C in DC suggested last week that I brainstorm for names associated with shoes, and I thought that was a great idea. So here’s my stab at it.

Luther
In 1938, American archaeologist Luther Cressman discovered a 10,000-year-old pair of sandals–the oldest pair of shoes ever found in North America (and maybe the world).

Louis and Nicolas
French shoemaker Nicolas Lestage designed elaborate high heeled shoes — the “Louis heel” — for Louis XIV around 1660.

Arthur
Anglo-Irish soldier/politician Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, created (with the help of his shoemaker) the Wellington boot in the early 1800s.

Charles

• American inventor Charles Goodyear figured out how to vulcanize rubber in 1839. This discovery paved the way for the invention of sneakers.
• Speaking of sneakers…Chuck Taylor All-Stars were named after American basketball player and shoe salesman Charles “Chuck” Taylor.

Mary Jane
Mary Janes got their name from the Buster Brown comic strip character Mary Jane in the early 1900s.

Salvatore and Judy (and Dorothy)
Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo created the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Klaus
German army doctor Klaus Märtens started making boots in the late 1940s.

Roger
French fashion designer Roger Vivier created his iconic Pilgrim pumps in the 1960s.

Chelsea
Chelsea boots were fashionable during the 1960s.

Nancy
Nancy Sinatra helped popularize go-go boots with her song “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” (1966).

Christian
French footwear designer Christian Louboutin first introduced his red-lacquered soles in 1992.

And now, just like last time, two questions:

• What other shoe-inspired names can you come up with?
• What interests/activities should we namestorm about next?

Sources: History of Footwear, Wikipedia

• Alejandro, Fernando and Roberto in “Alejandro” (audio) by Lady Gaga.
• Isaiah, Charlotte, Dawn and Myfanwy in “The Rake’s Song” (video) by The Decemberists.
• Lavinia in “Lavinia” (video) by The Veils.
• Silvia in “Silvia” (video) by Miike Snow.

“The Rake’s Song” is notable because all of those names actually refer to babies. Despite the babies, it’s a dark little song. I think the lyricist must have read a lot of Edward Gorey as a kid.

Have you discovered any songs that feature names recently?

The tattoo in question belongs to starlet Hayden Panettiere. I’m not quite sure who she is, but I spotted a picture of her tattoo while looking through photos of celebrity tattoos yesterday. Here’s the caption:

Hayden Panettiere’s tattoo reads “Vivere senza rimipianti,” which means “Live without regrets” in Italian. Unfortunately, the word “rimipianti” is incorrect; it’s spelled “rimpianti.”

Yup, a tattoo typo. She took a phrase, tried to translate it into a language she obviously does not know, and wound up with a mess. A permanent mess.

And she’s not the only one with a tattoo like this. Many people waltz into tattoo parlors, see pretty characters up on the walls, and decide to get those characters written into their skin. They don’t know Chinese, or Japanese, or Khmer, or Tamil, or Hebrew, or Greek, or whatever other language the characters happen to represent. They don’t know if the characters are written properly. They don’t know if the characters mean what the tattoo artist says they mean. They just know that the characters are cool and exotic, so they go for it.

Some parents choose baby names the same way. They gravitate toward names from other cultures because these names are so different from the names they encounter every day.

Now, it’s fine to be attracted to unfamiliar things. But it’s not fine to simply take these things at face value and make them a permanent part of your life–or, worse, someone else’s life–without learning more about them first.

If Hayden had bothered to double-check her translation with an Italian dictionary or an Italian speaker, she could have caught that spelling mistake before it was etched into her skin. But she didn’t do any double-checking, her tattoo backfired in a big way, and now she looks foolish because of it.

Likewise, if a parent-to-be who is enamored of a certain exotic name bothers to do some research, she might be surprised to find out that she’s been spelling or pronouncing it incorrectly all along. She could catch her mistake before turning a bad name into her child’s name and making her child look foolish because of it.

(Or, better yet, she could come to the realization that if a name is bizarre enough to require special research, it is probably too bizarre to be passed along to a child.)

So I’ve decided to reprint much of the list here. Not because I want to steal content, but because I think it’s a cool list and it should be preserved somewhere. You can still find the list online at various Wikipedia copycat sites, true, but I don’t know how long it will be available at those sites. (I don’t know how often those sites do their copycat-updates or whatever it is they do.)

