"oh.. like the actress?"

[quitmyscene.livejournal.com]

How do you feel about "reusing" names of celebrities?

Would you name a daughter "Evangeline Lilly" or a son "Michael Jordan" as first and middle name? What if you share the same last name as someone famous... would you have your own little "Will Smith" or "Britney Spears"? What about fictional characters? If your last name is Bauer, would you name your son Jack? What about mixing up unisex names? Say your last name is Freeman. Would you have a daughter named Morgan?

All of those names are just examples. I'm mostly just asking about the idea of it. Idea brought to you by my boyfriend and I joking about naming a child "Arnold" when his last name is Palmer.

Comments

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

My fiance's younger brother is Michael Jordan Lastname.

I would probably try to avoid doing that, unless I really admired the celebrity. But idk, even then it's too hokey for me. Like if I had the last name of Hepburn, idk if I'd give a middle name of Audrey or Katherine. It's so cheesy.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

I can't see myself ever using a real person's name to create a first and middle name. It feels like you'd be trying to turn the baby into that person, somehow.

With your own last name, it's different somehow. You didn't choose that, for one thing. I think it would depend on how famous this person is, and how you feel about them. Because if I really disliked the person, I think I'd have to forgo the name, even if I loved it.

Also, if it's somebody who's super popular now, there's the chance that they'll disappear in a few years and no one will even care. But if it's someone who's been around for fifty years already, that's a different story.

[kimberpotamus.livejournal.com]

My partner has the same name that a famous Australian cricketer has. There is only a few years difference in their age, so it's just a coincidence.

He's pretty tired of people saying "oh like..."

If we were to ever get married he said he'd take my last name.

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

I think it's risky because what if that celeb ends up in a sex/drug/something else scandal?

[snoglobel.livejournal.com]

A friend's brother is Michael (J) Fox. (Not sure of his middle). I also know a Juan Valdez (like the coffee guy)

I don't think I would do it, I don't have a strong connection to any celebrities and would hate to have to explain names all the time.

[let-letitbe.livejournal.com]

I'm pregnant with my first child and I'm intentionally avoiding celebrity names. My fiance has a very common last name (Brown), so it's kind of hard. We love the name James, but won't use it because of James Brown. We also like the name Charlie for a girl, but his mom threw a hissy fit because his dad wanted to name him Charlie, so of course he is vetoing that to save an argument with her. The last one is much to my avail because that is the ONLY exception I would ever make.

[doxerssoldout.livejournal.com]

i share my first and last name with a porn actress.

that said, i probably wouldn't intentionally name a child after a well-known celebrity. like another poster said, if done intentionally, it would just sound cheesy.

[requiem-morrow.livejournal.com]

I went to HS with a guy named Johnny Carson lol

[uberta.livejournal.com]

I have a nephew who is also a Michael Jordan Lastname.

[requiem-morrow.livejournal.com]

LOL I know a James Brown! He preferred the nn Cooter, though...

[kilobites.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't intentionally name a child after a celebrity. I'm sure it could happen accidentally, in the sense that someone the same age as my child with the same name could end up being really famous and then my kid would have to deal with that forever (which would be irritating).

[solagirl.livejournal.com]

I know a Steven King, a Charlie Brown, a Chris Griffin and I babysit a little Will Smith.

The first two where named before the writer and the cartoons became famous. The last one, I don't know what they were thinking...

I think it is more common for guys (fewer common names than girls) with simple last names. I would never name my child the same name as a star or famous character. Can you imagine if the first thing every single person you met said to you was, "Wow! Are you named after Spencer Pratt/Ron Jeremy/Jessica Simpson? Are you related? etc."

[et-tu-lulu.livejournal.com]

I inadvertently named my son after Cole Porter (American composer from the early/mid 20th century). I loved the name Cole and it just fit with our last name...

If I had to do it over again, I would probably do more research to make sure that the name I fell in love with wasn't "famous", but there are worse things he could be named, imo.

[wolfbane.livejournal.com]

I have a pornstar name as well :( But I wasn't named after her, she didn't start making movies until the late '90s it seems.

