Talk:List of unusual personal names

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Votes for deletion

This article was nominated for deletion on February 5, 2005. The result of the discussion was (apparently) keep. An archived record of this discussion can be found here.
Articles for deletion

This article was nominated for deletion a second time on January 9, 2006. The result of the discussion was no consensus. An archived record of this discussion can be found here.
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Contents

[edit] Goodspaceguy Nelson

Could somebody add him?

[edit] Condi???

Yes, it's a bit unusual, but I don't really think it's unusual enough to be put on this page. There are millions of more unusual names than Condoleezza Rice. --dool325 02:50, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree. D'Brickashaw Ferguson comes to mind. Zenmiester 01:14, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Apples isn't unsual

I removed the FetNat reference, as it seems to be an urban legend. I'd also like to see the fictional names list removed -- it is woefully incomplete and even more subjective than the real names. The science fiction section of a moderately-sized bookstore would probably yield thousands of names for this list. --Misterwindupbird 22:20, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

"Apple" isn't that unusual. Lots of Chinese are named "Apple".

Is Gwyneth Paltrow Chinese? Ignoring that, I question the ability of this article to be NPOV. Euphoria 09:37, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill here. There may be borderline cases, but I sincerely doubt calling Optimus Prime an unusual name is POV. Even If-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone was fairly unusual in a time when names like Praise-God Barebone were not completely unheard of. We could consider List of unique personal names and/or add the note that the unusualness is taking into account the context in which the name was assigned (calling a Chinese child "Apple" (in Chinese, of course) is not unusual; calling an American child "Apple" is (but likely not unique)). JRM 18:46, 2004 Dec 6 (UTC)
I agree that "Apple Martin" just doesn't cut it. Famous parents and a mildly out-of-the-ordinary name aren't a good qualification for the list. Bill Oaf 08:54, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Speaking of something completely different, the name Ringo is 'apple' in Japanese, though I know that isn't why he's called that. Can someone explain how exactly "Cotton Mather" is unusual? Cotton's a common southern name, isn't it? His father's name was a bit more odd.

I do think "Increase Mather" is an unusual name, as is "Cotton Mather." However, I think this really needs to be addressed by someone who is more familiar with the time period. I feel that names like this should only be included if they are both "unusual" by today's standards as well as "unusual" by the standards of the time period that they originated in. Otherwise, what's to stop this article from being filled with other names that were commonplace in past centuries, but considered strange now? Ministry of Silly Walks 17:06, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gojuroku Yamamoto

He is a son of WWII Japanese general Isoroku Yamamoto. His first name is unusual because it is the Japanese word for the number 56. General Yamamoto named his son "56" because when the child was born, Yaamoto was 56 years old and did not want any more children. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.12.190.135 (talk) 13:05, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Guidelines?

Are there any guidelines for what is to be inlcuded in this list? People seem to be adding any moderately strange name that is somewhat atypical, generally without citation. I think the names Sirhan Sirhan or Boutrous Boutrous-Gali are a bit odd, should they be included? I would say no, but something needs to be decided because this article is becoming too unverifiable and arbitrary. -R. fiend 19:13, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Why is Coco Arquette listed but not Coco Chanel? Does the homeless guy from Maryland really deserve mention? Does he legally change his name? I sincerely doubt it, as I believe changing your name isn't free and I doubt a homeless guy has money to spare. Aren't "unusual" names in fiction pretty common? Anyone can write a book and name a character "Pooper-scooper Lewis" or something, it's hardly noteworthy unless it's a real person who actually lives with a name like that. I'd like to get a discussion going on this article because it needs severe work and I don't want to gut it without some input. anyone? -R. fiend 20:47, 24 May 2005 (UTC)
i say gut away if you're interested. let anybody who disagrees find their fave material and put it back. then the discussion, if there's to be one, can happen.
although i think the "major major major major" and "wayne wayne wayne jr" are exceptional and interesting fictional names, if you want to zap the fiction category, that's cool with me. i wouldn't make a big deal about "legally" changing one's name, but that's more because i don't think one's name is up to anybody but himself. if that's what he goes by, it's his name. i think it's not critical how much money a person's willing to spend on a "legal" name change -- only if they're willing to go by that name. i see some validity to an argument that a "mentally ill" person isn't as includable in the list, but it's a slippery slope. would err on the side of how "creative" the name is, since mentally ill people can be quite creative. SaltyPig 14:45, 2005 May 25 (UTC)
On the Coco subject, I find that the name of the Boston Red Sox's center fielder, Coco Crisp, is fairly unusual, particularly if you've walked down the cereal aisle in a United States grocery store within the last several years. --RandomPrecision 23:38, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm of the opinion that people should only be listed here if they are otherwise notable. Maybe only if they have a wikipedia article? The book Freakonomics cites a report that 30% of black baby girls born in California are being given names that no other baby in California born the same year is given. There are an awful lot of people around with "unusual personal names". --Misterwindupbird 00:05, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] FetNat