I do plan to spiff up all of the descriptions, but I’m not sure how long that will take. So please bear with me if the list remains messy for a little while. (You’ll know that I revised a description if the name is in boldface and there’s a source or two.)

And now, without further ado…

Names that come from a specific person, organization, fictional character or product:

• Armand Hammer, famous industrialist. Named after the “Arm and Hammer” symbol of the Socialist Labor Party.
• Christine Daaé, A fan who is obsessed with Phantom of the Opera and had her name legally changed to that of the character.
• Espn (pronounced Espin). The name of two boys from Michigan and Texas, named for the popular cable sports channel ESPN. However, in Scandinavia, both Esben and Espen are somewhat common names.
• Eros-Adonis. Name of a Belgian boy.
• Hapoel Tel Aviv, a baby born in Israel in 2006, who was named by his father after his favorite football club Hapoel Tel Aviv.
• Harley Quinn Smith, daughter of filmmaker Kevin Smith, named for the Joker’s sidekick Harley Quinn from Batman: The Animated Series.
• Iuma Dylan-Lucas Thornhill, born on 11 August 2000 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Named in response to the Internet Underground Music Archive’s “Name Your Baby IUMA” contest. The contest ran from August 1, 2000 through November 1, 2000. At least three other babies were also entered in the contest. One was Iuma Rose Carter of Carvers, Nevada. Another was Iuma Heidi VanRyker of Darmstadt, Germany. The third was from New York. (Sources: ABC, BBC, Los Angeles Times.)
• Jesus Christ. Born Jose Luis Espinal, he legally changed his name in December 2005.
• Jesus Christ Allin, later Kevin Michael Allin, most well known as GG Allin, named by his fanatically religious father.
• Joker Arroyo, a Philippine Senator. His name derives from his father’s fondness of playing cards. He has a brother named Jack, also for the playing card of the same name.
• Kal-El Coppola, son of actor Nicolas Cage, is named for the fictional character Superman.
• Keldorn – First name of an Estonian boy named after the character Keldorn Firecam from the PC game Baldur’s Gate 2.
• Kenesaw Mountain Landis, American jurist and baseball commissioner, named after Kennesaw Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia.
• MegaZone, an American IT/programming geek who legally changed his name (from Brian Bikowicz) on April 12, 2000. Originally taking the name from Megazone 23 as a login in 1989.
• Metallica. Daughter of Michael and Karolina Tomaro.
• Oleúde José Ribeiro, nicknamed “Capitain” was a Brazilian football player. His first name is a badly misspelled rendition of Hollywood.
• Minty Clinch. Film publicist and journalist on The Observer.
• Optimus Prime. A member of the United States National Guard.
• Sony PlayStation, born John Serling, legally changed his name after he became obsessed with the game console.
• Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F’tang-F’tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel. British political candidate self-renamed after a Monty Python character. Born John Desmond Lewis.
• Tupac Shakur rapper named after an Incan.
• Tomer.com, an Israeli programmer.
• Matrix, an Estonian named so by his parents due to them seeing the movie of the same name. Shortly after this case a law was enacted by Estonian parliament to prevent further naming children after celebrities, misspellings and cultural references, as it might become annoying for a child once he grows up.
• John Portsmouth Football Club Westwood, a fan of the same.

Names that are nouns or other words not commonly used as given names:

