"How do you spell that?.... I have to say..... what's your name again?... Malitoshu?... No, oh Maelitoshui..... Okay Mal.

What ever happened to using names that are from your family, most of which are normal sounding names? John, James, Frank, Joe, etc... named after Dad, or an Uncle or Grandpa?

Or at least use names from your ancestry - John becomes Sean, James becomes Seamus, etc...

BTW, what kind of parents name their daughter Abigail in 2011??!!

Styro

Why is it that almost every Gertrude, Margaret, and Henry is pushing 90? Probably because their names were "trendy" way back when.

Henry is trending way up over the last few years, and I think Gertrude maybe is, too. My wife and I just had a baby boy and were drawn to "Henry," but shyed away from it when we discovered how exceedingly popular it has become. I guess, like everyone else, we were looking for "familiar but fresh."

Thought process when we named our kids:

a) anything in any top 100 popular lists was out no matter what

b) anything that sounded illegal alien like was out of the question

c) anything that might be deemed "from the hood" was out

d) one syllable max for boys, two max for girls

Jason, just tell them you were named after the argonaut. Now there's a long-term trend!

It's even stupider to name your child after a car. I know Enzo Ferrari is (or was) a real person, but almost everyone will think your kid is named after the car, not the man.

I knew a couple who named their son IROC-Z. The husband was an obvious idiot, and I guess the wife must have been, too, because she A) married him, B) had his child, and C) allowed him to name the kid IROC-Z. The poor kid was messed up for quite a while. He may not be over it yet.

My sons name is Enzo but my husband is Italian and his family is from Italy. We didn't name him after a car; nor would anyone in Italy or of Italian hertitage think that. Enzo is a very popular name in Italy. Only ignorant Americans would think someone who named their child Enzo named him after a car.

We named our son Jason 40 years ago. It was unusual then. Suddenly, everybody was naming their sons Jason. Made me so mad! Our last name is VERY common, so we didn't want to go with a common first name. My dad's name was Willard (NOT!). His dad's name was Leroy (NOT!). My husband is John...there are millions of men with his first/last name in the world. Another NOT! We still like Jason, but wish it hadn't been so overused after we chose it.

"I know Enzo Ferrari is (or was) a real person, but almost everyone will think your kid is named after the car, not the man."

You could go for Alfredo Ferrari <Insert Last Name Here>. Enzo Ferrari is well known, and is indeed a car, but how many know of his son?

When I named my son "Harrison", I had to put up with a lot of teasing because my friends all knew that Harrison Ford was one of my favorite actors. But he's actually named after his father's grandfather.

The oddest name I've seen in my immediate circle of friends is "Anakin" - but that's only as a middle name. Dad is a HUGE "Star Wars" fan and wanted that to be his son's first name - but Mom put her foot down on that one.

"What's in a name..."

Quinn is a boy name.

Quinn is my son's name he is almost 13 but now it is becoming popular- more girls than boys

BTW, what kind of parents name their daughter Abigail in 2011??!!

You haven't noticed the millions of little Abby's running around? That name is popular exclusively for its nickname (and you certainly won't see any of them going by "Gail").

The problem with some names is that the "bad" ones are often given only with the parents in mind - sort of a status symbol to have a child with a funky name with no thought of the child growing up as Moonunit or Apple or Homer or Leroy or LaQuinta or Male (put accent on the 'e' - used for a boy twin) and Female (put an accent on the 'e' for the girl twin...not a joke, I've worked in L&D for many years). The priviledged kids may come out OK (although rehab could be in their futures), but the ordinary child might get a bit hassled.....but why start a child out with a name he/she needs to "overcome"?

I have much respect for family names used to honor a loved, elderly or deceased relative, but parents need to remember what happens in the school yard isn't always pleasant...sticks and stones...hmmm...

I don't think parents need to stay away from the "top 100" most popular names out of fear that there will be too many children with those names. Because so many people are intentionally choosing somewhat unusual names, even the names in the top 20 aren't given to an overwhelmingly large number of people.

We had originally planned to choose less popular names for our babies...but the names we both ended up really liking were all in the top 20: Alex, James and William. Our William and James only occasionally meet another child with the same name. Only our Alex knows lots of other boys (and sometimes girls) with the same name -- but he still really likes his name, so it's been a fine choice.

Don't worry about name popularity too much -- just give them a name that you love and that you think will serve them well throughout both childhood and their adult life.

Quinn is an Irish surname.....

I can't believe La-A didnt get more play. It's pronounced La Dash Uh.

