• Fonderthud@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    I’m a big proponent of normal/semi obscure normal first name, weird middle name. John W Smith if you work in sales, J Wolfgang Smith if you’re an author. Perfect compromise.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
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      8 months ago

      We gave our daughter a somewhat disused but normal and formerly not uncommon name which was the name of a plant. We just wanted a name that wasn’t religious but still normal enough that she wouldn’t get bullied for it (she got bullied anyway). We realized later that it actually made sense in terms of her ancestry because her mother has a plant name, her grandmother has a plant name and her great-grandmother had a plant name. One long lineage of plant names.

      • crazyCat@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        Dude I see you around here on the regular, so I’ll mention that this is ironic for me to read this, because we also named our daughter an old, obscure but “real” name that is also a plant (a flower, specifically).

        It’s from France, so I asked a French friend before using it if it was ok to use and not a weird name, and they said “sure it’s ok, but it’s like an old grandma’s name no one uses anymore.” And that’s when I knew it was the one!

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
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          8 months ago

          Yep, that was basically our reasoning. Vintage name, so it’s memorable, but not a weird one and spelled normally.

          And absolutely not religious.

          • Zekas@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Honestly being bullied for a weird name just feels like victim blaming. It’s just someone else’s shitty behaviour we’re expected to dance around? That was the one problem with the name.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPM
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              8 months ago

              I don’t disagree, but it’s also a parental responsibility, in my opinion, to help your child avoid bullying. It’s not possible to avoid entirely, but there are definitely ways to make it worse. And a weird name is one of them.

              • Spendrill@lemm.ee
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                8 months ago

                Give a kid a weird name and the bully will pick on them but set a bully on fire… no… wait, I think I got that wrong.

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              It may be someone else’s problem, but as a parent , you should consider your child’s well being when naming them, and try to avoid obvious pitfalls

              • Zekas@lemmy.world
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                8 months ago

                I mean yes obviously, but still. Just angering me we have to fight human shittiness with something like this

      • pivot_root@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        a somewhat disused but normal and formerly not uncommon name which was the name of a plant

        Describing it like that makes it really tempting to try and guess the name. Out of respect for your and her privacy, I won’t, though.

    • Korne127@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Ngl having “Wolfgang” as an example for a weird name was really strange to read for me… but I’m German.

    • TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      It’s a pretty common practice where I live for a kid to be named after someone for their first name, but go by their middle name. So I think it’s perfectly fine to have one normal name and one weird name in any order.

      A. John Smith is an accountant. Atreyu J. Smith is a musician who wears leather pants and some sort of studded headband.