• American McGee, video game designer (Quake, American McGee’s Alice) famous for having an unusual name.
• Apple Blythe Alison Martin, born on 14 May 2004 in London, England. Daughter of actor Gwyneth Paltrow and musician Chris Martin. (Sources: BBC, Hello!)
• Baby Hospital, born in Sierra Leone. Feral child found at the age of 7 by an Italian missionary and “given the unlikely name of Baby Hospital.” (Source: Feral Children.)
• Bluebell Madonna Halliwell, daughter of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
• Boo Moore, minor league baseball player in the Boston Red Sox organization in 1980s/90s.
• Breece D’J Pancake, short-lived writer of short fiction. The unusual initial came from a misprint of his first story, which he decided to not correct.
• Reverend Canaan Banana, first President of Zimbabwe.
• Crown Shakur Thomas, a boy who died of malnutrition at the age of 6 weeks old, after being starved by his parents, who were sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Depressed Cupboard Cheesecake. Child of a couple in Kent, England.
• Flipper Reddolphin – Guitarist from South Wales.
• God Shammgod. American basketball player, who played one season in the NBA after being picked by the Washington Wizards in the 2nd round (17th pick) of the 1997 NBA Draft. He was born on April 29, 1976 in New York City.
• Heaven Rain Charvet daughter of Brooke Burke and David Charvet. Known as Rain Charvet.
• Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, daughter of Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates. Known affectionately as Tiger Hutchence to family and friends.
• Island Shuler. Daughter of former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler.
• Jellyfish McSaveloy.
• Loser Lane – a New York Police Department sergeant, mentioned in the book Freakonomics.
• Maybe Barnes (or Maybee or Maibe) a male child born 1663 in New Haven, Connecticut.
• Miroslav Šatan. NHL Hockey Player (pronounced Shah-tahn).
• Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette. Daughter of magician Penn Jillette.
• Muffin Lord. Director at The Rutgers College Honor Programs.
• Peerless Price, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills.
• Picabo Street (her parents pronounced it “Peek-a-BOW”, not “Peek-a-BOO”), American skier.
• Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf-Lee. Son of actor/skateboarder Jason Lee and actress Beth Riesgraf.
• Little Pixie Geldof, daughter of musician/activist Bob Geldof and Paula Yates. Known as Pixie Geldof.
• Poppy Montgomery, born Poppy Petal Emma Elizabeth Deveraux Donahue. An Australian-born actress starring in the television series Without a Trace. Her brother is named Jethro Tull, and her sisters are named Rosie Thorn, Daisy Yellow, Lily Belle and Marigold Sun.
• Poet Siena Rose Goldberg, daughter of Soleil Moon Frye and Jason Goldberg.
• Rocket, Racer, Rogue and Rebel Rodriguez, All children of film director Robert Rodriguez.
• Thursday October Christian. The son of Fletcher Christian (leader of the mutiny on the Bounty).
• They. Formerly Andrew Wilson, of Branson, Missouri.
• Urmas-Armas Ingel (engl. Urmas-Sweet Angel). An eccentric Estonian poet.
• Tuesday Weld. US actress. Born Susan Ker Weld.
• Wonderful Terrific Monds III was a baseball player in the Atlanta Braves farm system in the early 1990s. WTM I, his grandfather, was given that name because his own parents were so pleased when their son was born. Baseball writer Peter Gammons called it “one of the greatest names” for a ballplayer he has heard.
• Yahoo Serious, Australian actor known from Young Einstein.
• Zeppelin Wai Wong, born in San Francisco and named after the Graf Zeppelin which his parents saw overhead when he was born. (According to Herb Caen, Wong says it could be worse: “Suppose it had been the Shenandoah?”)
• Coco Crisp. Major League Baseball center fielder for the Boston Red Sox.
• Wrigley Alexander Fields, born on 12 September 2007 in Indiana. Named for the Wrigley Fields ballpark, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. (Sources: NBC, Me.)

Names that intentionally contain a phrase:

• Amor De Cosmos, the second premier of British Columbia, Canada. His name in Portuguese actually means “Love Of Cosmos”.
• Condoleezza Rice, current US Secretary of State. Name is based on a mis-spelling of the Italian musical term ‘con dolcezza’ which means ‘[to be played] with sweetness’.
• Constant-Désiré Despradelle, French-born dean of architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Espen Thoresen Hværsaagod-Takkskalduha. A Norwegian radio reporter. He first changed his name from Espen Thoresen to Espen Thoresen Hværsaagod (Espen Thoresen You’reon/Hereyouare meaning simply ‘please’ ). Later he added the name Takkskalduha (Thankyouverymuch).
• Legal Tender Coxey – Infant son of Jacob Coxey, leader of Coxey’s Army.
• Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. American actor.
• Mai Phat Sau Nghin Ruoi. Vietnamese which translates to “Fined Six Thousand Five Hundred” to represent the 6,500 dong, the local currency, that father Mai Xuan Can was forced to pay for ignoring Vietnam’s two-child policy. The boy changed his name to Mai Hoang Long when he turned 18.
• Masiosare, Spanish for “If [someone] would [eventually] dare” (Mas si osare). This poetic form is not common in Spanish, but is part of the Mexican National Anthem. For this, a lot of people had this name, because a lot of parents still believe that is a proper name.
• Nardwuar the Human Serviette. Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Notwithstanding Griswold a female child born 1759 in Durham, Connecticut.
• Robin Victory in Europe Strasser, American actress born on May 7, 1945, which was officially proclaimed V-E Day.
• Savior God Scientist Allah is the name of a 16-month old infant who died after falling from a seventh story window on April 20, 2006.
• Screaming Lord Sutch, born David Edward Sutch, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.
• Trout Fishing in America. In April 1994, a Santa Barbara teenager named Peter Eastman Jr. legally changed his name to “Trout Fishing in America” after Richard Brautigan’s novella of the same name.
• Vista Avalon is the legal name given to Microsoft MVP Bil Simser’s daughter born May 18th, 2007 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Vista is the name of Microsoft’s operating system, released in 2007. Avalon is the codename given to Microsoft’s Windows Presentation Foundation, part of the .NET 3.0 framework.
• World B. Free. Retired NBA basketball player. His given name was Lloyd B. Free, and later changed his name back to his given name.
• Wu Suowei (Chinese: ???), son of Chinese TV host Yang Lan and her husband Wu Zheng, sounds identical to Chinese expression for doesn’t matter or whatever.