Whatever happened to Zebulon and Rutherford for boys?

Or Vashtai or Fern for girls?

I'm naming my second son Rossiter Clarence, we will call him R. C....A lot of people at work hate it, but my hubbie and I like it.

Teacher Trish, I'm in my thirties and one of my dormmates in college was named Vashti. She was surprised that I knew the origin of her name. (See the book of Esther in the Bible.) My husband and I have joked around about using Zebulon as a name for a future son. There's something about those obscure Biblical names, hmm? As for Fern, I heard that name used recently. I've also heard other botanical names like Ivy and Sage used as well as the usual floral names like Rose, Lily, and Daisy.

People are so unoriginal. But then they always have been.

How many Shirley's do you think were named after Shirley Temple?

Plenty.

People are so unoriginal. But then they always have been.

Hey, the Romans only had 17 first names.

I just thought of another great car based name for a boy:

Ford Prefect!

If you don't get it, read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Isabella wants to meet you, Randy. Growwlll.

Yes, reminds me of some friends who named their kid "Tuck". It's about as bad as "Tucker". I could never bring myself to name my kid something that is one little mark away from an expletive!

Tuck is the name of something you put between your bum cheeks when your pucker hurts. Poor kid!

I named my son Carl-Michael and my daughter Emma-Leigh

Dear Carol,

How quaint!

I didn't know Quincy and Marie- Sophia were considered creative names. My husband and I thought we were simply naming our children after their grandparents that are in their late 60's.

A friend of mine's sister is a teacher who was doing roll call at the beginning of class on the first day...She came across the name ta-a that she wasnt sure how to pronouce but have a shot at it anyways...

"Ta-a"

nobody answered so she called it again..."Ta-a"

a girl stood up and said,"It's TaDASHa. You pronounce the dash."

True Story.

With no offense meant, those are lovely names for a baby or small child and elegant in print form.....but Emma-Leigh will be repeating through her life that her name "is not Emily, it is two words spelled with a hyphen..." and I can't imagine taking Carl-Michael seriously in a board room.

I think spike-322306 was being a little facetious with his/her comment - and I know what he/she means!

@Mom in HT

With no offense meant, if they aren't you children, why do you assume you are in any position judge their names? And the only kind of person who judges a board-room member by their hyphenated name, is the one who most likely made fun of them on the playground.

Just in case you are unaware, here is a simple unwritten rule: If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.

It basically helps to teach someone manners. You may want to pass it on to your kids as well. I'm sure they have never heard it either.

Cheers

It is extremely common in France and Spain to give children two first names, separated by a hyphen.

I'd estimate that more children (especially boys) have hyphenated names than not.

It gets around a couple of issues - you can still name your kid that common family first name (like John, Jean, or Juan) and then add a second name to differentiate the kid.

But I agree with Mom - people need to sound out their kids' names. A coworker of mine was very happy with her creative set of names for her son. She thought they sounded so nice together.

When she brought the kid into work the first time when it was a couple of weeks old, she realized she had condemned the child to a lifetime of "no, my name is not".

She had named the child John Nathan, not realizing it was pronounced Jonathan.

I worked as a child photographer when my daughter was born...so I knew which popular names to stay away from. Its a difficult balance between being different and not too strange. We named our daughter Cassidy Jo-Lynn (now 22yrs.) and our son Grayson Quinn (now 18yrs.) We moved to a small town (1200) when they were 7 and 4. The only other Cassidy was her same age. Five years later, a teacher loved my son's name so much that she named her new son that! I also recommend to parents to look up the meaning of the name before they choose it....Kids have an uncanny way of growing into that definition. I have had the (not so much) pleasure of every "Kaden" I've met acting exactly like his name's definition (fighter, angry). Honor family members if you want..but use it as a middle name...just naming them "John Smith III or John Smith IV is just egotistical and makes it difficult for the younger to assert his individuality.

Quasimodo.

My mother tried naming me D'se (pronounced dehSay) but crashed and burned because the Air Force wouldn't accept it, and the woman who attempted it asked her why she'd want to call her little blond daughter "Dizzy".

@Nicole, that old saw about La-a or Ta-a is as old as the hills and twice as dusty. It's been on Snopes.com for a decade or so. I can't stand it when people pass on urban legends with a claim of personally verifying them!

Proof?

Popular baby names is your proof of a teen pregnancy epidemic?

c'mon.....you can do better than that.

