O-----r
I have a question for you dear readers, is Big O a weird name?
On Monday I called a county agency about applying for state-funded medical assistance. I spoke with a woman who introduced herself as Le----eyta , or was it Le----ema? I don't exactly remember, but I do know that as soon as she said her name I thought, "That's a stereotypically African-American name. Why are so many of those names so...strange?"
As my conversation with her proceeded, she need to get the names of the people in my household. When I gave her the Big O's name she laughed. Laughed! And asked, "Where did you come up with that?!" I wasn't offended, just shocked at how ridiculous she found this name. It's not like we made it up or got it from some science fiction book, it's a real name. Charles Dickens used it for one of his main characters for pete's sake (not one of his weirdos)--it's not an absurd name!
I explained to her that we chose Big O because we liked it and it was also the only male name my husband and I could agree on. "Well, " she said, "you really have to think about all the names he could get called by other kids with a name like that. Hahaha!"
Ok, now, Theric and I actually did take that into consideration, and all we came up with was Ollie, which we didn't think was that horrible. Tell me: Did we miss some obvious playground fodder?
In response to the getting-made-fun-of comment, I told her, "Well, I guess it will just help him build character." Which was kind of a lame response, but what could I say? "At least I didn't give him a name like Jaykwon, Reshay, Dequain, Zyshonne or De'vegas"? She could have been offended and made it so my application for aid would be rejected! I knew I didn't want to make this person not like me for any reason.
She even laughed when my response to the "What is your ethnic background?" question was "White."
I guess she must have been thinking, "Ah! It's one of those weird white-people names!"
Which might explain why most people (usually white) who have met the Big O have commented on how much they like his name.
Those crazy white people.
But seriously: Let me know: Do you think it's a weird name?
posted by Lady Steed at 7:24 PM
22 Comments:
Big O is not a weird name. Maybe the lady you talked to feels insecure about her own name.
Hahaha. This is one of the greatest posts yet. I especially like that you assume all of your readers know his real name.
I can't think of any nickname that would be horrible. Or even annoying.
When you first told us you were naming him O----r, I thought it was a bit old fashioned and not used very much, but I warmed up to it quickly. Very fitting for an English major father I think. All of our names we like actually fit in the traditional, old and not often used category.
Our favorites:
Edward, Dean, Marion (for a girl), Vivian
I don't think Ebenezer is a strange name at all. I'm just not sure how you got from Ebenezer to the nickname Big O. Crazy white people.
I like it and have always liked it. It's better than a lot of weird names out there. There's a kid in my ward named Stockton, and I think that's an ugly name. Big O's name is very cute and fits him well.
katria thank you
silly marie yes, it is a rather old fashioned name, but have you noticed that they are now coming back? I know two Henrys for instance. I like all your names too. Marion was Theric's grandfather's name
master FOB BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ebenezer! hahaha
Foxy They didn't name him Stockton after the town in CA did they? Yuck. Thank you to you as well. I too think it is a cute name.
I just thought of what she may have had in mind.
Olive or Liver.
Ah, yes I guess those could be bad.
.
Oh, and it gets much much worse than that.
One day, I see this happening:
....a young girl brings her eight hamsters to school for show-and-tell....
Child 1: Wow! Look at all of her hamsters!
Choir of Cruel Children: Ha, ha! Alluv'er Hamsters!
Trust me, O----r is the perfect name. At the very, very least, at least people can pronounce it. This is more important that you might think. Trust me, I know.
Sincerely,
Lee-at-a
YES! I hadn't considered the pronunciation thing, but you would know Leata. I remember so many times when teachers would butcher your name while taking roll and how tired you were of having to deal with that. Yes, it is a good thing to give a child a name he will not have to be constantly correcting pronunciation on. I knew I made a good choice!
Lady Steed, if you've noticed that you get about 3x as many hits as usual, it's because I check your blog every hour or so for UPDATES.
Ah, I see. Is that a veiled request?
No, O----r is NOT a strange name. It's adorable. And fits the big O perfectly. In fact, I'm upset that you took it already. Now I can't use it to finish up my H-E-L-L-O (so far only H-E) Of course, that's assuming I get to O. But once I get to H-E-L-L, I think O has to come. =)
Oh, not so much veiled as straight-forward.
Definitely not. I really like his name. It is classic but interesting--a requirement for names, if you ask me. And you did. So there you have it.
PS--How's that nausea? ;)
'sposita
Ah Ha! You have commented on my blog and now I know where to find your blog...your reclusive blog days are over.
What, Lackey and Lucifer aren't acceptable names?
leata
Ah. Well I'm working on it.
miss hass
thank you for the support. look for nausea updates soon.
This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Saturday Night Live sketches with Nicholas Cage. He and his pregnant wife are trying to pick out a name for their baby, and she keeps suggesting normal names like Peter, John, Mike, O_____r, etc. He shoots all of them down, mockingly telling her how all the kids will tease, saying things like, "Oh, yeah, I have to go to the JOHN, yeah, Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, oh, right, hey Mike, testing, testing, is this MIKE on?" and stuff like that. So then this delivery person comes to the door and yells out that he has something for "Asswipe Johnson." And Nicholas Cage says, all haughty, "That's Oz-wee-peh." Hilarious. I laugh my head off every time I think of it.
And I think the name is adorable. And so is the Big O.
Honestly every time I see "The Big O" this image comes to my mind.
.
I wish I had the context to understand that image, 3M.
Dalton girl : thank you for sharing, you made me laugh. Thank you also for your kind compliment on my spawn.
3M : What the?! I don't even know what that is...but at least it's not a tire.
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I happen to LOVE your son's real name. I love the literary reference. However, his nickname always kind of makes me giggle. I don't know if you meant it to have that double meaning, but it's kind of funny.
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