Names changed for political purposes or as a form of protest:

• america Hoffman, son of revolutionist yippies Abbie and Anita Hoffman. Given the name “america”, with a “small a”, to indicate both patriotism and non-jingoistic intent.
• Austin Haddock was the name (temporarily) for Austin Mitchell, British MP for Great Grimsby, who changed his name by deed poll in support of his haddock fishermen constituents in October 2002. They were suffering from the effects of an EU fisheries ban enacted over concerns of dwindling North Sea fish stocks.
• Byron Low Tax Looper. Former Tennessee politician Byron Looper changed his middle name to “Low Tax” as an election ploy; in 1998 he murdered his electoral opponent, state senator Tommy Burks.
• Free Rob Cannabis – Marijuana activist from Glastonbury, UK.
• Goveg.com (pronounced Go Vedge Dot Com). PETA activist Karin Robertson changed her name in 2003 to promote the organization’s vegan website. In 2006 she reverted to her birth name, later saying “I never thought I would be Goveg.com forever. It was just a great way to pique people’s interest.”
• Kentucky Fried Cruelty.com. A PETA staff member who was known as Chris Garnett before he changed his name. He changed it back in 2006.
• Miss Alice. A New Zealand lawyer, formerly known as Rob Moodie, who legally changed his name to protest the Old Boys’ Network that runs the judiciary.
• Nigel Freemarijuana was for many years the public face of the HEMP Party (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) in Brisbane standing as a candidate in various elections.
• Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus is an Irish politician who has changed his name several times in order to draw attention to his campaign issues.
• States Rights Gist, Confederate General during the American Civil War.
• Yorkshire Bank PLC Are Fascist Bastards. Born Michael Howard but changed his name legally after being charged £20 for a £10 overdraft. Having subsequently been forced to close his account, he asked that the remaining balance be paid by cheque made out to his new name.

Names that can double as words or phrases:

• Argelico Fucks, Brazilian footballer.
• Be-Curteous Cole a male child born 1570 in Pevensey, Sussex, England.
• Jaime Lachica Sin a Philippine clergyman, was known as Cardinal Sin because of his status within the Catholic church. Sin was said to play a joke on his title, welcoming visitors to his archbishop’s residence with the greeting “Welcome to the House of Sin”. (He is not to be confused with the term “cardinal sin”).
• Dick Assman (properly pronounced “assmun”). Canadian service station owner whose name propelled him to international celebrity status in 1995.
• Dick Mann, motorcycle hall of famer.
• Dick Passwater, won a race in NASCAR’s formative years.
• Dick Pole, baseball player.
• Dick Seaman, early British Grand Prix racing star.
• Dick Trickle. With a combined total of up to 1,200 wins in all racing forms to his credit, he has been called “America’s Winningest Driver.”
• Fair Hooker – Wide Receiver, Cleveland Browns 1969-1974.
• I. M. Hipp, former running back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football team.
• Ima Hogg. Daughter of Governor of Texas James Stephen Hogg. Urban legend contends that she had a sister named Ura Hogg, but this is false.
• Jack Ass. Born Robert Craft, he legally changed his name to Jack Ass then brought a plagiarism lawsuit against MTV for their comedy sketch series Jackass. He died of a suicide on July 21, 2003.
• Lucious Pusey – Linebacker for Eastern Illinois University, legally changed his name to Lucious Seymour.
• Ray Zin, Owner of Micrel.
• Rusty Kuntz, baseball player.
• Shanda Lear, daughter of Bill Lear, founder of Lear Jet Corporation.
• Young Talkmore Nyongani, Zimbabwean 400 metre sprinter.

