Heh, it's interesting that you should post here where your most likely to get opposed opinions to yours. I suppose it is a good thing, as you can see that perhaps it's not always the best policy to 'Assimilate' to the norm, and to see that there are several people that feel strongly about it.
I LOVE interesting names, I doubt I'll name my children anything outlandish, I fully support those who name their children unique names.
I really am curious as to what country that you are from that has such power to tell a father that what he can or can not name his child. That sounds horrifying to me. I can hardly imagine standing quietly by for that breach of personal freedom.
Anyone know of what countries might impose such restrictions? Arragorn isn't even very outlandish!
And what about cultural expression? To some, Lakeisha might sound outlandish, and to others the most beautiful name in the world... what government agent has the right to deny a parent the right of naming.
That said, I wonder how I would feel about extreams to my stated stance... what if a father was a real dirt bag and wanted to name his son or daughter a curse word... I wonder if my OWN country has some rule preventing such a thing... interesting rabbit hole.
But Still, to have A LAW enacted mandating control over the naming of children... parish the thought.
it is the usual practice in almost every european country and I would say most people are OK with it
here in germany you can only give a "real" name, that means if you can prove that the name is a common name somewhere on the planet you can use it but made-up names will not go
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I am from Serbia, and as most European countries, the clerks who note names have a right to refuse a name that would be detrimental to a child in some way, like for example: naming it a farming implement, or a curse word, or and insulting descriptive word, or a name that sounds too foreign, like Asian names in a Slavic country.
I do not say people should conform, i just say that they should consider the repercussions the name can have for the child. Like homer did for Bart for example...
Well, if they refuse a name, there is pretty much nothing you can do except name it something else. Law is law.
Trust me in a country where almost everybody is named Stojan, Marko, Milos, Igor, Dusan, Stefan and such, Aragorn is like from another world.
It's like those idiots who named their kid Facebook. For god's sake, they are not original, they are just complete morons who probably runied their child's childhood pretty well.
I'm all for freedom of speech, but.......
they do need to litigate common sense.
Considering that one of the names that have been shot down in Sweden was "Pornstar" I'm not in a particular hurry to change the law that allows the tax-services (who handles these things here) to deny some names. Aragorn probably wouldn't be a problem, though.
I am from Serbia, and as most European countries, the clerks who note names have a right to refuse a name that would be detrimental to a child in some way, like for example: naming it a farming implement, or a curse word, or and insulting descriptive word, or a name that sounds too foreign, like Asian names in a Slavic country.
I do not say people should conform, i just say that they should consider the repercussions the name can have for the child. Like homer did for Bart for example...
Well, if they refuse a name, there is pretty much nothing you can do except name it something else. Law is law.
Trust me in a country where almost everybody is named Stojan, Marko, Milos, Igor, Dusan, Stefan and such, Aragorn is like from another world.
It's like those idiots who named their kid Facebook. For god's sake, they are not original, they are just complete morons who probably runied their child's childhood pretty well.
In my country (Israel) the law is the same, but the ministry is more lenient. There are all sorts of weird names approved and cultural background or length is a non-issue, there is a girl walking around with the name "she who holds the branch of an almond tree", and no we don't have a word for that, her name is the whole sentence. I once read a publication of the government that gave the rejected names for that year (there were less than 10). One of them was "disappointment" for a girl...
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Then worst thing a parent can do is give their kids a stupid name. Some names a cool, but some names the parents think are cool but aren't. But the poor little devil has to live with it until, at least, they can get it changed if they haven't come to terms with it. So I'm with Hama on this one. I think society is a bit freer on this but you still have to be careful. Give kids a half-decent reason to tease and they will take it with both hands, and that is no fun for the recipient. It's also partly cultural: call your kid "Randy" in Britain and you might as well not have bothered.I am resisting the urge to tell the OP exactly what bad word he reminds me of right now.
I will leave it at WRONG, WRONG, f-word WRONG.
First of all, I know a guy named Aragorn and he loves his name.
Secondly, my son bears the name of a character I happened to be writing about when my wife was pregnant. She loved the name, and "stole" it from me. My son happens to be the only person in the world with that name (at least as far as recent internet searches can tell).
