A little while back (here) I raised the issue of choosing a first name that combines badly with a last name. This could play out as Rose Petal, a name that's a common noun, or Julia Child, a name that's a well known person. With either of those first name/last name combinations, your daughter is going to get a lot of feedback about her name...for the rest of her life. Whether that feedback is good or bad is sort of beside the point because in either case it's going to get annoying after a lifetime of repetition.
Today, I have two more issues for you: rhyming names and awkward initials. Ever met a woman named Cheryl Merril? I have. It was impossible not to smirk during the introduction. If my last name had been Padilla (pronounced Pa-dee-yah), it wouldn't have been as cool for my parents to name me Leah. Leah Padilla sounds like a cartoon character, not a person.
Awkward initials are, well, just as awkward as a rhyming name. If your last name is Smith, avoid naming your son Adam Steven...you'd be making as ASS out of him (and you). Another example would be a girl named Faith Uma Kingston. FUK, while not the properly spelling for the expletive that we all know and love, still gets the message across and would be an unfortunate monogram for a third grader's backpack. Do you really want your cutie patootie daughter's initials to spell PIG? Pamela Isabel Gray, get yourself to the dinner table and eat yourself silly like you always do! Ugh.
Choosing a name because you love it, because it's just right is always a solid foundation. But these few issues are worth consideration. You'd be pissed if your mom told you that she hadn't thought of the fact that your initials spell POO or that you share your name (since birth) with award-winning actress Meryl Streep. The good news is that these unfortunate names are rare realities, the bad news is that when they are it's pretty much a deal breaker.
Any additions to our list?
- Names that are common nouns (i.e. Ruby Stone)
- Names that are famous (i.e. Oprah Winfrey)
- Names that rhyme (i.e. Cheryl Merril)
- Names that have inappropriate initials (i.e. Adam Steven Smith)