I have heard of FetNat as a joke in France, I doubt it s true 128.12.66.248 03:39, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] How to clean this page up

We need to find some way to categorise these names in order to clean this up:

  • Strange Parents: Akuma, Albin, Depressed Cheesecake, Espn, version 2.0 ...
  • Strange name changes: They, homeless guy, RooRaaah, ...
  • Eccentric Celebrities: most of them

But there are a few borderlines: the Barebones, for instance.

Can I get some feedback on this categorisation, and maybe some better category names?

Also, as an alias, I think Archimedes Plutonium should be removed from the list.

--jnothman 07:20, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Plutonium claims to have legally changed his name, though whether legal name changes should be here or not is debatable.
I'm thinking categorizing like that might end up being too controversial unless the categories are really clear. Maybe just alphabetical by first name? --Misterwindupbird 17:54, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I think name changes need to be confirmed and legal, otherwise I could make the list by stating "today my name is Thhoggbotzz". I mean, certainly internet handles don't qualify or we'd all be listed here. This page certainly needs cleanup, though I'm not sure categorization is necessarily it. -R. fiend 20:38, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It seems to me that there's one straightforward way to categorize names:

  1. Self-selected unusual names
  2. Unusual names inflicted by the victim's parents

--Carnildo 23:19, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure I see how that improves the page. Truth be told, I'm not sure what the purpose of this page is. Maybe if we established that, it would be clearer how to organize it. --Misterwindupbird 23:48, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Okay, I was bored and organized it in the least-controversial way I could think of: alphabetically by first name. --Misterwindupbird 07:54, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)

On the "What's the purpose of this page?" point, I came here to seek inspiration for my fourth child. His two brothers (he has a sister,too) have what I'd deem unusual names - "Huckleberry Shuttleworth" and "Indiana Shuttleworth" - and I can't follow this with "Fred" (no offence to Freds in general). On that basis, I'd welcome a larger rather than shorter list of unusual names.

On the "How To Order The List?" point, how about a category for names that are unusual because of the way the first and last name interact (Ima Hogg) vs a category for names that are just a bit out of the ordinary (Moxie Crimefighter Gillette) ? Itsterry 16:15, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

I agree that this page is in severe need of categorization. I like Carnildo's two suggested categories: "Self-selected unusual names" and "Unusual names inflicted by the victim's parents" (perhaps Jnothman's "Unusual names inflicted by eccentric celebrities" idea could form a subcategory of Carnildo's second category). I also agree with Itsterry that a third category should be created along the lines of "Contextually unusual names" or "Names with multiple meanings" for names like Ima Hogg. Finally, I would also like to see a "Names considered unusual for other reasons" category as a catch-all for names which don't fit into the other categories. Thibbs 19:15, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Barebones

Barring further evidence, I've moved the remander of the Barebone clan here. They only seem to appear in lists of wacky names, there's no mention in any online bio of Nicholas Barbon I could find (save one) and they have the aroma of urban legend. Text read:

  • Fear-God Barebone, Jesus-Christ-Came-Into-The-World-To-Save Barebone, and If-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone (who later changed his name to Nicholas Barbon), brothers and sons of late-17th-century member of Parliament Isaac Praise-God Barebone.
That said, "online biographies" are not exactly authoritative or exhaustive. But the original article isn't exactly referenced either, so it's anybody's guess. JRM · Talk 15:29, 2005 Jun 25 (UTC)

According to this source Praise-God's full first name was "Praise-God-and-Flee-Fornication" and he had a brother called "Rise-Up-and-Tell-the-Glory-of-Emmanuel". If someone can come up with a more authorative source it would be nice to put in their full names. --Philip Baird Shearer 11:47, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Talking of weird names...

