(no subject)

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I was watching the news just now, and I couldn't stop laughing at the name of this one guy they were interviewing for a story.

Wait for it...

Dorian Gray.

Why, why, why???

edit: Just to clarify, Gray was his LAST name.

Comments

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

idg what's so horrible about that. i mean i'm not a fan but am i missing something?

[shechoselove.livejournal.com]

Have you ever heard of Oscar Wilde?

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde, and I just can't believe that that guy's parents weren't intentionally naming him after the character.

[lustdumpster.livejournal.com]

ohhh ok. i'm not familiar with the character but i was trying to figure out if it was one of those things that sounded dirty when you say it slow haha

[so-there.livejournal.com]

well, for the record, Dorian Gray (in the book) was EVIL.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

yeah I agree that it very much sounds intentional.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

XD Oh no. I wonder if his parents realised...? I think it would actually be better if it was an accident. If they did it on purpose... ugh.

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

yep, this. exactly. hopefully it was just a freak accident....

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I think there's a line that divides picking names from inspiring characters and explicitly putting a tag on a kid with a famous name on it.

It reminds me of a friend of mine who wanted to name her daughter Carolalt as a first name, after actress Carol Alt ;) (she didn't realize she was merging first and last name)

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Carol Alt was/is an american actress but probably only famous in Europe in the 90's.

I thought Dorian Gray was pretty famous, but maybe not as much in the US?
In Europe almost everyone would make the connection (at least, those with high-school education)

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I'm in Canada, but I think most people would make the connection as well. Even if they haven't read it or aren't familiar with the story, it's a famous enough title, I think.

My Mom was watching the news with me, and she's never read the book, but she turned to me and started laughing at the same time I did.

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

ditto. I think even if people haven't read the entire thing they would recognize the title.

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

I am in Canada and I agree.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

To use the name Dorian, if you like the book, is one thing in my mind. A lot of my favourite names come (at least in part) from the same thing.

To use the name Dorian when your last name is Gray is just silly.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

They may very well have just liked the name, but that doesn't mean you should use it. In my mind if you have a certain last name that puts restrictions on the kinds of names you can/should use, and this is one of them.

And obviously if he changed his own name that's another matter entirely, but there's no way for me to know that, so I have to assume that is not the case.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

It is to me too, in the sense that it sounds good together and everything. But to me it's like the equivalent of someone naming their child Harry if their last name is Potter. It sounds fine, but because of the associations they would be teased about their name even more than most people, I think.

With a name as uncommon as Dorian, there's a good chance you already have people asking if you got the name from the book, and to me there's no reason to go even more obviously overboard.

[wistfuljen.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. I love Oscar Wilde and that book but that's just asking for teasing (especially for such a narcissistic asshole of a character!).

I am kind of blown away that people don't know the name but then again I am old and I read a ton.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Urgh. I have to say I really like both Dorian and Gray, so I understand how one could be tempted to use them both, but not like this!

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

Except at least if you used it, there would be a different surname ... in this case, Gray *was* his surname.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

Maybe he gave it as a joke name, didn't want to use his real one?

I saw a guy in the newspaper quoted as "Rusty Shakkleford," and much as I'd like to believe that that was his real name, I doubt it. And I know there's at least one Jean Valjean in my phonebook.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

That's possible. I kind of thought of that at the time, but then dismissed it because it didn't seem like a serious enough issue to warrant it, you know? But it definitely could be.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I'd do something like that for shits and giggles. Dunno about anyone else though. (I'd be a copycat and call myself Rusty Shakkleford, personally.)

[nothingbuthp.livejournal.com]

Yay Les Miserables!

[skittlebox.livejournal.com]

Is his number 24601? hehe

[nobutterflies.livejournal.com]

Was he very handsome and youthful for his age?

Seriously though, I don't think it's a big deal to name a kid after a famous person/character--it just depends on the connotations/meaning. Why name your kid after one of the most narcissistic characters in literature?

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

Bah. That's really... not cool. I mean, really now people. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Elliott Smith, and I want to name my child Elliott, but if I married someone whose last name was Smith, Easton, Goldenthal, Richardson, Gould, Spitzer, or even George or something that sounded vaguely like T.S... I'd give up on Elliott.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

Exactly, this is how I feel.

There are some cases where a name, no matter how much you love it, is going to sound silly.

[bluegenedream.livejournal.com]

I actually really like the name Dorian Gray and I also really like the book, but NO WAY would I ever name a person that.

Maybe a cat though....

[laminy.livejournal.com]

Maybe his parents knew nothing about literature? Or maybe they did, and that's why they did it. They probably heard it once before and had no idea where it was from and decided that it sounded good.