Boston, you didn't understand his comment. "Twilight" is popular with teens, so for names from Twilight to be popular baby names suggests that teens are naming the babies. Ergo teens are the ones giving birth to the babies. Gosh, do I have to work out the logic for you?

Seriously, Styro????

My 58 year old mother loves Twilight more than I do, and my late-20something year old friends and I really like Twilight. That's a huge stretch to say these names are indicative of teen pregnancy.

Styro, while I agree that "Twilight" is popular with teens, it's popular with plenty of other people (mostly women) as well. Three of the most devoted "Twilight" fans I know are 25, 28, and 47.

Besides, if you read the whole article, it says that "Jacob" and "Isabella" have actually been popular names for a long time - well before "Twilight" was the rage.

I'm not saying I necessarily AGREE with the comment, I'm just working out the logic of it for those who didn't understand it.

Boston, you didn't understand his comment. "Twilight" is popular with teens, so for names from Twilight to be popular baby names suggests that teens are naming the babies. Ergo teens are the ones giving birth to the babies. Gosh, do I have to work out the logic for you?

That's a very weak conclusion to come up with. I am 32 and I love the Twilight books, as do all my friends who are in their 30's and 40's. Furthermore, one would need to live under a rock to have not at least heard of Twilight, so chances are they've also heard the lead characters names. You do not have to be a teen, or even like the books/movies to hear a name in passing and like it.

@VickiC

well i hope you arent hanging out with 15 year olds... of course thats who you know!

I think twenty-somethings watch Twilight as well. And twenty-somethings tend to have a lot of babies ;)

"twenty-nothings" is the right nomer for that lot.

Now, now...20-somethings have a right to their generational foibles, just as we did and our parents and grandparents did.

You also aren't doing your child a favor by given them a super unique name either. Find the middle ground.

Such as:

Aaja (pronounced Asia), Acacia, Ajeenah, Akai, Aquanita, Baleria, Barbertha, Callie (pronounced Kelly), CaAndi, Chetiqua, Cloteal, Curly Top, Darhies, Dayphine, Debrasharme, Derecio, Dertiteriesa, Dikueria & Dikuria (twins), Dildree, Dishon, Dovanna, Duanita, Dyiamond, Dwendolyn, Effillyne, Elizabeth Taylor, Endrissa, Equandolyn, Esaw, Everage, Floyce, Franshawn, Ghia, Godzilla Pimp, Ivier, Jartavious, JyesahJhnai, Keithen, Kentnilla, Lafondra, La,poo (yes, contains comma), Latronia, Lemonjello & Orangejello (twins), L’Tonya, Machoda, Nau-Quia, Mayima, Minute, Miquel, Nethel, Omnipotence, Ondra (pronounced André), Ozro, Padraic, Pecola, Phe-anjoy, Precious Unique, Queen Esther, Quithreaun, Rincesetta, Sanja, Saranus, Shanieja, Sharicus, Shiquipa, SiJourna’i, Silquia, Sinetra, Summer Love, Termicka, Tequilla, Timphanie, Tryphenia, Tywana, Tzaddi & Tzavvi (twins), Ulheric, Undlia, Undrea (pronounced André), Wsam, Xiomara, XL, Yaw, Yuvodka Sharice, Wilida, Zaquan, Zufan, Zyneene.

The above are actual names given to children.

Me, I happen to like original names. My daughter is Nya'Myre (Nya mirh), always loved the name Nya and loved the name Mir (but its a boys name), happen to have a friend name pronounced like Mir but spelled Myre...loved it and stole it, she didnt mind, she was flattered (and now married with a new last name). I think Nya'Myre is a beautiful name. My son's name is Primo. Just love that one too, picked by his father, it had to grow on me but way cute to see a little toddler running around with a name like Primo.

William - as opposed to being made fun of by half of the kids in thier class...

@MelBel: Unless I am misunderstanding the pronunciation, your child's name sounds very similar to 'nightmare'?

I used to think Heather and Courtney were dumb names for girls, but Isabella and Sophia are not only dumb, but butt-ugly names to give to a defenseless baby. What is an Aiden?

At least noone has tried to name their boy Zaphod Beeblebrox.

It's pretty difficult to find a nice/normal name that is also not hugely popular and overused. My friend's 2 year old son is named Mason. Her and her husband had decided on that name at least 2-3 years before he was born. In the year since he was born, it seemed like baby Mason's were popping up everywhere, but when they first started talking about it, and even in the months after he was born I had never heard of it. Now when people hear it, they'll probably think they were just one of the sheep that jumped on the bandwagon.

Does it Matter...way off...lol.

