Catcher is what name researcher Laura Wattenberg calls a "meaning name." The author of the Baby Name Wizard says thousands of parents are creating names out of common nouns with which they have positive memories or connotations.
"A small percentage of parents are simply captivated by some unusual name idea," she says. "But more often, parents start off seeking a distinctive name then cast around for inspiration. That often means ending up with a name that has personal meaning, whether it's your favorite baseball stadium, your great-great-grandmother's maiden name, or the
name of the street where you were born."
Vivian Hung and Joe Giamarese chose "Alila," the name of a Balinese hotel where they spent a luxurious few days during Vivian's pregnancy. "We knew that we wanted to name our daughter after a place that is beautiful, tranquil and exotic," Hung recalls. "She has been back to the hotel recently and thinks it is hers. If we could be so lucky that she owns hotels around the world when she grows up!"
Hung would call Alila "unusual." "But it isn't odd like Pilot or Apple," she says.
So where's the line?
Baby Name Laws Around the World
Italy Italian children will never find their names emblazoned on a pair of days of the week underwear. City Hall officials are the arbiters of "odd" in a country known for some pretty shady politics — so it's no wonder a set of parents trying to bestow a literary name on their child (Friday, from the classic Robinson Crusoe) were reported to a judge. Days of the week are apparently out, so what did the judge recommend? Gregorio — the name that ironically tops the FBI's most wanted list.
Malaysia Malaysia's National Registration Department called on representatives of the country's five major religions before putting out a decree in mid-2006 that bans naming children after animals, fruit, insects, vegetables or colors. Numbers are off limits, as are the names of Japanese car makers. Sorry, Toyota. Also out? Royal or honorary titles. So we're thinking the Jackson clan — or at least Prince Michael II and Jermajesty — had best steer clear of Southeast Asia.
Sweden If you're a metalhead, a move to Sweden before the baby's born might not be so bad — a Swedish court reversed its objections against the couple who wanted to name their little girl "Metallica." Her preferred lullaby? "Enter Sandman," natch. Apparently the Swedes are relaxing on a range of names these days — a set of parents with building blocks on the brain got the okay to christen baby Lego in June. Before you set your sights on Stockholm, beware — the same week Lego's parents got a lock on his name, a mom and dad were forbidden from naming their daughter "Elvis."
In America, there is none. There are laws limiting what can show up on a vanity license plate, but there are none governing a child's moniker. The lack of legislation has yielded famous cases like the unfortunately named twins "Lemonjello and Orangejello" (although there's some controversy about whether the 'jello twins are an urban legend) and the ever popular Shithead (pronounced Shuh-teed).
It's also given parents leave to play Webster, inventing words and rearranging letters to offer up an alternate spelling or a new pronunciation for the same old name. Danette Mall's parents split their names in half and crunched them together.
"They created me, so they created a name," the fifty-seven-year-old Upstate New York office manager says. "It's really a curse. It's constantly misspelled, mispronounced, and when I try to leave a message with someone, they are sure I'm saying it wrong. They call me Janet, Jeanette, Danielle, Darlene."
The daughter of creative-minded Daniel and Antoinette, Danette was determined to be a parent at the polar opposite of the spectrum. Joseph has dropped no lower than thirteenth in the Social Security Administration's list of top male baby names over the past eighteen years. His brother Jonathan has enjoyed only slightly more obscurity — it's gone as high as seventeen and as low as twenty-three on the list in the same time frame.
"I couldn't go more common!" their mom said with a grin. "I didn't want them to go through what I do."
Manhattan child psychologist Dr. Jennifer Hartstein says parents need to be more aware of the ramifications of their choice — even if they decide it's the best one in the long run.
"Many parents choose names that are in the family, that they like, that sound good to them or are meaningful to them," she explains. "It's hard to consider what will happen to their children at different times of their lives. I think most families use names that are somewhat meaningful or that they like and go from there — I don't think parents connect the fact that bullying could even be a factor."
A 2002 study by the Families and Work Institute found that sixty percent of kids in grades five through twelve had been teased or gossiped about "in a mean way."
