User:InMooseWeTrust/List of unusual personal names
Appearance
This is from the famous deleted list.
Names that come from a specific person, organization, fictional character or product:
[edit]- Armand Hammer, famous industrialist born on 21 May 1898 in Manhattan, New York. His father “had named him after the symbol of the Socialist Labor Party.” As a youth, he sometimes claimed that his father had named him after Armand Duval, a character in the Alexandre Dumas novel La Dame aux Camélias (1848).
- Christine Daaé. The Phantom of the Opera fan “changed her name from Victoria Bohm by deed poll” so that “if the Phantom came back today he would have a Christine Daae who would stay by him at the end.” (Source: The Independent)
- Espn (pronounced Espin). The name of two boys from Michigan and Texas, named for the popular cable sports channel ESPN. However, in Scandinavia, both Esben and Espen are somewhat common names.
- Eros-Adonis. Name of a Belgian boy.
- Hapoel Tel Aviv, a baby born in Israel in 2006, who was named by his father after his favorite football club Hapoel Tel Aviv.
- Harley Quinn Smith, born 26 June 1999 in Red Bank, New Jersey to filmmaker Kevin Smith and his wife. Named for fictional villainess Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Quinzel) from Batman: The Animated Series. The character had been created in 1992 by Kevin’s friend Paul Dini. (Sources: View Askew Productions, Wikipedia)
- Iuma Dylan-Lucas Thornhill, born on 11 August 2000 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Named in response to the Internet Underground Music Archive’s “Name Your Baby IUMA” contest. The contest ran from August 1, 2000 through November 1, 2000. At least three other babies were also entered in the contest. One was Iuma Rose Carter of Carvers, Nevada. Another was Iuma Heidi VanRyker of Darmstadt, Germany. The third was from New York. (Sources: ABC, BBC, Los Angeles Times)
- Jesus Christ. Born Jose Luis Espinal, he legally changed his name in December 2005.
- Jesus Christ Allin, later Kevin Michael Allin, most well known as GG Allin, named by his fanatically religious father.
- Joker Arroyo, a Philippine Senator. His name derives from his father’s fondness of playing cards. He has a brother named Jack, also for the playing card of the same name.
- Kal-El Coppola, son of actor Nicolas Cage, is named for the fictional character Superman.
- Keldorn – First name of an Estonian boy named after the character Keldorn Firecam from the PC game Baldur’s Gate 2.
- Kenesaw Mountain Landis, born on 20 November 1866 in Ohio. Son of Dr. Abraham and Mary Landis. His name is a misspelling of Kennesaw Mountain, a mountain near Atlanta, Georgia. His father had been seriously wounded in the American Civil War at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on 27 June 1864. Kenesaw Landis ended up becoming the first commissioner of organized baseball. (Source: MLB)
- MegaZone, an American IT/programming geek who legally changed his name (from Brian Bikowicz) on April 12, 2000. Originally taking the name from Megazone 23 as a login in 1989.
- Metallica Tomaro, born in late 2006 in Sweden. Daughter of Michael and Karolina Tomaro. Her name was first rejected, then later approved, by Swedish authorities. (Sources: NME, Me)
- Oleúde José Ribeiro, born on 19 September 1966 in Conselheiro Pena, Brazil. Brazilian soccer player. His first name is a badly misspelled rendition of Hollywood.
- Minty Clinch. Film publicist and journalist on The Observer.
- Optimus Prime of Ohio. Legally changed his name to Optimus Prime in honor of the Transformers character. (Source: Gizmodo)
- Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F’tang-F’tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel. British political candidate self-renamed after a Monty Python character. Born John Desmond Lewis.
- Tupac Shakur rapper named after an Incan.
- Tomer.com, an Israeli programmer.
- Matrix, an Estonian named so by his parents due to them seeing the movie of the same name. Shortly after this case a law was enacted by Estonian parliament to prevent further naming children after celebrities, misspellings and cultural references, as it might become annoying for a child once he grows up.
- John Portsmouth Football Club Westwood, a fan of the same.
Names that are nouns or other words not commonly used as given names:
[edit]- American McGee, video game designer (Quake, American McGee’s Alice) famous for having an unusual name.
- Apple Blythe Alison Martin, born on 14 May 2004 in London, England. Daughter of actor Gwyneth Paltrow and musician Chris Martin. (Sources: BBC, Hello!)