First off no "t". Nya (some people spell nia) myre (meer). Ni-a (where the "I" says its own name) then slight pause meer (not mare). hope that helps.

I dont think it sounds anything like nightmare...funny just sitting here saying it over and over again to make sure, lol. Either way we call her Nya, so even if someone else were "clever" enough to think that, wouldnt matter.

Still think its funny...

I think there is a particular race responsible for at least half of the names posted in this large paragraph. Only God knows what they are thinking when they come up with these names. My mother actually had twins of this race in her class and their names were Lemon Jello and Lime Jello but pronounced Lamone and Limmie respectively with Jello having a French accent to it. I wish I were joking.

Nya'Myre??! Guess I need to add one more name to the ghetto fabulous (or trailer park) Hall of Fame.

Neither ghetto, or trailer park, thank you very much, you're an a-hole.

Nya (purpose) Myre (Peace, Giving light), At least she will have a name that means something.

go crawl back in your hole retard!

Go ahead, ready for my suspension, just had to call out the a$$whole BaBaBooger

If you read Freakonomics, you will see some evidence that when you name your child something "unique" (like Unique!), your child will statistically make significantly less money than a person with a "normal" name. Additionally, your child will be less likely to be called for job interviews and more likely to be unemployed.

So, your own vanity can really screw your child for a lifetime.

Spike, you left out the best one. La-ia pronounced "Ladashia".

I was thinking that same thing while reading this.

My name was not incredibly popular while I was growing up, but it is now and I don't mind. My son's name is in the top 10, but he's only run into one other kid with the same name (he's 7). The child that I am currently pregnant with will also get a classic name. Unique names can be hard to pronounce and spell, which is a much bigger PITA for kids than having a classic name. Classic names are also not usually made fun of, probably because of their prominence. It has nothing to do with creativity or being unique, and everything to do with personal preference. For me, it could be that I'm a bit older, 28 with my first, 36 with my second - so classic appeals to me more. To each their own, parents have enough to worry about.

News flash, Paul. Isabella and Sophia are Italian names, and Aidan is Irish.

froggy, there is no "particular race" that is responsible for stupid names. I know what you are implying. It has to do with social class as much as it does race.

If I see another white trash child (sorry) named "Destany" I'll puke.They can't even spell "Destiny" correctly.

As "original" as Sara maybe?

Couldn't be that they might be family names as well? Are they all spelled like "Isabella" in the books? Izabella, Isobela, Sofia, etc...Now, if people start naming their children Snookie, that's reason to worry...

haha, well I didn't name myself, but I was named after my Great-Grandmother who had just passed away from breast cancer, shortly before my birth. I guess maybe my parents thought there would be a special meaning behind my name.....maybe they should have just named me after their favorite soap star. ;)

My mom did get my name from her favorite soap, and I get compliments regularly from my customers who think I have a lovely name...so get off your high horse and stfu :)

I have two girls. Isabella and Sophia. When I named them (8 and 10 years ago), they weren't even breaking the top 100 list. Now they are everywhere. It's actually pretty disappointing to see their names as #1 and #2. I thought I was being original! (plus passing on family names). I blame Twilight (a book, btw, that I have never read) for Isabella. That said, I still think they are pretty names. And at least my girls don't have 3 others in their classroom with the same name. Those girls are still in kindergarten!

I planned on naming my Daughter(if/when) she's born Isabella, or whatever the at-that-time mother might be. I thought it was a great name since I was 12, but now I think I'll make other suggestions. :/ My some-day son(if/when) I thought of naming Sue, so he'll grow up to be a rough and tough badass who then finds me someday in a bar out on the frontier and says "Hi! My names Sue! Now you're gonna die!" and then as I'm dying I'll tell him I'm proud of him, and that I named him sue so he'd have to get tough and be badass, like in that Johnny Cash song.

wat

My Aunt's Grandma was named sophia and i want to honor her someday by naming my child sophia. I think it is a pretty name.

A.philip

My daughter's name is Isabelle. She was named well before I ever picked up a "Twilight" book. We call her Izzy, not "Belle" or "Bella"!

My sister's name is Sofia. It was her grandmother's name, and for the person who said Sophia is "dumb" and "butt-ugly", that is your opinion and most people (thank goodness) do not feel the same way.

A point for naming your children "old" or "traditional" names - the name will actually mean something.

Sophia means wisdom.

My name means honeybee or lemongrass (hey, it's better than a nonsense name!).