My best friend Jim told me the day my son was born that the name was a good idea - that it would always be a conversation starter, and he was right. People ask about it all the time, call it an "interesting," "cool," "unusual," and even "pretty name" and my son has never been treated poorly for it. They always want to know where it came from, and when they find out, they often want to know more about our family. Sometimes it's misspelled, but I think that goes without saying. People haven't seen it before.
There are no rules about this, and I thank Whatever Power Made Me I don't live in some backwards place where they can force you to name your kid John.
If the worst thing a parent can do is name their child a "silly" name, you should count yourself lucky. Ignorance truly is bliss.
I like my name, but I have to problems with.
Problem The First: My initials spell out JAM
Problem The Second: My first name is also the first name of a celebrity who has his name chanted at least once per show.
Jerry Springer?I like my name, but I have to problems with.
Problem The First: My initials spell out JAM
Problem The Second: My first name is also the first name of a celebrity who has his name chanted at least once per show.
Unfortunately. Apparently people think chanting that when I've done something that they think is neat or cool. Wish I knew what that was.
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I think it does amount to a cultural difference. In the US, it has become a matter of course to give children unusual and unique names. There is no ridicule regarding names if everyone's name is equally weird, so I guess you could say there is safety in numbers here.
In a culture where names are more standardized, I can see how unusual names would be more problematic.
My friend's wife recently gave birth to their first son, and he wanted to name him Aragorn. No kidding. Thankfully, the people who register children names operate under a certain law, one that does not allow for stupid or strange names to be given to children (most of the time, some are still completely retarded, like naming your child after a farming implement). So, they refuse him, and he goes into frenzy mode, going around suing them and writing a complaint to everybody he thinks could do something about it.
Thankfully, he got shot down by his wife, so they named him a normal name after all.I think that parents shouldn't give their kids some weird/strange names just so that their little baby will be unique. Have they any idea how abused and/or molested and/or made fun of will that child be if it has a name like Gandalf (unless they are from iceland)? Most other kids will not understand why he has a name like that, and when kids don't understand something they abuse it and make fun of it.
My friend was angry at his wife by the way, so i had to sit him down and talk to him...it took me three hours to make him see reason.
So if you are a future parent, please, please name your child a normal, regular name, it will thank you in the future.
I've heard about a child named Shi'thead. Yeah, you read that right.
How about we just name all children after numbers in the future? Child # 012485015044085305 could never be cruel to Child # 1106513038580011, right?
Yeah, but they would chuckle everytime the teacher called "Dick Buttons" name at attendance.
I think that growing up with
"hey, Heath; where did your mama hide to have you,"
I actually DO get the point.
Now, MY point is this: if you're in war, you wear camouflage. The camouflage won't stop an IED, but the camouflage might keep some jackass from popping you at 250 or more yards.
But whatever you do, don't wear an orange jumpsuit. Blending is easier.
The guy with the weird ass name is wearing an orange jumpsuit. He tends to draw the fire. He CAN'T blend.
So Steve, and Pete, and Charley over there? They'll get theirs.
But only once everybody is good and tired of seeing if they can make Elrond either hang himself or beat the s*@* out of everybody with a basebal bat.
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I'm trying to think of what insult kids would come up with for a kid named Aragorn?
It doesn't rhyme with anything rude.
It comes from a book that the majority have never read, and by the time they are old enough to be teasing each other for being different it'll be in a movie they probably haven't seen.
If they HAVE seen it then they see he's named after the most badass good looking character in the entire trilogy (excepting perhaps Sean Bean).
On top of which, kids with normal names end up going by nicknames a lot anyway to differentiate themselves from the plethora of other kids with the similar names. Those nicknames usually come from a distinctive physical feature, or an embarrassing story.
Names have power, and a name that a parent earnestly gives their kid out of love shouldn't be vetoed by the government.
The mother on the other hand? Never cross her.
On top of which, kids with normal names end up going by nicknames a lot anyway to differentiate themselves from the plethora of other kids with the similar names. Those nicknames usually come from a distinctive physical feature, or an embarrassing story.
I had a new nickname every year.
And, to all the "Aragorns, sons of Marvin's" and "Elrond Blubbers" of the future, I did my best.
All I can say is.....it gets better, man.
I'm not trying to make fun of gay people, if anything I f#*!ing sympathize.
And to my boy Guido, who legally changed his name to Steven when he was twelve,....I'm thinking of you, dude.
