Shakespeare once asked, “What’s in a name? Would a rose by any other name not smell as sweet?” Well, he may be right about roses, but when it comes to people, your name can play a significant role in your life economically, socially and psychologically.
Unfortunately, even though our names significantly impact our lives, we don’t get to choose them.
When it comes to economics, people with easy-to-pronounce or common-sounding names have a greater chance of getting hired than those whose names are less common and harder to pronounce.
According to Psychology Today, having a different-sounding name can also cause us trouble socially. “It has long been known that grade-school children with highly unusual names or names with negative associations tend to be less popular than kids with more desirable names, and later in life, unattractive or unpopular names lead to more rejection by potential romantic partners in online dating sites,” Frank T. McAndrew Ph.D. writes.
Conversely, one of the positive aspects of having an uncommon name is impulse control. “They actually benefit from that experience by learning to control their emotions or their impulses, which is, of course, a great skill for success,” Dalton Conly, sociologist and author of “Parentology: Everything You Wanted to Know about the Science of Raising Children but Were Too Exhausted to Ask,” told the BBC, quoting a study from New York University.
If research shows that having an uncommon name can be a burden, a recent Reddit thread shows that many parents out there have given little thought to their kids’ well-being before leaving the neonatal unit.
A Redditor named Corollo_Bro_91 asked the online forum for people to share some of the most unbelievable names they’ve ever heard and boy, did they deliver. We tallied up 17 of the funniest and here they are.
1. Moronica
“I do contract-based IT work. Implementation when hospitals buy each other out, stuff like that. Last week, I was working with an office manager named MORONICA.” — Ko_DaBomb
2. Dextrose
“Wife worked in a bank. Had a regular customer named Dextrose. Always wondered if he had siblings Sucrose and Fructose.” — akgt94
“Meet cousin glucose. She’s really basic.” — Stoleyetanothername
3. Orange
“It’s not a translation or a nickname, but after the fruit itself. People keep thinking his name is George and he’s just too young to pronounce it correctly but nope, his parents got their inspiration from the produce department.” — Philhardingshotpants
4. Dracula
“The parents were young meth heads and thankfully the nurses said Drake sounds much better and it’s a short version of Dracula after the boy was born. Drake is alive and well, now 18 years old, parents quit the meth years ago, kinda still a messed up family.” — Alturistic-Cut9795
5. Pikachu
“When my child was born, the people in the room next to us named their kid Pikachu. You read that right. Pikachu. After the Pokemon.” — [Deleted]
6. Scotthew
“I worked in labor and delivery. We had a pair of stoners who couldn’t decide between Scott or Matthew, so they just merged the two. Honestly, it’s just one of many dumb ones I encountered.” — Archeranne
7. Cinnamon
“I knew triplets named Cinnamon, Rosemary, and Paprika. People called them ‘The Spice Girls.'” — Upper-Job5130
8. Tequila Mockingbird
“In my career working at Public Schools I’ve had two separate children named Tequila Mockingbird. Absolutely unrelated, across the state from each other, but it’s weird that it happened twice.” — mjn73178
“If I had a nickel for every time I taught a kid named Tequila Mockingbird, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.” — INreallife120001
9. Felonie
“I’ve been downvoted a lot on Reddit for sharing this because people never believe it’s a real name someone would give a kid.” — FartAttack911
“Hopefully when she’s old enough she downgrades it to Miss Demeanor.” — Electroleum
10. Pubert
“Middle school objective: Survive.” — [Deleted]
“Difficulty level: Maximum.” — [Deleted]
11. Lice
“Lice. Pronounced ‘lih-say.'” — Wet_Artichoke
12. Velveeta Cheese Scott
“A friend worked in medical records in a hospital and a couple named their daughter Velveeta Cheese Scott.” — mmarkmc
13. Tyger Jellybean
“My bff from high school (who is a huge hippie) named her girl Tyger Jellybean Jardine.” — Enviornmental-Hat-86
14. Mary
“I rode the bus in high school with boy/girl twins named Clark and Candy Barr. On the same bus were four sisters: Mary Ann, Mary Catherine, Mary Patricia, and Mary Louise.” — Wheelie423
15. Trivia
“Nice girl. Terrible name.” — Euphoric-Blueberry97
16. Anakin
“I know someone who named their kid Anakin! And their last name is Walker.” — WearJunior9739
“I know some twins named Luke and Leia.” — DailyMustard
“Knew a kid named Chewbaca back in grade school, not a nickname, actually Chewbaca.” — Esqualatch12
17. KVIIITLYN. Kaitlyn
“This joke will never be IVgotX.” — SillyFlyGuy