Sushila OMalley
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To me, a "bad name" is one that's intended to cause pain. The Campbells knew "Adolph Hitler" would cause pain to others (and probably to the child himself, in time)--they did it anyway, because that doesn't bother them. It's reckless and cruel to cause unnecessary pain on purpose. In family situations, a "bad name" would be one that you KNOW will cause pain: if you know that your dad ran off with a secretary named Abigail and it's still a name that drives your mother to tears, naming your own daughter Abigail is cruel--it will upset the grandmother deeply, and give the child an obstacle to overcome in an important relationship. The name Abigail is lovely by itself, and if you chose it without knowing the story, fine; but if you know that name will cause pain and you use it anyway--that's a bad name, or at least a bad naming decision.
Yeah, the Campbells can decorate their own cake and put whatever nonsense they want on it--but they can't force someone else to do it against good judgment, common sense, and store policy. Of course, a DIY cake wouldn't get them nearly as much attention. And apparently, national attention is way more important to these people than a kid's birthday cake? Lovely priorities. It's definitely not a free speech issue. Now, if a store categorically refused to put any traditional Muslim names like Mohammed on birthday cakes, there would basis for a discrimination case--but the Campbells probably don't have such a case here.
I know two Eamon/Eamonn preschoolers (one uses two ns, the other uses 1). One definitely as an Irish-born grandfather; not sure about the other one, but he's from a big family with Irish-named siblings (Seamus, Aine, etc.).
"There is a difference between Anglicizing something and making a mistake due to ignorance." See, I'm not so sure about that. People grab names from other languages and change the pronunciation all the time, without permission from anyone, without consulting native speakers for the "proper" pronunciation. Because they don't need permission, they're completely free to choose a sound they enjoy. There are no name police to stop them. I may not, personally, like all the products of such approaches, but I'd defend the parents' right to choose as they see fit. I guess you could call it ignorant (or inauthentic), but I'd rather see it as one of the usual complicated processes of gathering and changing that keeps naming alive and fascinating.
"I want to have the same surname as my future children." Just a heads up if you happen to be (like me) a bit of a wiseass mom--it's kinda nice *not* to have the same surname as your kid when you're shooting your mouth off at PTA meetings and whatnot; there's half a chance it won't be connected to your kid by some in the audience! Anyway, I think my daughter appreciates the distinction... ;)
"I think you missed my question as to who Joshua and Joseph were on ER?" Joshua was what Carter and Kem named their son (who didn't survive to birth)--when Carter endowed the hospital with a hefty sum for an AIDS clinic, he wanted it named the Joshua Carter Center after that son. Joseph is Abby and Luka's son. He's called Joe.
Father Damien (1840-89) is the first reference in my mind-- Catholic priest from Belgium who ministered to people with leprosy who were quarantined on Molokai Island. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Damien And he was born more than a century before any horror-film Damien, and there are monuments to his memory, and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995, so... he wins. ;) In case you were worried that Damien had such "bad" religious connotations that it was unusable, the name also has very very good associations, and I don't think it's irretrievable. Or you could avoid the whole mess and use Damon instead.
"ER" had a huge audience in 1999-2000--but I'm guessing the naming of Nurse Hathaway's twins Tess and Kate didn't make a dent in the numbers for those names. Do any of you associate Tess with that TV baby? Nah. Same with other ER babies--Reese, Ella, Henry, Joshua, Joseph, and even Cosmo followed the trends, they didn't set them. Same with Astrid Levinson--the name reads as a little offbeat but totally plausible for that character right now. Also, it let the Michael character make the "Astird" mistake, a gag that wouldn't have worked with Molly or Lea or Ava.
I think "Astird" is still safe, though... ;)
Well it's funny when your parents are divorced, you can get two different stories about the circumstances of your naming. My mother claims I would have been named for my father, if I had been a boy; but my father seems not to like such names, and when he did get a son, didn't choose a name-after. So.... ? I'll never know. I'm just glad I landed with the name I got. My son would have been Julia instead of James; my daughter would have been Isaac or Simon instead of Helen. I do keep those names in a special pocket of my mind, not to be used, but to be remembered, anyway.
Oooh, Bergamot! I like, but then I love Earl Grey tea (bergamot is the distinctive ingredient). I wonder if she'll be called Berga or Beri or Mo? Or maybe they're just calling her Olive. I've seen several examples in early 19c. Southern families where the first daughter of the second wife is named for the late first wife. It's meant to be a nice tribute, but also to endear the new baby to her older siblings (not sure if it always worked out that way, though!).
Yes, the "-en" ending is more traditionally feminine in Welsh names--so Gwendolen, Bronwen, Olwen, etc. are generally found with that spelling in Wales. But I think the American eye sees "-yn" as feminine (I guess from -lyn endings?), so in the US, Bronwyn and Gwendolyn are fairly standard variations. "Harper and Finley," huh? NMS, but as a sister to Riley, I guess it's consistent with hers.
"I met a young Hispanic boy named Jesus, which I presumed would be said with a Spanish pronunciation. Turns out, he said it Jee-sus." I've run across this, and also Angel pronounced Ain-jel not Ahn-hel. After training yourself to say the Spanish version, it's hard to switch, isn't it?
"Submit" might also reflect family circumstances--there may have been recent deaths or other disturbances in the household when young Submit was named, and her name reflected their hope that they would persevere by submitting humbly to the circumstances they cannot change. You see that kind of naming sometimes--names marking a family turning point, or period of sadness or disarray, with a virtue name that points to resolution, resignation, shared goals, etc.
I know a teen and a preschooler named Gwendolyn--both go by Wendy--but Gwen or Lyn are other possibilities, and the full Gwendolyn Rosemarie is quite lovely, especially in combination with her sisters' names. Well done and congratulations, Shirley!
"Others like the Penns who founded my hometown used the great old Norman names (Thomas, William, Richard)" Just a note that, while the Penns were proprietors of the colony of Pennsylvania, they were not born there, and didn't spend their lives there. William Penn came 1682-84 to set up shop, then returned in 1699-1701--that's it. Of his sons, Thomas Penn stayed in Philadelphia through his 30s and 40s, as a colonial administrator, but otherwise lived and worked in England, like his siblings. So the Penn family's naming choices wouldn't be much reflective of any colonial Pennsylvanian patterns. They were English, by birth and residence.
BDL/LL is stuck in SOM mode -- I think it has to do with signing in for the beta testing. I'll figure out how to become Benedict Delilah Lilith (another BDL), soon enough.
I do know a little girl named Jezebel, about three now. Her parents completely understood the biblical reference, but my understanding is that neither of them are religious and they liked an edgy name. And they liked the sound, which is lovely. Chadley? Really? I'm guessing "because we wanted to call him Chad" is the explanation. Sigh. I'm fond of Chad as a nickname for Charles, but Chadley is definitely nms.