What was the quote from Pulp Fiction? "Honey, we're in America - our names don't mean @!$%#" (sorry for the bad paraphrase)

Wow "KaylaMFRainbow" you sound VERY mature. ;)

And you sound like a moron ;)

God forbid someone names their child after what THEY like...lets go ask the neighbors first if they approve. That sounds like a wonderful plan. Who cares if you like the name?

Obviously, TV series and movies are gonna pick names that fit the characters, and if they use a nice name, GOD FORBID we use it on a child. Because it was a name before the movie came out. Cuz if that's the case, Sara is so over used it's not even funny.

I mean really, I guess no one should name their child Sara(h) because it's in one of the most popular books written of all time (The Bible). I mean, who would want to name their child after a woman who couldn't conceive till she was 90 and then she laughed at God's messengers who told her she would conceive, and became a jealous frigged b!tch after she gave her husband permission to take her maid as a mistress. Sounds like a very promising name. ;)

Sara, I so agree with you about Sophia and Isabella. They are so played out. Lets bet that within the next year the popular name will be PIPPA. I personally think Pippa is a cute name.

Get a life Kaylarainbow or whatever your name is. Wow, you know so much about the bible, but are calling people foul names....you should be proud of yourself, true Christian there. And FYI, I never said people couldn't name their children what they wanted to. All I said was I am tired of hearing Sophia and Isabella, but guess I am not entitled to my own opinon...you are a hateful, immature person. You sound like a young kid yourself, I am guessing you are probably 18, maybe 19...that would explain a lot and if you're not, well then that's even worse.

Did I ever say anything about myself being Christian? I'm talking about a story in one of the best sellers of all time. Reading the Bible doesn't make you Christian, it's a faith.

How ever, I have a problem with stupid people. And yes, I'm calling you stupid too.

Anyone with a screen name with "rainbow" in it should not comment! Might as well be unicorn, lol!

It's called a nickname =P

You're joking right?

Maybe your name says it all and I should not waste my time dignifying your comment with a response, but I will say this anyway as a BLACK woman who's 12 year old son is named Aaron, not all black people invent baby names. My son is the only Aaron in his class. There are celebrities and everyday people, black, white or other that "create" their child's name without thinking how this will look on a job application or how they will have to spend time correcting people about the spelling or pronuciation.

If I have another son I love the names Jacob, Joshua or Caleb. All traditional and Biblicial and I'm not a Bible thumper!

My daughter's name is Kyah, but I also love the name Ryanne for a girl. That was supposed to be Aaron's name but he was a boy instead. I even like the name Kennedy or Avery for a girl.

I don't know about "black" names but I'm very surprised that Jose isn't on that list.

Idiot!

Shaydie,

Can I find the term "black names" in Webster's Dictionary?

Ryanne, there's a reason I put "black" in quotes.

I agree with Ryanne that Olde Yankee is an idiot. I had a former co-worker who was black and whose name was Marissa - her sister and brother were Amy and Robert. Her mother (Karen) deliberately gave them "common" names because she knew that names that appeared to be "black" names could lead to bias against them. She was WAY ahead of her time - studies in recent years have shown that there IS a bias against names that are perceived as "black" names. (And I put "black" in quotes for a reason - I don't believe that names have a race.)

I hope you are joking. I am Black I don't don't know ANYONE personal with whatever names that even remotely resemble the names you have listed. I can say 55% of my female friends are Jennifers and Tiffanys. Only place i have heard those horrible names are when other races make weird names up. BTW I take it that not only are you a racist but also an anti-Islamist.

My favorite is still "Quantavious" and all its variations.

I agreed with Ryanne's comment, until I saw her daughter name, "Kyah". Lost me there!!!

The SSA does actually break down the list further by race, if you are interested.

Again, not to sound like a shill, but you can find it in Freakonomics.

Monae,

I somewhat agree with you that it seems like most "black" names are made up by other races, as I have also not come in contact with very many black people with names like this. Sadly, however, I did graduate with a Laqueesha (not sure about the spelling).

WhatA- I can understand the partial understanding, I have heard younger women yelling at children in the supermarket Tanisha(sp) or similar. But, those are young girls......sheesh I watched Teen Mom and one of the twins(White) was named Aleeyah.

A good friend of mine only wanted boys but always had girls. Her kids' names are: Ryanne, Jordyn, Jerri and Joni (pronounced Johnny).

At least it wasn't the other way around!~

How'd you like Miekaell..... or you could be stuck with "G'nai" Like Gnip-Gnop the game. Spend your whole life spelling your name for people over and over and over... What's that again you say? Mike is a good name.