No mention of Sollog? ;) Ojw 14:41, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Suggested defition of unusual name

In the face of AfD, this may seem futile but I think there could be some definitions that what really constitutes an "unusual" name. Rules and laws regarding personal names vary widely so what is forbidden in one place is practically required elsewhere. Therefore most "ordinary" names would not apply. Couple of suggestions:

Names that would not be that unusual:

  • Names that sound amusing in another language
  • Combinations of personal name and surname that merely sound unusual when procounced

Matter of homage names based on historical persons (of fictitious characters, for that matter) may be a borderline case. They are not that unusual, actually, and would be hard to define unless the whole "personal name" is the whole name of the original person. - Skysmith 11:36, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

I prefer a more objective criteria: A name is considered unusual if the name has been the subject of a newspaper article. --Carnildo 21:10, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

This page is about names that are intentionally unusual - either because the parents wanted it to be or the person changed their name to be unusual. -- Netoholic @ 04:34, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Post AfD

Ok, I'm here and ready to clean up. - brenneman(t)(c) 10:59, 14 January 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Just another weird name

There's an artist from whom I bought a couple of pieces in Venice Beach, California, who legally changed his name to O O. He originally wanted it to simply be O, but apparently, CA law requires a first and last name. He showed me his driver's license... and that's his legal name. If I had any sort of documentation, I would add it to the article. But I thought I'd just share, because it's pretty awesome. Kicking222 17:18, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Prince

I removed the bit of the prince section that said the symbol was pronounced "the artist formerly known as prince", as the symbol was in fact unpronounceable, and intentionally so. See the "behind the name change" section in the Prince (artist) biography section. ConDemTalk 00:51, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

I disagree with this edit. Just because a name is unpronounceable doesn't mean it isn't an unusual name. Since Prince legally changed his name to the symbol it seems to me a perfectly valid "unusual personal name". Anyway, for consistency's sake shouldn't Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 have been removed as well (although I would disagree with this edit as well for the same reason)? Thibbs 19:29, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Oops. I thought the symbol had been removed altogether. I guess it pays to read more closely. Thibbs 12:55, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Increase Sumner

I removed Increase Sumner from the list, because I fail to see how this name is unusual at all. The surname "Sumner" isn't really that unusual, and although "Increase" may be a bit uncommon, history is filled with people such as Increase Mather and Increase Lapham. Although it is a name that is not commonly used anymore, it is not at all unique, exclusive or original, and hardly seems noteworthy. If anybody disagrees with me, you're free to object.

64.12.116.74

[edit] Would Zsuzui be considered?

Zsuzui or Zsuzai (pronounced Suzie) being usual makes it also difficult to verify however it is referenced here [1] and in a book that Usenet thread refers to ISBN 0584102437 If those sources aren't enough then appearing in newspaper print is considered enough? Is there any requirement between local, regional or national newspapers? Would a birth certificate, driving licence or passport be required? For what it's worth I can vouch for the name because I have a sister called Zsuzui (same spelling as you can see). Being Zsuzui's brother does not make me impartial however, this is why I am seeking advice as I do not wish to make an edit and get admin trolled. 81.179.96.245 20:13, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External link after Yorkshire Bank PLC Are Fascist Bastards.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/newsquiz_25.shtml must've been replaced by this new one. I wanted to read about that! Anyway I edited it out. RincewindSW 16:26, 31 May 2006

Once the Wayback Machine (www.archive.org) starts working again, it might be possible to see the old version. --Carnildo 01:19, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] KFC changed his name

It was all over the news recently. Kentucky fried cruelty .com changed his name back to Chris. Ling.Nut 18:53, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] unsual names

forgot to add MoonUnit and Weezer; Frank Zappa's kids

[edit] Armand Hammer

Since the product was only marketed starting in the 1970s and he was born in the 1890s or so, why is that funny? He was named about 80 years before Arm & Hammer existed. --The Dark Side 01:09, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

If you dig deep enough chances are youll actually find a few English Pubs named the Arm and Hammer. Squad'nLeedah 15:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] cardinal sin

why the hell would anyone confuse the concept of cardinal sins with the GUY whose name is cardinal sin? your general audience is not retarded. I should like to punch the neck of the smug prick who made that remark.


[edit] Trout Fishing In America

There are at least two people with this name (which may make it less unusual, but it's still pretty damn odd) as per the Richard Brautigan article. I say add it. 24.98.209.224 01:02, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

damnit. -HX 01:03, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dick Trickle

On 30 August, User:Carnildo deleted Dick Trickle as "unsourced"; when I pointed out that the Wikipedia "Dick Trickle" article was itself sufficient reference, he said that "there is no source for "Dick Trickle" being considered unusual".

