I am militant about baby names and I have a terrible time hiding my disdain when friends give their children bogan names or ask my opinion of a possible moniker for their soon to be born baby. What is a bogan name? Well, everyone defines bogan differently but to me a bogan name can be a name that:
*Has been purposely mispelt like "Taylah Jayne"
*Is completely made up, like "Charniqua" or "Beyonce"
*Features often in the Children's Court (ok so I know that there are very few of us who are privy to these details because The Children's Court is a closed court and names are always suppressed, but I can recite a list for you of the 10 most common names in the kids court and the 10 most common names in the care court- i.e the names of the children who are the victims of abuse) #1 name is Jayden and the myriad of spellings that go with it.
*Has become so popular at the Centrelink office that it is now considered "common". Remember that. Popular isn't the same as common.
*Is just plain sillyor cruel like the twins I encountered "Oracle & Miracle" or poor little children of my ex-clients who had these silly names: "Eminem" and "Napolion" yes that was the spelling and no Napolion wasn't a baby boy.
*Sounds like something rude.
The last point on my brief list is the one that I have featured as today's FFF. I have copied this information from the British Telegraph and I think it should give you a little laugh:
Britain's most unfortunate names
(from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics - 25 February 2009)
Jo King and Terry Bull on list of Britain's most unfortunate names They might sound like punchlines to very bad jokes, but real people have been named Helen Back, Jo King and Justin Case, according to researchers investigating Britain's most unfortunate names.
The team also managed to find people whose parents were inconsiderate enough to name them Terry Bull, Mary Christmas, Anna Sasin and even Doug Hole.
The team also managed to find people whose parents were inconsiderate enough to name them Terry Bull, Mary Christmas, Anna Sasin and even Doug Hole.
A spokesman for online parenting advice service TheBabyWebsite.com, which carried out the study, said: "Parents need to think carefully when choosing names for their children.
"Their name will be with them for life and what may be quirky and fun for a toddler might be regretted terribly when that person becomes older or even a grandparent perhaps."
For Stan Still, 76, living with his name has been a test of his patience.
The retired RAF airman, from Cirencester, Gloucs, said: "My name has been a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life.
"When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout 'Stan Still, get a move on' and roll about laughing. It got hugely boring after a while."
Meanwhile, Rose Bush, from Coventry, West Mids, said the connotations of her name have seldom been a cause of mockery.
The 51-year-old author said: "I love my name. It has caused me no trouble whatsoever. People like it. I always get comments about it but they are always very positive."
The month-long survey also managed to hunt down a Paige Turner, Chris Cross, Barry Cade, Sonny Day, Teresa Green, and Ray Gunn.
Doug Hole of Penrith refused to talk about his name. He said: "I don't want to be involved just because I have an unusual name."
Beyond Britain's shores, the study found Americans called Anna Prentice, Annette Curtain, Bill Board and Carrie Oakey.
Medical professionals also provided some entertaining titles such as Dr Leslie Doctor; Dr Thoulton Surgeon; Dr Payne, a plastic surgeon from Ohio; and Les Plack, a dentist from San Francisco.
While Dr Sumey is likely to invite more than his fair share of lawsuits from disgruntled patients.
BRITAIN'S MOST BIZARRE NAMES
Barb Dwyer
Pearl Button
Ray Gunn
Helen Back
Stan Still
Jo King
Lee King
Terry Bull
Mary Christmas
Max Power
Paige Turner
Sonny Day
Tim Burr
Teresa Green
Will Power
Anna Sasin
Chris Cross
Doug Hole
Justin Case
Barry Cade
Worldwide
Anna Prentice
Annette Curtain
Bill Board
Carrie Oakey
Dr Leslie Doctor
Dr Thoulton Surgeon
Dr Payne
Les Plack
Priti Manek
Dr Sumey
TGIF, have a great weekend folks and make sure you hang about today, when the Tinker is up from her midday nap we will draw a winner!
I could not agree more. People give their children starange names just to attract attention, but I can guarantee that at when all is said, and done, their children will resent them on some level for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Ben Dover?
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ReplyDeleteHahaha! I am similarly passionately anti those contrived misspellings! And bogan names.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Freakonomics? It has a whole chapter on whether certain 'types' of names have an impact on the person you become, or whether it's just that parents from certain socio-economic groups choose similar types of names. It also talks about how names make their way down the socio-economic ladder... I guess demonstrated by the way celebrity baby names become popular (apart from Pilot Inspektor Lee)!
Totally agree. So many different spellings of names like Tahliah... no one will ever be able to get it right. We have one very strange baby name in our mothers group, not bad out of a group of 14 mums and bubs.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, people will never be able to spell a childs name correctly with all the weird and wonderful spellings.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny. I back you up on this one.
ReplyDeleteI ran into a guy who's name is Rusty Nail. He showed me his driver's license to prove it!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I work in foster care and have spent a good deal of time in the Children's Court and working with recipients of such bogan names. Hideous and cruel! This career also gave me about 2,6783 names I could never use for my own babies, even if I wanted to.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother went to school with a Pearl Button.
Two of my high school maths teachers were Mr Memory and Mr Inchley - no joke!
Oh Carolyn ... I am completely bogan lmao.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazed me at how much influence a persons name can exert on their life - some parents just open their children to ridicule in school. Then you have other cultures that give names to their children as "good omens" such as Princess or Sunshine. I love that idea and think it should be more widely used.
ReplyDeleteBogan names are one of my pet peeves! You can have an unusual name that is still a name without having to make it up. Great post and thanks for the laugh this morning!
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of parenting sites out there with 'naming baby' forums on them that are FILLED with questions about bogan names. I love a good chuckle, so it's often these places I go to for a bit of a laugh.
ReplyDeleteI once knew a Hazel Nutt - fortunately it was not her parents fault, she married the 'Nutt'.
ReplyDeleteAnother person I knew was called 'Brie Cooney' - how's that? Can you imagine all the jokes in the playground as a child? Yes, that’s right, it was her parents who named her Brie fully aware of their surname being Cooney! Thankfully her married name is in no way related to the topic of cheese! (For international readers, 'Cooney' is a brand of cheese in Australia)
Onto bogan spelling…my husband’s niece is called Zara...only its spelt Tzara. I am not joking.
Oh gosh. Maybe I belong in the bogan basket 2 fold! I not only called my daughter a boy’s name, I added an extra ‘m’ to it! Let me explain, we named her Emmerson. It is traditionally a boy’s name (Old English)…but I have to say I feel sorry for any boy who was named Emmerson – I find it to be extremely feminine, and just to be sure I added the extra M! She is called Emmie for short.
omg! I have a friend named Priti Manek!!!
ReplyDeletemy friend is a midwife and delivered twins called Bundy (boy - after Ted Bundy apparently!!!!!!!!), and Nicola- but they pronounced it Nee-Cola, as the grandmother put her foot down at her grandchildren being called Bundy & Cola! They were from QLD......
ReplyDeleteAmy, that's quite funny about Emmerson. I've never considered it a boy or a girl's name as its my surname (maiden name)!
ReplyDeleteI once knew someone called Tina Rice hehe
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