Naming children after ponies? (Especially sons?)

[PrincessNikki]

what about Cheese Sandwich?

I am worried if Soarin' was named after a kid.

Honestly, with the names I have been seeing recently I wouldn't be surprised

[Carrehz]

what about Cheese Sandwich?

I am worried if Soarin' was named after a kid.

Honestly, with the names I have been seeing recently I wouldn't be surprised

IIRC his name was actually "Soren" and Soarin's name was just inspired by him, instead of directly being named after the kid, if that makes sense.

All around it seems like a really bad idea, IMHO. People names are very different from toy names. I mean, come on, ...
“GLO-WORM TONKA STEAMER, YOU GET AWAY FROM THAT RIGHT NOW!”

 

[LadyMoondancer]

Not that I ever intend on having children, but I don't think I could really live with myself if I named a person after a toy. It would feel like an all-encompassing obsession rather than just a hobby at that point and I'd be inflicting that obsession on a tiny individual who has no say in the matter but has to be the one to live with that name for their entire lives. It just seems wrong, and almost disrespectful, in a lot of ways...

I was struggling to put my feelings into words fully, but you said it very well.  A child is not part of a collection.  Would any of us really want to be named after the Howdy Doody Show, which our parents might very well have loved?

I think it's funny some think female pony names are ok for girls but it's cruel for boys. I'm sorry but if my parents named me Princess or Rarity I'd get a name change. Girls have dignity too and shouldn't get cutesy wootsy names that become really silly and strange once they are a few years old.
Imagine President or CEO Majesty Sparkle Smith. Nobody would take your daughter seriously. I cringe when I think of naming conventions where it's legal to name your daughter "candy" or "apple".

In my country parents actually tried to name their daughter Pepsi Cola and the court allowed them to use the "pepsi" part if they provided a legal second name. So they called the poor child Pepsi Carola 

I actually knew someone named Apple.  Which wouldn't have been so bad except her last name was Tree.  I am not kidding.  Her parents must have thought they were quite witty.

Poor Pepsi.  Just why.  D:

I'm sure many daughters are going to end up named Rarity, Fluttershy, etc.  :/

[Leave a Whisper]

what about Cheese Sandwich?

I am worried if Soarin' was named after a kid.

I have a cousin named Soren.

Post Merge: April 28, 2018, 04:45:48 PM

Code: [Select]

I think it's funny some think female pony names are ok for girls but it's cruel for boys. I'm sorry but if my parents named me Princess or Rarity I'd get a name change. Girls have dignity too and shouldn't get cutesy wootsy names that become really silly and strange once they are a few years old.
Imagine President or CEO Majesty Sparkle Smith. Nobody would take your daughter seriously. I cringe when I think of naming conventions where it's legal to name your daughter "candy" or "apple".

In my country parents actually tried to name their daughter Pepsi Cola and the court allowed them to use the "pepsi" part if they provided a legal second name. So they called the poor child Pepsi Carola 

Well we were talking about names that are names anyway. Lily and Eve are sweet old- fashioned names.

Tiffany, Misty, Katie,  Windy, Serena and Susie are real names.

Teddy is just a nickname for Theodore and Billy for William.

But yeah, don't go for something that'll make the kid miserable for the rest of their life. Sometimes even with normal names kids can be mean.


To be fair Zapper, Candy is a nickname for Candice.

[Sunset]

So here are my wandering thoughts about this subject. 

I have a not uncommon name with two spellings.  I have the less common version which does mean that I have to spell it a lot.  But I'm actually proud of the way my name is spelled.  I think it looks prettier when written.  And you know what, I have a super common last name and due to my accent I've just become accustomed to clarifying that, too. Apparently when I say "White" it can sound like "Wyatt" so I just always say "White, like the color."

In terms of unusual spelling, I've noticed that has almost become the norm for girls at least.  I can think of numerous people who have a name that is spelled slightly differently.  And if you are of a minority culture then your likely to have to spell it anyway even if it is a common name within your culture.

Now in terms of really unusual names, I bit the bullet on that one.  My mom was a teenager in the 70's and wanted to name her daughter "Snow."  Thankfully, when she married my dad she decided it wouldn't be a good idea. (Remember my last name is White!)

But a few years ago, I had a coworker who's daughter was named Ariel (speaking of mermaids.)  She got so unmercifully teased at school that at 9 years old she insisted on changing her name to a less princessy one.

Of course, there are other ways of getting a bad name.  I just found out the name someone I know had given his daughter.  The meaning behind it is lovely.  But it is extremely unusual and includes a hyphen!  At first I thought it was her first name and middle name.  But no, he insists that she doesn't have a middle name and that her first name is hyphenated.  I had to really bite my tongue at several points in that conversation. 