- Baby Hospital, born in Sierra Leone. Feral child found at the age of 7 by an Italian missionary and “given the unlikely name of Baby Hospital.” (Source: Feral Children.com)
- Bluebell Madonna Halliwell, daughter of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
- Boo Moore, minor league baseball player in the Boston Red Sox organization in 1980s/90s.
- Breece D’J Pancake, short-lived writer of short fiction. The unusual initial came from a misprint of his first story, which he decided to not correct.
- Canaan Sodindo Banana, born on 5 March 1936 in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). First President of Zimbabwe. His widow’s name is Janet Banana. (Source: The Guardian)
- Crown Shakur Thomas, a boy who died of malnutrition at the age of 6 weeks old, after being starved by his parents, who were sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Depressed Cupboard Cheesecake. Child of a couple in Kent, England.
- God Shammgod. American basketball player who played one season in the NBA after being picked by the Washington Wizards in the 2nd round (17th pick) of the 1997 NBA Draft. He was born on April 29, 1976 in New York City.
- Heaven Rain Charvet daughter of Brooke Burke and David Charvet. Known as Rain Charvet.
- Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, daughter of Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates. Known affectionately as Tiger Hutchence to family and friends.
- Navy Shuler and Island Shuler, children of U.S. Representative and former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler. Shuler explains: “My son is Navy. It was the only name my wife and I agreed on — she made a list of ten names, and I made a list of ten names. And that was the only one that matched. It was from a road atlas — there was a Navy street on a map. My daughter is Island — it came from Island transportation company. My wife and I were driving around talking about names, and the truck went by. We both liked it. They’re good nautical names. We don’t have any oceans up here in the mountains, so I guess we thought we would use the nautical theme.” (Sources: U.S. Government, StopShuler.com)
- Jellyfish McSaveloy of Nottingham, England. Legally changed his name from Steven Robert Lane to Jellyfish McSaveloy in 2005. (Source: The Sun)
- Loser Lane – a New York Police Department sergeant, mentioned in the book Freakonomics.
- Maybe Barnes (or Maybee or Maibe) a male child born 1663 in New Haven, Connecticut.
- Miroslav Šatan. NHL Hockey Player (pronounced Shah-tahn).
- Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette. Daughter of magician Penn Jillette.
- Muffin Lord. Director at The Rutgers College Honor Programs.
- Peerless Price, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills.
- Picabo Street (her parents pronounced it “Peek-a-BOW”, not “Peek-a-BOO”), American skier.
- Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf-Lee. Son of actor/skateboarder Jason Lee and actress Beth Riesgraf.
- Little Pixie Geldof, daughter of musician/activist Bob Geldof and Paula Yates. Known as Pixie Geldof.
- Poppy Montgomery, born Poppy Petal Emma Elizabeth Deveraux Donahue. An Australian-born actress starring in the television series Without a Trace. Her brother is named Jethro Tull, and her sisters are named Rosie Thorn, Daisy Yellow, Lily Belle and Marigold Sun.
- Poet Siena Rose Goldberg, daughter of Soleil Moon Frye and Jason Goldberg.
- Rocket, Racer, Rogue and Rebel Rodriguez, All children of film director Robert Rodriguez.
- Thursday October Christian. The son of Fletcher Christian (leader of the mutiny on the Bounty).
- They of Missouri. Legally changed his name from Andrew Wilson to They in 2004. (Source: USA Today)
- Urmas-Armas Ingel (engl. Urmas-Sweet Angel). An eccentric Estonian poet.
- Tuesday Weld. US actress. Born Susan Ker Weld.
- Wonderful Terrific Monds III was a baseball player in the Atlanta Braves farm system in the early 1990s. WTM I, his grandfather, was given that name because his own parents were so pleased when their son was born. Baseball writer Peter Gammons called it “one of the greatest names” for a ballplayer he has heard.
- Yahoo Serious, Australian actor known from Young Einstein.
- Zeppelin Wai Wong, born in San Francisco and named after the Graf Zeppelin which his parents saw overhead when he was born. (According to Herb Caen, Wong says it could be worse: “Suppose it had been the Shenandoah?”)
- Coco Crisp. Major League Baseball center fielder for the Boston Red Sox.
- Wrigley Alexander Fields, born on 12 September 2007 in Indiana. Named for the Wrigley Fields ballpark, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. (Sources: NBC, Me)
Names that intentionally contain a phrase:
[edit]- Amor De Cosmos, the second premier of British Columbia, Canada. His name in Portuguese actually means “Love Of Cosmos”.
