Help name Aspiring Nomad and Jenni Jens baby girl

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the name a child is given leads them down a similar path as a famous name holder, but I also wouldn't discount the influence that peoples reactions to their name have in shaping their personality. I remember the media flurry about this family who gave their children Nazi-themed names. And I graduated high school with a Superman. Nice guy, extremely charismatic - which I wonder if it isn't a byproduct of having to be that way so as not to get taunted earlier in life.

Oh, really like the name Kaia. You could always spell it Caia, as phonetically isn't doesn't sound harsh unless actually written with a 'K'.

And our cat is named Raina. We were originally thinking something along the Egyptian lines, as her coat is a dark tortoiseshell which reminded us of black statuary, but those seemed forced so we finally decided upon a variation off the Spanish 'reina' (for queen, because she does have a demanding presence), which apparently also means 'night' in Hindi, with a nod to rainy Seattle (even more appropriate once we discovered her obsession with water and rain-droplets). So now when I meet women named Raina (which isn't that often, although there is one my current program) I always want to say "Oh, that's the name of my cat!" but I don't, because even though I would be saying it filled with pride, most people aren't that nutty about their pets and would likely feel insulted. Andras thinks I treat Raina a bit too literally like our "little girl" - which is in fact what I call her most of the time, but her nickname is technically 'Booger' or 'Boog' as she got a cold right when we first adopted her and is always underfoot.

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I remember the media flurry about this family who gave their children Nazi-themed names.

My boyfreind has an original leather coat, that was worn by the motor cycle nazis during WW2. When he wears it, nobody will sit beside him on the train and people look at him warily as he walks past on the street. Maybe having the same name as a notorious Nazi would cause people to give one a lot of space too. Reply to this

For reasons such as this, I can see why there is a list of allowed names in Germany. Maybe names such as Adolf and Hitler are no longer allowed, and that is why there seems to be nobody in Germany called them.
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...and hopefully shorter...

Well, no it wouldn't because there are a lot of kids born here, who have foreign parents. They are not allowed to give their child a Turkish name for example, as its first name. What Turkish parents do is choose a name form the list and make it the first name. Then they give the child a middle name which is Turkish, because this is allowed, but they also call the child the Turkish name day to day, rather than the German name.

All foreign names would have to go on the unallowed list. Maybe to prevent parents calling their kid 'Aryan Nation' in another language.

except for the ONE obvious exception.

Adolf?

Many countries do not 'allow' 'their' citizens that option.

Somebody from Romania told me it is like that there. But, it is allowed to change, if a person has a good reason, such as their name is 'Pigs Bottom' or 'Bad Finger' or whatever.

Some people in The Netherlands have some strange surnames. Apparently, the French ordered them to all have surnames which they were allowed to choose themselves, at some stage in history when they could wield such power there. Some resented it and now their family has a name like Pancake. There is even one family name that translates to English as B*llocks. Reply to this

I think freedom of speech can sometimes be a double-edged sword. For example just about anyone is allowed to buy a TV station or newspaper in the US and broadcast any old freedom of speech they like, isn't that right Rupert Murdoch. Though of course even he is forced to put profit before propaganda in China, the poor man.

And then of course it allows just about anyone to hijack a thread;-)

Maybe we should pick a culturally appropriate Canadian name. Whatever that is? Pamela (of Anderson fame) perhaps? Maple??? Reply to this

Now, do I want to read about those kids in that link above, or would it be too head melting, because I would make the mistake of trying to make sense of those parents? Maybe tomorrow.

Apparently, my name in English can be bee or the name of a flowering herb. I am not sure if I get to choose which, or if one or the other is always associated with my name. At worst, I suppose there are worst things than being called bee.

I think freedom of speech can sometimes be a double-edged sword.

Well, it can be used, or it can be abused. For example, we as moderators here often get spammers who want to argue that we are violating their free speech rights, but they rarely/never take into account the level of nuisance they are causing to the freedom and enjoyment of other visitors to TravelBlog.

And then of course it allows just about anyone to hijack a thread;-)

This crime should probably be punished, but I am getting too sleepy to think up a punishment which would both punish and give me some personal entertainment. Thoughts about changing nick names are sort of comming to mind. My boyfriend is a member of a site where the moderators do that when members get mouthy with them. They changed my boyfriends nick name to 'Will work for food'

Pamela (of Anderson fame) perhaps?

No, breasts that size apparently cause backache. You can't do that to your daughter. Reply to this

So........
What's the verdict?
I like Maple actually, it's cute.

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You can't punish me, I'm am an American! I will appeal until the day after forever!

I back down immediately. Mostly, because the relentless appeals would essentially be more punishing for me than any punishment I manage to issue would be to you. :D

You realize you now have an international community eager to know what you choose. The pressure is mounting. How exciting - a new person, getting a name.

This will involve some diplomatic wriggling, on Jasons part, when he has to reject all but one of the choices. Maybe the most diplomatic option is to not reveal the name at all. Ten years from now, all Jasons blogs will still be referring to his daughter, who has not yet been named.
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I was about to warn you about what the word saoirse is often associated with, but I see from the link above, that you already know. The little profette would turn out to be a real handful if you call her that.

You could call her all the names suggested. I have a string of names on my birth certificate, because of a certain amount of conflict about what I was to be called. The name I use is in fact not the first in the string.

The most aggressive conflicter about what I was to be called is the same name as the first on the string. She was pleased about it, until she discovered that my parents were not in fact going to call me it from day to day. Eventually, my parents were worn down by her, so one of my sisters has the same first name as I do. It has caused a lot of confusion for me and my sister, with mail and stuff. We used to fight over desirable mail, and we used to fight over undesirable mail for opposite reasons.

If my sister did not have those inconvenient morals, this same name thing would have been useful. She looks like I do, and she is ten years younger, but she would never loan me her passport or student ID so I could get those discounts and perks that under 26s often get. One time there was a really cool priced ticket to India for under 26s. I was tempted to borrow her passport and then put it back in its hiding place after my trip. Reply to this

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