s, I think the s was used to pluralize the symbol before it, whether that's called a dash or a hyphen. Maybe there is a law mandating that names have to use at least some letters, so that there's a way for them to be entered into databases and official records and such, I don't know. Just a thought.

Earlier in this thread, I mentioned that I was the name M'K'N'Z'Y'. I like the name Mackenzie and realize that not everyone spells it the exact same way, but why saddle your kid with something that is never going to be spelled right and half the time is going to elicit comments? She'll be really tired of answering "what's with all these apostrophes" early in life, I bet.

One of my friends, who is a guy, once had a girlfriend named Melena.

:eek:

I knew what the word meant, he didn't, but after they broke up, he found out that she was in nursing school so I'm sure she knows what it means now.

I just read that in Italy you cannot name your children ridiculous names or (what's the word for bad words? LOL I forgot) Those kind of names.

Has anyone else read that article? These parents named their son a really stupid name and the government changed it! The parents were quite angry. I thought the boy would have an easier life being named a regular name ( I think it was Gregory) than the awful ones the parents picked out but I couldn't believe the government actually stepped in and changed it.

The name was Friday I think which isnt that weird if you ask me.

Earlier in this thread, I mentioned that I was the name M'K'N'Z'Y'. I like the name Mackenzie and realize that not everyone spells it the exact same way, but why saddle your kid with something that is never going to be spelled right and half the time is going to elicit comments? She'll be really tired of answering "what's with all these apostrophes" early in life, I bet.

But whose decision is "correct" on how to spell a name, and whether a name is strange, weird, or inappropriate? If someone wants to dye their hair or shave their head, and you think that's inappropriate, should you be able to prevent that? If someone wants to give their son a mohawk or pierce their infant's ears, should you be able to prevent that? Should the government be able to step in and overrule us parents on small things (like how to spell a name, and whether a name is appropriate or not, or if we've included too many apostrophes or not enough vowels) as well as the big things (like neglecting your child)? What next--what church we can attend, what color we paint our house, what languages we may speak, maybe track us in school and "help" us decide at an early age whether we want to be a plumber or a mathematician, based on our K-3 assessment scores?

Heck, why allow us any free will at all--obviously if I can't name my child something "normal" then I probably can't be trusted to raise her appropriately. Maybe all parents should have to take a "normal" test, and those of us who don't pass should get our kids taken away, or be sterilized?

Obviously that's quite a huge leap. But where does that slippery slope start? Does it start when you begin to dictate appropriate names and spellings? I don't know; but I certainly think that dictating such things crosses a line and makes me very uncomfortable.

No thanks, I think the good ol US of A can be autocratic enough without some government agency or conservative nurse deciding if the name I chose for my child is inappropriate.

For those of you who have children with "normal" names--Emily, Conner, Emma, Sophia, Zachary, etc--how would you have felt if, when you chose your child's name, a government agency responded and said, "No, too many children this year have that name; you'll have to pick another name." But what if you have very personal reasons for choosing that name? You tell the government that you are resolute in your decision to name your child this name, this beautiful name that you, the parent, chose. And the government agency says, "Okay then, since you can't be reasonable, we'll name your infant for you and you now have no say in the matter. We are officially changing Emily Sophia to Martha Jane. Enjoy your new baby." Would you like that? Would that be fair? I don't think it would.

Specializes in Public Health, DEI.

I think you're overreacting to my speculation that there might be a law about using letters in your child's name and you seem to be ignoring all together my speculation that if such a law exists, it could be for record keeping purposes. I didn't say I think I have the right to decide what people should name their children and I don't see any logical comparison to saying that I think something is "weird" to stating that it should be illegal. What's weird is a matter of opinion and we're all entitled to that. My son's name is Nick and I have yet to hear from a single person that it's an odd name. I even spelled it traditionally. If for some reason, someone in the future finds themselves compelled to tell me they consider his name weird, I will be sure to express my opinion right back on them. Ah, the beauty of personal expression.

As the government that stepped in and changed a baby's name was Italian, not American, I am frankly 100% unconcerned that any parent in this country need worry about such a thing happening. And if someone is worrying about it, I suggest they open up a newspaper and latch on to something within the realm of possibility to focus their obvious need to expend nervous energy.

Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

Saw a couple of new ones today:

Majik.

Makaveli.

Mercy, my post was not addressing you directly, just articulating my discomfort with the idea that "there should be a law." "You" being the universal "you-all"--it seems easier to say "you" instead of the grammatically correct "one"--but that seems so stilted, if admittedly more clear. If you've got a few hours to kill and read the entire thread, you'll see the occasional sentiment that there should be some sort of rule to prevent people from naming their children certain names. I'm expressing my discomfort with the idea of official rules on names.

I am fully aware that the incident with the infant named Friday occurred in Italy; if you spend some time googling it, anyone can find other examples of government overruling parents on the naming of their children--present day Germany pops immediately to mind. In part, my post was to make others think about the disadvantages of having such rules here. We always think rules that we feel to be a good idea would never actually work against us--but anything that restricts such a basic freedom would.

And obviously, if we have nurses who are telling mothers that they have too many apostrophes and "s" in the name and they can't name the child that, then we *DO* have an issue with that right here in this country. I freely admit that I have no idea if there are actually rules in place regarding consonents and apostrophies, or any other symbols or numbers for that matter. Does anyone know if there are rules regarding the use of these things on birth certificates? The person who files our birth certificates at work doesn't work the same shift I do, so I can't ask her.

Just had a patient name her baby

Rowdy

Hope this kid doesn't take his name to seriously or she'll have her hands full;)

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