Even with a name that's not unusual, you can STILL have to spell it for people. My first name has several variations of spelling, so I've gotten used to people misspelling it.

My name is practically forgotten now. (The name and I are both old) - It is CHeryl and the "ch" is pronounced as in church, chime, cheer,charm, etc, NOT with the SH sound. I have had people tell me that I am not pronouncing my own name correctly because they have never heard CHeryl.

Even as a Meredith I still have to spell it to people and if I try and say it over the phone I get no where! LoL

Just ask James Madison...pretty sure it was his name first before someone decided to bestow it upon a street.

Wesley and Corey - great names!

Madison is a last name fool. A least I haven't met any kids named Lip@!$%#z.

Thanks for having a sensible mother like mine! I can't tell you how many people butcher C R Y S T A L.

When I say "like it is supposed to be spelled" they come up with a bunch of c-arap like christle, kristal, cristle...I've seen it all. Maybe I should say Crystal like the glass, or chandelier.

I like Wesley and Corey, common, but not five in each class.

I once worked with 4 different Crystal variations - everyone of them spelled it differently.

What is up with people giving their kids last names as first names? Jordan, Madison, Jackson, etc ad nauseum.

Or places? Brooklyn, Brittany,Dakota, etc.

I asked my neice if she was a Cubs fan. She asked why. I told her because she named her child Addison. 1060 West Addison is the address of Wrigley Field!

Funny - my granddaugter (18 months) is named Margaret Mae (after her maternal grandmother) which I thought was a little old fashioned. But they call her Maggie Mae which I love. If she was a boy then they would have called him William with Liam as the nickname. Guess those names are starting to get popular.

Margaret is a great choice of name - it's recognizable, but there are several nicknames that can be used for it - Peggy, Maggy, Marge, etc. That way, if she's in a class with more than one Margaret, she can still be unique.

It never occurred to me that Liam came from the name William.

We know a baby named Margaret whose parents call her Meg, which is a nickname I really like.

I'm an eighteen year old Margaret and trust me, not everybody can spell it right. Actually, most people spell it wrong or have to ask me how to spell it. Personally, I hate all the nicknames for Margaret but I do like my name. My nickname is Mimi based off of my middle name, Mimieux. I'm named after a woman who helped my mother after she came to America who is a dear friend of the family. I like that my name is well known, but not common. I've only met two other Margarets who were about my age.

How many baby girls in the early 70's were named Maggie May after the song by Rod Stewart? I do like that name, and that song!!

Both Margaret and William (with nickname Liam) were on our short list this last pregnancy! We had two boys and went with Sebastian and Gabriel.

Thanks God it's not just me. That's exactly what I was thinking. I am NOT old enough to be a grand mother.

Whew, I thought I was just being sensitive since I'm a Karen! Thanks!

If you were born in 1961, you'd be 50 years old now. If you had a child when you were 23, and your child became a parent at the same age, you could easily be a grandparent now. You wouldn't have had a child at a really early age, nor would your child have become a parent at an early age.

I'd like to add that my parents were born in the 1960's and I'm not ready to make them grandparents yet.

Hey - my mother was a grandmother at age 40. She is now 55 and has eleven grandchildren... and you know something - she couldn't be happier! Keep in mind she only has three children. My oldest sister is 35 with 7 children. My other older sister is 30 with 3 children. And I am 25 and just had my son. She loves being a grandma. Her grandkids light up her world.

My dad was born in 1961, I was born when he was 22. I'm 27 now and pregnant with my first.... I guess that's not so far fetched now is it? I'm nearly 30 I don't think that is too young... nor was 22 too young when I was born. He was married, had a house and a job.

I know plenty of teenage girls named Karen, Caryn, or Caren.

I was thinking the same thing. According to that paragraph, I am "almost" old enough to be a grandma! I was born in the 70's, but I am working on baby #2 and I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that people born very close to my generation could be old enough to be grandparents! I suppose a 50-51 year old is old enough to be a grandparent, but NOT a 40-41 year old unless each generation had babies very young.

Names like Karen, Susan, and Donna were popular in the 1950"s, not in the 1960's.

And if you were born in the early 1960's you are most certainly old enough to be a grandparent.

I am 10 years old and my name is Ava - I get a lot of compliments on my name. I was the only Ava around when I was born but now there are many!!! ANd I dont think it's a Grandma Name ,im not even close to that age yet. My Great Grandma names were Helen and Vera and my Gram's names were Joyce and Anita. I love my name! Short and very easy to spell.