- Condoleezza Rice, current US Secretary of State. Name is based on a mis-spelling of the Italian musical term ‘con dolcezza’ which means ‘[to be played] with sweetness’.
- Constant-Désiré Despradelle, French-born dean of architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Espen Thoresen Hværsaagod-Takkskalduha. A Norwegian radio reporter. He first changed his name from Espen Thoresen to Espen Thoresen Hværsaagod (Espen Thoresen You’reon/Hereyouare meaning simply ‘please’ ). Later he added the name Takkskalduha (Thankyouverymuch).
- Legal Tender Coxey – Infant son of Jacob Coxey, leader of Coxey’s Army.
- Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. American actor.
- Mai Phat Sau Nghin Ruoi. Vietnamese which translates to “Fined Six Thousand Five Hundred” to represent the 6,500 dong, the local currency, that father Mai Xuan Can was forced to pay for ignoring Vietnam’s two-child policy. The boy changed his name to Mai Hoang Long when he turned 18.
- Masiosare, Spanish for “If [someone] would [eventually] dare” (Mas si osare). This poetic form is not common in Spanish, but is part of the Mexican National Anthem. For this, a lot of people had this name, because a lot of parents still believe that is a proper name.
- Notwithstanding Griswold a female child born 1759 in Durham, Connecticut.
- Robin Victory in Europe Strasser, American actress born on May 7, 1945, which was officially proclaimed V-E Day.
- Savior God Scientist Allah is the name of a 16-month old infant who died after falling from a seventh story window on April 20, 2006.
- Screaming Lord Sutch, born David Edward Sutch, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.
- Trout Fishing in America. In April 1994, a Santa Barbara teenager named Peter Eastman Jr. legally changed his name to “Trout Fishing in America” after Richard Brautigan’s novella of the same name.
- Vista Avalon Simser, born on 18 May 2007 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Named after the Windows Vista operating system. (Source: Me)
- World B. Free. Retired NBA basketball player. His given name was Lloyd B. Free, and later changed his name back to his given name.
- Wu Suowei (Chinese: ???), son of Chinese TV host Yang Lan and her husband Wu Zheng, sounds identical to Chinese expression for doesn’t matter or whatever.
Names changed for political purposes or as a form of protest:
[edit]america Hoffman, son of revolutionist yippies Abbie and Anita Hoffman. Given the name “america”, with a “small a”, to indicate both patriotism and non-jingoistic intent. Austin Haddock was the name (temporarily) for Austin Mitchell, British MP for Great Grimsby, who changed his name by deed poll in support of his haddock fishermen constituents in October 2002. They were suffering from the effects of an EU fisheries ban enacted over concerns of dwindling North Sea fish stocks. Byron Low Tax Looper. Former Tennessee politician Byron Looper changed his middle name to “Low Tax” as an election ploy; in 1998 he murdered his electoral opponent, state senator Tommy Burks. Free Rob Cannabis – Marijuana activist from Glastonbury, UK. Goveg.com (pronounced Go Vedge Dot Com). PETA activist Karin Robertson changed her name in 2003 to promote the organization’s vegan website. In 2006 she reverted to her birth name, later saying “I never thought I would be Goveg.com forever. It was just a great way to pique people’s interest.” Kentucky Fried Cruelty.com. A PETA staff member who was known as Chris Garnett before he changed his name. He changed it back in 2006. Miss Alice. A New Zealand lawyer, formerly known as Rob Moodie, who legally changed his name to protest the Old Boys’ Network that runs the judiciary. Nigel Freemarijuana of Australia. Legally changed his name from David Nigel Quinlan to Nigel Freemarijuana in 1996. (Source: Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The 2001 Federal Elections: Report of the Inquiry into the conduct of the 2001 Federal Election, and matters related thereto Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, A.C.T.: 2003) Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus is an Irish politician who has changed his name several times in order to draw attention to his campaign issues. States Rights Gist, Confederate General during the American Civil War. Yorkshire Bank PLC Are Fascist Bastards. Born Michael Howard but changed his name legally after being charged £20 for a £10 overdraft. Having subsequently been forced to close his account, he asked that the remaining balance be paid by cheque made out to his new name.
