On Odd Names

As an odd-name-having person myself, I was naturally interested in this little discussion going on about whether strange names hurt one's job prospects (also see here, regarding Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's baby, and here on a number of "celebrity baby names gone bad," and for a current-events take, consider the younger members of the Palin family).

I personally have not felt impeded by my name in terms of career advancement, but you never know. I guess I could be even more wildly famous and successful and possessed of adoring fans by now, if only I'd been able to pass as normal. Alas!

It's certainly true no one can ever spell or pronounce my name right away, and I have to explain it a lot, but I don't really care. 

And it does sometimes gets a little old having to explain it again, but it's also kind of nice to be the only person associated with it. After all, I'm unlikely to be confused with anyone else. When I Google my name, any reference I find is pretty much guaranteed to be me, which is, if nothing else, convenient for ego surfing.

We weird-name-people have that going for us. 

Of course, my own name is sort of marginally weird rather than really outrageously weird, and at least has the advantage of not being something that's a word for something else, like, I don't know, Starlight Happiness. Word names seem to get people looking askance a little more than if it's something that might conceivably be a family name, or come from some obscure ethnic heritage, or something.

Also, it's not really a 'normal' name with a different spelling, like Elizybethe or something, which also seems to be a pet peeve for some people. (Although it is a lot like a variation on Allen or Lynn/Lynne, so that's not entirely true.)

I'll admit I do hear names from time to time and wonder what those parents were thinking...but I would certainly hope I'd never assume anything about the person's character from it, or decline to hire them, if that were the context. 

I generally have to think, heck, it's not as if I'm one to talk about other peoples' bizarre names.

Finally, would I give my own kids, if I were to have them, creative, weird, unusual names? Well, I'm not ruling it out. Keep an eye out for the birth announcements of Starlyght Happinesse.