tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post1085694942809091147..comments2023-10-12T03:46:50.889-04:00Comments on Brian O'Rourke: Bill Gates Owes Me MoneyBrian O'Rourkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-2066171868168609932009-09-12T12:24:30.560-04:002009-09-12T12:24:30.560-04:00Why not Vanessa, or Arianna, Jennifer, Valerie, Me...Why not Vanessa, or Arianna, Jennifer, Valerie, Melinda, Maeve (instead of Molly)?marconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-51863117507251219352009-09-12T10:45:39.708-04:002009-09-12T10:45:39.708-04:00I was in grade school before Sean Connery got well...I was in grade school before Sean Connery got well known here, so even Sean was not all that common. It would be a lot easier now. It's funny, now I think about it, that there were absolutely no Seans in my Dad's big Irish Catholic family--some Johns though. Wonder if there was some shame around the Gaelic involved somewhere in the past. <br /><br />At any rate, Sean slipped in through the back door--and new-fangled California because one of my young cousins back in Illinois was in turn named after me. They do really like to name people after other relatives, which hasn't carried on in our branch of the family at all.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-59461241382921125702009-09-12T08:18:49.161-04:002009-09-12T08:18:49.161-04:00well then Molly O'Rouke FTW!well then Molly O'Rouke FTW!adrian mckintyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349942973907386269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-26924676075332777332009-09-12T07:46:11.895-04:002009-09-12T07:46:11.895-04:00Adrian,
It just so happens Molly is one of the th...Adrian,<br /><br />It just so happens Molly is one of the three names left on our list at the moment.<br /><br />But I have to disagree with your other point. This kid will have half my chromosomes, so there's a 50/50 chance she'll be riddled with angst for most of her life.Brian O'Rourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-37474824420526671472009-09-12T07:43:31.180-04:002009-09-12T07:43:31.180-04:00Seana,
Wow, I never would have thought Seana woul...Seana,<br /><br />Wow, I never would have thought Seana would have been a tough one to pronounce. And I can't give any of your tormentors creativity points for Graham Cracker - that one's too obvious. Unless of course they were actually saying "Graham Cracka" which is a little funny.<br /><br />But you're right. If kids want to, they will find a way to make fun of any name.Brian O'Rourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-46169874154222276292009-09-12T06:48:06.965-04:002009-09-12T06:48:06.965-04:00Its a girl, eh? Somehow missed that. Molly is a go...Its a girl, eh? Somehow missed that. Molly is a good name. <br /><br />Yes she'll be a walking cliche but I doubt she'll have any angst filled identity crises like the rest of us.adrian mckintyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349942973907386269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-43898410599621221672009-09-12T00:11:57.221-04:002009-09-12T00:11:57.221-04:00You know, growing up in my era as Seana was no pie...You know, growing up in my era as Seana was no piece of cake. It's hard when even your grade school teachers don't know how to pronounce your name.<br /><br />No, actually, when it's obscure, kids don't really know what to do with it. I got more "Graham cracker" jokes than anything on my first name. Which I suppose only goes to prove that there is always going to be something.<br /><br />But I will stress that Aethelred should be shunned. Because any child with that name in the new millennium will be.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-91199199839397355412009-09-11T22:12:26.733-04:002009-09-11T22:12:26.733-04:00Babs,
Yeah, though now that I look at Julian, I t...Babs,<br /><br />Yeah, though now that I look at Julian, I think it's a pretty cool name, especially considering its origins.<br /><br />Besides, I'm being hypocritical. Whenever someone made fun of a name they'd never heard of before, often calling it "made up," I was the first to point out that in fact ALL names are made up. Some were just made up longer ago than others.<br /><br />But now if you ask me if such and such a name would be good for a boy or a girl, I fall right back into the conventional trappings.Brian O'Rourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-75271294339487274612009-09-11T22:09:05.980-04:002009-09-11T22:09:05.980-04:00Marco,
It's time I came clean. James Patters...Marco,<br /><br />It's time I came clean. James Patterson is one of my pseudonyms.Brian O'Rourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-27920268553412710472009-09-11T22:08:11.402-04:002009-09-11T22:08:11.402-04:00Seana,
Even better, we could spell Ethelred with ...Seana,<br /><br />Even better, we could spell Ethelred with the ash, that weird looking "ae" letter (i.e. AEthelred). Because kids don't have a hard enough time in school.Brian O'Rourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-43623970061893581392009-09-11T20:20:36.688-04:002009-09-11T20:20:36.688-04:00Very nice, Marco.
