Strollerderby

The thing is, 'strange' is relative.  I have a 'strange' name because it's Spanish (and even fairly obscure in Spain - though certainly more recognizable there than here).  I've spent my entire life correcting pronunciation and I got teased very meanly about it when I was younger.  But I appreciate it now that I'm older - I know it's a symbol of part of my heritage, and frankly it's a pretty name - a fact that was lost upon my 9 year old friends in elementary school, more because kids that age don't think about names being 'pretty' or not.

I agree that naming your kid something weird just for the sake of naming them something weird is crappy and selfish, but my problem with the whole name choice bashing is that at the end of the day, you don't really know why the parents chose that name.  Maybe it has some meaning to them which they will share with the kid and eventually the kid will understand.

And kids get teased for all kinds of names.  My husband and I are expecting our first baby in June and anytime we so much as whisper the possibility of a name to someone it gets the immediate work up of okay, what possible nicknames will there be, and how could other kids tease your kid if you give it this name.  It's almost knee jerk, and it bothers me, because every name that we're seriously considering has special meaning to us.  EVERY name can be made fun of.  Every single one.  Every name can be criticised.  

I guess maybe I'm a little senstivie about the whole naming game given my current situation, but it feels like no matter what I do it's going to be scrutinized so our focus is on giving a name that we like, that has some meaning to us and then share that meaning with the kid as he/she grows up.  And if he/she gets teased, then we'll explain that sometimes people are mean and they should be ignored - I think the problem is that when adults engage in it as well, it's hard to make that message stick, no?

So if you do not give your child a name popular in the Western world you are somehow doing the kid an injustice? I take issue with the culture of sameness being promoted here.

bluestar, with our first daughter, we told the name to exactly two people, and they started doing that thing of running down all possible nicknames or avenues for teasing.  It's almost like people can't respect the name- or the people giving the name to the child- unless it's attached to a real live baby.  For our second, we haven't told anyone the name we've chosen.  I frankly just don't want to hear it.  And I think your focus is exactly where it belongs- on naming the baby something you like, something meaningful, and teaching your child how to handle any teasing that may result.

Patricia, I'm totally on board with you. We didn't tell anyone our kids' names because we didn't care what they might say, we weren't changing the names, and we didn't want any negative feedback stuck in our heads. I know that my MIL made some negative comment about our first son's name, but I didn't hear it directly. Only a terribly ill-mannered person would make fun of a baby's name in presence of the parents after the baby has been born.

At the same time: Bronx Mowgli? That's just asking for it, methinks.