names we dislike - Page 3

I was almost named Micheál. My grandfather's actual name is Micheál Ó Cearbhaill, although when he came through immigration in the '40's they changed it to "Michael Carroll." He's used that ever since. EDIT: And yes, Micheál is much better.

Feminine? Uh, what about Olga. Or Xenia.

This thread is a new low.

I don't like the name Odoreater. Toiletduck on the other hand... I sort of like.

I'm not too fond of the name odoreater either, but wtf, I'm stuck with it.

Kenny is always ends up being the stoner kid, even before Half Baked. I'm mildly please my name hasn't come up here yet. Although it is annoying always saying, "No, it's Brian, not Ryan. Yeah, with a B." But I suppose it's my fault for being a chronic mumbler.

I agree with all of these actually. Most of them I hate and none of them would I ever name my child - except I think Xavier is alright.

So how do you think it's okay to pronounce Xavier then? California Dreamer says not to pronounce it Zay-vee-er and Matadorpoeta says not to pronounce it Ex-av-yoor, so is it actually Ex-av-ier? That's how I pronounce it, but most people tell me that's wrong. I'm not changing my pronunciation, but it would be nice to know.

Similarly, my mom's name is Yvetta. She pronounces it Ee-vet-uh, but I have always pronounced it Ya-vet-uh (yes, this is surely less correct). She has never cared about it. I only get questions from others who say "I thought your mom's name was pronounced...." By the way, I don't like that name either - or the name Christian!

Madge is an ugly name.

Zay-vee-er. You don't say x-ylophone or x-enon.

This is sort of true (and good guess with the Brian S.). I happened to have another Brian in my circle of friends in high school, so of course we both got referred to by our last names, which has sort of stuck and most of them still call me by that or whatever mutated nickname based on my last name that they've come to know me as. Even here on this forum, there's already a more well known Brian so that I'm sure I'll always be addressed with numbers included. I had a lot of Asian exchange students in my business grad student classes, and most of them had American names (no Brians that I knew of, actually). There was a Tom and a Victoria, and one kid who went by "Ig" who may or may not have renamed himself that. I always wondered what thought process went into giving yourself a new first name for your time in a different country. Many (myself included) offered to try to pronounce their real first names a few times but they always politely declined, which made it far easier for everyone.