Jenna, Julian would work in San...Very nice, Marco.<br /><br />Jenna, Julian would work in Santa Cruz and England, but Philadelphia I couldn't say. Julian Lennon and Julian Barnes should have given the kid some crediblity, though. <br /><br />But as you say, not an issue.<br /><br />Seems like Ethelred would be a good one to avoid for either gender, though. A name that very likely will never come back in fashion, I'd waqer. Except probably for pets.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-38064827588106649312009-09-11T14:50:15.234-04:002009-09-11T14:50:15.234-04:00From The Herring Seller's Apprentice:
"M...From <i>The Herring Seller's Apprentice</i>:<br /><br />"My parents did not like me either. They called me Ethelred. My father’s assurance that I was named after King Ethelred I (866-871) and not Ethelred the Unready (978-1016) was little consolation to a seven-year-old whose friends all called him ‘Ethel’. I experimented with ‘Red’ for a while, but for some reason it never did catch on amongst my acquaintances. Oh, and my second name is Hengist, in case you were about to ask. Ethelred Hengist Tressider. It has never surprised anyone that I might prefer to be known as Amanda Collins."<br /><br />Though it's not that he changed sex due to the Ethel-baiting - Amanda Collins is the pen name under which he writes romance novels.marconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-2044484608454996842009-09-11T13:34:36.423-04:002009-09-11T13:34:36.423-04:00Speaking of gender-bending names, I love the name ...Speaking of gender-bending names, I love the name Darcy for a girl, but some people have said it is a boy's name (really?). Also, I loved the name Julian for a son (not relevant right now, of course), but Brian seemed to think [and he's not alone] that it is a bit feminine and might result in serious teasing. I didn't care... Easy for me to say, given the creative (and horrible) names my classmates came up with call me.<br /><br />That being said, I think the 3 girls names we've narrowed down to are pretty traditional and I actually found a website of baby names where people with the name can post as to how much/in what way they've been teased because of their name. Scary, right?<br /><br />BTW, I read this blog posted and hoped against hope that my hubby really hadn't forwarded on the e-mail and that it was a cruel, cruel joke.Jennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04485603250856570697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-80868119129214725712009-09-11T10:54:52.566-04:002009-09-11T10:54:52.566-04:00Well, there's Marlo Thomas, so it might not be...Well, there's Marlo Thomas, so it might not be quite as avant garde as you think. But I think people will still probably take more risks with girls names than boys. Very few boys named Sue even today. Although there might be a few boys named Sioux in Santa Cruz. It's the kind of thing that could happen.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-29440614984837190542009-09-11T07:45:34.865-04:002009-09-11T07:45:34.865-04:00Seana,
I like the way you think. Baby Bing has a...Seana,<br /><br />I like the way you think. Baby Bing has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say?<br /><br />Speaking of post-gender label world, a friend of a friend named their baby girl "Marlow." I always thought that was more a boy's name, but that just proves I'm still living in the twentieth century.Brian O'Rourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372815069471434698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723168018243827797.post-86548035668022548942009-09-11T00:12:02.981-04:002009-09-11T00:12:02.981-04:00Brian, have you considered naming Baby Girl O'...Brian, have you considered naming Baby Girl O'Rourke 'Bing'? Because that might actually pay some bills if you play it right, as Microsoft is trying to launch their new search engine of the same name. Although as has already proved true on another blog, "Bing"ers actually sound like something else if you leave out the quotation marks...<br /><br />But it's nothing that a cute little photogenic baby couldn't fix.<br /><br />True, it doesn't sound very girly, but we do live in the post-gender label world, don't we?seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.com