40 Moments Fathers Had To Pick A Name For A Baby, But Failed Epically, As Shared Online
If you've seen the movies Warcraft or Moon, for example, you probably know that they were directed by Duncan Jones. The son of the legendary British rock musician David Bowie. And perhaps you didn’t know that at birth, dad gave the boy the name Zowie. Yes, that's right, Zowie Bowie.
When the boy grew up, he first began asking others to call him Joey, and then completely changed his name to Duncan (Jones, by the way, is his father’s real last name while Bowie is a pseudonym). Well, the participants of this viral thread on X in fact have had similar experiences, opening up about various weird names given to them by their own dads...
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Image credits: Mikael Stenberg (not the actual photo)
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It turns out that some fathers are better off not being involved in the process of choosing a name for their child at all, because their excessive creativity often results in a bad pick. It happens that some random dude thinks the name looks ‘funny’ or ‘cool’ holding a baby, without thinking that later this very baby will grow up and may face, for example, problems or ridicule at school or somewhere outside home.
On the other hand, we have many clear examples of parents coming up with a non-standard name for their kid for an equally original reason. For example, Kobe Bryant, the late basketball legend, as you may know, got his name in honor of the famous Kobe beef, which his parents once saw on a restaurant menu. Well, if Michael Jordan has to share the name “Michael” in his legacy with Michael Jackson, at least then Kobe is forever one and unique...
What a tremendous PITA this is going to be for you throughout your whole life, trying to correct people's spelling and pronunciations.
Exactly! I always thought that it was pretty egotistical of him doing that to so many boys.
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Why didn't he think of Josie? Clearly similar to Joseph, and not something she'll have to tell people how to pronounce.
I have a friend named Josie, we call her Jo for short lol
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My dad named 2 of my brothers, Christopher and Christian. They're both Chris 🤦🏻♀️ (It's also my husbands name lol)
Grandfather: Joseph, Uncle (deceased) Joseph, Dad: Joseph Alexander, Brother Joseph Aloysius, Nephews, Jeffrey Joseph, Joseph Gordon, Joseph Anthony, and I added Benjamin Joseph to the mix. (Couldn't help myself!)
The males in my family are all called Paul. Granddad was Paul, my dad was Sonny and my brother is Paulie. And me? I was named after my grandmother and a deceased aunt (who died when she was a baby). So my family wins no awards for creativity. And I hate my name......it's so old-fashioned.
It's telling that you have to explain how to pronoun your name... thank you Na Dash leen (Na - Leen). oh this is not a cute thing for you to copy! Na-leen!
Guess her sister is Josephine? (I really hope so if her name really is Joe See Yuh)...
Knew a woman who had four boys and named them all "Joe". She could only keep them straight by calling them by their last names.
Where I come from, that's a racist joke.
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However, why go far for examples? When I myself was born, my father, who by that time did not live with my mother, decided that I should be named Ivan, in honor of his own late dad - and began to tell this “news” to all his friends and acquaintances. Now imagine my mom’s surprise when, having registered me as Oleg, she once met one of these friends on the street who addressed her: “Well, how is little Ivan doing?”
Tried to? So he went with something else, and this name is now just water under the bridge. (I know. I'll see myself out...again.)
Well, going back to David Bowie and his son, the rock legend wasn't worried about picking a name, saying in an interview: “If, when he gets old enough to care about his name, he doesn't like it, he can always change it or give himself a nickname. It's OK by me.” That's what happened in the end. After all, if you were given an unusual name, then who knows, maybe this is just another reason for you to emphasize your uniqueness? Or probably share your unique name in the comments to this post...
I bet more than 50% of people who see her name for the first time pronounce it "Curtis". I honestly would pronounce it "Ker-'teece".
It's really hard to picture a cute, tiny baby boy named Horace. Sorry, Horace.
Marissa is a nice name; I assume Morrisa is pronounced very similarly, though getting people to spell it right is probably a pain.
Nothing wrong with Geraldine, pretty common girls name, unless the OP is a boy! Geraldine Chaplin was a pretty well known actress. Of German origin, female version of Gerald meaning spear ruler.
While different, I don't *hate* them. They sort of roll off the tongue.
I feel sometimes people name a baby forgetting they are naming a person
Friend of a friend is named Bruno. I heard he punched someone for singing We Don't talk About Bruno... I'm not sure though. Might be made up.
I thought it was after the US national anthem...Oshay can you see, by the dawn's early light...
Note: this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
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Why are so many men so set on naming their children after themselves instead of letting them have their own identities? So weird.