[hwar.livejournal.com]

I would try to avoid famous combinations. My poor sister-in-law is named Ariel (named before the Disney movie wrecked the name forever). I say: watch out, Tianas! Your name is now officially ruined.

[girlsteve.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's the same thing, but I had a family member consider using Ruby Tuesday lastname, after the rolling stones song (we don't have the resturant chain over here in the UK and very few people here have heard of it, if that helps...) and I did quite like that, although it's not something that fits in with my personal naming style. I think it helps that they didn't choose an actual person that their daughter would have had to have lived up to. Their original boy's choice was James Dean lastname, and I wasn't such a fan of that.

[penguiny7.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's a good idea at all. Except for the kid who goes to the school where my husband teaches whose name is Charles Dickens. That is amazing.

[lovablemess.livejournal.com]

I actually know someone who named her daughter Evangeline and their last name is Lilly. She just really didn't care enough to not do it- she liked the name.

[pinkysmith.livejournal.com]

I don't really like naming a child after celebrities or even very well known fictional characters. i have a friend named willie mays (last name) and i believe he really was named after the baseball player but since we almost never use his middle name, it's not such a big deal. i think the name chosen by the parents and the connotations that go with it are the most important

[thellamaqueen.livejournal.com]

We have the name Oliver James on our list, and I had no idea that there was a famous person by that name until somebody brought it up to me. I looked him up on IMDB and honestly, I don't think he's famous enough for it to matter, so that name is not leaving my list, especially since both names have meaning in my life.

For seriously famous names, though, I would definitely avoid it. I grew up with a boy named Tom Sawyer and he got teased sooooo much in school (not from other kids, but from teachers/staff). I would not put a kid through that on purpose!

[cybeleadam.livejournal.com]

It could happen accidentally (I named a fictional character Michael Jordan Lastname once, and I was amused to find out later that it was a famous person's name), but I wouldn't do it intentionally, and it works for famous fictional characters as well. If I ever married a man who's last name is Potter, I'd never consider naming our son Harry. lol And I love the name Dorian but I wouldn't consider using it if my husband's last name was Gray (or I would ask if he would mind giving the baby my last name instead of his).

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't knowingly do any of those things. But I've never heard of Evangeline Lilly, so if it were a case of not knowing, it might happen.

My favorite boy name is Benjamin, but it's out of the question for me, because then his name would be Benjamin Brewer, or Ben Brewer, like the ghostly grandfather Karen believes to haunt her father's attic in the Babysitters Little Sister series.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I think it's a no-no.
If it's accidental, then too bad (wouldn't go through changing it), but for the most obvious cases where you just couldn't not know, I think it's to be avoided.

Of course if the shared last name and/or first name happens to be very common (like Will Smith) then it's harder to avoid.

[mossmade.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't intentionally give someone a famous name.
When my mom married my dad, changing her name gave her the same name as a famous author. She just rolls with it. :)

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

No, any celebrity connection like that would nix a name for me. Unless I was intentionally naming the child after someone; Thomas Jefferson Smith in honor of Thomas Jefferson, for instance. Fictional people, too, if they're sufficiently prominent. I love Pride & Prejudice, but I'm not using Elizabeth if the last name is Bennett; I love Heroes, but I'm not using Peter if the last name is Petrelli. Mostly I just don't want to make my child an object of ridicule and double-takes his whole life, but also, I want him/her to have his/her own identity, not someone else's. Sure, there's probably going to be someone else in the world with your name, but they're not going to impinge on your life the way a celebrity will.

Of course, some names are sufficiently obscure or forgotten that I would consider using them anyway. Apparently there was a 30s movie star named Margaret Lindsay. I'd never heard of her before Googling "30s film star," so, assuming my last name was Lindsay, that wouldn't make me take Margaret off my list.

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

I would never willingly do it. My husband, however, would quite readily name a future son Tom Brady or Jack Bauer.

[kort-ni.livejournal.com]

My husband and I were joking about naming a boy Padraig or Joey or Al (all famous athletes with the last name Harrington-ours...although Joey really isn't that famous) but no I don't think we'd ever do it.

