(no subject)

[crzydimond.livejournal.com]

There's been a lot of talk lately about names that are "pretentious".
I wonder - is it the name itself, or do you associate it with something that makes it seem pretentious?

IE - I would find it to be very pretentious if someone names their child Jesus. So, there is a strong association I have with the name Jesus that makes it seem pretentious to me.

What names do you all find to be incredibly pretentious?


EDIT - Here is a little definition:

Pretentious: intended to attract notice and impress others, claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified.

Comments

[drunkontea.livejournal.com]

For some reason, names like Peyton and Madison seem very pretentious to me.. Also do names based off literary characters, or famous authors or artists, like Atticus, Holden, Poe or Dante. Well, not ALL names based off literary characters/famous authors or artists.. I guess it depends on how "linked" the name is to its inspiration. Like the name Atticus is SO connected to To Kill A Mockingbird. Hope that makes sense.

[crzydimond.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I agree - Madison IS a pretentious name!
As for Peyton, I just never understood the hype with that one. If you change just one letter it turns into another 'aiden' [Peydon]...and everyone seems to hate those names!

[crzydimond.livejournal.com]

Oh and on your comment about how linked it is the the inspiration...

Do you mean basically that the parents could not possibly have used a particular name without the intention of naming them after a literary/whatever else character?

Eg someone could name their child Emily, or Charlotte, or Harry [I'm just waiting for a huge influx of those!]...but those names could have meaning other than the literary connections.

However, it would be hard to convince people that you really did just think of the name Voldemort all on your own.

[drunkontea.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I basically mean names that are unique enough to be only connected to a certain character. The Harry/Voldemort example is a perfect example, although I don't find "Voldemort" pretentious. That name's more silly than anything else.

[searlait.livejournal.com]

You can find Mileys in the Social Security death registry as far back as 1894.

[searlait.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I know. I also know a little girl that is too old to be a Hannah Montana-inspired kid.

I'm just saying...Miley's not an original name.

[robocrush.livejournal.com]

I've known two Maile's, pronounced the same as Miley, since loooong before the Disney chick. I think it's a fairly common Hawaiian name, and Miley is just an Americanized spelling of it.

[quite-rosie.livejournal.com]

It isn't that hard to believe. I like that name a lot. It is my old hair dresser's name, and I liked it.

[songspell.livejournal.com]

I thought Hannah Montana was the made-up name of the real person Miley Cyrus. Does that mean her parents made up the name Miley?

[thejoysofjess.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's short for "Smiley" which was her childhood nickname.

[songspell.livejournal.com]

So what was the name on her birth certificate?

[nothingbuthp.livejournal.com]

I love the Brontes! I want to name a child Catherine Emily after Emily.

[aleadfeather.livejournal.com]

I was going to say Holden.