jcal85's Profile

"At my job, when we're recruiting interns, we black out the names so that people don't eliminate students by their own prejudices. They end up choosing people based on their skills- and they sometimes get people with weird names. Either way, they almost always end up being the best people for the job."

nutterbuddy, that is a FANTASTIC idea that all employers should do. That is so refreshing to hear. Afterall, if you really are being discrimination-free, you shouldn't be judging someone by their name.

My son has an uncommon name, but not crazy weird, or oddly spelled. It fits very well with our irish last name. I refrain from giving it out on posts and websites though, because I don't want people to copy me! :) I just didn't want to give him a SUPER common, boring name. His middle name is Jeremiah though, so if he doesn't like his first name, he can go by that, or Jeremy.

As far as the argument of *not wanting your children to be made fun of thing*.. Kids will find ANYTHING to make fun of! My last name was Crutcher, and kids would say, "haha, CRUTCHES!".. I just would roll my eyes at them. I'd think, "really? That's the best you could come up with?".. And my husband is named Barry and kids would call out to him "Berry-Berry Kix!!". He too, thought it was lame.

Just instill self-esteem in your child no matter what their name! Tell them that they can be whoever they want to be, encourage them, be the best parent you can. If you regret the name you gave them down the road, or they don't like it-- what can you do? We are imperfect people, and trends come and go. :)