Cruel Parents - Bad Names

[Nivek]

Call me naive, but how is someone's name going to affect their chances of employment? Unless it's grossly inappropriate, a name is a name. I get tired of meeting Ashleys and Johns.

[Cloud]

Gak! don't get him started again!

[euphoriatheory]

Actually, I took a class in Consumer Behaviors a little over a year ago, and we did discuss the fact that in the U.S., the Michaels and Marys of the world are a HELL of a lot more likely to get the job than anyone named Laquisha or Tyrone. Maybe we don't like to hear it, but it's true of us as a culture that we are "name biased." Maybe it's helpful that the Condy Rices of the world are getting somewhere, though.

[sweetwater]

I think it better to ignore an applicant's name and focus on the person's astrological sign. Anyone who said they were a Capricorn would get preferred hiring status, once I figured out if it really was a Capricorn, I mean.

[Kingswood]

From ABC News Online (Australia):
Biblical to bizarre: American baby names run the gamut

JaMarcus? WTF?

REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
Registrar: "What is the baby's name?"
Mother: "James"
Registrar: <clickety> <clickety> ...
Father: "No, we agreed on Marcus"
Mother: "Yes, Marcus"
Registrar: <backspace> <backspace> <clickety> <clickety> <clickety> <clickety> <clickety> <clickety>

TWO WEEKS LATER
Mother: "What the hell? Damn computer has called our son JaMarcus!"

MEANWHILE, AT THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE:
IT Guy: "Here's your new keyboard"
Registrar: "Thanks. I've been having trouble with the backspace key for weeks."

[Sundae]

[HungLikeJesus]

From here:

(CNN) -- A New Zealand judge has made a 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name can be changed from Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii, the country's national news agency reported Thursday.
Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt listed a series of unusual names that New Zealand parents had given their children, and said he was concerned that such strange monikers would create hurdles for them as they grew up.
"It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," the New Zealand Press Association quoted the judge as saying.
Among the names Murfitt cited: twins named Benson and Hedges -- after a brand of cigarettes; Violence; and Number 16 Bus Shelter.
Some parents had named children after six-cylinder Ford cars, the news agency reported.
The Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages said in a statement that it had rejected names including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi -- a staple food in Polynesian cuisine -- and Sex Fruit.
A lawyer for Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii said the girl is so embarrassed by her name that friends know her as "K."
Last month, an judge in the U.S. state of Illinois allowed a school bus driver to legally change his first name to "In God" and his last name to "We Trust."
But an appeals court in the state of New Mexico ruled against a man -- named Variable -- who wanted to change his name to a two-word phrase that contains a four-letter expletive and expresses opposition to censorship.

Murfitt - that's funny name.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Some parents had named children after six-cylinder Ford cars, the news agency reported.

They could have had a, Vee Eight.

[Radar]

I met a guy whose real name is Shelby Ford

[Chocolatl]

I've actually always resented my parents for giving me a common name -- Maria. (The year that Carlos Santana's "Maria Maria" came out was a disaster.) I go by Mia, now, and am hoping to change it legally in a few years, once I've settled into my married last name.

Anyway, on the "horrible names" front, one of my cousins is named Justus (pronounced Justice, except my grandparents usually call him Eustice.) His parents find it amusing that every time he eats "Justus is served." Justus's little brother is named Dante'. I asked my aunt why the apostrophe was there, and she just said it "looked nice."

On the other side fo the family, parents Jay and Teresa named one of their sons Jayson, another Terrence, and their little girl is named Jareesa.

[Cloud]

Originally Posted by Chocolatl

IJustus's little brother is named Dante'. I asked my aunt why the apostrophe was there, and she just said it "looked nice."

now THAT deserves more than a simple rolling of the eyes. geez. Not only cruel namage, but flagrant abuse of punctuation.

[Kingswood]

Originally Posted by Chocolatl

On the other side fo the family, parents Jay and Teresa named one of their sons Jayson, another Terrence, and their little girl is named Jareesa.

They wouldn't be fans of Lord of the Rings, would they?

[morethanpretty]

My cousin named her little girl Alyssa (i think i spell it wrong even though she's 5). I find it cruel because I'm always thinking people are calling to me (Melissa), then feel stupid because I answer, and then feel sad because no one does wants to talk to me.

[spudcon]

Grammar nazi?

[Cloud]

better than grammar torturer.