# Trad Baby Names



## erutio (Dec 15, 2011)

Long time reader here, first time poster. 

I'm expecting a baby boy in 2 months. Will be my first born. My wife and I have been discussing baby names for quite some time, going back and forth, but it's been a trying (almost stressful) process. Now I'm looking for inspiration from any source. Any ideas would be appreciated.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Look to Biblical names, names of Saints or names from Old English or ancient Literature. 

The Mother's maiden name as middle name is also a good touch.

Please, PLEASE don't make "Sissy" "Missy" or "Biff" the poor childs given name!!


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

First off, congratulations! We just had our first about 6 weeks ago. I would suggest you pick a name that is versatile, solid and will not hinder your son regardless of what kind of man he might become, trad or not. We chose Caleb Michael for our boy. Both names are Biblical, and both refer to characters who are known for positive qualities. Caleb is not as common but easy to pronounce and spell. If he decides that he'd rather have a more common name, he can go by Michael instead. If he chooses to incorporate my wife's maiden name at a later date, he can do that as well, but we didn't force it on him. Try not to let your desire for him to become something you want lead to a poor name choice. If I had done that, his name would probably be Taggart Roark D'Anconia.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Uncertain weighing in on this but as a father of two girls with 'normal' names, (Ellen Elizabeth and Margaret Ashton-Mom's maiden name, that last) I will. I think names can shape a person's destiny because of how they subtley affect self image and the perceptions by others. 
And, if you don't want to remain locked in your room at the Home, with no visitors, it's not a bad idea to give them names they will not begrudge as they get older, that they can wear well with some good 'nicknames'.


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## fiddler (Apr 19, 2010)

Dear god, not again!


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## roman totale XVII (Sep 18, 2009)

fiddler said:


> Dear god, not again!


That's what we called our second...


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

roman totale XVII said:


> That's what we called our second...


LOL!


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## SconnieTrad (Mar 16, 2011)

Obviously if it is a boy it should be Your Name IV, you must be at least a III in order to be a Trad.

If it is a girl, flower names are good. How about Echinacea?


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

SconnieTrad said:


> Obviously if it is a boy it should be Your Name IV, you must be at least a III in order to be a Trad.
> 
> If it is a girl, flower names are good. How about Echinacea?


What if she does not have that condition? Perhaps _thlaspi arvense or datura stramonium _?


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## fiddler (Apr 19, 2010)

Wasn't there once a time where this forum was about the natural shoulder, and the perfect collar roll? Not computer abbreviations, smileys and pretending to be old-money?


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## jkidd41011 (Jan 20, 2010)

We named our son after Lleyton Hewitt and Sebastian Grosjean (first names in that order). I'm a former college tennis player and we happened to be at the tournament here in Cincinnati when we came up with the name for a boy. My wife was not big on Bjorn.

The cool thing is we only know of one othe person who has their first name spelled the same way.


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

I thought I felt the quickening.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Simpler is better, and make sure the initials don't spell something.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

fiddler said:


> Wasn't there once a time where this forum was about the natural shoulder, and the perfect collar roll? Not computer abbreviations, smileys and pretending to be old-money?


doubt it


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## Georgetown08 (Oct 5, 2011)

phyrpowr said:


> Simpler is better, and make sure the initials don't spell something.


One of my best friends in college had the initials "MRS." Not the best.


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## vwguy (Jul 23, 2004)

I think vwguy would be a great name for your son.

Brian


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Erasmus, Lemuel, Gengulphus, Lao-Tzu and Dracula for the boys; Hermione, Gwladys, Ethyl, Nikki and Elvira on the distaff side.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

TRAD BABY NAMES??? Trad baby names! Trad... baby names.

Please tell me this is a joke. If not I'm about to go hang myself with some very Trad natural fibre rope.


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## jkidd41011 (Jan 20, 2010)

Jovan said:


> TRAD BABY NAMES??? Trad baby names! Trad... baby names.
> 
> Please tell me this is a joke. If not I'm about to go hang myself with some very Trad natural fibre rope.


Find a copy of the original Preppy Handbook and it tells you all you need to know about names and nicknames.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Shrek if it's a boy. Fiona if it's a girl.


