Sunday, June 22, 2008

What's In A Name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet;

We've talked over and over again about the ridiculous names that folks have and can come up with.  I want to hear the names you love.  The names you might have had picked out for your child(ren).  The names of friends children that you absolutely adore.

Myself?  I love names of two of my Ply friends' children, Gianna and Garvey.  I'm partial to last names as first names, such as Jordan and Kennedy.  I like Jada and Paige.

What names do you like?

90 comments:

  1. In my opinion, a name is a label and being such, we tend to conform tot he label given to us.

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  2. smh @ the "rev"...what the hell, just answer the question!!!

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  3. Why don't you answer the question and stop with the judgment and leave that for god, you idiot..

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  4. I like creative names, or names that have history or a story behind them. I know a boy named Bodie, named after a ghost town here in California.

    I've always liked the name Noah for a boy. I thought about naming my son that, but we named him after his dad, which is still cool.

    I like some of the nature-type names, like Dakota, Sequoia. If my son had been a girl I would have named him Mikayla Joy.

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  5. I've already chosen my children's name....Morgan and Madison are two that i like. I also like Alexandria and Joseph.

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  6. If I had a son he'd be named Mookie...

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  7. I really like my given name (Rafiqa); however not everyone pronounces it correctly so I go by part of ONE of my two middle names.

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  8. I got a girl cousin called mookie. Her given name is Courtney.

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  9. I knew a girl nicknamed Mookie, her real name was Jurvenus and her sister was Sumestras.

    Mysteeque, what IS the correct pronunciation of your name?

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  10. It's Rah- FEE - Qua. OR Rah - Fee - Kah

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  11. Rah - Fee - Kah is exactly how I'd have pronounced it.

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  12. I have triplets. Two girls and a boy. My son is Micah. My girls are Mikayla and Mieko. She was so tiny that I wanted to give her name strength. Mieko means prosperous.

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  13. I really like the name Jai (pronounced like ji) Don't know if you remember the show "On our own" with the smollet family (the actors real names). The oldest sister's real name is Jazz, but went by Jai (ji) on the show. Only reason I know how it was spelled was b/c of close captions! LOL Most the time when I've seen the name Jai, they pronounce it like jay, but I like it as ji.

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  14. You are one of few...some don't even attempt it. It means friend in Arabic; Sweetheart in Swahili (or Muslim). I am neither. I'm a Southern Baptist. My momma saw it in a newspaper. An African priestest was visiting around the time of my birth. More info than you asked for.

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  15. I prefer regular names like Paul or Sam.

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  16. I'll just keep calling you Lil Bit.

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  17. If/When I have children, I would prefer to name them either Zora or Langston (after my 2 favorite authors from the Harlem Renaissance)

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  18. Actually, most of the times I have seen JAi it was pronounced JI, like Michael Jai White

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  19. I remember the show with the Smolletts. I always liked the name Jurnee.

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  20. I tend to prefer names that have some meaning. I like African/Afrocentric names as well. That's part of the reason why I LOVE my daughter's name Hadiya(pronounced Ha-DEE-Yah(though in some dialects it's pronounced HA-dee-yah), nobody seems to be able to get it right and I don't know why) which is Arabic(though sometimes listed as Swahili) and means "gift". I also have a nephew though whose name is Jazzton(my brother's nickname used to be Jazzy so he came up with Jazzton lol) and I have always liked that. And though it kind of sounds old-fashioned, there were a couple of women from where I'm from (older women which is probably why it seems a little antiquated to me) named Queen and I have always thought that King and Queen were good names(though difficult to live up to LOL). But I have seen entirely too many Princesses to find that name interesting anymore lol

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  21. Hadiya is my cousin's daughter's name! Ha-dee-yah is how we pronounce her name.

    I've got a friend named Queen Esther and another named Sir Philip.

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  22. I went to school with a girl named Kandy Barr.

    I had a student named Jeidy which in Spanish would be pronounced like Heidi...however,one teacher butchered it and called her Jedi (as in Star Wars). Her classmates were no help as they started calling her that too, and it stuck.

    I worked in an office where the HR lady was up in age, about ready to retire. She could not get my name right to save her life. You'd think Lee wouldn't be so hard, but she called me Lynn every chance she got. One day I was in the breakroom with a bunch of co-workers and they heard her call me that...I never lived it down. Even though I don't work there anymore anytime I run in to them, I'm still Lynn.