Unusually long names:

• Autumn Sullivan Corbett Fitzsimmons Jeffries Hart Burns Johnson Willard Dempsey Tunney Schmeling Sharkey Carnera Baer Braddock Louis Charles Walcott Marciano Patterson Johansson Liston Clay Frazier Foreman Brown, an American child born in 2007.
• Aldaberontophoscophornia Bowen Fearing.
• Anna Bertha Cecilia Diana Emily Fanny Gertrude Hypatia Inez Jane Kate Louise Maud Nora Ophelia Prudence Quince Rebecca Sarah Teresa Ulysis Venus Winifred Xenophon Yetty Zeno Pepper, a British woman who was named with a first name in the order of the alphabet. Her name brought interest to Robert Ripley, who published a profile of Pepper in an issue of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in 1929. Due to the length of her name, she was nicknamed “Alphabet” for short.
• Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff, the man with the longest name ever recorded.
• Lleieusszuieusszesszes Willihiminizisteizzi Hurrizzissteizzi, a resident of Los Angeles; appears in Robert Ripley’s second Believe It or Not! Book (1948).
• Lord Daniyaal as-Saadiq al-Amin Salaam u’Allah (Lord D.A.A.S. u’Allah). Formerly Daniel Green; convicted of the murder of James R. Jordan, Sr. (father of Michael Jordan).
• Nicholas Unless-Jesus-Christ-Had-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barbon. Although “phrase names” were not unheard of with Puritans this is remembered as an unusually long example. He was son to Praise-God Barebone. The name may not be authentic. The story that Praise-God’s brothers were named Christ-came-into-the-world-to-save Barebone and If-Christ-had-not-died-thou-hadst-been-damned Barebone (supposedly shortened to Damned Barebone) is disputed.
• Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.
• Rhoshandiatellyneshiaunneveshenk Koyaanisquatsiuth Williams was a girl born in Beaumont TX in 1984. Her name appears to be a conglomeration of various words from Hopi and perhaps other languages; Koyaanisqatsi means “life out of balance” in Hopi. It is often said that her father changed her name to something even longer a few years after she was born.
• “James Dr No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill Golden Eye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Bond”. David Fearn, 23, from Walsall changed his name to the names of the all the James Bond movies in order to celebrate the release of the latest Bond film.

Portuguese monarchs with unusually long names:

• Carlos Fernando Luís Maria Victor Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis José Simão de Bragança, King of Portugal
• Luís Filipe Maria Carlos Amélio Francisco Vítor Manuel António Lourenço Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Bento de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, Prince Royal of Portugal
• Luís Filipe Maria Fernando Pedro de Alcântara António Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis João Augusto Júlio Valfando de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, King of Portugal
• Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, King of Portugal
• Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga da Áustria e Bragança, Queen of Portugal
• Miguel Maria do Patrocínio João Carlos Francisco de Assis Xavier de Paula Pedro de Alcântara António Rafael Gabriel Joaquim José Gonzaga Evaristo de Bragança, King of Portugal
• Pedro de Alcântara Francisco Antônio João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim de Bragança e Bourbon, King of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil.
• Pedro de Alcântara Maria Fernando Miguel Rafael Gonzaga Xavier João António Leopoldo Vítor Francisco de Assis Júlio Amélio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, King of Portugal.

Names changed for business purposes:

• Andrew “Test” Martin, professional wrestler who legally included his ringname “Test” in his real name in order to use it without trademark infringement from World Wrestling Entertainment.
• DotComGuy. Legally changed his name from Mitch Maddox in 2000 as part of a publicity stunt of spending an entire year in his house, on the Internet.
• GoldenPalace.com (Pronounced Golden Palace Dot Com). In March 2005, the casino paid Terri Iligan $15,000 after winning an E-Bay Auction to legally change her name.
• Warrior. American professional wrestler, born Brian James “Jim” Hellwig, best known for appearances as the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. Legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993 in order to use the name outside of the WWF.
• Zachary Zzzzzzzzzra, actually named Bill Holland, was a painting contractor who changed his name to Zachary Zzzzzzzzzra as a marketing gimmick so that people could find him “in the back of the phone book”. A 1979 Time article said that he was able to achieve this goal in the San Francisco phone book in eight out of 15 years, although he had to keep adding Z’s to his last name because Zelda Zzzwramp and Vladimir Zzzzzzabakov had become the last listings in the phone book.