I asked my husband to put his name as a second name for our son. He returned the favor by giving our daughter my name as her second name <3
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My brother is called Max, which is a pretty standard name, except that he was supposed to be named Bram (which is a regular Dutch name, derived from Abraham). My mum sent my dad to register my brother’s birth, and my dad somehow managed to forget the name when he was at the registry office, and so he put down the first male name he could think of, which was Max - the name of our dog.
I had a gf named Norma. When I pointed out that she was this >< close to being Normal she laughed.
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I live in Germany where you can't name your child anything. If a certain name is guaranteed to inflict harm to the child in his future life, they won't accept the name. Like you enter the name in the birth certificate but the officials can reject it. I guess, some names on that list would have been banned for the well-being of the child.... 😂😂
I am seriously starting to think that the guy who said you should have to have license to procreate might have had a point.
My great gmas name was Tracy, her sons name is Tracey. My cousins name is Traci, her fathers name is Trasey. Yes, this is real.
I wanted to name my youngest son William Robert. I almost got away with it until my wife realized he would be called Billy Bob all his life.
The only problem here is that their dads just had to name children after themselves
Reminds my of the famous (and lovely) TV chef Nigella Lawson. Her father was a very important MP and I think the chancellor of the exchequer called Nigel Lawson!
He called his other daughter Thomasina. What an incredible imagination.
Load More Replies... my dad wanted to name me Ransom...???? which, jokes on my mom who stopped him, its the PERFECT nonbinary name and i've begun to use it unironically
I knew a girl in high school with the same name as me, I got mine from being born close to Christmas, I asked how she got hers, she said her Dad named her after an old girlfriend. I said did your mum know??? She said yes...
My ex husband wanted to name my oldest Roland. (Thanks, Stephen King.) I vetoed that. He got the name Sean. )Yes, after Connery.) My youngest son's name is an older German name (I won't say it, because he's still a minor and I don't believe in talking about kids without their permission.) But people think we named him after someone else, but it was really a paternal ancestor's name, the first of his family to come to the US.
I chose my half-Venezuelan daughter's name. I wanted one that would work well in both English and Spanish so I suggested she be named after my wife's aunt Aurora. I also suggested the Spanish version of my sister Kate for her middle name so she'd have the same initials as my deceased mother.
I worked with a Filipino girl named Geramy. She said her parents wanted a boy and picked the name Jeremy, and when she was born they didn't bother changing the name they already picked
This is as good a thread to share this on as any: We found out a couple years ago that we can't have kids naturally. I have two stepkids that I've adopted, so they're my kids, but I didn't get to name either. When we were trying for kids, before my doctor told me I couldn't, we had picked out names. I'm extremely proud of what we picked out for a girl: Harmony Harper. For context, my wife is a piano teacher, and good harmonies are my favorite part of any song. Harmony is also the name of a street I lived on growing up, and Harper is a family name. I thought it would be beautiful, but alas.
My entire family, aside from my Japanese mom, has names that start with J. My dad and his two sisters started the 'J's off, and they happened to marry men with J names, so they all kept it up. I had friend in high school whose dad's name was Elmer. His name? Elmerson.
My father, Michael, wanted to name me FawnMarie. My mother wanted Althea. They compromised with Michelle FawnMarie. Not the worst option.
I just keep thinking of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when Gus is introducing everyone to Ian's parents. "Nicky, Diane, and Nick. Nick, Nick, Nick, Nicki...."
my dad tricked my mom into letting him name me Logan. I am named after a marvel character.
My dad wanted to call me Jacqueline, which doesn't sound so bad, but our surname was Dawe, so I'd have been Jack Dawe. My mum said no.
I hate when people name their children the same as them. even more if it's a feminised version of a mans name. it's like saying "I wanted a boy"
And I thought the garbage names the breeders gave me were bad. Yes, I changed my names.
Don’t fret folks, the wheel will keep turning, before you know it Matthew, Mark, Luke and John will be back.
Once saw a video of a girl named treasure, but spelled "Treizjure"...... SMH
My dad wanted to name me Zeke, because he thought it was funny. My mom put her foot down, so I was named after my father (and his father). They let me switch to my middle name when I was 4 or 5, which was very cool of them. I couldn't stand being teased everyday (Duh, George, Georgie-Porgie, George of the Jungle)
There were a lot of girls called Daenerys at the time of Game of Thrones...I imagine the way she turned out rather spoiled it for them, much as for the boys called Albus before his sexuality was revealed at the end of Harry Potter.
next game of truth or dare imma dare my homie to name his firstborn megatron.
Why are so many men so set on naming their children after themselves instead of letting them have their own identities? So weird.