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## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

15 years ago,at the time my last child was born, there was a book out that purported to be a compilation of research by psychologists as to the reaction people had to different names. Of course I don't remember the name of the book, but I do recall that the name-nick name combination that tested very high for positive reactions with no negative reactions was Benjamin- Ben. On pragmatic grounds that was my choice but my wife insisted on Sam, which also tested very high, but Samuel, the real name, had a few negatives associated with it. Every time the school calls about a "Samuel", for a moment I wonder who they are talking about. There may be a similar book in print now and it would be worth a look.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

arkirshner said:


> 15 years ago,at the time my last child was born, there was a book out that purported to be a compilation of research by psychologists as to the reaction people had to different names. Of course I don't remember the name of the book, but I do recall that the name-nick name combination that tested very high for positive reactions with no negative reactions was Benjamin- Ben. On pragmatic grounds that was my choice but my wife insisted on Sam, which also tested very high, but Samuel, the real name, had a few negatives associated with it. Every time the school calls about a "Samuel", for a moment I wonder who they are talking about. There may be a similar book in print now and it would be worth a look.


There are "professional" baby naming specialists out there these days, who charge thousands to pick the "most advantageous" name for the blessed precious. Pretty sure they're concentrated in NYC and SoCal


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## CrescentCityConnection (Sep 24, 2007)

The Rambler said:


> doubt it


Don't. It did exist. Nothing but a distant memory at this point.


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## mjo_1 (Oct 2, 2007)

^Indeed. There are some great posts/pics if you dig back to the summers of '06 and '07.


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## WBuffettJr (Dec 3, 2008)

William Thurston Wordsworth III. Nicknames: Chip; Biff


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

jkidd41011 said:


> Find a copy of the original Preppy Handbook and it tells you all you need to know about names and nicknames.


I'll assume you aren't serious.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

jkidd41011 said:


> We named our son after Lleyton Hewitt and Sebastian Grosjean (first names in that order). I'm a former college tennis player and we happened to be at the tournament here in Cincinnati when we came up with the name for a boy. My wife was not big on Bjorn.
> 
> The cool thing is we only know of one othe person who has their first name spelled the same way.


Why?!?!?


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

How about something traditionally Protestant: Wantnot or Wastenot. Could be Wantnought or Wastenought. Or, if a military career is in store: Dreadnought?


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## jkidd41011 (Jan 20, 2010)

Jovan said:


> I'll assume you aren't serious.


If you want a true Trad name isn't this the definitive guide? And of course "you cannot be serious".


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## jkidd41011 (Jan 20, 2010)

Bjorn said:


> Why?!?!?


Don't worry...my wife didn't likes "Mats" or Stefan either.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Does Bjorn mean anything?

I vote for classical names, like Biggus Dickus or Naughtious Maximus.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

phyrpowr said:


> There are "professional" baby naming specialists out there these days, who charge thousands to pick the "most advantageous" name for the blessed precious. Pretty sure they're concentrated in NYC and SoCal


I saw one between the crystal energy store and the feng shui shop!!

Here are some yuppie parents, too smart for their poor child's own good...

*Krystal Ball* (born November 24, 1981[SUP][1][/SUP]) is a businesswoman, , and political commentator. She was the nominee for in in the 2010 election, losing to Republican .

Ball's father, Edward Ball, was born in West Virginia and has a Ph.D. in physics. Her mother, Rose Marie Ball, is an educator in King George County. The name _Krystal_ came from her father, a physicist who did his dissertation on crystals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krystal_Ball


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## YoungClayB (Nov 16, 2009)

Stick to family names and maybe even use an old surname for the child's given name. I'm a big fan of using your own first name as the child's middle name. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Billax (Sep 26, 2011)

For the last several years, Inside Lacrosse magazine has presented its "All name team." It's not a list of the best lacrosse players, but rather a list of current college laxers with snooty names, recalling the East Coast Prep School roots of the U.S. game.

Presented for fun:


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## swb120 (Aug 9, 2005)

How about "*Elihu*"?










When s/he is born, you could recite this poem in his/her honor:

_It's easy to grin 
When your ship comes in 
And you've got the stock market beat. 
But the man worthwhile, 
Is the man who can smile, 
When his shorts are too tight in the seat._


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

YoungClayB said:


> Stick to family names and maybe even use an old surname for the child's given name. I'm a big fan of using your own first name as the child's middle name.


My own middle name is my mother's father's first name.

The wife can't stand the last-name-as-first-name craze.

Anderson, Hunter, Taylor and the like.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

CrescentCityConnection said:


> Don't. It did exist. Nothing but a distant memory at this point.