Names that can double as words or phrases:
[edit]Argelico Fucks, Brazilian footballer. Be-Curteous Cole a male child born 1570 in Pevensey, Sussex, England. Jaime Lachica Sin a Philippine clergyman, was known as Cardinal Sin because of his status within the Catholic church. Sin was said to play a joke on his title, welcoming visitors to his archbishop’s residence with the greeting “Welcome to the House of Sin”. (He is not to be confused with the term “cardinal sin”). Dick Assman (properly pronounced “assmun”). Canadian service station owner whose name propelled him to international celebrity status in 1995. Dick Mann, motorcycle hall of famer. Dick Passwater, won a race in NASCAR’s formative years. Dick Pole, baseball player. Dick Seaman, early British Grand Prix racing star. Dick Trickle. With a combined total of up to 1,200 wins in all racing forms to his credit, he has been called “America’s Winningest Driver.” Fair Hooker – Wide Receiver, Cleveland Browns 1969-1974. I. M. Hipp, former running back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football team. Ima Hogg. Daughter of Governor of Texas James Stephen Hogg. Urban legend contends that she had a sister named Ura Hogg, but this is false. Jack Ass. Born Robert Craft, he legally changed his name to Jack Ass then brought a plagiarism lawsuit against MTV for their comedy sketch series Jackass. He died of a suicide on July 21, 2003. Lucious Pusey – Linebacker for Eastern Illinois University, legally changed his name to Lucious Seymour. Ray Zin, Owner of Micrel. Rusty Kuntz, baseball player. Shanda Lear, daughter of Bill Lear, founder of Lear Jet Corporation. Young Talkmore Nyongani, Zimbabwean 400 metre sprinter.
Unusually long names:
[edit]Autumn Sullivan Corbett Fitzsimmons Jeffries Hart Burns Johnson Willard Dempsey Tunney Schmeling Sharkey Carnera Baer Braddock Louis Charles Walcott Marciano Patterson Johansson Liston Clay Frazier Foreman Brown, born in 2007 in Wolverhampton, England. Names #2-#26 are the surnames of 25 world heavyweight boxing champions, beginning with John L. Sullivan and ending with George Foreman. (Source: Me) Aldaberontophoscophornia Bowen Fearing. Anna Bertha Cecilia Diana Emily Fanny Gertrude Hypatia Inez Jane Kate Louise Maud Nora Ophelia Prudence Quince Rebecca Sarah Teresa Ulysis Venus Winifred Xenophon Yetty Zeno Pepper, a British woman who was named with a first name in the order of the alphabet. Her name brought interest to Robert Ripley, who published a profile of Pepper in an issue of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in 1929. Due to the length of her name, she was nicknamed “Alphabet” for short. Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff, the man with the longest name ever recorded. Lleieusszuieusszesszes Willihiminizisteizzi Hurrizzissteizzi, a resident of Los Angeles; appears in Robert Ripley’s second Believe It or Not! Book (1948). Lord Daniyaal as-Saadiq al-Amin Salaam u’Allah (Lord D.A.A.S. u’Allah). Formerly Daniel Green; convicted of the murder of James R. Jordan, Sr. (father of Michael Jordan). Nicholas Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barbon. Although “phrase names” were not unheard of with Puritans this is remembered as an unusually long example. He was son to Praise-God Barebone. The name may not be authentic. The story that Praise-God’s brothers were named Christ-came-into-the-world-to-save Barebone and If-Christ-had-not-died-thou-hadst-been-damned Barebone (supposedly shortened to Damned Barebone) is disputed. Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates. Rhoshandiatellyneshiaunneveshenk Koyaanisquatsiuth Williams was a girl born in Beaumont TX in 1984. Her name appears to be a conglomeration of various words from Hopi and perhaps other languages; Koyaanisqatsi means “life out of balance” in Hopi. It is often said that her father changed her name to something even longer a few years after she was born. “James Dr No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill Golden Eye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Bond”. David Fearn, 23, from Walsall changed his name to the names of the all the James Bond movies in order to celebrate the release of the latest Bond film.
Portuguese monarchs with unusually long names:
[edit]Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Víctor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão de Bragança, Sabóia Bourbon e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha, also known as Carlos I of Portugal (1863-1908). (Source: Wikipedia) Luís Filipe Maria Carlos Amélio Francisco Víctor Manuel António Lourenço Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Bento de Bragança Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha, also known as Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, Regent of Portugal (1887-1908). (Source: Wikipedia) Luís Filipe Maria Fernando Pedro de Alcântara António Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis João Augusto Júlio Valfando de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, King of Portugal Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, King of Portugal Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga da Áustria e Bragança, Queen of Portugal Miguel Maria do Patrocínio João Carlos Francisco de Assis Xavier de Paula Pedro de Alcântara António Rafael Gabriel Joaquim José Gonzaga Evaristo de Bragança, King of Portugal Pedro de Alcântara Francisco Antônio João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim de Bragança e Bourbon, King of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil. Pedro de Alcântara Maria Fernando Miguel Rafael Gonzaga Xavier João António Leopoldo Vítor Francisco de Assis Júlio Amélio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, King of Portugal.
