Susie O'Brien on baby names - Adelaide Advertiser

[Amity]

If you google "Susie O'Brien baby names Adelaide" you will come up with an article that Susie wrote for the Adelaide Advertiser on 19 February 2011.

Please read it. Seriously.

I should add that Susie is one of the Mums from my son's kindergarten.... I've known her for 5 years now.

[briggsy's girl]

i agree with most of it - but what's up with Nevaeh?? lol

[jackrose]

Thank you! great read.. and now I am going through her back catalogue.

Just after I put sunnnchyne down for her nap and pick Vahnytee up from kinder..

[Rowellen]

I had to laugh when I saw my nephew's name in that article. 3 years on, I still don't like it

But I'm a bit confused about her opinion of Erin. I've met lots of Erin's & not a single one was as she described. And it's normal enough for my DH to consider it for our Hatchlet (it's on our shortlist of two possible girl's names). Apart from that - great article.

[AnyDream]

Entertaining, but I think the Erin reference was a bit out of left field...maybe one of the copy editors changed the name for a laugh?

[volcomkitty]

Lol @ the Erin bit. I'm an Erin (unfortunately), such a boring name. I do have a tramp stamp - not a dolphin - and dark regrowth, but I've only done half the football team

(by half I mean none at all. Although DH did play footy a few years ago - does that count?)

[Nelle]

I know this is stick in the mud of me, but I hate this narrow Western way of thinking. Should I introduce you to my Indian neighbours so you can mock their names? What were their selfish parents thinking? Didn't they realise how hard those names are to spell or pronounce? Honestly...

[LionsandBears]

I loved this: "We would have to bid goodbye to the names that look as if the cat sat on the key board - Jaadyn, Kyyla". A bit harsh about Erin though, but I imagine she once knew an Erin like that. Come to think of it, so did I......hmmm. It wasn't the football club though, it was the surf club.

btw - I think I've admitted more than once what a snob I am about spelling and weird baby names, even though I know traditions have to start somewhere.

Nice to know Penelope Cruz has good taste in names Hope it doesn't become too popular.

[NaeNae]

I know this is stick in the mud of me, but I hate this narrow Western way of thinking. Should I introduce you to my Indian neighbours so you can mock their names? What were their selfish parents thinking? Didn't they realise how hard those names are to spell or pronounce? Honestly...

I think the article has more to do with the "creativity" of some of the spellings

I loved the Indian names when I worked at WAI, I loved the way they would laugh at me trying to pronounce them

I agree with her in part but does that mean that Shae is not acceptable because it should be Shea? Or the variations of Nikita or Naomi. If we all had run of the mill names, it'd be pretty boring BUT I DO agree with giving kids stupid sounding names I mean c'mon peeps these are little humans, their name is what they will carry through their ENTIRE life what might be cute on a baby won't be cute on an 80yo ... wanna go a stupid weird name ... get a dog!

[Soph28]

Hilarious. I think name spelling has gone so far beyond ridiculous its not funny. As someone who grew up with a 'different' name who always immediately started spelling it after being asked what my name was, I never felt special in the slightest, I felt ridiculous and just wanted to be called Sarah or Kate! I like names that arent used to death but why cant they just be spelled the way they have traditionally been spelled? Kids get teased so much, why put a target on their foreheads?

[Pandora]

I think there's a difference between non-English names, and creative spelling bordering on the ridiculous.
But then I guess that depends on your definition of what's normal I guess.
I do know one mum at daycare who got really upset when told her daughter, Kali, had "made up" spelling when in fact it's the name of a Hindu goddess.
But then you have people who name their kids mykaelah and don't realize it's a female vesion of Michael until their OB comments. (sorry to any parents of mykaelahs I chose it cos she's a relative)

[Junglemum]

I don't think she was having a go at the spelling of the name Erin, just using it as an example when talking about people revealing the names. Her sister confided in her that Erin was on the list, she told her what she REALLY though about it and her sister never consulted her again. Hence the reason i tend not to tell many people our name ideas.

I also agree with Pandora, the article isn't having digs at names from different ethnicities, but more the made up names and the creaative and unuusual speeling for the sake of it.

But whatever, call your baby what you like!

[Astrolady]

But then you have people who name their kids mykaelah and don't realize it's a female vesion of Michael until their OB comments. (sorry to any parents of mykaelahs I chose it cos she's a relative)

Michael ??? really ?? I was saying Mikayla in my head LOL

I am one that always has to spell my name and it's a common name. I did do "creative" spelling of Cameron though but that is cause I didn't want my Kameron's initials making a proper word and I loved the name to much to change it

[ezymay]

Yeah way harsh about Erin's!!! no dolphin tatt or regrowth here. All the Erin's I know are almost the total opposite of what she described.

Divvy were you the friend from the court???

[feeb]

I agree mainly!!

Heard most of those names before around the traps!

[~TT40~]

that whole dash thing reminds me of what my brother and i did in highschool, was our nicknames: me= am&a and my brother = n@ was never offical, but i use to use that on my books etc.

[Trillian]

I haven't read the article yet, but before I do I wanted to say thats a bit unfair about Erin though, I have an Erin and it's an old name, not something new or modernised.

ETA - I had to LOL at the bit about the cat sitting on the keyboard. I read a birth announcement in the paper a while back for a boy called 'Maisyn', which is apparently 'Mason'. And the Erin thing is definitely a bad association thing. That was always a problem when we were deciding on names - names I loved were given the thumbs down by DH because he 'knew a Justin at school and he was a ****head' LOL. And some of it certainly has gone too far. Creating spelling is one thing and can be tolerated, but calling your child something that is totally random is just dumb, it really is. I know that it is their child and they have the right to call them whatever they want, but it really is just dumb. I remember reading in the Daily Telegraph ages ago about a child in Western Sydney that was called 'Fully Sic'.

[Junglemum]

She wasn't having a crack at the spelling of Erin Trill, or saying it was made up. It was used as an example of a name she doesn't like. Her sister was going to use it, told her and basically said 'Ewww'. We all have names that conjure up images of specific people that we don't like, Erin was one for her. My list is huge! lol I think it's a pretty name.