[identity profile] babyjess8.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] babynames

 I met up with a bunch of kids the other day and was suprised at how many had surnames as first names! What are your opinions on this naming trend? Like/dislike? What are some surnames you like as firstnames? Below are a list of the kids I was with

Ryan
Baker
Parker - I actually don't mind this. I once liked it for a girl though.
Luke (lol there is a rugby player called 'Isaac Luke' so I figured it could count as a lastname!)
Thomas
Harris
Williams (yes, with the 's' on the end)
Lewis
Marcham (his mother's surname)

My favourite surnames as firstames are: Robinson, Addison and Ryan

Date: 2008-06-09 08:06 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] krosp.livejournal.com
I definitely wouldn't count Thomas, Luke, Lewis etc as last names turned into first names. Yes they can be last names, but so can almost anything. I've met someone before with my first name as their last name (Claire).... but I don't think I'm someone with a surname as a first name!

I think the last names as first names trend is more about when people start using a name that has not been commonly heard of as a first name before, which names like Thomas etc are not.

Anyway to answer your question - I don't like the trend much at all. I especially don't like it when the last name ends with "son", or when it is an occupation, like Hunter or Taylor. The only one I mildly thought I liked once was Bennett, but I'm not too fussed by it. Otherwise..... probably there's a bunch out there I'd tolerate more than others, but in general it's not my style at all.

Williams is interesting.... I don't like it lol.. but it's an unusual one.

Date: 2008-06-09 09:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] amspeck-myworld.livejournal.com
Parker is my husband's step-father's surname, we had considered it as a first name if our daughter had been a boy (it was between Parker and Alaric, but she's a she so it wasn't an issue - we've now decided against Parker as a name and are going with Nelson as an honouring name instead when - GD willing - we have enough boys for that ;).

I'm not to bothered about surnames as first names, it's been done for yonks - particularly giving the mother's maiden name, though I do find -son names which mean 'son of' and most other surnames very strange on girls (but then, I like very flowy feminine girl names, I think). I do think many traditional surnames sound very harsh as first names with most surnames though.

My favorite surnames as first names: Franklin, Keaton, and Parker all on boys.

Date: 2008-06-09 09:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 0o-faerie.livejournal.com
I like Parker and Harris!

I also really, really like Harrison and Jefferson.

Date: 2008-06-09 01:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com
Ryan, Luke, Thomas, and Lewis are legit first names -- they double as both, it doesn't make them 'surnames as first names'.

Date: 2008-06-09 01:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sandtree.livejournal.com
Baker? Seriously? That's got to be one of the most ridiculous ones I've ever heard. What's next, Butcher? Candlestick Maker?

I hate the trend of surnames as first names, unless it's the mother's maiden name or something. Otherwise it makes little to no sense, and it's annoying and trendy, especially on girls. That's my opinion.

Date: 2008-06-09 03:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] morphinae.livejournal.com
Please don't double post.

Date: 2008-06-09 03:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] twitchywoman.livejournal.com
I love last names for first names. These are the ones I like the most:
Archer, Deacon, Drake, Forrester, Foster, Leland, Mason, Payne, Porter, Ryder, Sawyer, Thatcher, Truman, Whitman

Date: 2008-06-09 06:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] arbus.livejournal.com
i dont typically like those types of names - tucker, parker, connor, etc.

the only surname type names i do like are hudson and sawyer.

gray and shepard are surnames in my family that i plan on using as a middle name at some point.

Date: 2008-06-09 08:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/__recidivist/
I have a friend named Ryan Baker.

I agree that in the US at least, names like Ryan, Lewis, and Thomas aren't only last names

Date: 2008-06-09 08:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laminy.livejournal.com
It took me like, awhile to think of anybody that I had heard of with the last name Ryan. That, Luke, Thomas and Lewis, those are just like, first names to me. I don't even think of them as surnames.

Date: 2008-06-09 08:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tunknut.livejournal.com
...seriously? You'd name a kid Payne?

Date: 2008-06-09 08:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tunknut.livejournal.com
I hate surname-names on girls, they tend to be both ugly and pretentious. Madison? Peyton? Emerson? Why?

On boys they're NMS but OK as long as they're not confusing when paired with the last name. For instance, if a kid is named Parker Thomas people will probably assume he's supposed to be Thomas Parker.

Date: 2008-06-09 09:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] twitchywoman.livejournal.com
If I find a guy who loves it as much as I do, I might.

Date: 2008-06-09 09:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] anneliese.livejournal.com
I don't like surnames-as-first-names if they end with "son," ESPECIALLY for girls.

It really depends on the name. Most of the time I just think it sounds really pretentious.

Some are okay, but usually I find that the ones I like are traditionally first names in other countries. Like the name "Connor"--sounds like a last name to me, I like it as a first name, then someone told me it is traditionally a given name in Ireland (could be wrong there, of course).

Looking at other names that have been suggested, I do like Whitman a whole lot (for the literary reference).

I would consider giving my last name as a first name to a boy, though. LOL this comment has been all over the place.

Date: 2008-06-09 11:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com
I only like Luke out of these names.
I like some last names as first names: Blair, Carey, Channing, Haley, Leslie, Morgan, Quinn, Riley, Shannon, Sheridan, Taylor, Curtis, Dawson, Robin, Scott. (These are all of the names on my list that I have seen as last names.)

Date: 2008-06-10 02:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chocklit-frog.livejournal.com
Chandler, lol. Actually not a bad name imo :P

Date: 2008-06-10 07:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] juniorfan29.livejournal.com
In some cases, for me at least, it's hard to classify what is classified as having a surname as a first name.

However, my favorite surnames as first names are: McKenna, Hunter, and Carter.
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