entirely making up names :)

[pageless.livejournal.com]

I've been writing since before I can remember (go go selective memory!) and as such, have made up some very strange character names in my time.

Sometimes the names turn out to be names that are real, or a misspelling of a real name, or deity, or whatever may have you. One even wound up being an angel in old Wiccan mythology or something. Which really boggled my head, but that's not my point.

I know the idea of PURPOSELY misspelling a name for the unique-factor is really frowned down on. What about people who are genuinely artistic/creative, and would feel untrue to themselves to not think of something equally unique for their kids?

I probably would never do this--the idea of one of my kids being named after one of my characters is scary (I tend to put them into morbid/'wrong' situations...) and we're already set on some foreign but still real names anyway. :)

Just looking for opinions, thoughts, insights, whatever.

PS, by original/creative/writer/artist, I'm not talking about your average 14 year old emo kid with their little depressed lyrics or whatever. ;) Nor do I mean the wonder-mamas who name their poor kids after their Paris/Britney/Xtina heroes, with a twist! Leaning more towards published people, someone who's at least had a drawing in a magazine, ah blah. :)

Comments

[pageless.livejournal.com]

Ah haha. I don't mean something entirely ridiculous, naturally. Obviously my LJ username is made up, and I don't think it sounds too terrible for a name... (though unless by some odd miracle of nature, my kid pops out as looking Asian, I'd never even consider it ;D)

There's boundaries to be thought of, obviously.

In my family, names seem to be overused repeatedly to the point of me being so very tired of it all. Not to mention I was given the name that every other girl seemed to have been named from 1970-1990 and beyond. Jennifer. Hooey. :/

[turabiannights.livejournal.com]

As long as you don't mind that the name wouldn't have an etymological meaning (unless you took the trouble of finding a root and fixing it up in some way), I don't see that making up a name is really all that bad. I wouldn't do it myself, as I like that names have meanings, but there's nothing wrong with it. What I have a beef with is people who either make up names then claim they have particular meanings, or people who misspell a common name then claim it's unique.

As for people who are "original/creative/writer/artist," I don't think that has much to do with it. Creativity is in the eye of the beholder, as many internet arts communities prove daily. Being a published writer or artist doesn't mean you'll choose a good name for your kid; fourteen-year-old emo kids won't all necessarily choose bad names. I don't think being a particular sort of person entitles you to a certain sort of naming, as everyone's free to name however they like. The responsibility that comes along with that freedom is to take care that you don't saddle a child with a name that you love, but they will hate. I personally don't feel it's fair to express your own personal interests and passions through a child's name - they should get to choose what they represent themselves. Therefore, my caution to anyone considering a "creative" or "artistic" name is to undervalue their creativity and artisticness; something a parent may think is great may not really be suitable for a child to have to bear for the rest of their lives. Being "true to yourself" is not your first goal as a parent - it is fostering a good life for your child.

[pageless.livejournal.com]

Ehh, names with backgrounds can be overrated and weird anyway. Jennifer: White wave. I don't FEEL like a wave. I'd rather have my kid have a name that they can really call their own, than to know they're named after a plant of God or something. :)

I didn't really mean every emo-kid will think up a terrible name. I was in the midst of reading a community about Mary-Sues before I wrote this. ;) So I was thinking more along the lines of obsessively bizarre names (Crystal Angel Emerald Precious the third. Hee. :))

Of course kids should get to express themselves. I don't know... having a very common name myself all my life made ME feel somewhat held back. I was just another Jennifer. When someone with a more unique and interesting name easily stood out, I really had to work for it. Sometimes, ya just wanna be lazy and seen for simpler things, neh? Maybe it's just me. Who knows. :)

[turabiannights.livejournal.com]

Feeling the need for a less common name is completely understandable, but there are so many real names out there that are completely unused, you know? It's not like it's a choice between Aidan and Leioelielisananshan Emerald Precious - there's a wealth between that. I truly don't mind when people make up names, but they need to be prepared for their kids to ask, "Hey, why doesn't my name mean anything?" In the end, it's not the biggest deal - I just get pissed when people try to claim Nevaeh is "Slavic for butterfly," you know?

[sarahrose.livejournal.com]

I personally don't believe a name can be "misspelled."

I'm an artist, a photographer, a writer - and my creativity does show through to my preferred names. Some may say I "misspell" things, but whatever. I enjoy the names I enjoy and I rarely change my mind based on something someone here posts. I also don't think that age is a big factor in taste. Some things stick with us forever and don't change as we get older.

