Names with negative connotations

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

This post brought to you by the recent obsession with the name Loki.

Does anyone actually read the mythology behind Loki? He is one nasty, evil god. Why would you want to name yout kid that? Even if you just view him as a necessary trickster/badguy in the lore, he still ends up chained to a rock with his son's entrails and venom dripping onto his face. He gets to stay like that until the end of the world, according to the mythology. What a lovely story to tell your kid about his name.

I, for one, could never give a child a name with a historically negative connotation. Juliet even bugs me because she does (spoiler!) kill herself at the end of the play, after all. Ophelia, same sort of issue. Damian, Lucifer, and related names are all awful in my opinion and should doom the parents to a hellion of a child. (Don't anyone get the idea that Hellion's a lovely name.) Same with Adolf.

If Lolita's okay (not that I think so) then why aren't people offering up Humbert as a boy's name? Humbert Humbert is a great literary figure, after all. And Bert is such a nice nickname.

So in conclusion:
1) What's your opinion on using names with negative backgrounds?
2) Any other good examples of names with bad history?

Comments

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

And here is where we agree to disagree. And agree that our kids would totally make fun of each other on the playground. :) It builds character, they can deal.

[swiftheartlu.livejournal.com]

Nah, my kid will be like David Bowies on the first day...

"Oh, so you're Xowie Bowie?"
"No, my name's Joe."


"Oh, so you're little Pestilence Fedaykin the Second?"
"No...my name's Pete."