I am from Serbia, and trust me, kids here are CRUEL, especially to different ones, no matter in what way.
I realize that having a bizarre or outlandish name may make things worse, but Hama, you're talking to the cream of nerd/geekdom here. Not to make light of anything you or yours may have gone through, but to say that kids are cruel is like saying the sky is blue.
...the clerks who note names have a right to refuse... a name that sounds too foreign, like Asian names in a Slavic country.
What if the parents were Japanese? Understand, I'm coming from the US "melting pot," and this sounds like something that would be flat impossible here, law or no law.
Not overly well known fantasy names seem fine to me. Very well known may cause grief later in life. I'd shy away from naming kids;
Harry Potter
Voldemort
Professor Snape
Beowulf
merlin
Lady Morgana
Zeus
Athena
Jupiter
neptune
Any of the other greek/roman gods
Green lantern
Superman
Captain Americaand I'm sure many many more.
I went to school with an Athena, a Venus, a Zeus, worked after school with an Ondine, and all of them were popular kids.
Morgan is a fairly common name, that comes right from Morgana. We all know Arthurs and nobody is screaming about those.
Incidentally, my name is fairly common, and kids made terrible fun of me. Any kid who wants to be a bully is going to find a way to be, even if your name is Joe.
Morgan is Welsh for "by the sea" not from Morgana. my son's middle name is Morgan.
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Names like 'Biggus Dickus' or 'Half-price Ferry' or 'Folgers Crystals' are ridiculous, and those parents are obviously touched.
Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.
Despite the box office success of LotR and the popularity of Salvator's novels, the average American isn't likely to associate Aragorn with a movie or book. The name, actually, doesn't even sound that strange or unusual.
Now, unless you live on the west coast, a name like Silverleaf Moonsinger will definitely raise eyebrows, but names like Taliesin or Morgana just sound British, not strange; and it wasn't too long ago that names live Ovid or Perseus or Aurelius were not uncommon in the deep south.
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Then worst thing a parent can do is give their kids a stupid name.Wow, that's the worst thing a parent can do? Really? We have vastly different definitions of "worst."
Well, other than rape them every day. But I was talking in the context of this discussion, rather than trying to plumb the depths of human depravity.
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Names like 'Biggus Dickus' or 'Half-price Ferry' or 'Folgers Crystals' are ridiculous, and those parents are obviously touched.
Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.
Despite the box office success of LotR and the popularity of Salvator's novels, the average American isn't likely to associate Aragorn with a movie or book. The name, actually, doesn't even sound that strange or unusual.
Now, unless you live on the west coast, a name like Silverleaf Moonsinger will definitely raise eyebrows, but names like Taliesin or Morgana just sound British, not strange; and it wasn't too long ago that names live Ovid or Perseus or Aurelius were not uncommon in the deep south.
Cattie Brie? Seriously, a kid named after a cheese is OK? And pretty much everyone knows who Bilbo and Aragorn were now, after the films (and probably before).
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Cattie Brie? Seriously, a kid named after a cheese is OK? And pretty much everyone knows who Bilbo and Aragorn were now, after the films (and probably before).Names like 'Biggus Dickus' or 'Half-price Ferry' or 'Folgers Crystals' are ridiculous, and those parents are obviously touched.
Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.
Despite the box office success of LotR and the popularity of Salvator's novels, the average American isn't likely to associate Aragorn with a movie or book. The name, actually, doesn't even sound that strange or unusual.
Now, unless you live on the west coast, a name like Silverleaf Moonsinger will definitely raise eyebrows, but names like Taliesin or Morgana just sound British, not strange; and it wasn't too long ago that names live Ovid or Perseus or Aurelius were not uncommon in the deep south.
Cattie Brie's the name of the girl in the Salvatore novels.
As to LotR names, I think you might be surprised at how many people either didn't pay that much attention to the movies eight years ago, and so don't remember the name at all, and more surprised at the number of people who've never seen the films nor read the books.
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Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.
It's not the fact it's a name from a D&D novel that leaves me slack-jawed in horror; it's the fact that every time I hear it, it makes me think 'p*ssy-cheese'.
Most likely NOT what Salvatore intended, but, once you've seen a thing, you can't unsee.
And every kid who's ever innocently named his first halfling PC 'Bilbo' knows it takes two minutes (if that) before the other players mangle it to match a female pleasure device.
