Names you may wish to avoid

[sandra-leigh]

Some names have become so strongly associated with one person that you may wish to avoid choosing them so that people don't think of that other person when they think of you.

Below, () indicates a part of the name that is not infamous by itself; where () is not used, then both the first and last names are infamous enough to be recognized as referring to the person.

• Adolf Hitler
• Vlad Dracula {Vlad_III_the_Impaler}
• (Ted) Bundy {USA serial killer}
• (Robert) Pickton {Canadian serial killer}
• (Charles) Manson {USA serial killer}
• (Richard Milhous) Nixon {USA president}
• (Henry) Kissinger {USA Secretary of State}
• (George) Bush {USA presidents}
• (Dan) Quayle {USA vice president}
• "Pol Pot" {Cambodian leader}
• Mao (Zedong) {Chinese leader}
• (Grigori) Rasputin {Russian "mystic"}
• (Joseph) Stalin {USSR leader}
• (Vladimir) Lenin {USSR leader}
• (Benito) Mussolini {Italian leader}
• Heinrich Himmler {German SS commander}
• Allah; Jehovah; Christ; God
• Jesus {but common for Hispanics}
• Mohammad {unless Muslim}
• Singh {unless Sikh}
• Napoleon Bonaparte {French leader}
• (Maximilien) Robespierre {French leader}

[AnonyMouse]

Fortunately, I don't think any trans man is seriously going to try and call himself Vlad Dracula or Pol Pot. And here in America, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger are going to be obviously bad choices.

It's a good list, though. And I can make a few suggestions (including a few so obvious that they probably don't need to be included, but might actually be up for consideration by some fellas):

(Edward) Cullen {male protagonist of the Twilight series}
BJ (popular among young trans men; used as slang for "blowjob")
(Joseph) McCarthy {politician famous for insane rantings against imaginary communists}
(John) Watson {compatriot of Sherlock Holmes}
(James) Kirk {captain of the USS Enterprise}
(Peter) (Parker) {protagonist of Spider-Man}
(Michael) Jackson {famed singer/dancer}

And... that's all I've got for tonight.

Some of these don't have negative connotations so much as much potential for mocking, and some of the surnames are ones you can live with, providing you're willing to deal with the comments, just so long as you don't pair them with the first name. If that made any sense.

[Ze]

At my last job there was a doctor listed as "Larry King." And yeah, it didn't help that he was a doctor. Funny as hell whenever I had to call him up; he even sounded like him.

In the second book of "Series of Unfortunate Events," there's a character named "Montgomery Montgomery." His fellow scientists used to mock him as such: "Hello hello, Montgomery Montgomery."

My own last name was apparently changed and shortened when my ancestors came to America. It used to have a "Von" in front of it. I sometimes considered changing my last name back to it, but Thorny says it'd make me sound like I'd have a pencil-thin handlebar mustache and tie maidens to railroad tracks. Personally, I think I'd sound like a badass duke from Czech.

That's all I got.

[sandra-leigh]

Yes, no one is likely to call themselves Vlad Dracula, but even just "Vlad" is going to call up associations, just like plain "Adolph" would call up associations.

Because of my line of work, for Watson, I tend to think first of Thomas Watson, assistant to Alexander Graham Bell; then I tend to think of James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA. But the point about Watson does remind me that "Sherlock" should probably be added to the list.

Also "Atilla" (the Hun) should probably go on.

Oh yes, "Tiberius" would be recognized by Star Trek fans everywhere.

Hmmm, guess Caeser and Agustus and Calligula could go on the list too.

More thoughts:

Bugsy (Malone) {gangster}
(Al) Capone {gangster}
Sonny Bono {entertainer}

I guess there are also a number of celebs and sports figures that could be added, like Beckham, Rodham, Naimeth, Gretzky.

[bianca66]

but Thorny says it'd make me sound like I'd have a pencil-thin handlebar mustache and tie maidens to railroad tracks. Personally, I think I'd sound like a badass duke from Czech.

So pencil handlebar mustaches are a bad thing? I think it would look good on you Ze...I do however think maidens will be harder for you to find now adays...Adolf Hitler however ruined a very good mustache style

[Ze]

Adolf Hitler however ruined a very good mustache style

'Tis true. Poor Charlie Chaplin.

[Toni_Lynn]

This reminds me of the current news story, which I shall refer to without comment, about the guy who wanted to change his name to Boomer the Dog:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10223/1079103-53.stm

and the subsequent court ruling:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10223/1079394-100.stm

Huggles

Toni-Lynn

[7sisters]

Toni_Lynn the court's explaination was priceless. Heeheehee!

[sandra-leigh]

My own last name was apparently changed and shortened when my ancestors came to America. It used to have a "Von" in front of it.

"Milo Ze Von? Are you related to Warren Zevon ?"

[Ze]

"Milo Ze Von? Are you related to Warren Zevon ?"

Once again, waaaay over my head.

[MiraM]

My age is showing...I understand the reference ....

[Toni_Lynn]

Once again, waaaay over my head.