I have restored "Dick Trickle" with a reference.

-- Dominus 21:46, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Lol how could someone not know Dick Trickle. Even we got his death on the news over here. Now, question is, and i know how the commentators used to pronounce it, but if his name wasnt dick, would he pronounce his surname Trickle or Treacle? Squad'nLeedah 15:52, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wonderful Terrific Monds III

Renowned baseball writer Peter Gammons, in the article cited, said "One of the greatest names of the last decade is Wonderful Terrific Monds III, who briefly played the outfield for the Braves. Monds is the son of a former Canadian Football League star." If you think that name is really less unusual than "Apple"... well, I don't know what to tell you. Wahkeenah 17:22, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

My opinion doesn't matter. What matters is if you can find a source that says the name is considered unusual. --Carnildo 19:37, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
Does Peter Gammons' description suffice? Also, where's the citation for "Apple"? Wahkeenah 20:38, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Christine Daaé

I saw that somewhere on the internet. She changed her name because of how much The Phantom of the Opera had improved her life. -Monkey 13!!! 16:55, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

I found it! There's even a link on the Christine Daaé artical. -Monkey 13!!! 16:58, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
OK, explain what's so unusual about this name that it's worthy of inclusion here. Wahkeenah 19:59, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
Christine Daaé is the name of a character from The Phantom of the Opera. -Monkey 13!!! 00:32, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
And that makes it unusual? Wahkeenah 04:28, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Misty Hyman

Guys, im not even a yank and you forgot her!!!! So ive added her straight in. She is a US Swimming champion and came over to Sydney for the Olympics, i laughed almost every time she came up Squad'nLeedah 15:50, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Do you have a source for the name being considered unusual? --Carnildo 22:18, 29 December 2006 (UTC)
I don't think it's as much unusual as it is unfortunate. I don't think it really merits inclusion, as I doubt her parents intended for it to be "strange" when she was born. 24.206.232.82 04:09, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Maybe one of youse could explain to this apparently-naive guy what's so "strange" about it. Wahkeenah 04:27, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Hyman is a homophone with hymen. —Dgiest c 04:57, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
I'm well aware of that. It's also not that unusual a name. Unless there is some significance to a "misty hymen" that I'm unaware of. Wahkeenah 10:43, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removing "unsourced" additions

This revert claims to be removing "unsourced" additions. I'm not sure exactly what sourcing is required, as all these subjects are notable enough to justify their own articles, and it's silly to say their own name needs a citation. Surely the burden of proving these people exists belongs on those individual articles. Carnildo, please explain why a link to an existing article needs further citation. —Dgiest c 20:56, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

The problem is not the existence of the people, but the "unusualness" of their names. Basically the trick is deciding what names are genuinely unusual based on certain criteria. As anyone can have an opinion on such a matter, we need third party verification that the names are considered unusual enough that they (the name itself, not the person) has been the subject of some sort of mention in the media. Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 for example, as the subject of numerous stories just because he had such a weird name. Someone with a name like "Luke Warm" might not be, though some people could argue that it is unusual. There used t be an article on place names that had similar problewms; all sorts of people added any name of any place that sounded somewhat out of the ordinary to the list. It became a meaningless pile of trash. This article has routinely wandered in that direction. We must keep in mind that we are an encyclopedia, not a collection of vague factoids. -R. fiend 21:46, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
OK, that makes a little more sense. I have restored Dick Pole, adding citations from the article. —Dgiest c 22:03, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
Adding a person requires sources indicating two things: that a person with that name exists, and that the name is considered unusual. Names also cannot be nicknames: unusual nicknames are quite common. --Carnildo 00:01, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
He is known professionally as Dick Pole. That's what his sports records show, that's what his article is titled. This isn't titled "List of unusual given names", it's littered with the names that people actually go by. Can you give any justification why "Richard Pole" is a more dominant form than "Dick Pole"? If not, then is there any other rationale for excluding him from the list? —Dgiest c 04:50, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dick Pole

He's a real guy, as described. Dick is a normal diminutive of Richard, and the article intro doesn't say anything about nicknames being excluded. You are trying to impose your own judgment without discussion. Wahkeenah 02:55, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rece Davis

Forgive me if I'm not picking up on something but why is that unusual? I took it down. It doesn't really make sense. Again, if I'm not seeing something, just tell me and you can put it back up. User:Saget53 23:59, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Whoever added it probably had just never heard of the name Reese so thought this was weird. FWIW, the article says his given name is actually "Laurece" which is slightly weirder. —Dgiest c 19:50, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Goodie

Unless I'm missing some cultural reference here "Goodie (pronounced Muh Skee Wolf). What you name your boy if you want to ensure that he becomes a barber later on in life." seems out of line. No references, links, anything? Feel free to correct me or delete the entry, whichever is appropriate.