I'd like to believe it, CC, but having read around a little in earlier threads, I think you're remembering the really good posters, and the really informative discussions. There were lots of them, and they frequently dealt with threads like this with dispatch. But there's always been another cohort, who have maybe just discovered "trad" as an appealing fashion trend, and want to learn about the culture associated with it. Threads like this are for them. It would be a shame to stick a kid with an ultra waspy handle, when mom and dad are into something totally different in 5 or 10 years. The aspirational quality of threads like this annoys many serious posters. It's one thing to dress aspirationally, to try to give off an air of old New England money and boarding schools (at the very least it can be quite entertaining), but it's easy to go off the deep end, as in a "trad baby names" thread. The process of self-invention is deeply American, but it isn't always pretty and it rarely suceeds.


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## Cowtown (Aug 10, 2006)

Consider Harris or Squire for a boy.


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## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

This is my first look at this thread. Nothing like starting off the day with a good laugh, thanks! ! ! 

:thumbs-up:


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## Walter Denton (Sep 11, 2011)

If it's a boy I vote for Allen Edmonds or, perhaps, Alden Blucher.


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## blue suede shoes (Mar 22, 2010)

Walter Denton said:


> If it's a boy I vote for Allen Edmonds or, perhaps, Alden Blucher.


Allen Edmonds would be great first and middle names if the last name is MacNeil, Leeds, Shelton, or Wilbert. Hopefully the youngster would find his calling in the shoe industry.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

The Rambler said:


> It's one thing to dress aspirationally, to try to give off an air of old New England money and boarding schools (at the very least it can be quite entertaining), but it's easy to go off the deep end, as in a "trad baby names" thread. The process of self-invention is deeply American, but it isn't always pretty and it rarely suceeds.


Sometimes it's just nothing more than a hoot!!


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

I'm leaning, very strongly, toward "Andy - Andrew, of course" or the really TRAD - "AskAndy" !

There is a legend that if your child's initials spell a word they will grow up incredibly rich! My name is R. Andrew Gilchrist = RAG !!

My best choice of names was for a co-worker whose last name was "Hill"! Came up with Pork Chop, Over, and William. William! So that his library card would read "Hill, Billy"! :icon_smile_big:


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## erutio (Dec 15, 2011)

Jovan said:


> TRAD BABY NAMES??? Trad baby names! Trad... baby names.
> 
> Please tell me this is a joke. If not I'm about to go hang myself with some very Trad natural fibre rope.


This wasn't a joke, and you dont have to be so mean with the responses. As a long time reader of this forum, I'd figured that since I already share similar tastes with other members of the forum on one matter (clothes), I'd just ask for thoughts on another, of which I have spent a lot of time thinking about.

Anyways, what about the name Dart ('trad' spelled backwards, if you didn't get it)?


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## SconnieTrad (Mar 16, 2011)

erutio said:


> Anyways, what about the name Dart ('trad' spelled backwards, if you didn't get it)?


Short for D'Artagnan? Hmmmm....no. Too French.


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

erutio said:


> Anyways, what about the name Dart ('trad' spelled backwards, if you didn't get it)?


*Now *you're joking. Name the kid Peter, Paul, John, Clement, Dominic, Edward, or something else that's recognizable as a name by yourself and your grandparents, and will be recognizable as such by your grandchildren. Don't try to be cute, or inventive, or meaningful, or trad.


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## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

That's OK erutio, you could look up current yuppie most popular names, same diff, maybe.

In the last couple of years I saw an online article which claimed old fashioned men's names were coming back into vogue, they likened them to your great uncles' names.

Alfred and such like that.

When I was an intern in Honolulu, there were plenty of older Asian physicians with first names like Livingston, Stanford, Whitney, Francis, and so forth. And the Filipina nurses with old-fashioned names like Melrose, Cornelia (Nell or Nelia), Violet, etc. Kind of like being in a time machine, and rather charming at that.

These things go in cycles, when I was a kid there were 3 or 4 Marks in my first grade class. There are places you can see online that track these trends.

Here you go, on the Social Security Administration website you can pull them up by year.

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/

I got a chuckle out of that LaCrosse list, great stuff and very dignified sounding names!

:thumbs-up:


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

SconnieTrad said:


> Short for D'Artagnan? Hmmmm....no. Too French.


There's been a lot of Frenchie-talk around here lately....

Anyways, a little ethnicity isn't always a bad thing.

Andrew, Carl and Stanley are good angified verisions of Polish names for boys; Helen, Wanda and Cecilia for girls.


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

jkidd41011 said:


> If you want a true Trad name isn't this the definitive guide? And of course "you cannot be serious".