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Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.It's not the fact it's a name from a D&D novel that leaves me slack-jawed in horror; it's the fact that every time I hear it, it makes me think 'p*ssy-cheese'.
Most likely NOT what Salvatore intended, but, once you've seen a thing, you can't unsee.
And every kid who's ever named his first halfling PC 'Bilbo' knows it takes two minutes (if that) before the other players mangle it to match a female pleasure device.
Ha!! I never saw it that way before! But then I pronounce her first name with a long a, much like I pronounce drow with a long o...
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Cattie Brie? Seriously, a kid named after a cheese is OK? And pretty much everyone knows who Bilbo and Aragorn were now, after the films (and probably before).Names like 'Biggus Dickus' or 'Half-price Ferry' or 'Folgers Crystals' are ridiculous, and those parents are obviously touched.
Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.
Despite the box office success of LotR and the popularity of Salvator's novels, the average American isn't likely to associate Aragorn with a movie or book. The name, actually, doesn't even sound that strange or unusual.
Now, unless you live on the west coast, a name like Silverleaf Moonsinger will definitely raise eyebrows, but names like Taliesin or Morgana just sound British, not strange; and it wasn't too long ago that names live Ovid or Perseus or Aurelius were not uncommon in the deep south.
Cattie Brie's the name of the girl in the Salvatore novels.
As to LotR names, I think you might be surprised at how many people either didn't pay that much attention to the movies eight years ago, and so don't remember the name at all, and more surprised at the number of people who've never seen the films nor read the books.
I know who Cattie Brie is, but it's still a cheese - that one is just asking for trouble. You're only chance of not being teased with that one is actually hanging out with people who read Salvatore's books, or those with lactose intolerance who maybe don't know what brie is. And yes, maybe half the population of the western world doesn't know who Aragorn and Bilbo are, but the rest sure do, and that is arguably sufficient critical mass.
But Still, to have A LAW enacted mandating control over the naming of children... parish the thought.The law, at least in Denmark where I'm from, is mostly to avoid the "D~@!*ead Buttcrack" names (why parents would even want to call their kids that is beyond me, but...) or "Qristophpher".
And you don't really have to go into fantasy literature to find names that will get the kid teased, because kids will find something to tease you with. My name is Bruno, a perfectly acceptable (if somewhat uncommon) Germanic name that spread into Italian, French and Spanish through the Ostro and Visigoths, and I've taken plenty of hardship for that name, but I wouldn't want to change it.
Would I name my kid Aragorn? No, probably not. But there are plenty of names in LotR or other works of fiction that I would consider.
Awww... I was going to say that! The Qristphpher story was just dumb! But I'm pretty much for that there is some regulation when naming your children. We have it fairly strict here in Denmark, but you can add new names to the approven list. I've got three kids. Viktor, Ronja and Gry.
Viktor (Victor) is fairly common.
Ronja, not so much. That name is from a childrens book by Astrid Lindgren, titled "Ronja Røverdatter" - "Ronja Robbersdaughter". And is she ever the little rogue.
Gry is not that common a name, and it means dawn.
All three names were on our lists when my wife got pregnant the first time.
I have no issue with a name like Aragorn. Heck! In Denmark you can name your children with some amazing names without even resorting to fantasy-names!
Skjold - Shield
Bue - Bow
Pil - Arrow
Bjørn - Bear
Storm - well... err.. Storm :-)
Ulf - Wolf
There are probably more, but that was just from memory.
Heard a story once, supposedly a true story, but a mother to a newborn girl wanted to give here this wonderful name that she'd heard or read somewhere, though she didn't know what it meant. The doctors at the hospital heard what she was considering and persuaded her not to give her that name. But then again, maybe they shouldn't have, Chlamydia is such a beautiful name...
Another thing... There are great cultural differences with how children behave towards each other. And how the adults handle children when they bully eachother. I can imagine that life as a child in Serbia is nothing like the life of a child in Denmark. Many schools in Denamrk (though not enough) use a lot of time and energy on teaching the kids empathy and how to take care of eachother and how to be a good friend.
So, enough from me... Off to play WarhammerQuest with my son :)
In Germany therules are that you need to be able to tell the sex from the name, so if you chose a name which could be both genders you will be forced to give a middle name which is clear.
and in catholic areas Maria is a common middle name for boys (Klaus Maria Brandauer, Christoph Maria Herbst, Jean Marie Pfaff)
My ex-wife was a music teacher and had in her 5th grade class a student by the name of 'Chevy Cavalier'.
