And the name game continues…

Here at Casa de Blah, we haven’t yet nailed down a name for the new baby. As I’ve said before, we tend not to go public with the baby’s name until after she’s born. Deciding on a name is very difficult, because we have a really generic last name (probably one of the most popular names in the U.S.*) and while we don’t want the baby to have a freakish name, we do want it to be somewhat different. My surname at birth was also among the most common names in the U.S., and I complained endlessly to my mom about giving me such a boring name combination. (I know – me, complain? Hard to imagine.)

So it’s an interesting bit of synchronicity that I came across these two name-related pieces in the past couple of days.

Judge: Girl's name, Talula Does The Hula, won't do
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A family court judge in New Zealand has had enough with parents giving their children bizarre names here, and did something about it.

Just ask Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. He had her renamed.

Judge Rob Murfitt made the 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed, he said in a ruling made public Thursday. The girl was involved in a custody battle, he said.

Now, I actually like the name Talula (or Tallulah, as it’s more commonly spelled), although I don’t know if I’d want to saddle a kid with that name or just create a character in a work of fiction with that name. But I do think the parents in this case went too far. At the same time, this would never fly in the U.S. – the courts telling you what you can or can’t name your kids? Please. People would be squawking about their First Amendment rights all over the place, and rightfully so. To paraphrase that famous quote, “I disapprove of what you name your kid, but I’ll defend to the death your right to name her that.” Okay, maybe not to the death. I mean, let’s be serious. But it’s your business what you want to name your child, unfortunately.

Next up, we have:
C.Y.I.N. Case Study: What’s in a Name?!?

Here's an excerpt:

That said, although I wouldn't do it, I guess I understand why people name their kids things like ShaVaughnDray and D'Brickashaw. Because beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, and who the heck am I to tell someone that Marqueeshiah or Shenehneh isn't beautiful? They could just as easily look at me and say "John" is boring and unimaginative, and is some strange way, they'd be right.

The only real downside to these somewhat crazy names would be when the child has to someday attempt to get a job. That's where the unfortunate side-effects of gettin' cute with a name can come back to bite him/her in the butt. I'm sure this is hardly new-news to any member of AverageNation™ but having a "black" name can cost you when those HR folks are browsing thru resumes.

Average Bro initially comes out pretty strong against "black-sounding" names, but in the end concludes that life is going to be more difficult if you have more melanin than if you don't, regardless of what your name might be. I know for sure that bias against overtly “black” (read: “ghetto”) names exists in my own family. Last time I was pregnant, I was discussing names with one of my cousins and trying to sidestep what we were going to name Viva (which is only a nickname anyway, not her real name). My cousin said to me, “Well, as long as you don’t name her Tasha.”

“You know, actually, there are already two Tashas on Sweet Dub’s side of the family,” I said. “So no, I don’t think we’ll name her that.”

The really stupid part of it is that one of the Tashas is actually Natasha, a Russian name – they just call her Tasha for short. Would Natasha be okay? Is it European enough? Gawd.

This time around, we have been rooting around in our family tree for names, as we did last time, which is why Viva ended up with my mom’s family name as her middle name. And our family tree has some great old-fashioned names: Muriel, Ellen, Lucy, Libby, Mollie, Laura, Helen, Marie. There are also some more unusual names like Vianna, Mignon, Portia, and Maceo. Sweet Dub is lobbying for one name in particular at this point and I’m trying to see if it’ll grow on me.

Or maybe we’ll just name her Talula. Lula for short.

* In fact, our last name is among the top 50 most common surnames, according to this list.