Unusual Baby Names
So, do you make up a name, use a traditional name, or a traditional one with different spelling?
The attractions of a unique name for baby are seductive.
- People with unusual names have the advantage of standing out from the crowd;
- They will not get confused with others who have the same name;
- They won't need an initial in the classroom;
- Someone with an unusual name may be more easily
remembered, a possible advantage in a career when someone may know you only from your name in print. - The name will be misspelled and mispronounced. "My name is Elvira, but children and teachers would make it Elmira, Olivia,
Alvera ...I soon learned to come to whatever sounded like my name", said Elvira Bates. - But only your mother or husband will get it right! More seriously, studies have shown that people react negatively to those with unusual names. Dr Albert Mehrabian, author of The Name Game and The Baby Report Card, reports that, sociologically, a general finding is that people don't react well to things that are are new and unusual . They aren't comfortable with it, and that applies to names. For over ten years Mehrabian has studied how a name affects people. Compared to a traditional name, unusual names are rated dramatically lower in all categories: a person's morality, cheerfulness, or success. "I know a lot of people don't like to hear it, because they think they're being creative. They think they're making their kids individual; blue hair hair is unusual, but is it desirable?" Maybe there's a middle course. Avoid the really weird: don't go down the road followed by Frank Zappa who named his kids Moon Unit and Dweezil - one's a girl, the other a boy, which is which?! Or Gwyneth Paltrow's choice of Apple for her daughter. Imagine what the kids in the playground will do with those names! Mehrabian says he has counseled many adults who were ridiculed by their co-workers because of their names, and says he found that the more unusual the name, the harder it is to adjust.
The idea put forward in the song 'A boy named Sue' that this could toughen up a kid is poppycock. I knew a man who's middle name was Mary. His parents were catholic and wanted a saint's name, it's a shame they couldn't think of a male saint. He kept his name very secret. Perhaps as more and more people choose unusual names the problem will diminish as the unusual itself becomes the norm. Your child is unique; if you have decided to give her a unique name, make sure it's easy to spell, is pleasant to the ear and is something she can wear with pride throughout her life.