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Is My Favorite Baby Name Really Off Limits?
Filed under: Baby Names, Expert Advice: Babies
My last name is Ritz. My husband and I really like the name London but every time I make a name poll, everyone scoffs at the combination because they say it sounds like a hotel. Would this be something you really think she would be teased about in life, and would it be so bad?
- Mrs. Ritz
With the surname Ritz, you have a lot to be thankful for. Your name is short and easy to spell and pronounce. It's flexible to match with many name styles. It has positive associations. The many families with names like Crumpacker, Slutz and Pincock dream of being in your shoes. But the one thing you can't go puttin' on the Ritz is a place name.
Tough love time: everyone says London Ritz sounds like a hotel because it is a hotel. (Their afternoon tea is legendary.) I'm sorry. I know you've come to me hoping that my expert opinion will override those nameless poll respondents. No matter what I say, though, they're giving you a realistic preview of how the world would greet a little London Ritz.
Yes, dear readers, I do hear you yelling "But what about Paris Hilton? Isn't that the same thing?" It is, but sadly Ms. Hilton only makes matters worse for this name. It's all too easy to picture a female impersonator doing a Paris sendup under the stage name London Ritz.
Mrs. Ritz, your snappy little surname will be a great match for many other names with a sound and feeling similar to London. (Try Linden, Alden and Logan for a start.) Name teasing may not be the end of the world, but why invite it if you don't have to?
Has a surname cramped your style? Share your experiences here. And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 4)
9-30-2010 @ 12:22PM
Dramel said...How about for a start to try actually reading her e-mail to you. She said "would this be something you really think SHE would be teased about in life" and you suggest she look at names like "Linden, Alden and Logan for a start".
So, better to give her little girl a boys name than have her named after a hotel. Great advice, way to go.
EPIC FAIL
Reply
9-30-2010 @ 12:44PM
Corambis said...Dramel, what makes you think those are exclusively boy names? If you would have clicked on the names, they would have taken you to a site that lists them as girl names, so the author was clearly aware of the child's gender. And certainly any other name would have been better for the child than "London Ritz".
10-02-2010 @ 11:20PM
BTDT said...Could be worse. They could name her Peanut Butter.
9-30-2010 @ 12:54PM
Lauren said...The Name Lady isn't off by much, Logan has been used as a girl's name. Granted its not that common, but I have met a few. And I don't think it particularly matters if London Ritz is a real hotel. I didn't know that, and thought it sounded like a great combo, and still do now that I do know.
Reply
10-04-2010 @ 10:09PM
pentamom said..."Would this be something you really think she would be teased about in life, and would it be so bad?"
If there's more than a tiny chance it's something she would be teased about it, then the second half of the question is TOTALLY inappropriate.
You don't decide you want to name your kid because you like the name, and then tell yourself any teasing she gets "won't be so bad." It is not all about you.
9-30-2010 @ 1:18PM
Jennifer said...Ok, Paris Hilton is NOT the same. She don't just Happen to have that last name. The Hilton hotel in Paris.... belongs to her family, it is different. Just because Ritz is the last name... there is nothing wrong with having her be London Ritz. Besides, she won't live with that name forever. I grew up with a last name that I was thankful it wouldn't not be the name I passed to my children. Give her the name you want. Don't worry about kids teasing, they will tease kids with completely neutral names too.
Reply
9-30-2010 @ 2:48PM
CLM said...Why on earth would you assume that, because the child is female, she won't keep her surname? There are a great many women who choose not to marry. There are also many like me who choose not to change their surname upon marriage.
As for the name London Ritz, to me it's tantamount to naming a child Yellowstone Park. Anyone who has done any traveling at all is going to assume that the parents are either 1) ignorant or 2) guilty of saddling their child with a "clever" name. Either way, the name is not going to serve that child well.
10-03-2010 @ 12:36AM
rose said...Some useful information on Paris Hilton and other Hilton's related to each other.
Paris Hilton's grandfather is the heir to all the Hilton hotels in the entire world... he is Paris' dads dad. got that? ok he used to be married to ZsaZsa Gabor He had a son who was married to Elizabeth Taylor but they were divorced and now he is dead.His name was Conrad Nicky (for Nicholson) hilton also related to Jack Nicholson. Paris Hilton is named for the fact she was conceived in the romantic city of Paris, France but was born in New York City. Her sister, Nicky Hilton is named for the first Nicky Hilton i just told you about .... He's been dead, oh, i'd say since 1960? yes possibly about that time.Hope this helps.
9-30-2010 @ 6:03PM
claremullee said...As an older preschool teacher, some words of wisdom: if you don't want your son to eventually end up with a 'girl name', then don't be too trendy. Jordan, Riley, Taylor, Tyler, Devon, just to name a few are now ex-boy names....And let's not forget Ashley, Leslie, Kelly all started as 'boy names' back in the day.
Reply
10-02-2010 @ 9:58PM
meme said...I think that some of those names are for either sex and fit just fine. Besides my grandsons being Logan & Aiden, I have 2 other grandchildren named Taylor, who is a girl, and Damon who is a boy.
10-02-2010 @ 8:10PM
Kelpie said...Poor kid, sounds like an expensive cracker! Why can't people just give their kids names that won't humiliate them later on in life? What's wrong with John or Mary these days? Sure, it's one thing to be unique, but think about the child's future before you really start pulling out the weird obscure names. This kid's got to live with this for the rest of their life.
Reply
6-18-2011 @ 4:08AM
ElHeidi said...I agree,and you can be unusual without naming your child after a city. Until recently I was the only Heidi I knew, apart from my aunt's neighbour's dog. The only Cities I would say yes to are those like Florence which has been an accepted girls name for centuries, or other such cities. any others are just precocious.
10-02-2010 @ 8:20PM
susanmass said...I knew someone who named her kid Calvin Nader -- Kelvinator???? Poor kid
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10-02-2010 @ 8:20PM
Roger Rastosovich said...It sounds more like "London Blitz" which occured during 7 September 1940, when Germany ruthlessly bombed England.
Reply
10-02-2010 @ 8:21PM
Amanda said...Back during my days as a security guard at a major distribution center, I encountered a man whose parents should have definitely thought twice before naming him! My job was to log in the incoming trucks, driver's licenses, seal numbers, etc. Routine enough, but this one day I logged in a trucker whose last name was Hunt. First name: Mike. And I am NOT making that up! For those of you who haven't gotten it yet, run the name through your mind fast until you do, then you'll understand why I took one look at his license and immediately burst out laughing!
Ugh, I have to admit I feel sorry for the guy. Imagine the teasing he endured growing up with a name combo like that! It's like the phone pranks that Bart Simpson pulls on the bartender at Moe's Tavern, only you can't say it on TV!
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10-02-2010 @ 8:35PM
barbara said...sorry don't get the humor ?
10-02-2010 @ 10:08PM
SkyBlue said...Barbara, you're kidding, right?
10-02-2010 @ 10:27PM
Kim said...it took me a second or to but I got!
10-02-2010 @ 11:06PM
nick said...I went to school with a kid named Richard Heade. If i was this kid, I would shoot my parents lol
10-03-2010 @ 3:43AM
Crimsonrayne said...I have a friend named Michael Cox...I didn't know his last name for awhile, lol. My husband told me the other day a story about how once, he needed to pick Mike up from the airport and couldn't find him. The person at the counter refused to call for him over the speakers >.