WDYT of this weird baby name...

jenna8984

 I'm NOT pregnant but hey most of us ladies daydream and have some future kid's names picked out. We really want to use middle names to honor family members and not just random names we like. So it's a no brainer for us that a son's middle name will be Paul because it's my dad's first name and his dad & grandfather's middle names. But then when it comes to a girl I'm not sure how we would choose a side so I was thinking if I combine them Karen & Wendy into Karendy. The more I think of it, the more I kinda like the name. (I hate the 2 middle name trend)

1. Is that name really awful/ terrible/ stupid?

2. No one really uses middle names for anything so does #1 even matter?

3. I don't have a middle name, so please inform me if I'm wrong about #2 hahahah

kmmssg

Not a fan to be honest.  I worked in military personnel for the majority of my career and people who had unusual names, unusual spellings usually complained about it.  The 2 standouts are Ghynnyfer (Jennifer - this Soldier changed her name legally to Jennifer at 18 - she told me her mother was crushed, but her name always made her angry) and Gheofrey (Jeffery). He hated the spelling of his name.

You sit across from Soldiers all the time and double check spellings and documents, etc - they will tell you a lot.  My name has an extra "e" in it and I have always joked that I could never find tourist trinkets with my name spelled correctly.  As an adult, it is a joke, as a kid it really bummed me out!

emmyg65

My aunt did this, combining Vernon and John into Vaughn. I think anything goes for a middle name, because you do use it so rarely. Both my husband and I have family names for middle names and we love them.

AddieCake

I like it. 

AddieCake

kmmssg said:

Not a fan to be honest.  I worked in military personnel for the majority of my career and people who had unusual names, unusual spellings usually complained about it.  The 2 standouts are Ghynnyfer (Jennifer - this Soldier changed her name legally to Jennifer at 18 - she told me her mother was crushed, but her name always made her angry) and Gheofrey (Jeffery). He hated the spelling of his name.

You sit across from Soldiers all the time and double check spellings and documents, etc - they will tell you a lot.  My name has an extra "e" in it and I have always joked that I could never find tourist trinkets with my name spelled correctly.  As an adult, it is a joke, as a kid it really bummed me out!

But that's unusual SPELLING, not an unusual NAME. So I don't think it's right to deter people from having unusual names just b/c some people spell regular ones strangely and it causes confusion or annoyance. We can't all be named John and Jane!

cruffino

Not a fan. I prefer traditional names. I think they make life easier.

Cokezerofreak

I'm not a fan either.  Friend's daughter did that with her kids names (just in Spanish) and they are always confusing.  But, it's your kid.  You guys are the ones that would have to like it.

jenna8984

I definitely prefer "normal, traditional" names for a first name. Anything that would look good on a lawyer's business card is my motto. But I'm thinking that middle names really don't matter and aren't used on anything......

AddieCake

As someone with an unusual first name, I am trying not to get offended by all of you thinking there's something wrong with names that are not traditional. Hahaha!

MyNameIsNot

To be honest, I'm not a fan.  Not because it's unusual, but it strikes me as a bit of Renesme.  The Twilight thing may be over and forgotten by the time that you have kids, but I feel bad when people think a kid is named for a movie.  (That may be because people used to think I was named for a Star Wars character.  I'm not.)

lyndausvi

Not a fan.  But I've never understood creating names like you are trying to win Scrabble with only the letters left on the bar while also hoping to get a triple word score.

  I have a "normal" name with a normal spelling, although the rest of the world doesn't think so,  EVERY.SINGLE.DAY I have to spell my name.  I vowed never to do that to my kid.  A made up name with fall into they same category.

In the end it's your kid, do what you want.

jenna8984

MyNameIsNot said:

To be honest, I'm not a fan.  Not because it's unusual, but it strikes me as a bit of Renesme.  The Twilight thing may be over and forgotten by the time that you have kids, but I feel bad when people think a kid is named for a movie.  (That may be because people used to think I was named for a Star Wars character.  I'm not.)

