Creating names

[purplefog.livejournal.com]

This community was in the spotlight, so I thought I'd join - partially because I have tiny children and have gone through all the naming panics, partially because I'm a teacher and see all kinds of bizarre creations from day to day.

I also got banned from a baby-related facebook page recently due to a discussion on names :/ Having read the posts here, it seems you're all pretty sensible so I'd love to hear your opinions!

I was following a topic about creating new and trendy names out of old ones, and one young lady announced:

"The easiest way to make a new name for a girl is to take a short version of an old name, like Alex (Alexandra) Ann (whatever) or Cam (Camilla) and stick ia on it."

Trying to be discreet, I mentioned that it was worth Googling any created name ending in 'ia' (or any created name for that matter), just to check it doesn't have another meaning. All of a sudden I recieved a barrage of abuse along the lines of "**** you, I can call my child whatever I want - Alexia is a beautiful name"... and then I was banned :( I can only assume the ladies tried it out with 'Alex', and didn't like what they saw.

Thoughts? And hi!

Comments

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

Oh dear...some people huh? :p Of course she can call her kids what she wants but jeez, you were just trying to be helpful.

Personally I'd prefer Alexandra or Alexis over Alexia.

[retrodancekitty.livejournal.com]

I'm no fan of made-up names for people, but I'm pretty confused about what happened to you.
I don't see anything there warranting a ban.
Oh well, you're here now, and we're definitely not that drama-minded :> Welcome!

[juliannelefay.livejournal.com]

That advice is pretty bad. Alexa and Alexis are perfectly decent names that aren't a medical condition! I don't like Annia or Camia much either tbh.

Recently I've been thinking that the best 'new' names are really old ones, that's the direction I've been going when naming characters anyway.

[joereaves.livejournal.com]

Well Alexia's not really a created name, despite it having another meaning that most people won't know, but I really don't get why you were banned. Some name forums really hate anything even approaching a negative comment about names.

Luckily we're not like that. If you don't want negative comments, then there's really no reason to post in public to a bunch of strangers. There's no name out there that someone won't dislike for some reason. I hate forums like that that object to anything other than 'oh how pretty' comments.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

I'm completely honest when it comes to names here and I will tell someone if I don't like a name or if I do. I really try to give a good explanation as to WHY I don't like it, but I don't sugar-coat things either. As long as you aren't calling someone names or being overly rude, I don't think you'll have a problem here. That is the entire idea of this community--judging names.

And seriously, you CAN name your kid whatever you want, but at LEAST realize that they will be judged by their name and it's something that follows them through life. We don't live in a fantasy world where everyone passes judgement on names.

And actually that's rather funny that you said "add ia to any name--like Ann" because someone I went to HS with recently had a daughter and named her Ania. I *think* it's pronounced like Anya (which is a gorgeous name) but I'm not sure.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

Ania is a Polish name and it is pronounced like Anya. I know a lady from Poland with the name.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

I just have a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't go as far as looking into names that are Polish and then using it because of some family tradition. I could be wrong, but I have a strong feeling that this was her way of being ~trendy.~

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

I kind of thought as much from your wording. Just thought I would point out that it IS a legit name, although she may have intended for it to be a new creation.

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[senjva.livejournal.com]

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[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

I was just going to say that Annia already technically exists as Anya/Ania, but y'all beat me to it! So much for trying to be trendy!

Also, I really don't like Camia... it looks wrong, but I guess it could be a nickname for Camille/a?

What are some other "classic names"? Like Vanessa would become Vania, which also exists (Russian nickname for Valentin/a I think and also my Italian coworker has a sister named Vania). Jessica becomes Jessia, which looks weird also. Stephanie - Stephia? I know a girl named Steffa but I don't like that either. Joanne - Joania? Katherine - Katia also already exists... I don't see how ending with an -ia makes an original name at all!!

For Alexia, I would much prefer the Italian original, Alessia (although I guess now it has connotations of birth control thanks to Alesse).

[mirhanda.livejournal.com]

Camia makes me think of Toyota Camry for some reason. IDK!

[reading-angel.livejournal.com]

It makes me think of camisoles, which are commonly called camis around here, as in "She was wearing a purple shirt with a green cami under it."

[velkoria.livejournal.com]

Oh my dear welcome to a place where most of us HATE made up names. Also, a lot of people here are brutally honest but not rude.

I personally hate made up names, specially when they mean something else.

[cybeleadam.livejournal.com]

It's weird to ban people for what sounds like a friendly warning.

Alexia is a perfectly normal name in French speaking countries but of course it's better to avoid it in an English speaking country. And I bet some people here think Alexie sounds nice and don't check either. *checks a French name site* Yes, there are little girls named Alexie in France.