Susie O'Brien on baby names - Adelaide Advertiser

[butterfly_warrior]

As a teacher, naming your child is close to impossible.

I could sit here and say that every single Mitchell I've ever taught has been a nightmare, and it's true and the name has very negative associations for me. That's not to say that there aren't lovely Mitchells out there - just that none of them ever ended up in my classroom.

Would I use the name myself? No.
Would I automatically assume a new Mitchell I come across is also a ratbag? No. I actually look forward to the day when someone may actually be able to redeem the name for me! As my nephew is doing a great job of doing with his (not Mitchell! But another name that has strong negative associations for me).

Also, as a teacher... creative spellings are a pain in the bum. Yes, it's also a pain to have three Jessicas in the one class (has happened!), but it's no less painful if there's a Jessica, a Jessika and a Jessikah or something like that. It's actually more painful because you end up having kids getting irate because you spelled their name wrong!

I also have a personal hatred of unisex names... when you just get the list of names and you're looking at Jordan, Morgan, Kim, Jesse... It can be really embarrassing!

BW

[toomanyshoes]

As a teacher, naming your child is close to impossible.

I could sit here and say that every single Mitchell I've ever taught has been a nightmare, and it's true and the name has very negative associations for me. That's not to say that there aren't lovely Mitchells out there - just that none of them ever ended up in my classroom.

Would I use the name myself? No.
Would I automatically assume a new Mitchell I come across is also a ratbag? No. I actually look forward to the day when someone may actually be able to redeem the name for me! As my nephew is doing a great job of doing with his (not Mitchell! But another name that has strong negative associations for me).

Also, as a teacher... creative spellings are a pain in the bum. Yes, it's also a pain to have three Jessicas in the one class (has happened!), but it's no less painful if there's a Jessica, a Jessika and a Jessikah or something like that. It's actually more painful because you end up having kids getting irate because you spelled their name wrong!

I also have a personal hatred of unisex names... when you just get the list of names and you're looking at Jordan, Morgan, Kim, Jesse... It can be really embarrassing!

BW

I've known 3 Nicholas Johns, all of which were little rat bags. I still know 1 of them and he's actually grown into quite a nice person.

[Marlene]

As a teacher, naming your child is close to impossible.

I could sit here and say that every single Mitchell I've ever taught has been a nightmare, and it's true and the name has very negative associations for me. That's not to say that there aren't lovely Mitchells out there - just that none of them ever ended up in my classroom.

Would I use the name myself? No.
Would I automatically assume a new Mitchell I come across is also a ratbag? No. I actually look forward to the day when someone may actually be able to redeem the name for me! As my nephew is doing a great job of doing with his (not Mitchell! But another name that has strong negative associations for me).

Yep, I got told this over and over when I named my son Mitchell (apparently no one had ever known a "nice" Mitchell, lol). But i did it anyway because I really liked the name You would love to have my boy in your class...he's an A grade student, a sporting champ, a role model for his classmates and has awesome manners. Not that I'm bragging or anything, LOL. At home, hmmm, slightly different story...he definitely has that "cheeky" Mitchell side, hehehe.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

Growing up i was told that my name was very unique and nowadays my name doesn't even compare to half those going around.

The article was great, though i didn't agree with what she said about the name Erin, i've never come across a skanky girl called Erin so maybe that was having a crack at one she went to school with..

[Glamourcide]

I agree with the PP's who feel that the article isn't having a chop at 'unusual' names, per se, more so the 'kree-atyv' spelling that is becoming popular these days...
I'm sure most of you are already well aware of my stance on names. I like 'em traditional, spelled 'correctly' and I'm not keen on 'cultural' names being used if you're not of that culture. But that's just me.
I'm sure most of us can agree that this 'La-ah' and 'Jaaylen' nonsense is just that - nonsense. And most of us can tell the difference between a 'cultural' name like Sabal (Indian), and a 'creative' name like (to rip off a PP, because I lol'd) Vahnytee, kwim, so I don't think the assumption should be made that those of us who agree with Ms O'Brien's article are automatically 'narrow-minded' or rejecting non-Western values and cultural traditions, at all.

Just my 2c I laughed a few times at the article - funny how the 'Erin' story has caused such a stir! Funny story - everyone was a bit flabbergasted when we named DD1 Emily, because I had had a long-running dispute with a girl named Emily and all our friends knew how much I hated her guts. They were surprised that I could ignore the negative association and still use the name for my own daughter. Once my DD1 was born, that was it - the name was hers and even now when someone mentions the 'other' Emily, I get confused for a second because I assume they're talking about 'my' Emily
The 'other' Emily and I are actually friends again now lol... I can definitely see why a negative association would stop people choosing a particular name for their child (LOL I agree, Mitchells are ratbags, my cousin is one hehehe), but so far I haven't taken it personally when someone's bagged out the names DH and I chose for our babies They're not bagging out on my kids, they're bagging out on whoever that person in their past (or present!) is who they feel isn't a nice person or has wronged them. That's not a name thing, that's a personality thing, and nothing to do with me or my babies!

[Beatrix]

Look my main problem is stupi names, not creative spelling one...

My daughter is Teleah, spelt as it pronounced.. but for some reason people always want to spell it Taleah.. which to me says is TA not Te... so yeah...

but serious some guy names his baby girl Facebook... that poor child

[toomanyshoes]

but serious some guy names his baby girl Facebook... that poor child

You have to be joking?

[Glamourcide]

^ Apparently it's an Egyptian custom to give your child a 'meaningful' name even if it's not a traditional or typical 'name' word. The parents chose the name 'Facebook' to honour social media's role in the recent protests and political saga that we've all seen unfold on the news.