Try this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqNOWM1ExNY

Milo Ze Von -- Werewolves of Bah-stin, maybe at the next full moon

Huggles

Toni-Lynn

[Lorileah]

*NB any references to any popular culture or news item prior to 1990 must have a clarification or tag added for certain Bah-stahn residents who are too young to remember anything that ran on tubes or transistors. Only exceptions will be when you are really trying to confuse Ze*

and I thought Ze enjoyed binding young women

[Ze]

and I thought Ze enjoyed binding young women

You can't prove nuthin'!

[AnonyMouse]

Names like Malone, Beckham, and Rodham are probably safe. (Unless you're American and you don't want to put people in mind of Hillary Rodham Clinton...) They might have some connotations, but it's pretty silly to rule out every name that a famous person has just because they have it. (Or, to let Pixar speak for me: "You can't not let anything ever happen to him, otherwise nothing would ever happen to him!") Mainly, the ones that should be avoided have strong negative connotations (such as Adolf), are so strongly associated with the person in question that it's difficult for people to think of anything else when you mention the name (such as Kirk), or are going to get you mocked (such as Peter Parker).

Of course, it also depends on the region and the circles your acquaintances travel in, as I said before. (See Watson, Pickton.) So it's probably best to keep the list down to names that have a fairly global association with someone in particular.

[Ze]

(Or, to let Pixar speak for me: "You can't not let anything ever happen to him, otherwise nothing would [i]ever[i] happen to him!")

I Dory.

"Not much fun for little Harpo."

[AnonyMouse]

Ooh, I've been going about this whole naming thing all wrong. Shoulda called myself Harpo.

[Marshchild]

In the second book of "Series of Unfortunate Events," there's a character named "Montgomery Montgomery." His fellow scientists used to mock him as such: "Hello hello, Montgomery Montgomery."

I've heard of a few people in real life whose first names are the same as their surnames (there used to be a fairly well-known doctor down here called David David, who was a prominent figure in the field of craniofacial surgery, for example), and you really have to wonder what their parents were thinking when they decided to give them identical first and last names. Talking of unthinking parents, I used to know a rather unfortunate young man whose surname was Armstrong. Guess what his parents called him?

My mother absolutely loathes the name she was given, Marilyn, because Marilyn Monroe was big when she was growing up and everyone used to call her that, which she hated. Once while being cheeky, I called her it myself - I only ever did it once. (She was similarly unimpressed by my claim, made many years later (when I'd become too big for her to clout!), that if she was growing up nowadays, she'd be more likely to be associated with that nice Marilyn Manson fellow!)

Funnily enough, when I was a teenager, I wrote this awful, awful, awful science-fiction/horror story whose many faults included the fact that one of its female characters had the name Alice Cooper! (I didn't know that was the name of a shock rocker who'd probably been around for a good while even back then; I just thought it sounded like a nice name.) On that subject, I think I'm going to have to change the name of a character in a (hopefully much better) story I'm writing now. The character in question is called Simon Rutherford, which I've since learned is also the name of a British DJ (since said character is a complete psychopath, I don't think his real-life namesake would be terribly impressed to share his name!).

Finally, on another humorous note, I've been a longtime fan of a Swedish death metal band called Dismember, who, for a few years, had a guy by the name of Richard Cabeza in their ranks. Nothing too odd about that, I hear you say, until you learn that Cabeza is the Spanish word for "head"! I was lucky enough to do an interview with someone else from that band (for a magazine I write for) a few years back, so was able to ask if that was the aforementioned musician's real name. "Yes, yes," came the reply. "His mother [I think it was] is Spanish." I didn't have the heart to tell him that that wasn't what I found so odd about his name!

[AnonyMouse]

Speaking of double names, one my ancestors was Col. Morgan Morgan. A dude, even. One wonders what his parents were thinking.

[Ze]

I've finally come up with my name: Master Milo Danger Bates.

...The IV.

[Kid Flash]

Ze, I think the "Von" sounds pretty cool. Haha, well I am thinking of changing my last name in the future to "Van Kannel" because it was a great (great?) grandparent's name.

[sandra-leigh]

So, Milo, Danger is your middle name?

(I could have sworn that was from Get Smart, but I don't find such a reference. I do find it for Austin Powers.)

[CalamityJane]

Probably a good idea to avoid Dennis Neilson, also you may wish to think twice about Fred West, not to metion Rose West and if your Doctor is Harold Shipman....there maybe trouble ahead!!

[AnonyMouse]

Not to mention Herbert West. That guy has quite the reputation in some circles.

[sandra-leigh]

In short, google your own prospective name.

I found that there is a woman in my city with my adopted first name and adopted last name. I thought I had found before she also used the same middle name I adopted, but I don't find that at the moment.

My immediate family is not so big, but head up by way of my father's mother and you get into a big clan... and I need to be careful that I don't choose a name the same as any of them (some of whom I only surmise the existance of.) And of course, no variants on the name of immediate family... And positively nothing close to my hated childhood nickname (which I refuse to tell my wife.)