Hear! hear!! too many joshuas, Zacharys, and Lucases.

When I named my son Joshua over 30 years ago, I was told "how unusual". How quickly that changed!

O_o Oh good grief. Poor kid!

My sister-in-law has a Le-ah in her class! Apparently this is gaining in popularity too... lol

I heard the same story from my wife, that a patient at the hospital where she works was called "la-a." When the nurse couldn't say it right, the woman blurted out "La-DASH-a! The dash don't be silent!"

Now I'm beginning to wonder if this is becoming an urban legend.

Punctuation does not belong in a name!

You are going to have problems all through life. I don't know how these people get Social Security Numbers, when the SSN and Medicare systems require all special characters be stripped from names.

I saw an honor roll list with a crazy name on it last year....La-a. I asked my kids who that was and they said you say is "La Dash Ah" Wonder what her parents were smoking and/or snorting?

Naming your kid with a highly unusual spelling, punctuation, or spelling the name phonetically does nothing to help a kid's self worth or esteem. It is stupid, period, and reflects only on the selfishness of the (idiotic) parents. Then to have the nerve to berate people for trying to pronounce what you foolishly bestowed on your kid shows even less character on the part of the parents.

I don't know if this is a legend or true, but I heard that a friend of mine was in a restaurant and the waitress' nametag seemed to read "LADY NASTY". The friend eventually had to ask if it was a joke or if that was really her name, and she responded, "It's La DYNASTY! My momma wasn't no fool!"

I would say Mommy's ignorance was showing when she gave her child that horrid name. Let's see- would the mom by any chance be black and from the ghetto?

JellyBelly, your story made me laugh out loud. I hope you are making that up!!!

OMG!!!! Someone told me that same name story last year. She works as a social worker. I was floored at the parental ignorance and what that poor child was going to have to go through.

I heard about Le-ah thing in an email.

It made me chuckle and hope that it wasn't true. Judging by how stupid some people are I'm sure it probably is.

Ta-a, La-a, LaDynasty, Orangello, Lemongello........

All of these have names reached Urban Legend status. The story always begins that it was someone's friend, cousin, or fellow teacher that heard this.

BaBa Booey, the Orange and Lemon Jello are not Urban Legend in my case. My mom was an elementary school teacher and had two African American twins in her class with these names. True story, but like I said, I wish I was kidding! My guess is that the mother probably heard of the Urban Legend and liked it! Just idiotic!

You were, but Disney used it in "The Princess and the Frog," so it was going to gain popularity. They were going to use Madeline but people complained that it was "low class black" so they changed it to Tiana.

Madeline is low class black? Really?

I have never seen or heard or any black lady named Madeline.

Reading these responses leads me to one conclusion, there are a lot of DUMB AZZ people in the world. I'm surprised some of you are able to function. I guess a low class black name is the equivalent of a "white trash" name like Jim Bob or Daisy Mae.

Wow, did you get offended. Is your daughter Madeline? LOL

It sounds to me from reading the comments that Disney is the one who said Madeline is a "low class black name" not the authors. So, why would you insult them? I mean you say you are surprised they can function. Thats interesting. To me it seems they can function fine. They obviously read the article, formed an opinion, or thought, and were able to type it for a response. That says to me they function just fine.

And just for the record. I agree with you, Daisy Mae and Jim Bob are "white trash," "hick," or even "trailer trash" names. I am not offended by this, and my dog is named Daisy Mae. I find it humorous.

In High school I studied French and we had to have a French name, mine was Madeline and that was nearly 20 years ago!

It is because they wanted to reduce the name to "Maddy" which they thought was low class. Madeline was not the "problem", Maddy was.

Which I think is silly. Maddy is such a pretty nick name.

Madeline is French and is a classic name dum dums.

We have a neighbor who named their daughter 'September'.

Days of the week and months are just never a good idea...how ridiculous.

Ask Dakota Fanning...

And Sunday Rose Kidman-Urban. She was born on a Monday.

Every other girl's name in Spain is Africa or America. No surprise if there can be Londons and Parises...

I love my own name and would never change it. It's short, simple, original, easy to remember and spell. I'm saving it for my own daughter too. I'm also the third in a row in my family after my mother and grand-mother and I wouldn't want to break the chain if I can. I like the idea of it being a tradition. Would be surprised if it ever got popular,... The only popular Zeta is Catherine Z. Jones..

In high school I had a teacher name her kid Colorado.

