you named your kid what???

I grew up with a guy named Troy Troy and a girl named Misty Cloud.

I thought of a couple more.

I once worked with a lady named Happi Holiday. I'm not sure what her maiden name was, but my co-workers had told me that she married into the Holiday family.

Also worked with a lady named Dreama Weaver. Again, she had married into the Weaver family.. I really thought this one was a joke when I was asked to order her business cards. But it wasn't.

I worked with a contractor whose first name was Justy and the first time the men in my office saw her they decided her name should have been Busty or Chesty. I'm sure they weren't the first ones to think of that.

and by "classic" you mean Eurocentric. the problem here is that (unfortunately) people discriminate against others based on their names in the job market (there have been several studies to demonstrate that employers prefer "classic" Eurocentric names), when unfortunately people have no control over what their parents decide to name them.

sure, these posts are all in fun, but i think we should also be reminded of the assumptions about people's abilities and intelligence that go into our judgements based on their names.

"what's in name?"

i really like classic names, so there are many times where i'm like, "oh, how unique" and really mean "ewww, what's wrong with you"

i named my son david and the next boy (due march) will be alexander. classic and go anywhere in life names. i don't want my kid to go looking for a job and be like "mom, what were you thinking?"... I actually met someone recently that wants to name a boy achilles, i was like "he died. young. why? we don't live in ancient greece!"

What I don't get is people using unusual spellings for a name that already has a standard spelling. It just makes everyone's life harder. It's really stupid..

Yes! My name is Casey. Simple, standard, traditional spelling. But because dumb parents everywhere had to get cute and start spelling it with a K or -ie instead of -ey, my perfectly normal name is constantly being spelled in ways that makes me want to punch people. Every time I go to Starbucks, it never fails that a male barista will spell my name the right way without me having to tell him, but the chicks always spell it "Kacey" or "Casie" or (the most ridiculous attempt yet) "Kayci." It drives me absolutely nuts. I have actually started using fake names like Tiffany or Angela. They don't always spell those right either, but since that's not really my name, it doesn't bother me as much.

Totally feel for you on that. My girlfriend is called Jane. A more 'normal' name you could scarcely think of. Even so, a certain pizza takeaway near our old flat used to constantly spell it Jayne and once even put James! That went down well as you can imagine!

I would always assume the spelling is the most common/traditional one and that if it is not, the person will tell me so. I'm sure people called Kayci would be far less offended at it being written Casey, especially if they didn't spell it out at the time.

why does this matter so much? why can't people accept others' decisions to be unique and do whatever they want? the "most common/traditional" or "standard" way of spelling a name is usually considered the "best" by ethnocentric people. the problem i see is that many white Americans are terribly dismissive of trying to spell and/or pronounce names that are not the "most common/traditional" Eurocentric names. and people wonder why the rest of the world thinks we're so ignorant in the U.S.

sure, these posts are all in fun, but i think we should also be reminded of the assumptions about people's abilities and intelligence that go into our judgements based on their names. what's so "stupid" about spelling Kayci in that manner?

People I've known:

A kid in high school was named Sunshine-Love (first name, middle was Derek- guess which one he went by!)
Two friends growing up were named Honesty and Wisdom (sister and brother)
Kids I went to church with- Mini and Kara (last name Vann- say it together!)

What I don't get is people using unusual spellings for a name that already has a standard spelling. It just makes everyone's life harder. It's really stupid..

Yes! My name is Casey. Simple, standard, traditional spelling. But because dumb parents everywhere had to get cute and start spelling it with a K or -ie instead of -ey, my perfectly normal name is constantly being spelled in ways that makes me want to punch people. Every time I go to Starbucks, it never fails that a male barista will spell my name the right way without me having to tell him, but the chicks always spell it "Kacey" or "Casie" or (the most ridiculous attempt yet) "Kayci." It drives me absolutely nuts. I have actually started using fake names like Tiffany or Angela. They don't always spell those right either, but since that's not really my name, it doesn't bother me as much.

Totally feel for you on that. My girlfriend is called Jane. A more 'normal' name you could scarcely think of. Even so, a certain pizza takeaway near our old flat used to constantly spell it Jayne and once even put James! That went down well as you can imagine!

I would always assume the spelling is the most common/traditional one and that if it is not, the person will tell me so. I'm sure people called Kayci would be far less offended at it being written Casey, especially if they didn't spell it out at the time.

why does this matter so much? why can't people accept others' decisions to be unique and do whatever they want? the "most common/traditional" or "standard" way of spelling a name is usually considered the "best" by ethnocentric people. the problem i see is that many white Americans are terribly dismissive of trying to spell and/or pronounce names that are not the "most common/traditional" Eurocentric names. and people wonder why the rest of the world thinks we're so ignorant in the U.S.

sure, these posts are all in fun, but i think we should also be reminded of the assumptions about people's abilities and intelligence that go into our judgements based on their names. what's so "stupid" about spelling Kayci in that manner?

Someone just snapped on a perfectly happy little Topic. I hae gotten soused to seeing my name spelled with two f's instead of a 'ph' and I always JOKE that Stephanie's dont associate themselves with Steffany's... (don't anyone scold me, I was joking I don't make friends based on the spelling of their name)

had to add a couple more, Jamie Oliver, one of my favourite chefs EVER has named his kids and well, honestly I feel sorry for them

1) Petal Blossom Rainbow - daughter
2) Daisy Boo Pamela - daughter
3) Poppy Honey Rosie - daughter
4) Buddy Bear Maurice - son

Yah, poor kids! So "normal" people aren't the only people who give their kids "odd" names

I once conducted business with a lady named Dorcas Bushrod.

why does this matter so much? why can't people accept others' decisions to be unique and do whatever they want? the "most common/traditional" or "standard" way of spelling a name is usually considered the "best" by ethnocentric people. the problem i see is that many white Americans are terribly dismissive of trying to spell and/or pronounce names that are not the "most common/traditional" Eurocentric names. and people wonder why the rest of the world thinks we're so ignorant in the U.S.

sure, these posts are all in fun, but i think we should also be reminded of the assumptions about people's abilities and intelligence that go into our judgements based on their names. what's so "stupid" about spelling Kayci in that manner?

Wow, where to start. No one said it was 'stupid' nor did they make any assumptions about people with those names. If you have to be all serious on a jokey thread the real point is that a lot of people name their kids in unusual ways simply to be unique. That is very unfair on the kid for the reasons you point out; People judge them for it.

If a parent wants to be unique they should change their OWN name. I fail to believe that these unusual spellings and bizarre names are for any reason other than 'being different' for the sake of it.

Oh and I am NOT American, thank you very much.