What's In A Name?
I think I'll name the one with the funny webbed feet, "Webster", the big brown one, "Neptune", the little brown one, "Olivia Newton John" and the big green one with the spots, "Poseidon".
Jason Mayo - 1981 naming his pet newts
What's in a name?
A person's name can be a very telling.
A name can say volumes about a person's character. A name doesn't always seem to "fit" the person it is attached to. Sometimes you have to grow into a name. Sometimes the name has to grow into you. There are times that a name doesn't live up to the person. Other times, the person doesn't live up to the name.
Most of the time it's a crapshoot.
Unless you're a Greek God or a Prince, it's hard to persuade the masses to accept a name that doesn't fit.
Look at Fonzie. His birth name was Arthur. He ran away from his name and probably struggled his whole life. Eventually, he was able to escape the stigma that was needlessly, saddled upon his leather draped back.
Look at Hercules. His parents were obviously very intuitive. They sensed a strength in their young boy and bestowed upon him a name that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
How about Alice Cooper? This one doesn't make much sense at all. In fact, you would think that Mr. Cooper would do whatever was humanly possible to steer clear of his association with this name. Alice is traditionally a girl's name. It's a name given to a protagonist in a fairy tale or a sensitive but tenacious, single mom waitress that tirelessly, works twelve hour shifts in a Truck Stop Diner, in order to support her young son. But oddly enough, it fits Mr. Cooper. The name grew into his persona. His persona grew into the name.
Absolutely fascinating.
These theories and musings, only seem to apply to names and people that border on or go to the extreme.
For instance, if your name is Bill, Anthony, Jane, Louis, Lois, Jeff, Phil, Mary, Steve, Thomas, Cheryl, Dawn, Craig, Tim, Linda, Mike, Dave, Jennifer, Scott, Rory or Pat, no one gives a fuck.
In the fore mentioned examples, it's easy to carry a name. These types of names are simple and quaint and often play second fiddle to the person that inherits them. Most of the time, the name is inconsequential.
The point is, when naming someone or something, it is imperative to consider the circumstances at hand and the long term consequences of these sometimes hasty decisions. You might be making some one's life way more difficult than it needs to be.
Therein lies the rub.
This past weekend, I bought my oldest daughter her first pet.
Its species comes from a genus of lizards called the Pogona.
It is more commonly known as The Bearded Dragon.
It is generally a docile creature but its features are unmistakeably reptilian.
When they mature, they can grow up to two feet in length and appear quite menacing.
A creature of this heritage certainly is deserving of a name suitable of its stature.
My daughter has chosen its moniker.
Allow me to introduce to you...
COOKIE MONSTER: AKA "CUTIE"
Sorry pal. Welcome to my world...
Jason Mayo - 1981 naming his pet newts
What's in a name?
A person's name can be a very telling.
A name can say volumes about a person's character. A name doesn't always seem to "fit" the person it is attached to. Sometimes you have to grow into a name. Sometimes the name has to grow into you. There are times that a name doesn't live up to the person. Other times, the person doesn't live up to the name.
Most of the time it's a crapshoot.
Unless you're a Greek God or a Prince, it's hard to persuade the masses to accept a name that doesn't fit.
Look at Fonzie. His birth name was Arthur. He ran away from his name and probably struggled his whole life. Eventually, he was able to escape the stigma that was needlessly, saddled upon his leather draped back.
Look at Hercules. His parents were obviously very intuitive. They sensed a strength in their young boy and bestowed upon him a name that became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
How about Alice Cooper? This one doesn't make much sense at all. In fact, you would think that Mr. Cooper would do whatever was humanly possible to steer clear of his association with this name. Alice is traditionally a girl's name. It's a name given to a protagonist in a fairy tale or a sensitive but tenacious, single mom waitress that tirelessly, works twelve hour shifts in a Truck Stop Diner, in order to support her young son. But oddly enough, it fits Mr. Cooper. The name grew into his persona. His persona grew into the name.
Absolutely fascinating.
These theories and musings, only seem to apply to names and people that border on or go to the extreme.
For instance, if your name is Bill, Anthony, Jane, Louis, Lois, Jeff, Phil, Mary, Steve, Thomas, Cheryl, Dawn, Craig, Tim, Linda, Mike, Dave, Jennifer, Scott, Rory or Pat, no one gives a fuck.
In the fore mentioned examples, it's easy to carry a name. These types of names are simple and quaint and often play second fiddle to the person that inherits them. Most of the time, the name is inconsequential.