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  23. There's been a Queen Esther in every black church I've ever set foot in.

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  24. My brother's sons are named DeVaughn & Kaden. I love those names.

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  25. My son is Stephon (Ste-fon) Terrell - not Stephen or Steven like most people tend to call him. Had he been a girl the name would've been Savannah Maria. Maria was my mother's middle name.

    I named my 2nd nephew - Adrian Darnell.

    My nieces have interesting names: Deja Maria Nykohl & Daria Nichelle Nykohl (Nichelle was my baby sister's middle name).

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  26. Some people think they are old fashioned, but I have always liked the names Heather and Olivia. My mother's name is Jennifer; I like that. I like some of the other previously mentioned names too.

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  27. I've always liked Savon, like on Love Jones, just with a different spelling.

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  28. He's Savion (Sa-vee-on), the one on Love Jones was Suh-von

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  29. Jada...( my middle name) i like..and Jerome...names wit J i always liked..well..mosta em...

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  30. I love the name Savion, but the ex wasn't having it. I also like Kaden and Elijah

    Maia is named after Maya Angelou. Her middle name is Nicole after her half sister who passed away.

    Mekai's name towards the ocean in Hawaiian, respect to the Hawaiian side of my family. He could have been Keoni, which I love, but it means John, and his middle name is John after my dad, so it would have been John John. LOL

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  31. Well I used to dislike my name Ramona but as I grew older I like it.
    When it came to naming my first son I didnt have a clue, but I wanted it to start with an R so I named him Rashard and my youngest son is Daniel Jr after his dad

    but here are a few names that I love. Kayden, Cameron, Nyla (if I ever have a daugher her name will be Nyla) but I dont think I will be having anymore so ...

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  32. that's cool. I haven't seen that name for a guy very often, but I guess its not really gender specific though :)

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  33. Ummm who would be gettin ignant on a Whats in a Name Blog? ***scratching head***

    well damn

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  34. When I was younger, I used to HATE my "government" name to the upmost because there are so many "joke nicknames" that I was taunted with. It wasn't until I got older that I truly began to love and appreciate it. I actually love it now. If the Lord blesses me with children, my plan is to keep the "tradition" going (my mother named me after her, so I want to name my FIRST (or ONLY) born after us.

    There's also another name that I am VERY fond of...I came across this name a few years back when my LS asked me to write a piece for her wedding. My goal was to find ONE WORD to sum up the nuptials and during my search I came across this African baby name which stands for “the reward of patience”. The name was SUBIRA (pronounced SOO-BEE-RAH)!!! I aboslutely LOVE my SCREEN name and if I were blessed to have a child, I thought this name (and its meaning) would be PERFECT in my situation.

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  35. Bigdaddy your daughters name is beautiful!!! I like that name.

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  36. I love my nieces name. Kaimaja. Then I love my name, not my legal name, but mine regardless and I do use it. People who remember do call me Najla which means beautiful eyes.

    My family is very much into choosing afrocentric names, and all the children in our family their names are afrocentric. So the names are African, or Arabic.

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  37. interesting, I just did a lil looking for the name Jai to see what it means and origins. It has a few origins: English and old French as a derivate of Jason and pronounced like "jay" and Sanskrit and Hindi, meaning victory also pronounced as "jay". Then there is an origin in Thailand where Jai means heart and pronounced like JI. and in all cases they say it's a guys name, but I know of a lot more women with that in there name than men! LOL

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  38. I LOVED that show! I liked Journee as a name as well.

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  39. I would have gotten that one right :) That might be though because my folks and brother and I used to be a host family for a family from Nepal and the wife's name was Sandiya. It used to irritate the hell outta me when folks called her "Sonya" but she'd never correct them.

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  40. oooh, I like the name Stephon. I had a friend way back in the day named Stefaun. I also like the name Savon as well. Got a friend named that.

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  41. wow that's beautiful ....almost enough for me to want to change my baby name I have picked for my baby...but naaaaaa her name is apart of her already.

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  42. I also have an old friend named Aohnte (on TAY) and I love that. Apparently his dad made it up.

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  43. I used to date this guy, I hesitate to say his name because he worked his way around Blackplanet, but I've always loved his name...Kenji. It's japanese for intelligent second son, strong and vigorous. When I met him, he was very much into bodybuilding so the name defintely fit him.

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  44. well dee, you can always put this specific post to private or something :) but yeah, I like that name too.

