Give your children common names

SDET said:

If you do, it will be much more difficult for someone to slime them online. I'm sure there's more than one Jim Jones. If you have a boy, consider names such as William, John, Robert, etc. Use the formal version and don't put things like Billy, Bobby, etc on a birth certificate. If you have a girl, names such as Mary, Susan, Elizabeth, Sarah are good choices.

Click to expand...

Emphasis choices

Chomsky said:

I wouldn't go out of my way to name a kid a controversial name. But I sure as hell wouldn't bow down to any societal pressures to pick the name we as a family feel is appropriate.

When my relatives came from Europe, our surnames were often ridiculed and we were chastised, stereotyped, and ridiculed. A few we knew truncated their surnames, particularly to enter business or professional life. As a family, we were shocked that any would sully their good family name and turn their backs on their forefathers. As strong believers in family and respect, we could never imagine doing that. So we wore our culturally ethnic name with family pride, society be damned. Our family name meant more than what the dredges of society thought. Our skins were not thin.

So with the above, I can't see me taking too much stock in trying to pick any kids' Christian names besides that which we desire as a family.

Click to expand...

With the way I look, my family background, an "odd" first name most people can't pronounce correctly, my family also instilled in us a sense of self, a modest sense of pride, and encouraged us to be individuals. It wasn't easy at times, with the family in itself being conflicted, but it made us who we are. None of us worry about what others think. We are more interested in pleasing the Lord, who loves us regardless.

SDET said:

If you do, it will be much more difficult for someone to slime them online. I'm sure there's more than one Jim Jones. If you have a boy, consider names such as William, John, Robert, etc. Use the formal version and don't put things like Billy, Bobby, etc on a birth certificate. If you have a girl, names such as Mary, Susan, Elizabeth, Sarah are good choices.

Click to expand...

Or you could name them something like Muhammad Sayid so they can't move anywhere so far away they would need to board a plane :lol:

Moonglow said:

I learned how to fly under the radar in the military and I still do it.

Click to expand...

Hope you don't take any offense, nor am I making any implications, but I felt I had to leave you Steven Still's little ditty:

Lovebug said:

With the way I look, my family background, an "odd" first name most people can't pronounce correctly, my family also instilled in us a sense of self, a modest sense of pride, and encouraged us to be individuals. It wasn't easy at times, with the family in itself being conflicted, but it made us who we are. None of us worry about what others think. We are more interested in pleasing the Lord, who loves us regardless.

Click to expand...

Yep. Sorry to hear about the conflict, but I love the story - and love the attitude!

Same here, Bug. We had our own culture, our own religion (Catholicism), our own language (two of them!), and we were a close-nit fighting unit. No one could touch us, get between us, or separate us - and still is 'till today. Wouldn't have it any other way.

We had a huge advantage though - we were part of a larger well-defined ethnic community. We were sort of our own little country to ourselves. Regardless, as we ventured out from the geographical confines of our well defined neighborhood, we often caught crap. And in my city back in those days, at least for young & teenage boys, "catching crap" often led to a physical altercation - because we never backed down.

But it was all good. We learned to stand-up and fight for ourselves, and to hold our values and way of life dear. Most importantly, we learned to think for ourselves and not be beholden to mainstream commercial & societal thought. But rest assured that as much as we clung to our culture and values, we loved America more than can be expressed. For my grandparents and parents, America saved Europe and represented all we cherished that Europe could not provide.

So the first order of business for the kids (us!) were good educations, a command of the English language, and learning how this new country and its constitution & governance worked. Oh, and money! That was a big deal. We wanted to make money; lots of it! It was always on our minds!

Now you've gotten me all teary-eyed nostalgic about my childhood, again! :kissy:

Chomsky said:

I wouldn't go out of my way to name a kid a controversial name. But I sure as hell wouldn't bow down to any societal pressures to pick the name we as a family feel is appropriate.

When my relatives came from Europe, our surnames were often ridiculed and we were chastised, stereotyped, and ridiculed. A few we knew truncated their surnames, particularly to enter business or professional life. As a family, we were shocked that any would sully their good family name and turn their backs on their forefathers. As strong believers in family and respect, we could never imagine doing that. So we wore our culturally ethnic name with family pride, society be damned. Our family name meant more than what the dredges of society thought. Our skins were not thin.

So with the above, I can't see me taking too much stock in trying to pick any kids' Christian names besides that which we desire as a family.

Click to expand...

It's fact though, that when HR has a hundred resumes on the table for 1 job, 80 % will get weeded out for cause. Name is one of those causes.

jimbo said:

It's fact though, that when HR has a hundred resumes on the table for 1 job, 80 % will get weeded out for cause. Name is one of those causes.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you are right here. This speaks to one of the eternal quandaries of life,

"How much of ourselves are we willing to sell to acquire material needs?"

It's a question only we as individuals can determine.

