Babynamer has a section where people can leave negative comments about baby names, to dissuade all those crazy mothers and fathers who just have to name their kid Fifi Trixibelle (ahem, Bob Geldof, ahem). It can also be a bummer, I imagine, if you think you've got the perfect name for your kid and then here's Babynamer all harshing on it. Although that doesn't bother me if you are in love with one of those super-trendy names that every kid today has. (Madison, Logan, and Austin are AIRPORTS, people!)
What's really, um, uplifting is when you look up your own name (or the closest spelled version) and see how much people hate it. I never cared much for it myself, but hey, hands off, you others! I can assure you I was never once mistaken for a boy.
To depress yourself by trying it with your own name, enter it in the search box, then click on DRAWBACKS if it shows up on your name's page. (If it doesn't, whew, your name has no drawbacks...that are known to the Babynamers, at least.)
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So far there are no negative comments about my name (yes, Talia is my realy name.) The only thing I could tihnk people might say is that it sounds like a stripper in Tijuana.
I find it odd, however, that every single baby-name-meaning book and site gives a completely different origin and meaning for the name! This one says it means "Lamb" but the book my parents used when picking the name said it meant "Blooming" and I know that in Latin it means "Such" which indicates that one is likely just coincidence.
I also kind of feel like I should remark on the site how bizarrely people pronounce it at times (just the other day I TOLD someone my name and she still started saying 'Thaeel-ya')
Also a lot of people mistake it as being short of Natalia, and they try to write it out on forms that way as if Talia is just a nickname.
Mine had teasing nicknames - and I've got to say it got most of them right.
The bane of my childhood? Alice the freaking camel.
Babynamer is running Trojan ads. Ha! Do they do that for all names? Or is the message, "If you're thinking about naming your kid that, then you shouldn't be having kids"?
Babynamer is full of it. Their list of U.S. names in regular use over the last century has "Rosalba" listed, but not "Sarah." ..."Rosalba"? I've never heard that name in my life, but out of a hundred women born between '65 and '75, at least ten will be named "Sarah" or "Sara," and it's...nowhere on the list.
Talia is a beautiful name.
I couldn't find mine (PJ, my legal first name) anywhere -- whew!
You want a laugh? Go to the Utah Baby Namer at http://wesclark.com/ubn and you'll find names like VulvaMae.
When there was that spate of wacky celebrity-baby names a little while back, I read an article where they talked to Geldof's two eldest (Fifi Trixibelle and Peaches Honeyblossom) about growing up with an unusual name, and they were both like, "Yeah, not cute. Don't do this to your kids." Heh heh. Although I think the goofy names in this case are the fault of Geldof's ex, since her daughter with Michael Hutchence is named Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily. Oy.
Associations:
''Miss Amy'' is an African-American slang term for a white woman.
I DID NOT know this, but in my case, it is true. Also, the one teasing nickname I most often heard was on the list. I was often called Aim toothpaste. Until one brilliant guy started calling me Crest, Colgate, etc. Then, in college, I became Amoeba. Nice.
As a Gayle, I feel your pain, Gael. And I got all the whale pail jail crap as a kid. Seeing that page gave me a little bit of trauma, actually. But I totally love my name.
And with a last name like Bird, I was pretty much lost no matter what I did.
No drawbacks for mine. I'm surprised it's even on there, really. And of course the first comment from someone who can't even pronounce it.
Okay, the "teasing nicknames" offered for "Kimberly" are cracking me up: Kimberlington Coat Factory! I'm particularly amused by Kimmy the Tooth, which a) sounds a bit more...personal than mere name mockery, and b) will totally be my Mob name should I be absorbed into an organized crime family of strong standing.
I once received a piece of mail addressed to KimBURLY, which stung a bit.
"While it suits children and old ladies, I can't picture a young professional named Hannah." Heh.
It is a relief to see only one negative comment on the name we've picked out for our son, actually.
Weird... my sons are named Henry and Ezekiel, and while one of the drawbacks for Henry is listed that it's an old-fashioned/old man's name, the same is not currently listed for Ezekiel, which we picked because we especially liked how old-fashioned it was. Funny how random the connotation of these things are to folks.
Gail is a boy's name? That's new to me. Our baby is seven months old now and part of the reason we didn't announce the name until after she was born is because everyone has such strong feelings about names (including me. Don't even get me started about 'creative' spelling).
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