What’s in a Name? Ask Google

[pinkysmith.livejournal.com]

KALIA is a stripper name, but Kaleya is not, her parents-to-be concluded.

No offense to the Kalias of the world, but Lecia and Thor Kaslofsky decided this two years ago, after conducting a Google search of names they were considering for their first child.

A search for Kalia pulled up several images of scantily clad women. “I didn’t want there to be a Google identity for her to wrestle with,” said Ms. Kaslofsky, a corporate investigator in San Francisco. So the couple, who wanted an uncommon name, came up with a creative spelling that sounds the same as kah-LEE-ah: Kaleya.

for more click here to see the New York Times article.

Comments

[lissalynn.livejournal.com]

Whatever the reasoning, I actually think Kaleya is pretty and that the spelling is fine. Khaleahuh, for instance, would be too "creative" for me.

Also, Kaleya will probably be correctly pronounced more often since you can sound it out. I imagine Kalia sometimes gets pronounced Kahl-yuh (like Marya, which is often confused as Maria).

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

I love your icon XDD

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

I love both your icons!

[silvermidnight.livejournal.com]

Kalia is a pretty name. I like that spelling better than Kaleya. I wouldn't worry about it being too close to a stripper, but rather Kahlua.

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

Either spelling looks fine, honestly, and it's a cute name. I probably wouldn't have called it a "stripper name" upon hearing it.

What amuses me is that the father's name is Thor, and of course, that has no connotations whatsoever.

[thellamaqueen.livejournal.com]

Maybe that contributes to why they're so concerned about the connotations of their child's name...? It's not as though the father asked to be named Thor, after all.

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

I'd be more inclined to read Kaleya and KAH LAY AH instead with the LEE sound. I wouldn't have thought of it as a 'stripper' name. Kalia seems like a sweet name to me and I prefer that spelling too.

I think Thor is a bloody awesome name mind you :p

[adamantplatypus.livejournal.com]

And to further prove a point, Lucian with the NN Luke is my "it" name. :P

[joereaves.livejournal.com]

I think the article is overlooking the fact that most people who google the name they want to use probably aren't trying to make sure it's unique - they're just trying to check for connotations or meanings they don't know of before setting it down on the birth certificate. Like the person who came here a couple of weeks ago and said they'd never heard of the name Jezebel before and loved it but then googled it and realised it wasn't a good plan.

I don't think incredibly common or incredibly rare names are all that great an idea to use, but I do think spending thirty seconds on google is a good idea in case there's something that is 'common knowledge' that you've never heard of related to the name you like.

[sparklymoon.livejournal.com]

The other day I was trying to decide on hair streaks and I ended up with Xrated pics... so really any name, even Ann/e, Lauren, Mary etc... could all end up with saucy shots.