Don't take a tongue-in-cheek satire book so seriously!



erutio said:


> This wasn't a joke, and you dont have to be so mean with the responses. As a long time reader of this forum, I'd figured that since I already share similar tastes with other members of the forum on one matter (clothes), I'd just ask for thoughts on another, of which I have spent a lot of time thinking about.
> 
> Anyways, what about the name Dart ('trad' spelled backwards, if you didn't get it)?


I'm not the only one who's saying this. Look at Rambler's response.

Seriously... think about it. You're asking a bunch of random strangers about the most Trad _baby names_ are to name _your_ kid. Just go with a name that you both like. Don't let Trad dictate your entire life. That sort of "devotion" is not authentic. It's contrived. It is... I daresay... NOT TRAD to be that contrived!


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## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

Why not just name the child "Trad" (short for "Tradley")?


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## Bermuda (Aug 16, 2009)

my son's name is Aiden. Irish Trad


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## g.michael (Jul 9, 2010)

Leisure Handsewn (your last name). Kind of rolls off the tongue.


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## leisureclass (Jan 31, 2011)

Man, the fact that this thread has hit 3 pages must really be pissing off the old guys...


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## spielerman (Jul 21, 2007)

leisureclass said:


> Man, the fact that this thread has hit 3 pages must really be pissing off the old guys...


This has been hilarious.. My wife and I are expecting our fourth in less than a month here, and having a hard time narrowing the list down of girl names. Trad, never thought about that angle... Cordovan(a) does have a lovely sound to it.

If you are expecting a boy, and want him to be a football player, Beef Roll? Or Oxford, for the trad fabric of choice?


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## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

spielerman said:


> This has been hilarious.. My wife and I are expecting our fourth in less than a month here,


Isn't that a rather short gestation period?



spielerman said:


> Or Oxford, for the trad fabric of choice?


For the school you hope she attends.

Congratulations on your upcoming arrival.


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Brio1 said:


> Why not just name the child "Trad" (short for "Tradley")?


Don't forget SconnieTrad's admonition about the superfluous Roman numeral suffix accessory


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

LOL. It really is good to be a grandpa. I no longer have to deal with weighty issues such as picking a good, solid Trad name for the new arrivals! Here's a thought...name the new one after one of his/her grandparents. That's just got to be Trad...don't ya think?


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Jermyn? That's trad yet sounds, well, urban.

I'm enjoying this thread. My number 3 son is due at the end of January, and the wife and I still hashing out our shortlist for names. Suffice it to say, I'm not using any of the names suggested here, although I generally agree that one should either a) name a child after an ancestor or b) stick to the Bible. I'd love to know if any children have been named Albus Severus.

Once upon a time I dated a Johns Hopkins ER nurse who swore that the following was a true story: a woman came to the ER complaining of a variety of symptoms. It turns out she was suffering form pregnancy and chlamydia. These are related, of course. She liked the name chlamydia so much that when she returned to the ER a few months later to give birth, she named her new daughter chlamydia.


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## joenobody0 (Jun 30, 2009)

phyrpowr said:


> Simpler is better, and make sure the initials don't spell something.


Andrew Shane Simpson?


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Andrew, Carl and Stanley are good angified versions of Polish names for boys; Helen, Wanda and Cecilia for girls.


What's the Polish version of "Andrew"? That one has a pretty good pedigree in English all by itself, though. Carl, of course, is the Slavic and Germanic version of "Charles"---I actually like the K sound better. I don't think "Stanley" is actually related to the great Polish name "Stanislaus": Stanley is an old English surname (I believe there was a family of Stanleys who held a substantial fief on the Isle of Man at one point) and Stanislaus an equally aged Slavic proper name. But all the same, Stanislaus is an awesome name if you can swing it.


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## joenobody0 (Jun 30, 2009)

Jacobi Press is very "trad", but somehow I think that's not what you were looking for.


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

I wonder what the answers might be if this discussion were taking place in the 50's or 60's.

I was watching the last _Twilight Zone_ episode the other day, and was surprised that a character played by Mary Badham (sister of John) had the name of "Sport" as the actual given name. You may remember she also played "Scout" in the film of _To Kill A Mockingbird_. Well, I don't know if these names were conjured by controlling fathers who wanted sons or not, but they _were_ American.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

tocqueville said:


> Once upon a time I dated a Johns Hopkins ER nurse who swore that the following was a true story: a woman came to the ER complaining of a variety of symptoms. It turns out she was suffering form pregnancy and chlamydia. These are related, of course. She liked the name chlamydia so much that when she returned to the ER a few months later to give birth, she named her new daughter chlamydia.


