Names people give their children

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

OK, the name "Bristol" attracted some discussion in its own right on the frivolous Palin thread. Sounds bizarre to a Briton, pretty normal to an American apparently.

But I was staggered to learn that, if anything, it's one of the more human-sounding names she's given her offspring. The others are called Track, Trig, Willow and Piper.

I'll admit I'm struggling with a cultural prejudice here and invite others to persuade me that those names are perfectly OK. There are two sources of my cultural prejudice. First, the anglo-saxon population of Britain historically tends to be pretty conservative with kids' names, mostly being names that have been in use for centuries. Secondly, I was brought up in Catholic circles, where the done thing is to christen your child with a saint's name (though I've always wondered whether that logically must have meant that the very earliest saint of a particular name must have had bad parents from a catholic perspective). Indeed I do wonder whether the convert-from-Catholicism Sarah Palin deliberately chose such weird names to emphasise how far she has moved from Rome. Anyway, to me, those words just don't look like proper names for human beings.

Am I missing something, or is naming your boy "Track" essentially no different from naming him "Table", "Box", or "Machine"?

[Mumpo]

Names people give their children

'Trig' is clearly the sickest of those names, there's absolutely no excuse for that one. As for 'Willow' and 'Piper' - hey, they just evoke natural, healthy, pastoral pusuits, yeah? And what could be more beautiful than asserting a love for wholesome exploits in the great outdoors? With your rifle at your shoulder and your infra-red scope picking out your quarry, as he scrambles desperately for the safety of the undergrowth.

[G-Man]

Names people give their children

There is a fellow in Cape Town I read about in the local rag called Storm Breeze. I like to think he made news for his surfing exploits, but probably not. Now, I know that Storm was a popular name due to the soap The Bold and the Beautiful, but if your surname is Breeze?

[Eggchaser]

Names people give their children

There is nothing wrong with Willow!

Trig? Perhaps she just likes maths. Track is obvious when you see what a gun nut she is. They're just lucky they weren't named Winchester, Smith, Wesson and Glock.

[Guest]

Names people give their children

Eggchaser wrote:

There is nothing wrong with Willow!

Trig? Perhaps she just likes maths. Track is obvious when you see what a gun nut she is. They're just lucky they weren't named Winchester, Smith, Wesson and Glock.

As opposed "trig" from only fools and horses.

Just heard of a child being called Cody here in ireland- bit unusual that, final fight popped into my head.

[ursus arctos]

Names people give their children

So, would those that are troubled by this be in favour of the French system in which bureaucrats have the power to refuse recognition of names that don't appear on the official list?

[beak]

Names people give their children

i'd rather go for a sensible, middle-ground option where people stop being dickheads.

[Femme Folle]

Names people give their children

Here's one explanation that makes as much sense as any:

What's in the Palin children's names? Fish, for one

BY RICH SCHAPIRO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, August 31st 2008, 12:36 AM

Sarah Palin (center rear) and her daughters, (from l.) Bristol, Piper and Willow, inspect a bedroom of the Governor's Mansion in Juneau, Alaska, after Palin was elected governor in 2006.

Bristol. Piper. Track. Willow. Trig.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has bestowed unusual names on her five children - but they're full of personal meaning.

A dedicated runner, she named her older son Track because he was born during that sport's season 18 years ago.

Her youngest is 4-month-old Trig Paxson, whose first name is Norse for "true" or "strength" and whose middle name comes from one of his mother's favorite spots in Alaska.

Her three daughters are Bristol, 17, Willow, 14, and Piper, 7.

Palin said the eldest girl was named after Bristol Bay, where the family fishes.

She hasn't explained the other girls' names, but there's a town in Alaska called Willow and Piper brings to mind the Piper Super Cub, a bush plane popular in her state.

Experts said the offbeat names suggest Palin is an outside-the-box thinker who desperately wants to give her kids an edge.

"A lot of times when parents choose unusual names they're looking to make their children stand out above the crowd," said Albert Mehrabian, a professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA and author of the book "The Baby Name Report Card."

Mehrabian said the selection of Track and Trig shows that Palin wants her boys to grow up to be full of machismo.

"Short names like these are given by people who want their kids to be masculine," Mehrabian said. "She's athletic, she's coached kids, so maybe that's part of her value system."

Willow is an earthy, feminine name, while Piper is more adventurous, the experts said. Bristol is in line with a modern tradition of naming people after places.

Together, the five names stunned one maven.