The best unintentionally funny name I have heard in awhile? I know a guy named Russell Trombitas. Guess what his name gets twisted into? Heh.
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We reserved our crazy for ou children's middle names. My son's being Emrys, which is welsh fir Mirln. My daughter's is Frejya.
Emrys is an awesome name. (And Freyja is one of my favorite Norse dieties.)
My mom went the other way, at the time 'Ian' was pretty rare, so she gave me 'Michael' as a really common middle name, figuring I coould use it if I didn't like Ian, which she'd picked because she was a James Bond fan and was naming me after Ian Fleming. I liked being the only Ian in school, surrounded by Mikes and Johns and various genders of 'Chris.'
I also liked that she used the biblical spelling for Michael, rather than the more common Micheal.
Still, it's cringeworthy when you hear about someone naming their daughter 'Vagina' because they liked the sound of the word, or bump into a girl named 'Aura Lee' by her mother, who apparently never said those two words out loud before picking that name...
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Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.It's not the fact it's a name from a D&D novel that leaves me slack-jawed in horror; it's the fact that every time I hear it, it makes me think 'p*ssy-cheese'.
Most likely NOT what Salvatore intended, but, once you've seen a thing, you can't unsee.
And every kid who's ever innocently named his first halfling PC 'Bilbo' knows it takes two minutes (if that) before the other players mangle it to match a female pleasure device.
Anybody ever read "Bored of the Rings"?
It's funny how seemingly innocuous names can be twisted. I knew someone who knew someone named Timothy Burr. He was about 6'3" tall, and every time he had to walk somewhere in his office, people shouted, "TIM BURR!!"
I knew a guy whose last name was Doe. He named his son John Doe. His daughter's name was Harley, after the motorcycle.
I went to elementary school with a girl named Jennifer Ball. Her younger brother's name was Harry.
Makes Aragorn sound pretty good, no?
Most of continental Europe operates under such rules. For Americans, yes, it sounds horrendously barbaric and totalitarian.So, some government agent is now authorized to tell parents they CANNOT name their child something?
Hmm...where is this again?
Barbaric? You jest.
Calling a kid Sunshine Flowerchild Volkswagen is barbaric.
Penn Gillette of Penn & Teller named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter Gillette.
Now Moxie is a great name, but "crimefighter?" Really, Penn? I always thought you were smart. Unless, of course, he's one of the few people in the world that believe names should actually mean something and not just sound cool. Perhaps he's grooming her for a career in law enforcement...or as a superhero...
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I know who Cattie Brie is, but it's still a cheese - that one is just asking for trouble. You're only chance of not being teased with that one is actually hanging out with people who read Salvatore's books, or those with lactose intolerance who maybe don't know what brie is. And yes, maybe half the population of the western world doesn't know who Aragorn and Bilbo are, but the rest sure do, and that is arguably sufficient critical mass.Cattie Brie? Seriously, a kid named after a cheese is OK? And pretty much everyone knows who Bilbo and Aragorn were now, after the films (and probably before).Names like 'Biggus Dickus' or 'Half-price Ferry' or 'Folgers Crystals' are ridiculous, and those parents are obviously touched.
Names like Aragorn or Arwen or even Cattie Brie and Bilbo are ironically eye-rollers only to people like us: other geeks.
Despite the box office success of LotR and the popularity of Salvator's novels, the average American isn't likely to associate Aragorn with a movie or book. The name, actually, doesn't even sound that strange or unusual.
Now, unless you live on the west coast, a name like Silverleaf Moonsinger will definitely raise eyebrows, but names like Taliesin or Morgana just sound British, not strange; and it wasn't too long ago that names live Ovid or Perseus or Aurelius were not uncommon in the deep south.
Cattie Brie's the name of the girl in the Salvatore novels.
As to LotR names, I think you might be surprised at how many people either didn't pay that much attention to the movies eight years ago, and so don't remember the name at all, and more surprised at the number of people who've never seen the films nor read the books.
I dont' know if it's just my part of the US, but I know several girls named Brie. For most it is short for Brianna, but I think because it is a well-known nickname some are named simply Brie (or Bree).