[edit] Jermaine McSporran

What's unusual about that? McSporran is a reasonably common Scottish surname; Jermaine is a reasonably common British first name. The only slight oddity here is that Jermaine is more common among the black community, while most McSporrans are white Scottish, but that alone isn't enough to make it noteworthy. MarkSG 21:12, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't get it either and am removing it. If someone makes a case they can re-add it. Recury 20:05, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Perhaps the person who added this name was a native speaker of Portuguese. Seriously, you don't want to know what this surname sounds like in Portuguese. Believe me... jggouvea 00:29, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Priest Holmes

Is Priest Holmes an unusual name for a person? Just verifying. VelairWight 04:36, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Collecting the Geldorfs

Given that all of the Zappa offspring are collected together under that surname, shouldn't the various Geldorf offspring be treated similarly, instead of being sprinkled throughout the article?---Mr. Nexx 02:15, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] UK guy with names of football team members

In the 1970s, in the UK, it made the news headlines when a newborn boy was legally named with many first names all of which happened to the names of the players of the father's favourite football team. I forget if this poor kid have about 20 or maybe as many as 50 names all in a row. Anyone remember the details? 86.129.101.11 09:37, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Definition

A definition would be nice—what actually constitutes “unusual”? Max Naylor 12:12, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

For a while, I was enforcing a requirement that any addition to the list have sources that indicated (1) that a person with the name actually existed, (2) that the name was the person's official name, and that (3) someone considered it unusual. That got to be too much work, what with the daily additions of "names I think are silly", so now I'm just trying to keep it from being too defamatory. --Carnildo 21:46, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Prince = <FAIR USE REMOVED>..?

Was the symbol <FAIR USE REMOVED> leagaly Prince's name? If not, why is it on this page? And if so, how was he legally able to change it to such? Either way, how it possible to change one's name to a symbol in the United States and how would one fill out online forms and such with name like that? -- 209.247.5.142 21:22, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that was his legal name. I'm assuming he did it on paper. ShadowHalo 09:41, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
I was just reading the American legal restrictions for changing ones name and they include names that are 'confusing,' including symbols such as single letters and numbers. How was Prince able to get around this legal checkpoint? According to the people on the Prince talk page it was just an alias and was not actually formally changed. --68.183.43.93 09:39, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
Because the US has 50 different legal systems. A name change that's not allowed in one state might be perfectly permissable in another -- and the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution says that all states must recognize any such change. --Carnildo 19:55, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unusual historical names

If you want to get into finding unusual names, just do some genealogy. I have great whatever uncles named Reese Reese and Wright Wright because their fathers' married women who's mothers' maiden name was the same as each of the father's and it was a common practice to propigate names this way. I also can't get over Euphemia Eyestone. What did this kid look like?

And of course you had all of the extensions of Faithful, Charity and Providence (Prosper, Desire, Obedience and Deliverance, some with the last name of Fuller, of course, and even Storm) and other Bible names like Hephzibah, Mehitable, Maher-Shallalhashbaz (the longest name in the Bible, the Prophet Isaiah's son.)

I also found a Scrimzeour Furman from 1835 and a Lettice Agar from 1575 and a Hasoline Colbach married to a Burnett... It just cracks me up. Makes you wonder what some people were thinking.

As far as a focus for the sight, obviously, this is a "how funny" or "what on earth?" type of listing. Comprehensiveness isn't going to work well since there will be thousands of strange names. I think unwitting contrivances are the best such as someone with a not so uncommon name has an unusually funny consequence such as my mother's maiden name becoming Sparks after her adoption by her grandparents and thus unwittingly has GAS for initials. What a combo!

I don't care to see listings for people who 'legally' changed their names. That's just a stunt. Some people, especially famous, also just did things for stunts. I like the unusual ones where it was a funny consequence of something the commonly happens. 71.111.188.154 17:03, 30 June 2007 (UTC)veedgo

This is the best wiki page EVER. Whoever nominated it for deletion last year has no sense of humour and no respect for others that do.

