I really hesitated to write this post. The choice of names for children is such a sensitive subject among parents. But then when I thought of how much my English readers would enjoy it, I couldn't resist.
I met a mom with a small son whom she introduced as Camp. Short for Campbell, she explained. Ooooh noooo....
In a London playground recently I came across a toddler girl called Tatiana. Fine. Except her mother called her Tatty.
ReplyDeleteI have heard Tatty before - but never Camp. Surely it means the same thing over there as here? I can beat it, though. Friends of ours in Holland called their first son 'Bent'. And that's not short for anything, it's a name in it's own right...
ReplyDeleteI so wanted to suggest that before they named any other subsequent children they gave us a call to check the Dutch to English translation....
Oh, that poor, poor child.
ReplyDeleteI went to school with a guy named John St John. Surely his parents couldn't have been THAT uncreative?
Katie, it strikes creative families too...whatever possessed Edward Woodward's parents?
ReplyDeleteI knew a Richard Head. He got plenty of stick too!
Silly woman - the abbreviation is Cam not Camp because even when you say the whole name you don't hear the letter 'p'!
ReplyDeleteMy mother taught a kid called Mary Merry - all the other kids called her Mary Mary (Quite Contrary!)
Americans are doing strange things with nicknames right now. I have a friend who calls her boy (Quentin) with the nickname "Quinn". Aside from being another name with the same unusual starting letter, it's not the most obvious nickname. Although now having typed it I see that you can make Quinn from the letters of Quentin. But still!
ReplyDeleteSo he won't be travelling then...
ReplyDeleteI also knew a Richard Head (now known as Charles) - it doesn't take a genius to see the problems with that one. And have you also considered Sarah Palin's children’s names? I mean, a teenage girl called Bristol?? Probably for the best that she never leaves Alaska really.
ReplyDeleteI laughed like a drain at this one. How old do you need to be to change your name by deed poll?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is at school with a girl called Rhubarb (I kid you not!)
ReplyDeleteI kid you not too: a friend of mine went to university with a Greek girl called Aliki Pantos. She could never work out why people's faces seemed so contorted with effort when introduced to her. I still weep with laughter evey time I think about it.
ReplyDeleteI used to know someone through work called Berndt (pronounced burnt) Otter....
ReplyDeleteI have also heard of a Richard Head - so either it's an urban myth or there really are lots of parents that stupid...
Heh heh heh, oh I needed that. Miss E is at school with a kid called 'Heavenly'. How bad is that? But 'Camp', yep, that's reeeeeallly bad. Do they actually call him Camp-bell when they say his full name?
ReplyDeleteFunny I also knew more than one Richard Head, but then I AM a teacher. Parents aren't just stupid, they're downright cruel.
ReplyDelete..as long as his middle name isn't "as-a-row-of-tents" he should be OK until he gets to school.
ReplyDeletePoor kid.
Was the mom named Sarah Palin, by chance?
ReplyDelete;-)
Janet
I blogged about Bristol Palin's name recently and you do get a lot of very very strange names here. Everyone knows a Randy or two. I even have a female friend called Randy. I must ask her what her real name is.
ReplyDeleteOh dear oh dear oh dear. As expatmum points out, it's like the name Randy over here. I meant, what are the parents thinking?
ReplyDeleteI think I've heard a girl called "Tangerine" over here. I just hope her surname is not "Dream"!
ReplyDeleteOh! And there's also a white girl called "Ebony"...
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether to laugh or cry! I once worked with an American lady called Sandy Hole (seriously). My daughter goes to school with a boy called 'J'. That's his name in full. It's not short for anything..!!
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