Designer Babies

Anna Gregoline | January 24, 2004
Oh lord.

Scott Hardie | January 24, 2004
Holy Mother of God, I wouldn't want to be one of those kids. Nothing to do with being made fun of on the playground, just to know that A) I was named after a commercial product and B) my parents named me that because they wanted it; they couldn't just be happy to have a new baby son. I do get a sudden spark of recognition every time I see Scott brand toilet tissue or Scott brand fertilizer, but that's a coincidence, not something... insidious.

As for the greater cultural issue, that of parents giving their kids weird names, I'm torn. It has become an irritating trend (Dakotas are starting to pop up in grade schools across the country), but at the same time, I want kids to have names that actually mean something to the parents. I'm no fan of being named after your own grandparents (that's where mine came from) just because it's a family tradition. Some things are more important than family traditions.

Ever since the day when I found myself admiring the name "Yunalesca" from FF10 and realized that I had it within me to name a daughter that, I have felt so sorry about all the crap I gave Lori over her own daughter's name. :-) Bottom line, give your kid a name that means something special to you, but be mindful of its connotations.

Anna Gregoline | January 24, 2004
The thing is, by the time I have children, these names will be even more prevelant. Then I'll name my child something like "Mary," and it will be unique again. I hope.

Lori Lancaster | January 25, 2004
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Scott Hardie | January 25, 2004
There's nothing really wrong with it at all; it is a pretty name, and she will probably always like it. We were just teasing you a bit for giving her the same name as a cartoon character. ;-P

My solution to the above problem (do I choose a common name or a weird name?) is to choose a name that is a real name, but not very common. Everybody knows the name Scott for instance, but in 19 years of school I had perhaps a half-dozen classmates with that name, and I ran this site for seven years before another Scott (Baumann) came along. I'd lean towards names like Lorna or Adele or Tamara for a daughter for the same reason.

Jackie Mason | January 25, 2004
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Jackie Mason | January 25, 2004
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Lori Lancaster | January 25, 2004
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Steve West | January 26, 2004
I named my 1st daughter Lauren and my 2nd daughter Olivia. I told my mother that I named them both after Laurence Olivier and she told me I was insane. I assured her I was joking. She refused to believe me (never understanding my sense of humor) and amended her opinion to she thought I was always slightly gay. Aren't Moms great!

Steve West | January 26, 2004
BTW, Serenity Eve is a beautiful name.

Scott Hardie | February 3, 2004
This just in...

Kris Weberg | February 3, 2004
When it comes to naming children, I always sort of agreed with the philosophy of the never-seen father of recurring character Seven from Schultz's Peanuts.

Anna Gregoline | February 3, 2004
Which was?

Scott Hardie | February 4, 2004
I assume he named the first child One, etc.