Strange Baby Names

Recently, a New Zealand couple gave birth to a baby boy and decided to name him 4 Real. When the father, Pat Wheaton, first saw the ultrasound and saw that it was a boy, he and his wife exclaimed, "This is 4 real." The parents then decided that this was a perfect name for their child. However a judge banned the parents from giving the child the name. Many people, both famous and non famous, have an interest in burdening their children with unusual names.

In the past twenty years or so, celebrities have leaned more towards the unusual names. Christie Brinkley named her son Sailor Lee. Mia Farrow chose Lark Song for her daughter. David Bowie picked the name Zowie for his son, while David Carradine, evidentially wasn't having a good day and named his child I.P. Freely.

Odd names don't stop with celebrities. There are reports of the average person naming their children unusual names that have a lasting impression, such as Ira Zent That, Pepe Roni, Zolton Pepper, and Burton Ernie. While we laugh at these names, we should consider if there is any lasting impact to a child with an unusual or odd name. Is the child left with psychological damage from a parent who simply wanted a different moniker for their offspring?

Sigmund Freud was one of the first modern day psychologists to realize the importance of a name. He stated, "A human being's name is the principal component in her person, perhaps a piece of her soul. " Freud of course believed that the personality came in three parts- the id, ego and superego. He felt an improper name could do damage to any part of the human conscious or unconscious.

In a November 2000, issue of Psychology Today, Cindy Kelma stated that names are linked to success and research shows that an improper name can result in a child having difficulties as an adult in their career. A strange name can result in people not taking the person seriously.

Robert Mehrabian, wrote an article on www.kaaj.com, and stated that people with favorable names are treated better. A research experiment was conducted where a group of teachers were given papers to grade without knowing names. Grades seemed to be consistent across the board. They then were given a group of papers to grade, knowing the children's names, some of which were odd or unusual. The teachers had never met these children and knew nothing else about them besides their names. When statistics were compiled, the children with the odd or unusual names received significantly lower grades on their papers than the children with more common names..

In an article printed on www.parenthood.com, H. Edward Deluzain states that a baby's name can have an impact on self concept and confidence in later years. The name determines the messages other people send the child, either verbally or nonverbally. In essence you are your name.

So next time someone wants to name their child I.P. Freely, or Ima Pig, please let them know that names do matter. It can affect the child's image about his self for the rest of his life.