I have no idea what Renesme is and I've never seen Twilight lol

AddieCake

All names were made up at some point. And many of the ones we consider "normal" today were made up and unusual at one time. 

lyndausvi

I get your point Addie.  I feel that way about when people say something like only classic books are worth reading and anything new is trash.  It's silly to think only people in the 1600's are good creative writers.     

That said, she asked our opinion and I gave mine.   No hard feelings.

AddieCake

I know, Lynda, and I know I'm getting irrationally irritated over this. I'm just feeling mildly offended b/c of my own name, I guess. 

lyndausvi

You shouldn't be.  It's possible your parents did a better job of an unusual name than OP (based on my own opinion, which isn't really worth much).

We named our dog Chef D, clearly not usual.  So I reserve the right to make these decisions on a case-by-case basis.  

jdluvr06

I like it but I'm the same as @addiel73 and have an unsual name myself. My parents were "hippies" and named me after a Greek goddess. I used to hate it but I love it now because I very rarely meet someone else with my name. No, offense to anyone with these names, but I went to school with 6 Heathers and countless Megans. I work with 4 Johns. It is really just ridiculous. So I definitely think unique is better.

jenna8984

lyndausvi said:

You shouldn't be.  It's possible your parents did a better job of an unusual name than OP (based on my own opinion, which isn't really worth much).

 

How dare you!!! just kidding hahahah it's all good!

@addiel73 I don't think a lot of unusual names are that bad if they are spelled like they sound- I definitely have a bigger problem with spelling. If you tell me your name is Dilma (just made that up) I would take that over the Ghynnyfer any day!!

AddieCake

jenna8984 said:

lyndausvi said:

You shouldn't be.  It's possible your parents did a better job of an unusual name than OP (based on my own opinion, which isn't really worth much).

 

How dare you!!! just kidding hahahah it's all good!

@addiel73 I don't think a lot of unusual names are that bad if they are spelled like they sound- I definitely have a bigger problem with spelling. If you tell me your name is Dilma (just made that up) I would take that over the Ghynnyfer any day!!

I agree. I would roll my eyes at Ghnnyfer for sure. 

tmclawchick

I'm not a fan, but who cares what I think? If you like it then use it! Once you become parent, you're likely to be judged for 99% of the choices you make. You learn pretty quickly to not care about others' opinions 

KytchynWitche

I'm not a fan. I definitely prefer traditional names myself. That said, at the end of the day it's up to the parents, and if the kid doesn't like it they always have the option of changing it when they're old enough.

I personally don't mind the more than one middle name thing, it's very common in Irish culture, in Afrikaans culture, and in many of the local African cultures, but again I think it's up to the parents and at the end of the day most people only work with one name. I do feel like it gives the child a bit more freedom in that if they don't like being called (1st name) they can choose (2nd/3rd name) instead. That happens often here, especially in Afrikaans families where the 1st name is often a "family" name ie. Grandfather is Jan Daniel, father is Jan Gideon, son is Jan Frederick and so on, and in some of the African cultures where the 1st name often a "cultural name" and the 2nd name is a "Western" or "Christian" name which they choose to use because "Nancy" is easier than "Nkosizana".

Also, I believe second names do matter. I have more than one friend who has married a man with the same first initial (in one case the exact same first name) and taken his surname and it does cause some confusion when mail comes just for "A Surname" and one of them having a different middle initial makes things easier. Obviously that in and of itself is not a reason to have a second name, but it proves that they do have a purpose.

I would say the best thing to do is to close your eyes and picture yourself and your child. Can you imagine yourself calling out for "Karendy" every day? Can you hear yourself introducing Karendy to friends and family? Can you see Karendy's pre-school locker? If you can, then great - you've just picked your baby's name! If not, you may need to look at other options. Remember that a name is for a lifetime - or should be, anyway.