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  45. Hell, I just don't want anyone else who dated him to bring me any stories, LOL.

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  46. I think so too. I like unique names and and that is definitely unique, but NO one could ever seem to spell it. Because of my being deaf, folks wrote things down for me in conversations and whenever his name came up, they'd usually spell it "Onte" or "Ante" LOL Bugged the hell outta me that folks wouldn't take the time to learn how to spell his name correctly, but at least they still said his name correctly

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  47. i love bri bris name....abril sherrie
    ma friends daughter nevaeh michelle

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  48. I used to hate my name growing up (Erin), although I've always liked the meaning (peace). I like it better now though, although thinking about I think I hated it b/c of so many people calling me Erwin, Ervin, and Eric! I'm always thinking "Do I look like a guy to you?!?" Drives me crazy and I think that is a big part of the reason I HATE when others misspell or mispronounce others names. I also have a friend named Nneka and I love her name, but can't seem to pronounce it. There is a lil bit of a nuance in her name I cannot hear, so I can't figure out how to pronounce it and I really hate that I'm mispronouncing her name, but she understands at least.

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  49. side bar....i loved that sho im glad the younger gril is still doing her thing acting wise ok bac ta the topic

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  50. I still hate my name... Tracey? (Oddly enough when I traced the meaning through the ancient Greek it had something to do with war... which makes perfect sense because I am a battle ax to my heart. I can't imagine what I'd be if I wasn't Tracey though.)

    My daughter's name is Alexandra Elizabeth-Anne (The Alex was for Alexandra Spaulding - yes my daughter is named for a character on Guilding LIght, the Elizabeth is for my grandmother, and Anne we threw in there to shut up my monster-in-law. (her name is Ruth Anne and sorry, but my kid wasn't going to be a Ruth, not even over my dead body).

    Another girl's name I wanted to use was Madison Elizabeth... and my third choice (which fell on completely deaf ears) was Bailey Julia-Noelle
    Alex is SOOOO not a Bailey. LOL

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  51. That is a pet peeve of mine. I believe if you call someone your friend, it's common courtesy to learn how to spell and pronounce their name correctly, no matter what it is.

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  52. i always liked aaniyah too

    i love my lil cuz's name....serenity mostly cause she was such a good baby not a lotta crying n what not so it was fitting

    bris cousins(her dads nieces) anr laniyah(niya) and kamiah(mia) i like those too

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  53. I know what I'd be, either Bethany or Beth Ann so I'm SOOOOOO glad I was born before mom thought of that b/c I definitely prefer Erin over Bethany or Beth Ann! LOL

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  54. ???? Nin-ekka?

    It's kind of tricky when you get into african names. My little cousin's name is Nzinga (Nuh-zinga), but I also have a friend who pronounces hers Zinga, silent n...

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  55. If I wasn't Alaina, I'd be Paula (My Dad's name and middle initial are Paul A.) Luckily, my mother won out. LOL!!!

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  56. Dammit Silky!!!! My Aunt's name is Ruth Ann! LOL

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  57. Uhh I have an Aunt Ruth (middle name Ann) too...
    We gotta be related...

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  58. I have a friend name Nneka- its pronounced Nee-Kah

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  59. My name is Paula!!! LOL
    My favorite Girls names-
    Leina Shanelle ( Lay-na and Chanel No.5 LOL)
    Reina Shaniece (reina- queen in spanish pronounced Rain-a)
    Christina Michelle
    Shawnna Joi-Elle
    Stephanie Christine or Stephanie Christiana

    Boys names-
    Darius Christian (a little boy in my daycare had the name Darius and he was the cutest frickin thing! And Christian for being a christian
    David Cassidy (my brother and grandfathers middle names NOT the partridge fam)
    Steven Paul (dad and brother)
    Shaun Cassidy (Shaun is my favorite boys name and i love this spelling of the name even before Harm's son I loved that spelling and Cassidy because of Grandpa's name)

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  60. My parents are Paul and Laura. When my brother was born, my dad didn't want a junior, because he hates his middle name. SO they named my brother Steven David. (was gonna be Steven David, Steven Jamison, or Steven Roger... or Paul Douglas after my dad but he nipped that in the bud)
    When I came along my daddy took one look at me, and said Can we name her after me? And I got named Paula Arline after my dad and his aunt. My mom's grandparents picked my brother's name. So I got my dad's side of the family. So I guess I am a double namesake, and I HATED my name for years. But I like it now...