Names changed for business purposes:
[edit]Andrew “Test” Martin, professional wrestler who legally included his ringname “Test” in his real name in order to use it without trademark infringement from World Wrestling Entertainment. DotComGuy. Legally changed his name from Mitch Maddox in 2000 as part of a publicity stunt of spending an entire year in his house, on the Internet. GoldenPalace.com (Pronounced Golden Palace Dot Com). In March 2005, the casino paid Terri Iligan $15,000 after winning an E-Bay Auction to legally change her name. Warrior. American professional wrestler, born Brian James “Jim” Hellwig, best known for appearances as the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. Legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993 in order to use the name outside of the WWF. Zachary Zzzzzzzzzra, actually named Bill Holland, was a painting contractor who changed his name to Zachary Zzzzzzzzzra as a marketing gimmick so that people could find him “in the back of the phone book”. A 1979 Time article said that he was able to achieve this goal in the San Francisco phone book in eight out of 15 years, although he had to keep adding Z’s to his last name because Zelda Zzzwramp and Vladimir Zzzzzzabakov had become the last listings in the phone book.
Frank Zappa’s children:
[edit]Moon Unit Zappa, his oldest child, did the valspeak on Zappa’s 1982 song Valley Girl. She goes by Moon, insisting that Unit is her middle name. Dweezil Zappa was born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa because the hospital refused to register the Zappas’ chosen name. He has since legally changed his name to Dweezil. Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa. His third given name comes from the flying Japanese movie monster of the same name. Diva Magika (nee Muffin) Zappa. So named because, according to her father, she was screaming louder than all the other babies in the nursery.
Numbers:
[edit]Dix-Sept Rosado, whose first name means “seventeen” in French, was one of several brothers with French numerals for names born to a Brazilian family from Mossoró. He later became a politician and there is a town named after him. His brother, Vingt-Un (“twenty-one”) was a writer and journalist. Jennifer 8. Lee, born in 1976. She adopted the middle name “8.” in her teens. (Source: Wordplay) Jon Blake Cusack 2.0, born on 27 January 2004 in Michigan. Son of Jamie and Jon Blake Cusack. (Source: Me) Perri 6, born in Britain. Changed his name from David Ashworth in 1983. (Source: Wikipedia) Ten Million, born in 1889 in Washington state. He was a minor league baseball player during the 1910s and had a daughter named Decillion Million (b. 1921). (Source: Me)
Miscellaneous:
[edit]@, born circa 2007 in China. The symbol @ is often referred to by the English word “at” in China. When spoken by Chinese, “at” sounds like ai ta, which happens to mean “love him” in Mandarin. Li Yuming, deputy chief of China’s State Language Commission, did not indicate if officials had accepted the name @. (Sources: Guardian, Me) 4real, born in mid-2007 in New Zealand. Son of Pat and Sheena Wheaton. The name was rejected by the government. (Source: Me) Adolf Lu Hitler Marak is an Indian politician. Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced “Albin”) was a name given to a child by the parents of a Swedish family in May 1996. The name was rejected by a Swedish court. The child’s name was later changed to “A” (also pronounced “Albin”), however this too was rejected. Boof Bonser, Current major league baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. Christophpher is the name of a boy living in Grenaa, Denmark. The name was not approved by the Ministry for Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the mother was therefore required to pay fines every month until the child’s name was changed. Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates. Flex Plexico – Spokesperson for the United States Department of Defense. J Allard Formerly known as James Allard, Corporate Vice President and the Chief XNA Architect at Microsoft. Jermajesty Jackson. Son of Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Oiaza. Revilo Oliver, American philologist and Neo-Nazi with a palindromic name. Robert Trebor, American actor with a palindromic name, (Born Robert Schenkman). Teller. The magician changed his name from Raymond Joseph Teller. Zowie Bowie is the son of David Bowie. Rolan Bolan is the son of Marc Bolan (Rock Band T Rex). It is said the David Bowie and Marc Bolan decided together about the names Zowie Bowie and Rolan Bolan. The musician Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993 for contractual reasons. He reverted this change in 2000.
References
[edit]- REFLIST
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