The Name Game

When we prepared to become parents we spent so much time trying to come up with a name that we wanted our child to go through life with. We tried first names with middles names and checked them out with our last name. We were very lucky that we agreed without any wrangling or having to compromise.

Druthelia?

As I have been doing family research and having to go page by page in the census between 1870 and 1930 I have found many trends. Some names still sound very pretty, but have fallen out of style. While others that were very common are no longer used and with good reason. I ran across the name Druthelia and in the same county I found it six times.

We are very fortunate as the parents of one son not to have to worry about what a daughter’s name could become when she marries. How would you like to have to go through your married life as Kitty Peed (Cape Coral, Florida) or Vaseline Love (Jackson, Tennessee)?

Kitty Peed?

What I can’t understand is a parent’s desire to be creative without thinking that being attached to a silly name can lead to ridicule. Would you buy shoes from Noway Near White of Columbus, Ohio? Like it isn’t hard enough being the youngest of twenty-two children did they really have to name the poor child Pepsi Cola Atom-Bomb Washington?

If you want to check out some more unfortunate and odd names you need to check out this site.

Have fun and be thankful your parents weren’t so weird after all.