Before anybodyt asks she was not a geography teacher. She taught english.

I know somebody who named their daughter Ganuairi - pronounced "January". Poor girl....

Don't forget seasons are gaining popularity-Summer and Autumn are quite popular too! Personally, I think naming children after states, days of the week, seasons, and colors (I have heard of a lot of Magentas lately) shows a complete lack of a thought process. Names don't have to be totally original, but at least be a name, not something that is meant to mean something referred to by everyone.

Days of the week and months are just never a good idea...how ridiculous.

Yeah, all of those Aprils and Mays, absurd!

I've known or heard of people with the following names: January, April, May, June, Madison, Washington, Georgia, Cheyenne, Virginia, Olympia, China (spelled Chyna) Asia (Asya) London (Londyn), Alexandria, Orlando.

Not that these are day's of the week, locations, or colors...Just unusual names, but I know a Vernetta and a Tanja.

I know around the time my son was born in the early 1990s, there were a lot of babies, both boys and girls, named Dakota. Cody for short, if it was a boy.

Florida Evans was JJ Walker's mom in the 1970s show Good Times. Granted, she was a TV character, but that's the first thing I think of when I hear Florida as a first name.

But do you pronounce it correctly? It's Kathleen in Irish.

Caitlin is pronounced Coytlin in Ireland. If you want Katelyn, that's how it should be spelled. Caoilin (Key-lin) is what we chose. Very ethnic Gaelic, looks pretty on paper, and is close enough to a more popular name, but different enough to be noticed. Also depends on where you live. When we lived in one place, our Adam was the only one in the school; moved somewhere else & there were 6 Adams just in his grade alone.

Actually, the Irish language does not have a "th" diphthong. So, Kathleen is pronounced more like "cat-leen" whereas Caitlin is pronounced "kate-leen". The pronunciation "kate-lynn" is the Americanization.

Caitlin is pronounced Coyt-lin in Ireland. You are correct that Kate-lin is Americanized version. In some areas of Ireland, Kathleen is pronounced the same as is looks because it is an American name. The Gaelic original is pronounced more like "Kotchleen" & looks nothing like it sounds. I chose Caoilin (Kee-lin) for the ethnic statement as well as it's resemblance to a popular US name. It is just different enough to be noticed, but not so strange that people dismiss it as flaky. Yes, we spell, and pronounce and explain, but oddly enough, nobody has to ask twice.

I think more people ought to give their kids ethnic names.

I did the same thing, Kelly. While my daughter, Colleen, never makes the list, my son, Quinn, is on the new 'trend' names for girls...thanks to Glee.

My mom did the same thing with all 4 of us...although by the number of Alex's the same age as my brother, I find it hard to believe it was not top 20 in 1995!

I can relate. My wife and I chose "Finn" for our boy. When she told a co-worker the name, the co-worker excitedly asked if we named him after a character on a TV show called "Glee." We have never seen the show and are pretty annoyed by the suggestion that we pulled the name from it.

My husband's idiot sister still insists we named our Madeline after the Disney cartoon "Madeline." Different pronunciation, it was a book first, and I named her after Mary Magdelene, but no matter; what she says obviously is right. *rolls eyes*

People ask me if I named my son Liam for Liam Neeson, so I can sympathize!

@Amybee - I completely understand. I have a 12 1/2 year old named Madeleine, born in 1998. I purposefully spelled her name the old French way to make sure that people pronounced it correctly: MAD'-ah-len. But, no, they almost always say mad-ah-LINE'.... arrgghh!!! (or "Maddie" which just makes me nuts).

Hey, I have been asked a thousand times if I was named after Natalie Wood. The answer is yes. No big deal. People aren't trying to make you angry when they ask those questions.

Paulette, Pauline, Paula, Paule - what pretty names! You cannot go wrong with French names unless you misspell them.

I know 2 Paulettes :)

My ma was Pauline.

That's it. I'm naming my next son Bonzodog.

Stef... Just name him Bonzo. It is more refined!.

How about Bozo? There's a classic name that's easy to spell. Kids don't want unusual names. If you really care about them use names like Bill, Tom, or Roy for boys and Kate, Laura, or Jane for girls. I work with a couple of people with unusual names and I always hear them spelling and explaining their names.

Bozo...I like it...LOL

Is Colten a cowboy?

Mataya- what the hell kind of name is THAT?

Gage. Hmmmmm...you wouldn't happen to be a fan of "Emergency?"

Mataya- what the hell kind of name is THAT?

First name is "Akuma", maybe?

<jk>