My views on names are very traditional though. FI and I aren't planning on having kids, but we HAVE spoken about names should we ever fall pregnant, and we like Caroline, Erin, Josephine, and Rose for girls, and Jonathan, Alexander, Noel, and Sebastian for boys.

jenna8984

urbaneca said:

I'm not a fan. I definitely prefer traditional names myself. That said, at the end of the day it's up to the parents, and if the kid doesn't like it they always have the option of changing it when they're old enough.

I personally don't mind the more than one middle name thing, it's very common in Irish culture, in Afrikaans culture, and in many of the local African cultures, but again I think it's up to the parents and at the end of the day most people only work with one name. I do feel like it gives the child a bit more freedom in that if they don't like being called (1st name) they can choose (2nd/3rd name) instead. That happens often here, especially in Afrikaans families where the 1st name is often a "family" name ie. Grandfather is Jan Daniel, father is Jan Gideon, son is Jan Frederick and so on, and in some of the African cultures where the 1st name often a "cultural name" and the 2nd name is a "Western" or "Christian" name which they choose to use because "Nancy" is easier than "Nkosizana".

Also, I believe second names do matter. I have more than one friend who has married a man with the same first initial (in one case the exact same first name) and taken his surname and it does cause some confusion when mail comes just for "A Surname" and one of them having a different middle initial makes things easier. Obviously that in and of itself is not a reason to have a second name, but it proves that they do have a purpose.

I would say the best thing to do is to close your eyes and picture yourself and your child. Can you imagine yourself calling out for "Karendy" every day? Can you hear yourself introducing Karendy to friends and family? Can you see Karendy's pre-school locker? If you can, then great - you've just picked your baby's name! If not, you may need to look at other options. Remember that a name is for a lifetime - or should be, anyway.

My views on names are very traditional though. FI and I aren't planning on having kids, but we HAVE spoken about names should we ever fall pregnant, and we like Caroline, Erin, Josephine, and Rose for girls, and Jonathan, Alexander, Noel, and Sebastian for boys.

That's the thing though, I wouldn't be calling out the name or having it on the locker or lunchbox because it would be a middle name.

But thanks for the info on the different cultures, that is always neat to hear about. I knew a guy from Iceland and each family member has a different last name because it's your father's first name with either Son or Dotti on the end for son or daughter. So his first name was Stefan and his kids' last names were Stefanson and Stefandotti.

 I like your choices, Caroline is actually one of my favorites.

kmmssg

AddieL73 said:

kmmssg said:

Not a fan to be honest.  I worked in military personnel for the majority of my career and people who had unusual names, unusual spellings usually complained about it.  The 2 standouts are Ghynnyfer (Jennifer - this Soldier changed her name legally to Jennifer at 18 - she told me her mother was crushed, but her name always made her angry) and Gheofrey (Jeffery). He hated the spelling of his name.

You sit across from Soldiers all the time and double check spellings and documents, etc - they will tell you a lot.  My name has an extra "e" in it and I have always joked that I could never find tourist trinkets with my name spelled correctly.  As an adult, it is a joke, as a kid it really bummed me out!

But that's unusual SPELLING, not an unusual NAME. So I don't think it's right to deter people from having unusual names just b/c some people spell regular ones strangely and it causes confusion or annoyance. We can't all be named John and Jane!

You're right Addie - there is a difference.  I was probably a bit jaded by it because of the names in my family.  We have a ton of unusual first names and they all  hated them - hence me being a little bit jaded.  My mom, aunt, and grandmother were Fancheon, Orpha, and Octa.  It went downhill from there - there are several more.

I have heard unusual names that are really pretty - I just come from a family where unusual names haven't gone well.

Angusaur

I personally don't think any baby name is "weird" or "trendy" because at one time, Ashley, Christopher, Barbara etc were all new and weird sounding. Of course it's a little annoying when every other baby these days are Hayden, Jayden, Aiden, Brayden, Caden, Clayden, wtf-ever-den. But I'm all for original names. But that being said, Karendy just doesn't flow well. It's not that it's a new name, I just think it sounds choppy. That's just my opinion.

