Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Does a person's given name enhance, detract or is it neutral from what we think of as their overall looks and appearance? If you see someone that looks very good, and then they are introduced with a name that you dislike, does that detract from the overall package or does it have little or no effect?
I just finished reading this article, and I can see where it might lead to an image problem for some as they get older. What do you think? Or is beauty just in the eye of the beholder?
Sure, it can mostly detract if its a poorly chosen name that screams "look at me" I'm different. When parents focus more on instilling a desire in their children to differentiate themselves by their behavior and achievements we'd be better off. Paraphrasing an old proverb (slightly out of context) - "A good name is better than great riches".
A few names I have a difficult time taking serious would be names that seem childlike or pet names on any adult - like "bunny". In youth friends of family had a daughter they called "Dolly" - it was OK as she was young but I'd have hard time associating it with an adult .
Of course there is the obvious already mentioned 'ghetto' sounding names. Which reminds me of this hilarious bit from Key & Peele
Ruth brings up another funny point, which is the naming methodology in some cultures. I recall reading some Russian literature and getting confused with characters because of the long iterations of repetitive naming conventions.
You know what doesn't help a kid? Naming him some obscure Old Celtic name with the original Celtic spelling (Welsh to be specific which is 10x worse than Irish) while he grows up in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood and then goes to a mostly Black High School.
So parents, do your kids a favor and give them names that people can pronounce.
Dang. I was going to name my next kids Fjotli. Ryol, Aouregan, and Cuimhne. Guess I better just go with Steve and River.
I had a boss one time (he was an immigrant) who basically encourages all employees with none "american" sounding names or "difficult" names to change them to something easier. He had several all-american sounding aliases and email addresses. The funniest experience was when a new hire with a trickier name picked an absolutely ridiculous pseudonym. We had to contain ourselves from laughing every time he used it.
Also, some people have problems believing people with certain names can look certain ways. I have a cousin names Jennifer, and people tell her she has a "white name" because you know, no black people could be named Jennifer.
People are seriously insane, my niece has that same name, I never gave it a second thought.
My daughters name is Chloe. Not a difficult name to pronounce. People call her Cleo, Chow, Chol, Cholo, Clare and another dozen variations I cannot even fathom. Why? I have no idea. It isn't even a weird spelling.
But considering the name has a lot of meaning to her father and I, she is happy to have a name that wasn't just picked out of a book.
My sister's name is Brynn. There is literally one way to pronounce it. Doesn't stop people from mangling it.
The most common are people calling her "Bryan" or "Brenda." Because that makes sense.
But my topics still relates to F &B, which is all that matters for threads here. Name threads don't belong here, as they are not a subset of fashion & beauty, but rather evolve from family traditions and genealogy. Ship these threads there.
My gynecologist named her daughter ... Porsche. She is very beautiful, modeled for awhile, and is now a lawyer
As a related aside, it would be great if almost every single little boy in my current preschool class was not named Aiden, Ayden, Aden, Caden, Caiden, Braden, Bradyn, Jaden, Jaiden, Jayden, or Ja'Den.
Those names make me wince. I don't like them at all. My son has a "boring," yet classic name, Henry. And he'll likely be the only Henry in most or all of his classes. And the same for my girls, Grace and Evangeline. None of those in their classes. Yay me!
I love that name! I'm pretty sure if I have a daughter that I'll name her Jacqueline.
That was my French class name! We all had to get French names.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.