While I have a pretty unusual and lengthy last name, which has led to some confusion in the past, my first name is pretty short and common. I have always loved my last name, since it allowed me to be different from all the Smiths, Johnsons, and Millers in school. On the other hand my very unique name is always mispronounced and misspelled by the majority of people and I have received mail with some odd variations of my last name, which can be anything from funny to frustrating. However, I think that one of the reasons that people try to choose different names for their children is to set them apart from others around them, even if it has to be done in dramatically potent ways. Most parents want their children to be unique and seen as special by the public as they are regarded by their parents, and a unheard of name is one of the sure ways to accomplish this goal. While I have met a few people with unique or unusual names (most of them celebrities), I do think that many names that would have once been regarded as weird or even frowned upon are now so common that we no longer think about them as different. And so even more unusual names had to be taken on to truly make a difference in baby names. Would I ever give my own children an unusual name? Perhaps. But only one within certain limits. First, I would have to be sure that all people involved with my child in the future would be able to pronounce and spell the name correctly. I would also want to make sure that the name does not give way to any potential harassment. While there are some great unusual names out there (such as Willow or Juniper, the names a friend of mine gave her two little daughters) I think some people tend to overdo it and giving a child an overly lengthy name that corresponds to a personal interest (such as in the case of the football team) can seriously set a child up for failure. How is that child going to learn to write his name in Kindergarten when his first name alone is made up of dozens of letters?

because it's more fun to make them up then to say the same old boring one when your drunk

have a bottle or two of conundrum and think it over!

I sometimes wonder the exact same thing. I have heard of some crazy baby names lately, and most of those are coming from famous people. For some reason, my thoughts are they want to chose a unique name.

Most of us focus on our child not being made fun of, so we chose a name that is common.

My thoughts are stars or famous people may be a bit edgier, and have less of a chance at being made fun of because they are the son or daughter of " so and so."

I still do not believe I would choose a odd or strange name. The world is hard enough without being picked on because of your name. I am not willing to take a chance.

Perhaps people just want to be unique and "cool" and think of a name outside of the box. http://www.flickr.com/photos/56695083@N00/4435678914/

I have worked with a guy named Frank Hamburger. Now if your last name was Hamburger why would your Parents name you Frank. I think most people do it because they think it's cute. I worked with a women named Jill and yes her Parents named her brother Jack. Neither was a family name. All this nonsense to set that kid apart because they are special also sets them apart when they go for a job and don't get called back. And celebrities that do it just do so because they think their kids are above it all, Moon Unit. I'm sure the kids don't enjoy it unless they have a very privatized life. But all these stupid names have really been just a passing fad and hopefully things will go away and get back to normal. But in the end there will always be someone to name their kid something stupid. I think Johnny Cash started this with A Boy Named Sue.

People do some weird things and many times people name their kids weird names to be different. They think they are being unique. Well, you can name your kid something unique without ruining their lives. Some people just really are that stupid, to be blunt.

Here are some true stories I know about...
A woman who name her kid Pajamas because she seen in it a Jcpennys catalog and thought it would be cute. She thought it was a name brand and was calling her child Paja-mas, she didn't realize it was the actual word for PJs.

A woman who name her kid Cecilia but called her Celicia her entire life. Named her after a school teacher which she thought said her name that way.

A guy who named his son Toxi, after a hunting writer. Okay, when I think of Toxi, I think of toxic waste dump. What a fine thing to think of when the boys name is mentioned.

It would be interesting to know how many future employers look at daft names on CVs and think '' I cant have an employer go out on business and introduce themselves with that name.....no interview for that one ''

. Do parents know how they may be having a ngeative effect on their children's future lives?

Call them a daft name by all means but let the birth certificate name be traditional ...

Philip James Christopher David Peter John William Jospeh Geroge Michael Matthew Mark Alex Stephen ..................
Mary Elizabeth Claire Catherine Sarah Ann Christine Jane .Emma .........................

It would be interesting to see if there are any statistics as to which names are more likely to get them jobs.