The point is, when naming someone or something, it is imperative to consider the circumstances at hand and the long term consequences of these sometimes hasty decisions. You might be making some one's life way more difficult than it needs to be.
Therein lies the rub.
This past weekend, I bought my oldest daughter her first pet.
Its species comes from a genus of lizards called the Pogona.
It is more commonly known as The Bearded Dragon.
It is generally a docile creature but its features are unmistakeably reptilian.
When they mature, they can grow up to two feet in length and appear quite menacing.
A creature of this heritage certainly is deserving of a name suitable of its stature.
My daughter has chosen its moniker.
Allow me to introduce to you...
COOKIE MONSTER: AKA "CUTIE"
Sorry pal. Welcome to my world...
That's like my cousin who named her little pocketbook potato of a chichuhua Killer. The creature is tiny with bug eyes waddles rather than walks.
ReplyDeleteAt least she didn't name him Fluffy or Barney. WTF is cute about a bearded dragon anyhoo
ReplyDeleteI loved those Newts like brothers and they died. I love my dead gay son.
ReplyDeleteCould be worse. I once new a kid named Crystal Shanda Lear. I swear I'm not making that up. Also knew a Candy Barrs. Some parents need to have their asses kicked.
ReplyDeleteto this day i don't like my name! poor cookie monster he'll have to learn early on that life is not always fair.... especially living in this house!
ReplyDeleteYUV!
ps alice from the diner had a son.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletejdemott said...
ReplyDeleteI was thinking Alice had a son, when I read the above reference. Google offers a wealth of useless information. The boy Tommy was played by Philip McKeon, brother of Nancy McKeon, of "Facts of Life" fame. His other acting credits did not impress me. But, he directed "Murder in the First," the movie with Kevin Bacon playing an Alcatraz prisoner.
I never liked my name growing up either. That argonauts dude didn't really resonate. Born in the late 60s, I was just one of many dorky kids in the 70s with the common boring name.
Ummm. Do you think Cutie will mind his name? It gives him the opportunity to be ironic all his life without even trying.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I don't like my name (Anne) either. I remember being introduced to someone when I was a kid and they replied, "that's abrupt isn't it?" Bastard.
I once worked with a guy named Jim MyCock.
ReplyDeleteKids choose wonky names, hey they are kids. When I was a kid we named our first dog Twinkle. We quickly outgrew it, she of course had it for life.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine let her kids choosie the dogs name and it was Midnight. You would think that would be a large black dog. Nope.
Can be crap for people too. I hated my unusual name, Brahm, as a kid, and still sticky as I have a stutter so meeting people is a challenge.
Hence my dog is named Alfred - easy to say, easy for people to remember, not too common.
Cookie Monster is more than a name - it's a muppet. How can you assign a name like that to a reptile?? I strongly disagree with the name and ask her to reconsider. If it were a chameleon and turned blue I could see the connection but I'm lost here. But who am I to talk, I have 2 leopard geckos named Marla and Brando! To me this suits them. To each his own, let her toot her own horn at Cookie Monsters expense!
ReplyDeleteWell, I like to laugh and so it would rool that way in my house with so many kids under 4. I am going to post this too and link here now but the other day we bought a plastic owl to sit on our porch and keep the crazy cats away who keep leaving dead birds there for my kids to touch and get some disease from. Of course we had to name it...
ReplyDeleteAli (WTF does Sophia watch the Bachelorette and I don't know?) Ali because its beautiful.
Miles chose Hooter - you know because it's an owl.
So the name is Ali Hooters and I just LOVE how much it makes me laugh. Sophie doesn't get it. That's a good thing.
I never understood why people who are named Richard are called "Dick"! Hey, Dick, come here. That to me doesn't make sense. We have 3 Dicks in the place that I work at and the shorter one is known as "Little Dick" and the taller one is...! Well, you know where I'm going with this. What were the parents thinking? Richard Nixon...Dick fits him. I never really feel comfortable calling someone Dick unless he is one.
ReplyDeleteHeh... being a Mike, no one has ever complimented me on my unique name.
ReplyDeleteCelebrities are the worst about kids' names. "Apple Paltrow?" Gimme a break. What kind of persona is THAT kid going to have?
Poor Cookie Monster... :-/
My son with the freakishly weird name, Declan, names everything as freakishly boring as possible. The stuffed kangaroo is "Kangy" for example. Guess what the polar bear is? Polley. And so on.
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote here about names is interesting and thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteIt remains to be seen if the name Cookie Monster will actually fit this bearded dragon as he grows.
Later on, if it doesn't sound right, it could always be given a nickname that'll suit it better.
Problem solved, right?