The song “A Boy Named Sue”, by Johnny Cash sums it all up, how a strange birth name can affect your child. Lyrics: Now I don’t blame him cause he run and hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did, was before he left, he went and named me “Sue”.

For whatever reasons, when parents select special names for their children, be it in humor, wanting their children to stand out, or hoping it will build character in their child, comes with it a lifetime of responsibility. The Chinese know the implications of a good name when it comes to naming a child. Being incredibly superstitious, great pains are taken to consult the people in the know, astrologers; to choose the most appropriate name for a child born under a certain month, and a certain year. Since the number four sounds very much like the word “death” in Chinese, they do not want a name linked with anything that may be unsavory.

People who have been given strange names are resilient people who have managed to get over the jokes, and get on with life. Still more fascinating are people with strange names who marry other people with just as unique names, and together they form a formidable team. This writer’s favorite is the newspaper section on marriages and births, one which read on the marriage announcement of “Pugh and Outhouse”. Stranger still was an associate teacher whose name was Art Christmas and he married a lovely lady by the name of Mary. How many laughs do you suppose she gets?

Better still, ask these people how their lives have been ever since their gregarious parents gave them their names. Years ago, there was a television show that brought on people with peculiar names. These people seemed pragmatic enough to enjoy the notoriety of their strange names. What were the parents drinking when they named their babies “North West, Eye Lash, Rose Hose” and a celebrity name this writer always gets a kick when she hears “Soleil Moon Frye”. However, that is no comparison to the trend of bizarre celebrity baby names like Apple, or Pilot Inspektor, etc.

This writer used to work for a law firm where one of the partner’s last name was “Hiscock”. His friend deemed it a correct initiation that whenever a new receptionist appeared on the scene, he would go through the hazing process by calling and asking “Whose c-k?” Of course, being the naíve green receptionist, this author would answer back “Hiscock!”.

So parents, if you want to name your baby boy Finnbar, because you read it in a romance book, you had better hope the child can live up to his name!