I'm told from a reliable source that "female'" accent on final e, was a popular name for Puerto Rican girls in NYC in the 60s: unanmed babies were given an ID bracelet by the hospital, e.g. "Female Rodriguez" and the parents, who didn't have much English, assumed the hospital had named their baby.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Titus_A said:


> What's the Polish version of "Andrew"?


Andreju/Andrzej as well as more difficult spellings are available!!

As many Johns would be Janek or Janusz!!


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

https://www.gpeters.com/names/baby-names.php?name=Chlamydia


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Mike Hunt??


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## jwooten (Dec 19, 2010)

Quite fond of Richard for a very waspy child.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Or Amanda Hugginkiss for a girl.


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## Bricktop (Feb 10, 2010)

swb120 said:


> How about "*Elihu*"?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Elihu? Will you come in and loofah my stretchmarks?


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## Regillus (Mar 15, 2011)

How about Wilkinson - Wil for short. As in sword.


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## cdavant (Aug 28, 2005)

The book was "Freakonomics" a really fascinating look at cultural trends from the perspective of two economists. I recall most chapters ran first in The New Yorker. One chapter covered the economic implications of names. "New" names tend to start with the higher economic classes, become popular with those lower down the ladder and loose popularity as the lower classes start naming their kinds whatever. Several studies I've seen have shown a strong correlation between names and the chances of landing a job interview, much less a job. A name that is hard to spell, spelled in a way that suggests your mother was on welfare when you arrived, or that you may speak English with an accent will not be a positive when there are a lot of resumes in the stack.


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## Padme (Aug 18, 2009)

My husband didn't want a 2nd or a 3rd, and the baby was a premature birth. (I was air ambulanced to a hospital that had a crital care baby area.) This was our 2nd son. I had lost the first too early, so I got to choose the name. I wanted Adam from a TV show I liked a lot. 

The 3rd and 4th sons, my mother stepped in and helped me pick one from a book of family trees and names. I think both choices are good, you just need to make sure they are solid names, and the initials when put together look good if they are in a monogram.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

First name: Tilton, of course. 

Middle name: Fortune. 

You can leave off the super Scottish last name and the "III" suffix if desired. I won't complain.


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## MidWestTrad (Aug 14, 2010)

If you want to step it up a notch go with two middle names...as my parents did for me. Will almost guarantee a spot on the lacrosse name list.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

MidWestTrad said:


> If you want to step it up a notch go with two middle names...as my parents did for me. Will almost guarantee a spot on the lacrosse name list.


That is, of course, assuming great hair and/or the ability to grow a good mustache...


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

Tilton said:


> Middle name: Fortune.


That _could_ lead to some misunderstanding.


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

Name him after me: James John Francis!
Nice day


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## dparm (Nov 18, 2008)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Look to Biblical names, names of Saints or names from Old English or ancient Literature.
> 
> The Mother's maiden name as middle name is also a good touch.


This.

/thread


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## MidWestTrad (Aug 14, 2010)

Tilton said:


> That is, of course, assuming great hair and/or the ability to grow a good mustache...


Love it! Great hair, yes. Mustache, no. Can't play a lick of lacrosse.


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## Lucky Strike (Feb 23, 2006)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Mike Hunt??


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## Kelorth (Apr 29, 2009)

If born on 2/27 name him Jose, I might be biased...lol


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## Himself (Mar 2, 2011)

cdavant said:


> The book was "Freakonomics" a really fascinating look at cultural trends from the perspective of two economists. I recall most chapters ran first in The New Yorker. One chapter covered the economic implications of names. "New" names tend to start with the higher economic classes, become popular with those lower down the ladder and loose popularity as the lower classes start naming their kinds whatever. Several studies I've seen have shown a strong correlation between names and the chances of landing a job interview, much less a job. A name that is hard to spell, spelled in a way that suggests your mother was on welfare when you arrived, or that you may speak English with an accent will not be a positive when there are a lot of resumes in the stack.


The Freakanomics stuff was entertaining but except for extreme cases I wouldn't put too much stock in it.

It's right to be concerned about the little guy's future prospects. But if you can get him through _middle school_ without too much abuse, it's relatively smooth sailing from there!


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

LOL...and why not name the newborn, Rooster? Pray that he be the one to wake the rest of us to the realities of making life's decisions beyond Cyber-space!


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## Georgetown08 (Oct 5, 2011)

The obvious answer is Seven. A living tribute to Mickey Mantle.


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## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

Lucky Strike said:


>


Priceless!!!


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## smmrfld (May 22, 2007)

How about Natalie Attired if it's a girl?

Can't believe I just contributed to one of the stupidest threads on this forum.


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