[edit] Reorganization

I took the liberty of reorganizing the list by dividing it into categories. I believe that this is a much better format, as it organizes the information better, makes the information more accessible, and helps to explain the reasoning behind certain names being considered "unusual" Take note, the names are still listed alphabetically within each category.

During my reorganization there are several names which i removed. my justification is as follows:

"Harry S Truman" To my knowledge, an ititial as a middle name may be somewhat uncommon, but is far from unique, making an individual name containing an initial for a middle name less than notable.

"Hollievoet" Uncited and the explanation makes absolutely no sense. I'm assuming it is a hoax. Also, "Holle voet" means "hollow foot" or "hole foot"

"Increase Mather" Historically, Increase is is not an unusual name.

"Presleine Jean-Baptiste" and "Plaxico Burress" I see no justification for these names being considered unusual.

"Wolfe+585, Senior" A duplicate.

I have also removed the section for Brazilian names, as the list demonstrates that there are a multitude of unusual Barzillian names, meaning that the individual names themselves are not notable. I am, however, considering returning the information about Brazilian naming law.

I understand that this is a pretty big reconfiguration, however I ask that if you disagree with my edit, please discuss it here on the talk page. Calgary 01:42, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 4Real

The article says "4real was the name New Zealand parents attempted to give their child. They were told that numerals were not allowed. The parents are debating this law and, if no name has been registered by July 9, the boy will simply be named "real"."

Well, it's now July 20. Does anyone know what happened? Calgary 03:48, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] To-do list

I don't know how many people read this talk page on a regular basis, but still, there has to be at least someone. I've come up with a list of issues regarding this article that need to be addressed. I'm going to begin working on it very soon, and if anyone else could help, I'd appreciate it.

1. Find citations for absolutely everyone. Every name on this list should have a cited reference. Even people who have their own article should have a citation for the purpose of referencing this list. If any name does not have a citation, and a citation can not be found, the name should be removed.

2. All citations should be checked, to make sure that the source establishes name-related notability. If a name is confirmed to exist, but the subject has not recieved any media coverage because of or related to their name, then there is no way to objectively say/verify that the name is unusual. This would probably be more dificult for historical figures, but I'm sure that if the names are indeed unusual, the reference will exist somewhere.

3. Integrate the "Miscelaneous" section into the rest of the article. This shouldn't be to hard, and seems to explain itself.

I don't mean to sound as though I'm appointing myself as some kind of self-appointed leader. I simply believe that this article is very valuable to Wikipedia, and while it's looking great so far, Iwould still like to work with you to continue to maintain and improve the quality of the article. As I said, I'm going to begin working on this very soon, and anyone who has any ideas/would like to help out would be very helpful in doing so. Calgary 08:11, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Kings

I notice that someone has added a "Kings" section to the article as a subsection of unusually long names. Now, this section may be a problem, and brings back memories of an article called "Longest reign name" The problem is that in parts of the world, due to the customs of monarchs, there are indeed a good deal of royalty who have surprisingly large names (as well as surprisingly large ears and noses). Now, all of the kings listed are kings of Portugal, and it appears that they are all related. Now, just imagine what the article would encompass if we were to include avery monarch in history who had a very long name. Overall, the problem is that "unusual" demands a good deal of exclusivity, and if a very long name is more common amongst a group of people (say, monarchs), then the name is no longer unusual. I'm going to see if I can find references to suport the idea that these names are unusualy long, even for monarchs, and I encourage anyone else who can to do so as well. Otherwise, without proper sourcing to the unusualness of the name, the content should be removed. Calgary 20:22, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Hello Calgary. I was the one who added the new "Kings" section. I see the point you are making, but I would still cling to the position that these kings of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Braganza dinasty were unusually long (compare with a maximum of 2 to 4 personal names in the British Saxe-Coburg-Gotha - see List of monarchs in the British Isles), even when compared with some other previous Portuguese royals that had about 5 to 6 personal names. Notice that these are teir baptismal names, not Regnal names, or names "built upon" in latter periods of their lives. For these reasons I believe they should be kept. Oh! And I am adding 2 I had forgot. Thanks. Hope you see my point. But if you don't and still want to delete it, well... go ahead! See you around. The Ogre 23:03, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
I see what you're saying, and it is indeed interesting. What would be ideal is a source that recognizes that these names are indeed unusually long for Portuguese royalty. Otherwise, including their names on the list would be something along the lines of original research. If we can find such references, then I wouldn't really oppose inclusion on the list, so long as we change the "Kings" header to specify that we are refering to this specific dynasty, and not leave the door open (believe me, there are a lot of African, Arabic and even Indian royalty with very, very long names). Calgary 23:42, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
Oh, and just a note, it seems you left out Pedro V. I'd like to change the name of the subheader, but I'm not sure what name would be used to refer to the dynasty in question. If you know, if you could either tell me or change it, that would be great. Calgary 05:14, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
Yes! I did left out Pedro V! I'm adding him. These are the Braganza monarchs of the 19th century (from 1826 onwards, Braganza-Wettin or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Braganza). I suppose we could change the heading to Portuguese Braganza Monarchs. I'm doing so. And let me try and find a source! Thanks! The Ogre 12:36, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] One admission

