My kids were born in Memphis, but mostly grew up in NC. But when my daughter had her 2nd son, she named him Memphis. Believe it or not, he really looks like a Memphis! I figure he'll either be a Nascar driver, a rodeo rider, or an evangelist! Something dynamic! What unusual names do you have in your family or circle of friends?
I'm guessing...L-ah pronounce...Lei? Our two daughters are at both ends of the spectrum...Emily one of the most common and Lainie which I run across very rarely.
I pronounce L-ah like it sounds La-ah? I don't have any unusual names, but I have a friend who named her daughter Emma'Leigh (Emily).
It's something like Ldashah. My name is weird and so is my brothers. I asked my mom why in the world couldn't she have given us normal names. I never really did get a good response. I should go by my middle name which is Inge.
L-dash-a. I actually had a kid named something similar, many years ago. Her name was K-n. Ka-dash-en. Kim
I'm saying it's pronounced... Leydasha We had this EXACT situation at our school. They intend for the - to literally come across as DASH.
I think that most of the "a friend of mine knows this person whose name is..." stories are completely made up. I mean really, how many Oranjellos and Lemonjellos can there possibly be? I really like names that are uncommon but not made up. Old-fashioned names are really cool. I especially like boy Jewish names, like Ari. My name isn't all that common, but most people recognize it as a real name. I love my name! The only problem I have is that people either think that I'm saying my name is Cathy (I do not have a speech problem, so I don't know why they hear "Cathy"....) or they call me Casey. Ugh.
I used to think that about the Lemonjellos, too. Then we had one at my school. I think that maybe someone made them up years ago - and then people heard the name and liked it? I don't know. We haven't had our Lemonjello for years, I'd bet he's out of high school now. His middle name was James and he decided to go by L.J. I didn't have any really unusual names this year. One year, I had a whole bunch of very old-fashioned names. Not weird, just not mainstream. Like Isaac, Ezra, Bernadette, Brenda, Linda, Jonas, Jasper, etc. I actually liked them alot. My own kids are very mainstream and very feminine names. And they are all spelled the traditional way. Kim
Yeah maybe it was from someone on here that shared that! It's "Le dash ah". I remember sharing it over Christmas break with family so forgot who said it first!
my grandfather's middle name was Uno. I kinda like it. My daughter is McClain- and it's not a family name just a recurring name in my life (last name of someone significant, street name where someone important to me lived, etc.).
In addition to Memphis, my other grandson's middle name is Tyler (like Texas), and the granddaughters are Brooklyn and Avery, whose middle name is Cheyenne. I told my daughter she didn't look at baby name books, just atlases and road maps!
My husband's middle name is Day. His mom wanted a girl to name her Doris Day, but he was born so she gave him his middle name.
Ok, the "dash" thing is definitely different!!! I once taught a child named Precious. My neice went to school with twins named Lemon Jello(pronounced Le Mon Gel-O) and Orange Jello(pronounced O Ron Gel-O. (Yep they were named after Jello flavors. Their mom spoke no English and had only been in the States for a few weeks when she named them. )
My son has a very German name and I hardly see or hear of someone with the same name. However, we were in Petsmart today and our cashier had his same named spelled the same way. It made my son's day and the cashier felt happy too.
I have an unusual name. Not strange- just not common. As for students, I have not had any strange names yet. Odd spellings (Emmalee), but nothing super unusual. I personally tend to favor boy names for girls. Not sure why- I want to name my first born (which better be a girl Rhyann. I also like Jordan for a girl.
That's funny - My husband and I tend to lean toward places too. If we ever do have kids we have a boy and girl name picked: Savannah Delane Memphis Gray
I had a student named Levi once, but he's the only Levi I've ever known, so I would say it's unusual. :lol:
There is a student at my husband's school whose name is spelled a lot like this one. Her name is L-eah. It is pronounced La dash ia. No kidding. And if you don't know how to pronounce, she becomes upset.
I appreciate how this thread was started asking for family or friend names, NOT student names. I certainly think it should remain that way. My son's name is Rui. Other names on this thread that I love and were actually on my list before he or his brother were born are Levi and Ari.
A favorite name of mine is Channing. It is my grandmother's maiden name. If I had another child, Channing it would be--boy or girl. Another is Nash. Oh, my mother's middle name (she may not speak to me after I tell) is Undine. I have only seen this name once in a book I read. Certainly unique.
I think we can talk about names in general (students', our childrens', friends', etc.) as long as it doesn't become judgemental. I've been impressed so far at how not one poster has said, "that's WEIRD" or "how could they do that to the kid?" or whatever. There is a big difference between saying that someone has an unusual name and a bad one...and sometimes, those moms who named their kids unusual names do it on purpose! They want their kids to stand out, and they think common names are boring. Sometimes. I think it's important to note that what is considered unusual in one part of the country may be completely common in other parts of the country!
kim~I was going to ask seven the same thing. It's so unique. I love it!! I tutored a Levi this year, and dh and I considered naming our son (if we ever had one) Levi.
Rui means "prince" in Portugese, or so I'm told. A Portugese soccer player has that name (it's much more common in Portugal than here, obviously) and that's how my husband came across it. He follows international soccer. It is pronounced differently in Portugese, but I don't know how to type that phonetically! Funny story: when he was born my husband called my mom right away and then she called the rest of the family. My brother called me and said, "Mom told me his name, but I don't think she got it right." When I asked him what she said, he pronounced it perfectly. :haha: I don't think he's much of a fan of unique names. Oh well. We gave him a very common and traditional middle name. If he grows up hating his unique name, he can always go by his middle. But it really suits him. He's 3 and the other day he asked, "What are the other Ruis in the world doing right now?" :lol:
Years ago I worked with a female professor whose name was Rue. Pronounced the same as your son just for a girl. She was a a great person. I loved working with her.
My sons have traditional, Old Testament/Saint names. Neither is odd, but neither is over-popular. With a definite common Irish last name (beginning with an O'), we had to try to find something that there wouldn't be so many of, like Sean O' or Patrick O'.
I think it's important to note that what is considered unusual in one part of the country may be completely common in other parts of the country! so true
Thanks, me too. My name is very common and I really wanted her to have one that if she heard someone call it across a crowded room she would know they were talking to her. The only down side is some people think it's a masculine name and assume she's a boy (like a basketball signups.)
My nephew's name is Ryken. He's six months old. When my sister-in-law first told me that Ryken would be his name, I really didn't care for it. But now that he's here, I couldn't imagine him being anything else!
My name isn't uncommon (actually growing in trend)... but no one seems to be able to say it or spell it. If I say it over the phone, I'm either called "Martha" or "Marcia." Grr. A friend has a baby girl named Paislyn; another has Neela; another has Aoife.
I want my child/ren to have unusual names. If we have a girl, she'll be Elsa. That was my husband's favorite aunt's name. There are a lot of Ellas, Ellies, Lily's, etc. around here, so I hope it doesn't get lost in those. If we have a boy, I'm leaning towards Samson or Theodore (Teddy for short). Dh's middle name is Knoll, and I think we'll keep that for our child's middle name. My brother's middle name is Wade, and I love that as well. Both were maiden names in our families.