I do like the idea of Kendalyn, which has hints of both names. 

KytchynWitche

jenna8984 said:

That's the thing though, I wouldn't be calling out the name or having it on the locker or lunchbox because it would be a middle name.

But thanks for the info on the different cultures, that is always neat to hear about. I knew a guy from Iceland and each family member has a different last name because it's your father's first name with either Son or Dotti on the end for son or daughter. So his first name was Stefan and his kids' last names were Stefanson and Stefandotti.

 I like your choices, Caroline is actually one of my favorites.

Ah, my bad - this is what happens when you try to be smart after a long day of fixing other people's messes! LOL

I'm glad you found it interesting. I love hearing about other cultures, and I like sharing what I learn.

Thanks! Other than Jonathan and Sebastian, all the names we decided on have special meaning for us. Sweet Caroline is probably my favourite song of all time (I'm a HUGE Neil Diamond fan), Erin was the name my grandmother had chosen for me, I had a major girl-crush on Josephine March growing up, Rose is FI's late grandmother's name, Alexander is my brother's name, and Noel is the masculine of my mom's. And other than Erin, Rose, and Noel (which we prefer for second names than for first anyway), they're all easily "nicknameable", so the kids can decide how they want to be addressed.

amakayeb

I actually like it, especially as a middle name. And I'm pretty traditional with names. I'd say it would be very cute combined with a more traditional first name.

ShallowSeas

I actually kind of like it.  Its unique, it has a neat sound to it, and it means something to you.

MrsDeRuyter87

I like it. I like it when a name actually means something as opposed to just a name someone found in a book.

ei34

I'm personally not crazy about Karendy.  But I'm also in the "anything goes for a middle name" camp, so if you like it, go for it! 

By any chance would you consider giving one daughter the middle name Karen and if you had another, the middle name Wendy?  I'm having a baby girl in June, and her middle name will be Mary, after my mother.  If hubby and I have another daughter, we'd use his mother's name (Nancy).  But I feel like giving my daughter a combined/hybrid middle name like Mancy or Nary wouldn't really be honoring either of them.  Just my opinion.  You should definitely do what you like best.

And in response to your third question, I almost never use my middle name.

MuppetOverlord

Addie, I don't think your name is unusual, but perhaps that's because 4 living people in my family have that name (after our great grandmother). I've seen it more lately since someone made it famous too.

My name is spelled oddly. It was fucking annoying when I was a kid and I wanted my name on a souvenir and they only had different versions of it or when people try to pronounce it and add a syllable, or when I have to give it out over the phone.... I considered going by my middle name when I moved across country and started fresh, but that's spelled oddly too.

But as an adult, I appreciate it. It's a great ice breaker and makes me unique.

With that said, if it goes too far off traditional spelling, I side-eye it.   Someone on fb posted that they were considering naming their kid "Gahlinda" in honor of her favorite musical. The "H" was added to emphasize the "Gah" because her sister kept saying "Gal" on the phone.  I side-eyed the hell out of that and while I stayed out of the thread, I was thankful someone stepped up and said "She's going to get made fun of a lot if you name her that".  I have no idea what name they are onto now.

MuppetOverlord

Addie, I don't think your name is unusual, but perhaps that's because 4 living people in my family have that name (after our great grandmother). I've seen it more lately since someone made it famous too.

My name is spelled oddly. It was fucking annoying when I was a kid and I wanted my name on a souvenir and they only had different versions of it or when people try to pronounce it and add a syllable, or when I have to give it out over the phone.... I considered going by my middle name when I moved across country and started fresh, but that's spelled oddly too.

But as an adult, I appreciate it. It's a great ice breaker and makes me unique.

With that said, if it goes too far off traditional spelling, I side-eye it.   Someone on fb posted that they were considering naming their kid "Gahlinda" in honor of her favorite musical. The "H" was adde