I asked my husband to put his name as a second name for our son. He returned the favor by giving our daughter my name as her second name <3
Load More Replies... My brother is called Max, which is a pretty standard name, except that he was supposed to be named Bram (which is a regular Dutch name, derived from Abraham). My mum sent my dad to register my brother’s birth, and my dad somehow managed to forget the name when he was at the registry office, and so he put down the first male name he could think of, which was Max - the name of our dog.
I had a gf named Norma. When I pointed out that she was this >< close to being Normal she laughed.
Load More Replies... I live in Germany where you can't name your child anything. If a certain name is guaranteed to inflict harm to the child in his future life, they won't accept the name. Like you enter the name in the birth certificate but the officials can reject it. I guess, some names on that list would have been banned for the well-being of the child.... 😂😂
I am seriously starting to think that the guy who said you should have to have license to procreate might have had a point.
My great gmas name was Tracy, her sons name is Tracey. My cousins name is Traci, her fathers name is Trasey. Yes, this is real.
I wanted to name my youngest son William Robert. I almost got away with it until my wife realized he would be called Billy Bob all his life.
The only problem here is that their dads just had to name children after themselves
Reminds my of the famous (and lovely) TV chef Nigella Lawson. Her father was a very important MP and I think the chancellor of the exchequer called Nigel Lawson!
He called his other daughter Thomasina. What an incredible imagination.
Load More Replies... my dad wanted to name me Ransom...???? which, jokes on my mom who stopped him, its the PERFECT nonbinary name and i've begun to use it unironically
I knew a girl in high school with the same name as me, I got mine from being born close to Christmas, I asked how she got hers, she said her Dad named her after an old girlfriend. I said did your mum know??? She said yes...
My ex husband wanted to name my oldest Roland. (Thanks, Stephen King.) I vetoed that. He got the name Sean. )Yes, after Connery.) My youngest son's name is an older German name (I won't say it, because he's still a minor and I don't believe in talking about kids without their permission.) But people think we named him after someone else, but it was really a paternal ancestor's name, the first of his family to come to the US.
I chose my half-Venezuelan daughter's name. I wanted one that would work well in both English and Spanish so I suggested she be named after my wife's aunt Aurora. I also suggested the Spanish version of my sister Kate for her middle name so she'd have the same initials as my deceased mother.
I worked with a Filipino girl named Geramy. She said her parents wanted a boy and picked the name Jeremy, and when she was born they didn't bother changing the name they already picked
This is as good a thread to share this on as any: We found out a couple years ago that we can't have kids naturally. I have two stepkids that I've adopted, so they're my kids, but I didn't get to name either. When we were trying for kids, before my doctor told me I couldn't, we had picked out names. I'm extremely proud of what we picked out for a girl: Harmony Harper. For context, my wife is a piano teacher, and good harmonies are my favorite part of any song. Harmony is also the name of a street I lived on growing up, and Harper is a family name. I thought it would be beautiful, but alas.
My entire family, aside from my Japanese mom, has names that start with J. My dad and his two sisters started the 'J's off, and they happened to marry men with J names, so they all kept it up. I had friend in high school whose dad's name was Elmer. His name? Elmerson.
My father, Michael, wanted to name me FawnMarie. My mother wanted Althea. They compromised with Michelle FawnMarie. Not the worst option.
I just keep thinking of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when Gus is introducing everyone to Ian's parents. "Nicky, Diane, and Nick. Nick, Nick, Nick, Nicki...."
my dad tricked my mom into letting him name me Logan. I am named after a marvel character.
My dad wanted to call me Jacqueline, which doesn't sound so bad, but our surname was Dawe, so I'd have been Jack Dawe. My mum said no.
I hate when people name their children the same as them. even more if it's a feminised version of a mans name. it's like saying "I wanted a boy"
And I thought the garbage names the breeders gave me were bad. Yes, I changed my names.
Don’t fret folks, the wheel will keep turning, before you know it Matthew, Mark, Luke and John will be back.
Once saw a video of a girl named treasure, but spelled "Treizjure"...... SMH
My dad wanted to name me Zeke, because he thought it was funny. My mom put her foot down, so I was named after my father (and his father). They let me switch to my middle name when I was 4 or 5, which was very cool of them. I couldn't stand being teased everyday (Duh, George, Georgie-Porgie, George of the Jungle)
There were a lot of girls called Daenerys at the time of Game of Thrones...I imagine the way she turned out rather spoiled it for them, much as for the boys called Albus before his sexuality was revealed at the end of Harry Potter.
next game of truth or dare imma dare my homie to name his firstborn megatron.