Rexedgar said:

Click to expand...

:thumbs:

"My name is Sue! How do you do?"

:mrgreen:

Chomsky said:

Unfortunately, you are right here. This speaks to one of the eternal quandaries of life,

"How much of ourselves are we willing to sell to acquire material needs?"

It's a question only we as individuals can determine.

Click to expand...

As long as I'm off topic anyway, another big no no is including a photo. A photo will never help, but it could well hinder.

Chomsky said:

:thumbs:

"My name is Sue! How do you do?"

:mrgreen:

Click to expand...

“So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die....” - Johnny Cash

jimbo said:

As long as I'm off topic anyway, another big no no is including a photo. A photo will never help, but it could well hinder.

Click to expand...

Good point, thanks!

I essentially think of a resume as a sales brochure or a pre-cursor to a date: Give 'em just enough to be interested to want to meet you to find out more, but no more than that!

But I will share this. I once had a (successful) interview where my project leader read my resume intently, then disregarded everything about me, instead asked me some really arcane technical details. I didn't think much of, since I had gone through several layers of interviewing and every interviewer has their own techniques.

Some time after I was hired, this individual shared his technique with me. He claims he asks candidates "in-the-weeds" details that the candidates would only know if they had actually done the work they claim on their resume. If the candidate passes that test, he sees no reason not to believe everything else on the resume, and since my resume fit their requirements he hired me!

It was an interesting technique, to say the least!

Rexedgar said:

“So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die....” - Johnny Cash

Click to expand...

Haha! I love that song. Used to know the lyrics by heart, along with King of the Road!

Chomsky said:

Haha! I love that song. Used to know the lyrics by heart, along with King of the Road!

Click to expand...

“Rooms to let, 50 cents.....”. :thumbs:

Rexedgar said:

“Rooms to let, 50 cents.....”. :thumbs:

Click to expand...

I love this genre of music!

And let's not forget,

"Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo

Now don't tell me I've nothin' to do"

Chomsky said:

Good point, thanks!

I essentially think of a resume as a sales brochure or a pre-cursor to a date: Give 'em just enough to be interested to want to meet you to find out more, but no more than that!

But I will share this. I once had a (successful) interview where my project leader read my resume intently, then disregarded everything about me, instead asked me some really arcane technical details. I didn't think much of, since I had gone through several layers of interviewing and every interviewer has their own techniques.

Some time after I was hired, this individual shared his technique with me. He claims he asks candidates "in-the-weeds" details that the candidates would only know if they had actually done the work they claim on their resume. If the candidate passes that test, he sees no reason not to believe everything else on the resume, and since my resume fit their requirements he hired me!

It was an interesting technique, to say the least!

Click to expand...

I believe that's correct. A resume is the sales brochure. And you've got about 30 seconds to make your case.

Here are some really literal "names from hell" that one should avoid:

Abaddon—(Hebrew) the destroyer
Adramalech—Samarian devil
Ahpuch—Mayan devil
Ahriman—Mazdean devil
Amon—Egyptian ram-headed god of life and reproduction
Apollyon—Greek synonym for Satan, the arch fiend
Asmodeus—Hebrew devil of sensuality and luxury, originally "creature of judgment"
Astaroth—Phoenician goddess of lasciviousness, equivalent of Babylonian Ishtar
Azazel—(Hebrew) taught man to make weapons of war, introduced cosmetics

Click to expand...

More of the same: The infernal names - Wikipedia

Yeah . . . I see your point . . . People can name their children anything they want, obviously . . . But, personally, I think life is difficult enough without adding to it with a name that is going to be ridiculed.

I have a sister with a ridiculously old-fashioned name. She hates her name and has endured so much ridicule because of it.

nota bene said:

But you don't want them to be mocked because of your own need to be eccentric or needy for attention.

Because of the way I've earned my living, I've become a collector of names, and never mind the celebrity spawn names such as "Fifi Trixiebelle" and so much worse, you wouldn't believe how many people with the last name Rhodes think that naming their kid "Dusty" is original.

25 People With The Funniest Names Ever - BlazePress

Click to expand...

My niece was named something kind of normal but spelled differently.

I always thought it was a negative as she could never go into a store and find anything with her name on it.

I don't know if it made her feel left out, but I did sometimes see disappointment on her face, like at a place like Disneyland.

Mason66 said:

My niece was named something kind of normal but spelled differently.

I always thought it was a negative as she could never go into a store and find anything with her name on it.

I don't know if it made her feel left out, but I did sometimes see disappointment on her face, like at a place like Disneyland.

Click to expand...

She'll get over it; I did. In fact, I resent the fact that my "male" name (misspelled, of course) became popular about 30 years ago and that about 10 years ago my daughter's did. I always had a tremendous job interview advantage because my gender couldn't be guessed. Hmmmpf, now it can be. Rats.