So would I name my child after a pony?  Probably not.  Not unless it was a name that doesn't immediately scream "pony" like the flower names.

[Ponyfan]

I think there's a difference between using a common name that was used for a pony (Lilly, Rose, Tiffany etc..) and naming a child something like Twilight Sparkle Smith.   The second name screams "I named my child after a pony" vs the first name is common enough to not be an obvious reference to MLP.

I think there are more pony names that can be used as girl names without being obvious than there are boy names.

My name used to be really common but is unusual now. Growing up the only other people I knew with the same name were adults and even now I don't think I know another person with my name.

I've met a chid named Princess one named Marquis. When I was in college there was a guy that named his daughter Ella. It happened to be the same year the movie with Anne Hathaway came out and even though everyone in the class was a young adult several people asked him if he'd picked the name from the book or movie.



Ponyfan

[Taffeta]

what about Cheese Sandwich?

I am worried if Soarin' was named after a kid.

Honestly, with the names I have been seeing recently I wouldn't be surprised

IIRC his name was actually "Soren" and Soarin's name was just inspired by him, instead of directly being named after the kid, if that makes sense.


 

Ah, ok. That makes more sense. I already feel sorry for people with punctuation in their names (hyphens or apostrophes) as they will get abused by computer systems forever. Soren is quite nice though.

@LM - Apple Tree? Oh dear.

Names are complicated things. One of my school friends named her daughter Sophie-Mai. It's her daughter and her choice but I already feel sorry for the kid (she's 1) because not only is it a hyphen, but the spelling of Mai is unusual. She's going to get a lot of hassle trying to get that written right over her life. Fortunately her surname is a common one and easy to spell. Maybe in the long run that will make it all right.

In another context, I had a letter through some official organisation which was from someone whose given name was Carl-Simon. That sounds like parents had an argument over which name and couldn't agree.

There is a growing trend in the UK of parents double-barrelling their surnames, which is fine, but then if you do that and then double-barrel your kid's first name as well, its asking for trouble.

[ordinarycollector]

I understand giving a kid a name partially inspired by something that's important to the parents, but I also think it's important that it be a name you'd choose on its own merits. I wouldn't feel bad for a kid saying "Hi, I'm Lily," because it's a regular name. Or something like Lavender or Clover, which are slightly more unusual but not instantly identifiable as ponies. But I'd feel awful for a kid who had to go through life saying "Hi, I'm Rarity, nice to meet you. Rarity. No, not Verity. R-A-R-I-T-Y."

I also think that naming a baby after something the parents like should be done thoughtfully. For example the name Kylo shot up out of nowhere into the top 1000 name list for the U.S. after the Star Wars movie came out. I feel bad for those kids really. Kylo as a name only has one cultural association, Kylo Ren, so all their classmates will know "You're the bad guy!"

So I guess to sum up, my feeling is no on names that only have a single cultural association, and double no on names where that association is with a villain. But a name where it's not immediately obvious it's after a pony is fine by me, even if the name is uncommon.

[Leave a Whisper]

Kylo?! Those poor, poor kids.

[LadyMoondancer]

Wow.  I would think twice about naming a kid after the villain who KILLED HIS DAD.

I wonder how many kids were named Anakin.  Ugh.

[buddyboymama]

Ha I am loving this thread. So funny! Pepsi Carola, Apple Tree and (almost) Snow White ...

If it is a name that is already in use as a human name, like those already mentioned — gemstone or flower name, for example — I don’t see why not. It’s not like people will know the child is named after a pony.

[Taffeta]

Wow.  I would think twice about naming a kid after the villain who KILLED HIS DAD.

I wonder how many kids were named Anakin.  Ugh.

There's always Chewbacca to fall back on for a third.

[Leave a Whisper]

Wow.  I would think twice about naming a kid after the villain who KILLED HIS DAD.

I wonder how many kids were named Anakin.  Ugh.

There's always Chewbacca to fall back on for a third.

 

[Ponyfan]

My dad went to school with someone named Donald Duck. The guy had to pull out his driver's license to prove that was his name.


Ponyfan

[poniesthatsparkle]

I was always told that if my twin sister and I were boys, our names would've been Andy and Barney, after the characters from the Andy Griffith Show. Now, those names aren't at all ridiculous, so I was named after either one of those characters, I wouldn't mind too much.

Now, if I were named after a pony, that would be different. Some ponies have common names, like the flower and gemstone names. Those names wouldn't cause too much trouble. I also believe there's a G3 pony named Daisy May or something like that, which is actually a pretty name. But there are also lots of pony named that I can't imagine anyone should name their kids. Imagine meeting someone named Pinkie Pie!