"In my 20 years in the field and after writing nine baby-name books, I gotta say [she] stumped the master," said Pamela Satran, co-author of the book "The Baby Name Bible.

"I've never heard of those."

--NY Daily News

[delicatemoth]

Names people give their children

I still can't adjust. When I see a reference to Palin I'm still thinking of Michael.

[Femme Folle]

Names people give their children

I just came across this post on Facebook that made me chuckle:

Track, Trig, Willow, Piper, ESPN Headquarters, and now she's got the next one going. Pretty soon Granny Sarah's gonna be grooming Calculus, Mylanta, and Cornflakes to someday vote for her backwards beliefs, too.

[Eggchaser]

Names people give their children

As opposed "trig" from only fools and horses.

Wans't he called that because of his equine appearance?

[Guest]

Names people give their children

Eggchaser, you are right in your guess, but did you know his character name is actually Colin Ball, but have you ever heard anybody refer to him by that?

[Reed John]

Names people give their children

The Piper aircraft company is, as far as I know, no longer a going concern. They were the main employer in Lock Haven, a town near where I grew up, and the plant's closure about 20 years ago was devestating to that area's economy. So f them.

Piper is also the name of one of the characters on Charmed. Willow is a character on Buffy. I think she's lying about those names and is, in fact, a fan of tv shows about witches and vampyres, but that wouldn't go down with "The Base."

I question the wisdom of giving a kid with Downs Syndrome an unusual name. As if he's not going to have to put up with enough abuse from the other kids in his life.

[Incandenza]

Names people give their children

Eggchaser wrote:

Track is obvious when you see what a gun nut she is.

Huh?

I guarantee you if one of the Democrats on the ticket had kids with those names, the Repukes would be mocking them with extreme prejudice--"they give their kids names like that back East or in San Francisco, but we believe in good old fashioned normal American names!"

[ursus arctos]

Names people give their children

I'll be sure to pass on your regards at Monza this weekend:

[caja-dglh]

Names people give their children

Can't see the problem with Sarah Palin's names for her daughters - the American public want change, right?

[Mumpo]

Names people give their children

We gave our kids Iranian names, but on relfection, I think we should really have delved further back into Persian history and named them after the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty and the wife of Alexander the Great.

I'm sure the extra effort would have been appreciated by little Cyrus and Roxana.

[WOM]

Names people give their children

the plant's closure about 20 years ago was devestating to that area's economy. So f them.

Most small aircraft builders in the US involuntarily went out of business right around the same time when their liability insurance premiums skyrocketed due to astronomical court awards. Liability limitation legislation introduced in the mid-'90s has reversed this and Piper are back in business.

/dullard

[Ant van Oviedo]

Names people give their children

A dedicated runner, she named her older son Track because he was born during that sport's season 18 years ago.

The world's most powerful nation is going to be ruled by people who reason in this way. Right, then -I'm off to be a sheep-farmer on Fuerteventura.

Actually, it makes you think what name she might have come up with if she was "dedicated" (yeah, I bet...!) to another sport or pastime.
Because these would be just as good:

Bat
Cue
Pursuit
Hurling
Sofa
Remote control
Shopping
Japanese fart porn

I mean, where does one stop?

[Incandenza]

Names people give their children

Bat was a name in one of the baby book names we looked through. Listed under "nature names".

[ursus arctos]

Names people give their children

I would have put in under "Lawman Names":



So would Wyatt, I'd suppose.

[Ginger Yellow]

Names people give their children

I never realised how ugly Formula 1 trophies are. It looks like something the Franklin Mint would produce.

[Reed John]

Names people give their children

Liability limitation legislation introduced in the mid-'90s has reversed this and Piper are back in business.

They aren't back in Lock Haven, however.

[ursus arctos]

Names people give their children

GY, that's a particularly bad example (from the Hungarian Gran Prix, perhaps the least loved race on the circuit).

Here's the one they are racing for this week:

[Gerontophile]

Names people give their children

Ant van Oviedo wrote:

Actually, it makes you think what name she might have come up with if she was "dedicated" (yeah, I bet...!) to another sport or pastime.
Because these would be just as good:

Bat
Cue
Pursuit
Hurling
Sofa
Remote control
Shopping
Japanese fart porn

I mean, where does one stop?

Shuttlecock
Rowlock
Quiver
Kabbadi
Cheese Rolling
Bully off
Chukka
Pitstop
Salchow
Double Play

I can imagine at least 5 of these being used somewhere.