Have you ever heard a name and blanched in horror?! I have. My own name [Dee] has been a constant hassle, because people always assume it's short for Deirdre or Delilah, and it's not. I come from a long line of weirdly-named folks, with scores of oddly-named forbears, so I don't have room to throw stones, but I thought it would be fun to talk a little bit about odd names.
If you want to snicker here's a list of the actual [recorded in the family bible] names of some of my relatives, from both sides of the family: Wilma [my grandmother]; Beulah [her mother]; Algernon [my paternal grandfather]; Eula Cordelia [my grandmother, who never told anyone her first name was Eula]; Chillie [my great uncle]; Olene [my great aunt]; Nannie [two great aunts have this name]; Sampson [my great great grandfather]; Parmee [my great aunt].
You get the picture. As odd as some of those names were, most of them were actual NAMES.
Celebrities nowadays take great pride, obviously, in naming their children bizarre things. I guess they think it makes their child distinctive. In my childhood, they would have been teased unmercifully about their names. These kids, however, probably will never attend a normal public school. They probably all attend [or will attend] snooty private schools no normal parent could afford, where there are lots of weirdly-named classmates. If your name is Coco or Fifi or Boston you probably won't be making fun of the classmates named Apple or Moses [Gwyneth Paltrow's children].
So here's a list of some names I find just... unfortunate. Years from now my grandchildren and great-grandchildren named things like Pudding and Mademoiselle and Max Overlord will likely be very puzzled by this blog, because of course God has a sense of humor and karma is a thing...
Above, Sting and wife Trudie, with daughters Fuschia and Mickey
Beyonce and Jay Z -- Since they have such typical, average names [cough cough] what a surprised they have kids named Blue Ivy, Sir, and Rumi. I wonder when Sir gets older, will he always wonder if people are being respectful or just familiar?!
Kardashians -- These women have paved new ground when it comes to weird names. Dream, North, Reign, Stormi, Chicago, Saint, True.
Demi Moore -- Rumer, Tallulah, Scout
Gwen Stefani -- Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo
Robert Rodriguez -- Rocket, Racer, Rebel, Rogue, and Rhiannon
Forest Whitaker -- Autumn, Sonnet, and True
Jamie Oliver -- Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Buddy Bear, and Petal Blossom Rainbow
Here are some more:
Kulture [mom Cardi B]
Bear [mom Alicia Silverstone]
Sparrow James Midnight [son of Nicole Richie]
Moroccan and Monroe [mom Mariah Carey]
Exton [dad Robert Downey Jr.]
Dakota [mom Melanie Griffith, dad Don Johnson]
Gunner [dad Spencer Pratt]
Kal-El [dad Nic Cage]
Pilot Inspektor [dad Jason Lee]
Spike and Sunday [dad Mike Myers]
Satchel [a girl, dad is Spike Lee]
I will be curious as to what Prince Harry and Meghan name their child. William named his kids fairly normal things, George, Charlotte and Louis. But you watch - the Harry baby will probably get a slightly different name, like Ollie or Marigold or Elton..