I admit to liking the Pope's surname. — Rickyrab | Talk 06:21, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Delete all the Dicks

We have seven people called Dick listed under "Double entendres". Just because some wikipedia editors think it's amusing does not make them "unusual personal names". I propose that all these should be deleted unless there is evidence that the fact that the man was called Richard/Dick was the subject of notable comment in a reliable source. On the present evidence, this means that only Dick Assman and Dick Trickle survive the purge. Comments, anyone? Snalwibma (talk) 08:47, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Well, in these cases it's not just that their first name is "Dick", it's also the surname that gives it the double entendre. Obviously, someone named "Dick Smith" would not belong on the list, but "Dick Seaman" and "Dick Pole" do carry an amusing connotation in English (as middle-school as it may be). ... discospinster talk 16:54, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
Yes of course, But who is to be the judge of whether they are amusing? I submit that the function of a Wikipedia "List of unusual personal names" should be to report what other reliable sources have described as "unusual", not to indulge in personal speculation on how amusing a name is. Dick Wrigley or Hugh Jass might indeed be funny - but I don't think it's up to the editors of this article to adjudicate. Find me an external source which makes something of these "unusual" names and I'm happy to see them remain in the list. Snalwibma (talk) 17:07, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
True enough. I'll have a look and see if there are any such references online. ... discospinster talk 17:26, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Baby Hospital

I removed the "source" for this one, adding a cite needed tag. My edit summary was "cited source was a blog which cited the @#$%ing Daily Star. NOT a reliable source". This was replaced with a link to Feral child. There, Baby Hospital's story is cited to the same blog citing the @#$%ing Daily Star.

In this article, "Baby Hospital" is unsourced either way. A wikipedia article (such as Feral child) cannot be a source for a wikipedia article and blogs are not reliable sources. Mdbrownmsw (talk) 13:43, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Caesar ??? German???

I haven´t known, that Caesar is a member of the german Bundestag. That can´t be! Please fix... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.194.34.103 (talk) 08:32, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Metallica

The link is broken. I saw it on Armstrong News once and copyed it into word. Here it is.

Couple Fights to Name Baby 'Metallica' Tuesday, April 3, 2007 4:15 PM EDT The Associated Press

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Metallica may be a cool name for a heavy metal band, but a Swedish couple is struggling to convince officials it is also suitable for a baby girl. Michael and Karolina Tomaro are locked in a court battle with Swedish authorities, which rejected their application to name their six-month-old child after the legendary rock band. "It suits her," Karolina Tomaro, 27, said Tuesday of the name. "She's decisive and she knows what she wants." Although little Metallica has already been baptized, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word "metal." Tomaro said the official handling the case also called the name "ugly." The couple was backed by the County Administrative Court in Goteborg, which ruled on March 13 that there was no reason to block the name. It also noted that there already is a woman in Sweden with Metallica as a middle name. The tax agency appealed to a higher court, frustrating the family's foreign travel plans. "We've had to cancel trips and can't get anywhere because we can't get her a passport without an approved name," Tomaro said. ♠♦Д narchistPig♥♣ (talk) 02:50, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Misc section

I've deleted several names that I found in the Misc. section which were unsourced or that I thought weren't unusual enough to merit inclusion. Feel free to add them back (with a reference please) if you disagree. I feel that articles like these need to err on the side of selectivity (i.e. deleting shit). There's no harm in not having an unusual name or two, but the article could get real ugly real fast without pruning (cf. the "Oh! I know one too!" sickness). Torgo (talk) 14:03, 3 April 2008 (UTC)