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Will Your Child's Name Affect His Personality?
Filed under: Baby Names
My son wants to name his unborn son Maverick. Do you think this will undermine his personality?
- Concerned Grandfather
Dear Grandfather:
A maverick is an independent spirit who doesn't bow to convention. (During the 2008 presidential race, "maverick" became a political buzzword. It doesn't sound like you're worried about that kind of convention.) As a name, it's the stylistic equivalent of bungee jumping in a cowboy hat.
I can't tell from your letter whether you're more worried about the name Maverick in particular, or about what it's not: A classic, traditional man's name. In either case, though, the main issue is the same. You want a name that will encourage the boy to walk the straight and narrow, not undermine his strong, respectable foundation.
Given those feelings, I'll guess that you gave your own son one of the classic manly names. That's the same son who now wants to name the grandbaby Maverick, right? So perhaps names don't shape our personalities as much as you think. Perhaps your conventionally named son hasn't enjoyed being one of the crowd, or has mixed feelings about his life in the traditional lane. Perhaps he wants to raise his son differently from how he was raised, in which case the name choice is only the first of your battles. Or perhaps -- most likely -- it's just a matter of evolving trends.
You might be surprised to learn that Maverick isn't as...umm...mavericky as it used to be. The name has been climbing the American top 1000 for 15 years now, and it's even hotter in Canada. It's part of our new, wide-open name culture that has the manly classics dropping like stones.
Take comfort in the thought that a little Maverick won't seem so wacky in a modern classroom full of Rykers, Coltons and Jetts. And if that doesn't do the trick, remember that what goes around, comes around. When it comes time for young Maverick to rebel against the parents who named him on the wild side, where can he turn but the straight and narrow?
Have you clashed with relatives over baby names? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question for Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
- Concerned Grandfather
Dear Grandfather:
A maverick is an independent spirit who doesn't bow to convention. (During the 2008 presidential race, "maverick" became a political buzzword. It doesn't sound like you're worried about that kind of convention.) As a name, it's the stylistic equivalent of bungee jumping in a cowboy hat.
I can't tell from your letter whether you're more worried about the name Maverick in particular, or about what it's not: A classic, traditional man's name. In either case, though, the main issue is the same. You want a name that will encourage the boy to walk the straight and narrow, not undermine his strong, respectable foundation.
Given those feelings, I'll guess that you gave your own son one of the classic manly names. That's the same son who now wants to name the grandbaby Maverick, right? So perhaps names don't shape our personalities as much as you think. Perhaps your conventionally named son hasn't enjoyed being one of the crowd, or has mixed feelings about his life in the traditional lane. Perhaps he wants to raise his son differently from how he was raised, in which case the name choice is only the first of your battles. Or perhaps -- most likely -- it's just a matter of evolving trends.
You might be surprised to learn that Maverick isn't as...umm...mavericky as it used to be. The name has been climbing the American top 1000 for 15 years now, and it's even hotter in Canada. It's part of our new, wide-open name culture that has the manly classics dropping like stones.
Take comfort in the thought that a little Maverick won't seem so wacky in a modern classroom full of Rykers, Coltons and Jetts. And if that doesn't do the trick, remember that what goes around, comes around. When it comes time for young Maverick to rebel against the parents who named him on the wild side, where can he turn but the straight and narrow?
Have you clashed with relatives over baby names? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question for Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
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Celebrity Baby Names
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
The couple brought home a baby sister for Violet, and named her Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. According to Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard, "Seraphina is an old saint's name that comes from the biblical seraphim, a type of angel." Sounds like Affleck and garner have high hopes for their wee one. Hope she can live up to her big name.
The couple brought home a baby sister for Violet, and named her Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. According to Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard, "Seraphina is an old saint's name that comes from the biblical seraphim, a type of angel." Sounds like Affleck and garner have high hopes for their wee one. Hope she can live up to her big name.
Getty
Celebrity Baby Names
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
The couple brought home a baby sister for Violet, and named her Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. According to Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard, "Seraphina is an old saint's name that comes from the biblical seraphim, a type of angel." Sounds like Affleck and garner have high hopes for their wee one. Hope she can live up to her big name.
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Erykah Badu
Erykah already has two children named Seven Sirius and Puma Rose, so when the singer announced on her Twitter page that she'd named her new daughter "Twitty Milk," we thought she might actually be serious.
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Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa
Former "Cosby Show" queen Lisa Bonet takes top honors for now with their newborn babe. Bonet says that the child "was born on the stormiest, rainy night, so Nakoa (warrior), Mana (strength/spirit), Kaua (rain) and po (dark). Multiple middle names? Could become a trend for 2009?
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Princess Tiaamii
British "glamour model" Jordan (aka Katie Price) and "former pop star" Peter Andre named their daughter Princess because it was "unique." When the name was announced in 2007, The BBC reported that Jordan had wanted to call her Tinkerbell, but there were too many famous dogs with that name. Because that's really the only reason not to go with Tinkerbell.
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Jermajesty Jackson
Amazingly, this is not a child of Michael. Jermajesty is the son of Jermaine Jackson Alejandra Oiaza. And they say Mike is the crazy one.
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Barron Trump
The only thing that would make this name better is if it were Barron Von Trump. But alas, the middle name of the spawn of Donald and third wife Melania is William. Still, with dad's money and mom's bone structure, the kid is basically American royalty even if his name is Pubert.
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Tu Morrow
Rob Morrow may have been trying to revive his career when he named his daughter Tu in 2001. (Tu Morrow. As in "see you") It may have worked. Though Morrow's first TV series, "Northern Exposure", was canceled in 1995, he currently appears on "Numb3rs." Maybe Shelley Long should have a baby and name her Tu. (Tu Long? Get it? Oh never mind)
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Moxie CrimeFighter
Penn Jillette and wife Emily clearly decided that they want their little girl to grow up to be a magician just like daddy. That way she can make this awful name disappear.
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Harley Quinn
Kevin Smith named his daughter after the Joker's sidekick in Batman comics. If he and wife Jennifer have a boy they can name him The Riddler, Clayface, Scarecrow the possibilities are endless.
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Kal-El Coppola Cage
Speaking of children named after superheroes, Nicholas Cage (née Coppola) and wife Alice Kim went with Kal-El, which every geek knows is Superman's real name. Little-known fact: it's also an ancient Hebrew phrase that, loosely translated, means, "My parents are rich and I will never have to hold a real job."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-13-2009 @ 12:25PM
Jack said...Read "Freakonomics", by Steven D Levitt. You'll learn that a child's name itself has nothing to do with the child's eventual success or lack thereof. The child's future success depends on the education and economic circumstances of his/her parents, and that is likely to drive the selection of names. To sum it up, "a child's name is an indicator - not a cause - of his life path."
Excerpt: http://www.slate.com/id/2116449/
Reply
8-16-2009 @ 2:45PM
bob said...Life is so cool !!! a good place for us Seeking for the stimulation------WealthyChat--C O M ----i think u would like it,,,trust me u may find something make u excited.now join free
8-15-2009 @ 6:04AM
hindlist said...Its very hard to tell but i think it will not effect the personality. Because i have seen many with same name but different personalities
http://www.hindlist.com
Reply
8-16-2009 @ 11:37AM
tabbi said...no it does not
Reply
3-10-2010 @ 5:18PM
SlajeD said...Don't name kids anything they will get teased about or name them after what you expect them to be. Give them simple names to pronounce and write, their personality will create a nickname for them later in life.
Reply