However, we do plan on naming our first daughter Genevieve nn Eve. So her name would be Eve Harrington like the character from All about Eve, but I think that most people now a days have never even heard of the movie let alone know what her name was...so I think it should be fine...plus we are considering using the nickname Gennie or just spelling it Jenny so that would avoid the problem altogether.

[rowan-belle.livejournal.com]

My 5th grade teacher's son was named Michael -middle name- Jordan. I probably wouldn't ever do it, even if I loved the name just because I think my kid (and I) would get sick of hearing it from other people all the time.

I love the name Rowan Frances for a girl, but Brooke Shields's daughter is named Rowan Francis so I feel like I shouldn't use Frances for a mn.

[doxerssoldout.livejournal.com]

the actress with my name made all of her porn in the seventies before i was born. fortunately, i have a pretty common name, so hopefully future employers won't be put off by google searches, haha.

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

I know a James Taylor. When I met him, I said, "Oh, like the musician? I bet you get that a lot." And it turns out, he didn't even know who the famous James Taylor was (before our time, I guess)!

I love the first-middle combination Blair Linda, but a lot of people think it's too similar to the actress Linda Blair.

[starskye.livejournal.com]

I think it's tacky to do on purpose

[politicking.livejournal.com]

My SO's last name is Hill.

I have always loved the name Lauren/Lauryn for a daughter, and Andrew (nn Drew) for a boy... guess which names were vetoed immediately LOL. Dru Hill was an R&B group, for those of you who don't know.

[rubie-dubidoux.livejournal.com]

If my last name were Bauer, than I'd be sorely tempted to use Jack. It's so badass.

I actually know a Hayden Christensen. He went to high school with me, so now he's like 19/20-ish. Weird.

[ohhvelocitygirl.livejournal.com]

my ex was a frazier and I really liked the name brendan. but we had a girl and we weren't married so why would we use his last name anyway?

I know there were a few celeb names I liked I just can't remember any other than having two boys named vincent and theo

[nothingtolose19.livejournal.com]

I graduated with a guy named William Smith (which I don't think is a big deal, seeing as both names are both very common) and my sister goes to school with a guy named Steven King (Okay, so it's not spelled the same, but it sounds it :p, and again, both names aren pretty common). Now, if it was something like Beyonce Knowles or Celine Dion, I might raise an eyebrow. :p

[nothingtolose19.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's so awesome! Benjamin is my favorite boy's name too. :D

I think I'd be even more stoked to use it then, because I'm a big BSC nerd, and I figure not too many people would notice ... only other BSC readers, I guess. :p and at least it's not Karen! Haha. I DO NOT want a Karen Brewer on my hands. ;)

[gregs-wife1201.livejournal.com]

There was a guy in my high school class named Michael Jackson. He got teased all the time. But I'm sure he's grown into it quite nicely.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

Haha, yeah, I don't think anyone I know would recognize Ben Brewer as a book character, but it's all I think of when I consider the name, so I just couldn't do it. Plus, I don't like alliteration in names.

I noticed the BSC snark community you're in (ugh, that sounds creepy; I was just checking your profile because I was curious about your age!) and had to take a look. It's so funny, it makes me regret not reading most of the books past #50 or so.

[spikes-sexkitty.livejournal.com]

i wouldn't do it. and i'd research to see just HOW famous the person was... and what they were linked with.

i work in a doctor's office and we have 2 patients that come to mind, both were born before the name became famous, but we have a 70+ yr old man named Michael Jackson. and a 45-yr old man named James West, but goes by Jim.

now, i have to admit... i did giggle on that. and everytime he calls, i have the theme song for 'Wild, Wild West' stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

[pap3r-heart.livejournal.com]

When I was in elementary school there was a girl named Janet Jackson that rode my bus. She was poor and white.

[julia-michelle.livejournal.com]

I've preemptively told the FH that we are NOT allowed to name a son "Neil Patrick", but Harris is such a popular surname that I can't rule them ALL out ;)

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

Not on purpose or with knowledge. :X