Unfortunate names

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Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
I started to read this thread again from the beginning at work, but I can't do it. I'm losing my composure. Randy Bumgardner... *wipes tear from eye*
 
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PeteUM

It's all grist
I saw something on telly a while ago and they had a brief vox pop with a woman called Gay Power. When they flashed her name up at the bottom of the screen I swear you could feel the sniggering comic intent, or maybe it was just me.

Also, I went to school with a chap called Teddy Dyck.
 
S

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
I talk to a woman named Charmaine Champagne almost every day on the phone, except now I get paid to do it and we talk about her finances.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
slowtrain said:
I recently saw a kid on the news here in NZ that had a woman and her nephew whose name was Metallica, they (the news) didnt make a fuss about it though
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New Zealand must be the shit names capital of the world. There was a story a while back about kids there called stuff like Number 9 Bus Shelter and Midnight Chardonnay (naming your spawn after the locale/circumstances of their conception...mmm, classy). In news stories or docs about teenage mothers, the names they inflict on their little 'uns are inevitably the most depressing aspect of the whole thing.

In France they have an Approved Names List and you can't call your kid anything that's not on the list. I can't say I'm totally hostile to the idea.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Sectionfive said:
May have been mentioned before but Gary Neville's fathers name is Neville.
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I like to pretend Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' is actually 'Neville Neville' in honour of this very gentelman. I think was a professional cricketer in his day, wasn't he?
 
M

michael

Bring out the vacuum
Mr. Tea said:
New Zealand must be the shit names capital of the world. There was a story a while back about kids there called stuff like Number 9 Bus Shelter and Midnight Chardonnay (naming your spawn after the locale/circumstances of their conception...mmm, classy).
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Here's the story in question, which was mainly about parents losing custody of their daughter, Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii.

In his written ruling, [ the judge ] said names such as Stallion, Yeah Detroit, Fish and Chips, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit were prohibited by registration officials. Others that were permitted included twins called Benson and Hedges, other children called Midnight Chardonnay, Number 16 Bus Shelter and, the judge added, "tragically, Violence". Another mother tried to use text language for her child's name, he said.
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Imagine teachers calling the class roll: "Yeah Detroit, put your hand up!"
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
"Another mother tried to use text language for her child's name, he said."

Maybe this makes me a fascist but some people just SHOULD NOT BREED. :mad:

Edit: OTOH, Yeah Detroit is frickin' badass.
 
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P

PeteUM

It's all grist
I also went to school with a kid called Justice (loads of people have cool names in Africa though - met someone called Million once... what are the chances of that eh?) Funnily enough Justice was rarely out of trouble.
 
S

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
While searching on the internet for some kind of cultural or linguistic reason why Chinese women so often choose their Anglo name to be one that is two syllables and ends in an 'ee' sound (e.g. Bonnie, Winnie, Sunny, Tammy, etc.)*, I came across this pretty stupid but funny blog post about the tragic results that often occur when Chinese emigrants select their new names. While a lot of the people surveryed by this one guy seem to pick names from movies to be safe, others draw from other not so conventional sources or just pick something they think sounds "Western".

My favourites: Stormy, Desu, Unice, Sea and one poor girl who'd unfortunately named herself Michael.

* Since I mentioned it, does anyone know the reason for this? Perhaps it's because it's just proven to have a better track record than 'Unice'.
 
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Corpsey

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
A friend of mine whose surname is 'Deacock' has a brother who was originally named 'Ben'. He was renamed upon entering school, though. Obviously.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Corpsey said:
A friend of mine whose surname is 'Deacock' has a brother who was originally named 'Ben'. He was renamed upon entering school, though. Obviously.
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I'm surprised he managed to enter anything at all with a name like that, fnur fnur.
 
STN

STN

sou'wester
reading about a 19th-century tailor called Hyam Hyam. I really hope his middle name was Watt.
 
P

Pestario

tell your friends
Sick Boy said:
While searching on the internet for some kind of cultural or linguistic reason why Chinese women so often choose their Anglo name to be one that is two syllables and ends in an 'ee' sound (e.g. Bonnie, Winnie, Sunny, Tammy, etc.)*, I came across this pretty stupid but funny blog post about the tragic results that often occur when Chinese emigrants select their new names. While a lot of the people surveryed by this one guy seem to pick names from movies to be safe, others draw from other not so conventional sources or just pick something they think sounds "Western".

My favourites: Stormy, Desu, Unice, Sea and one poor girl who'd unfortunately named herself Michael.

* Since I mentioned it, does anyone know the reason for this? Perhaps it's because it's just proven to have a better track record than 'Unice'.
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I've always wondered about that too. At my school we had about 10 or so Taiwanese students (all male) and there were something like 2 Jasons and 3 Kevins. Maybe it was just coincidence but maybe the '-n' ending sounds appealing for boys?
 
M

mrfaucet

The Ideas Train
I've asked my Taiwanese friend so we'll see what they say, but as someone learning Mandarin, albeit at a begginer's level, I can't see any particular reason why they would. My friend is called Sammy but that is because it sounds a bit similar to her one of her Chinese names.
 
slowtrain

slowtrain

Well-known member
Sick Boy said:
While searching on the internet for some kind of cultural or linguistic reason why Chinese women so often choose their Anglo name to be one that is two syllables and ends in an 'ee' sound (e.g. Bonnie, Winnie, Sunny, Tammy, etc.)*, I came across this pretty stupid but funny blog post about the tragic results that often occur when Chinese emigrants select their new names. While a lot of the people surveryed by this one guy seem to pick names from movies to be safe, others draw from other not so conventional sources or just pick something they think sounds "Western".

My favourites: Stormy, Desu, Unice, Sea and one poor girl who'd unfortunately named herself Michael.

* Since I mentioned it, does anyone know the reason for this? Perhaps it's because it's just proven to have a better track record than 'Unice'.
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Haha yeah, I knew a few people who had names like this at my ex's private school, Racorn, Ranadol, and Gift were the best...
 
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