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  61. That is how I pronounce her name now and she says it is wrong. With the double N's, there is a little nuance there, and I think Deedles has it or is close. Nee-kah is kinda like the americanized version of its true pronunciation

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  62. Well, I'm partial to Garvey (lol) and I was kinda salty when a girl on a message board I'm on "stole" it and named her son Garvey. I mean, I should be flattered, but I stole it too lol. I've only known one other Garvey in my life and he was named for one of the same reasons as my son. If G were a girl, the name would have been Akilah which means Intelligent, Bright, etc. I prefer ethnic sounding names, religious names, and family names (we have umpteen Elizabeths in my family, but I dig it).

    I also like/love: Khadijah, Fatima, Nneka (means "Mother Supreme--best name ever lol), Aisha, Imara, Idara, Courtney, Jasmine, Jocelyn, Josephine (for girls)... Xavier (my son's middle name), Marcus, Malcolm, Mandela, Mansa, Amani, Naasir, Eric, Sean, Christopher (those 3 names have a certain crisp ring to them), Michael, Daniel, Elijah, Isaiah (for boys)

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  63. Nneka, generally, is pronounded en-necka

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  64. I know a few Khadijah's and Fatima's, logs of Aisha's.

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  65. How could I forget my babies? Kaliyah Justtine and Emilia Julianna

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  66. Wow! I though tI was the only person who did that. My oldest daughter is Jessica Alexandra - Jessica for Jessica, the black lady lawyer on As the World Turns and Alexandra for Alexandra Spaulding on Guilding Light. they both represnted two strong, intellignet and well respected women (even though Alexandra could be a bitch... lol)

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  67. I used to work with a girl names Nneka. she pronounced it simply "Nee-kah"

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  68. I tell men especially my Najla name to see how they react. One fool said to me "I'm going to give you a nickname". I gave him the hand and kept it moving. If you can't take the time to learn my name, then you don't get to know all of me!!!

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  69. Same here. I love Kennedy as a first name. ;o)

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  70. I would have loved to have given a child one of my family names...but my grandmas were Hazel and Francis. My uncle married the girl next door so my cousin's grandma was like a third grandma to me, and her name is Vera. Just not names that I really wanted to pass down...is that wrong? LOL. Now, lil man's maternal grandmother was Marion, and I would have used that, but one of his uncles already snagged it.

    I like Khadijah, too..and I have a neice named Jahleesa, after the character on Different World.

    When I was pregnant I told the ladies I worked with to be on the lookout for some girl names for me. What was I thinking? We had a client come through named Shabooboo Love Jenkins. As far as they were concerned, that was my baby's name from that moment on. I got baby shower gifts addressed to Shabooboo.

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  71. Wait a minute. That's my mama's name.

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  72. Well, if I ever have a another child, which by the way is highly unlikely, i would name "her" Dakota or Dallas... I like memorable, unique, can get a job, non ghetto names...

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  73. See now I gotta spank you for that 2nd name.

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  74. I thought I was the only person who did that.... My oldest daughter is Jessica Alexandra: Jessica for the black lady lawyer, Jessica, on As the World Turns, and Alexandra for Alexandra Spaulding from Guilding Light. I liked them both as two strong, intelligent, respected women (even though Alexandra could be a bitch at times).

    The rest of the clan are Melody Glyn (named for me and her dad), Paris JeMel (Paris is because her dad's name begines with a P, and JeMel is for her sisters, JEssica and MELody), and Shaun Pierre ( his daddy's first 2 initials reversed, plus I likes Shaun and Pierre just sounds like it goes with it) I was mainly thinking of 1. ease during school and 2. having names not already used in my family.

    My Parents went with good ole country American for my oldest sister (Marian Etta. named for my granma), somewhere in left field (me, and left field FITS), Muslim for my baby sister (Aneesah Inas which means "faithful friend"), good old narcissist for my 1st brother (Ralph III, after him) and and a bible/Koran mix for my baby brother (Gabriel Ali). Dad had given all of us Muslim names when he converted to Islam, but it would take up most of the post to give them all plus meanings.

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  75. Well, my grandmother's names were Linnie Bell and Robertha....need I say more?

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  76. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWLIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGG!!!!

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  77. I'd like to hear em...you should do a post.

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  78. you know what? and "Shabooboo" closes the show......

    I am so done..... *ba dump-dump*cymbal crash*

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