Just my two cents. :)

[pageless.livejournal.com]

When a name is spelled strange enough to the point of anyone ever pronouncing it the same way twice, or the poor child can't even spell their name, I count it as a mispelling. Or at least a bad typo. ;)

I beg to differ on the age doesn't change anything.

When I was 12 years old, I really wanted a kid named Aiden. A decade later... ummm, that's not happening now. XD

Plus with aging, comes different experiences (I'd never name my kid after one of my husband's exes, or one of the girls I used to work with in an adult-related business, for example) so I think taste in names is very much subject to change. ;)

[sarahrose.livejournal.com]

I didn't say that nobody's tastes change. I just don't think it's a big factor overall. Some of my tastes have changed and some have not. My top two names are traditional now and they never were before.

(I like Aiden minus the popularity)

:-D Happy Thanksgiving!

[pageless.livejournal.com]

It makes sense. Making plays on an already OVERLY existant name is never a good plan. Jennifer, Jenifer, Jeniffer, Gennifer, etc etc etc. X) In that sense, I'm glad my mom at least did the 'proper' spelling in my case. :)

[krosp.livejournal.com]

I used to love making up names for the sake of it, just to see if I could get something that sounded like a real one. Actually, my lj username came from a similar habit, where I liked making up random non-words that sounded a bit silly and weird. (I'd never name a kid krosp, or anything else I came up with through those strange phases)

I think made up names can sometimes be nice, but usually they're not... because throughout history, there have been so many names, that almost everything decent has already been invented. If something doesn't exist as a name, it's probably because it was crap to begin with. (I know that makes no logical sense but still works as an explanation to me). Usually, made up names just sound like the brand of some medication, or science fiction character.

[pageless.livejournal.com]

I don't think all made up names sound that bad. :) Maybe I'm biased to my own made up names, though. I made up my own username, and I've never been told it sounded bad or anything.

I actually prefer the shorter 'made up' names that myself or one of my fellow writer buddies make up. In between us, I think we've come up with some very nice names, even if they're simple. Dai (though this is the name that wound up being an angel of some sort!), Zaila (turned out to be a real name), Corial, Rivial, etc etc. :) Maybe they sound far-out and weird to other people, but they really sit well with me. Particularly Corial. :)

[helzebel.livejournal.com]

Isn't Dai just the Welsh form of David? And I'm confused about the 'angel in old Wiccan mythology' thing, since Wicca has only been around for about 50 years.

"Corial" and "Rivial" just look like odd spellings of "Coral" (pretty thing and real name) and "rival", to me. It's not that they 'seem really far out and weird', they just... I dunno, they don't work for me. I think in real life one should use real/existing names, and there are plenty of really beautiful and interesting real names out there without inventing ones that either look like a misspelling of existing ones or like they were created for a Mary-Sue. If you want to stay true to your inner aesthete, maybe you could name a kid after a literary character you admire, or something?

[krosp.livejournal.com]

Corial is quite pretty although I think of Cordial. Rivial definitely makes me think of rival. I think Corial would be alright on a real human though.

[septembergrrl.livejournal.com]

What about people who are genuinely artistic/creative, and would feel untrue to themselves to not think of something equally unique for their kids?

I think they need to weigh their delicate artistic sensibilities against the fact the kid needs to live with the name forever, and recognize the kid's needs are more important. I'm not necessarily opposed to all "created" names, but I do think any first name should be relatively easy to spell and pronounce in the culture the child is born into, and sound good with "Supreme Court Justice _____________" attached.

[sorqaqtani.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure having a picture published makes someone certifiably extra-creative, or that feeling all speshul and creative gives one sanction to give her child a ridiculous name.

That said, there's nothing inherently wrong with unique or even made-up names. It's just that a lot of them sound dumb.

[thetruefalse.livejournal.com]

My mother chose a name for me that was, and still is, unique. It took me a while when I was younger to get used to being the only person I knew who had my name, but as I got older, I couldn't imagine things having been any other way.

Since we've been "not trying, not preventing", my husband and I have had several rather lengthy conversations about "unique" names that I'd like to give to our child(ren), and he's vetoed several of them. It is very important to me that our child(ren) have name(s) that hold significance, but that are also unique. He says that a unique name doesn't necessarily mean we will have a unique child...I disagree. Whatever.

We ended up coming to a compromise, which makes me very happy. I felt like it would cheat my child(ren) out of something wonderful if I didn't/don't give them unique names...