Frank Zappa’s children:

• Moon Unit Zappa, his oldest child, did the valspeak on Zappa’s 1982 song Valley Girl. She goes by Moon, insisting that Unit is her middle name.
• Dweezil Zappa was born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa because the hospital refused to register the Zappas’ chosen name. He has since legally changed his name to Dweezil.
• Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa. His third given name comes from the flying Japanese movie monster of the same name.
• Diva Magika (nee Muffin) Zappa. So named because, according to her father, she was screaming louder than all the other babies in the nursery.

Numbers:

• Dix-Sept Rosado, whose first name means “seventeen” in French, was one of several brothers with French numerals for names born to a Brazilian family from Mossoró. He later became a politician and there is a town named after him. His brother, Vingt-Un (“twenty-one”) was a writer and journalist.
• Jennifer 8. Lee She adopted her unusual middle name in her teens, because Chinese custom sees the number 8 as a symbol of prosperity.
• Jon Blake Cusack 2.0.
• Perri 6, Director of Policy and Research at Demos and Professor of Social Policy at Nottingham Trent University.
• Ten Million. Baseball player from the 1910s.

Miscellaneous:

• @ was the name given to a child by a Chinese couple, claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child. Li Yuming, the deputy chief of the State Language Commission, did not say if officials accepted the name.
• 4real was the name New Zealand parents attempted to give their child. They were told that numerals were not allowed. The parents are debating this law and, if no name has been registered by July 9, the boy will be legally named “Superman”; friends and family will call him “4real”.
• Adolf Lu Hitler Marak is an Indian politician.
• Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced “Albin”) was a name given to a child by the parents of a Swedish family in May 1996. The name was rejected by a Swedish court. The child’s name was later changed to “A” (also pronounced “Albin”), however this too was rejected.
• Boof Bonser, Current major league baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.
• Christophpher is the name of a boy living in Grenaa, Denmark. The name was not approved by the Ministry for Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the mother was therefore required to pay fines every month until the child’s name was changed.
• Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.
• Flex Plexico – Spokesperson for the United States Department of Defense.
• J Allard Formerly known as James Allard, Corporate Vice President and the Chief XNA Architect at Microsoft.
• Jermajesty Jackson. Son of Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Oiaza.
• Revilo Oliver, American philologist and Neo-Nazi with a palindromic name.
• Robert Trebor, American actor with a palindromic name, (Born Robert Schenkman).
• Teller. The magician changed his name from Raymond Joseph Teller.
• Zowie Bowie is the son of David Bowie.
• Rolan Bolan is the son of Marc Bolan (Rock Band T Rex). It is said the David Bowie and Marc Bolan decided together about the names Zowie Bowie and Rolan Bolan.
• The musician Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993 for contractual reasons. He reverted this change in 2000.

How did the two of you meet?

• Did a mutual acquaintance introduce you? What was that person’s name?
• Did you meet while taking the same scuba class? What was the name of the instructor?
• Did you meet while living in the same dorm at college? What was the name of the dorm? (If it’s a surname, what was the forename originally attached to it?)
• Did you meet doing theater? What character names do you remember from the first production you worked on together?

Think about your firsts.

• Did you go out to dinner on your first date? What was the name of your waiter?
• Did you have your first kiss while waiting in the lobby of a particular building? What was the name of the architect who designed the building?
• What was the first movie you went to see together? What were the names of the lead characters?
• Did you first say “I love you” to one another while picnicking in the park? What was the name of the park?

Think about other memorable experiences.

• What’s the name of the street you first lived on together?
• What’s the name of the coffee shop you used to go to every Friday night when you were dating?
• Did your relationship ever hit a rough patch? What’s the name of the friend who helped you get through it out and stay together?
• Have you ever done anything that you’re both really proud of (e.g. scaled a mountain, raised a lot of money for charity)? What names come to mind when you think of these things?
• When you look through your collection of photographs, ticket stubs, playbills, receipts, brochures, fliers, and other paraphernalia, what names do you see? What other names are you reminded of?

Engagement, Marriage, Honeymoon, Anniversaries

• What’s the name of the person (e.g. pastor, priest, rabbi) who married you?
• Wedding dresses often have female names in lieu of (or along with) model numbers–did yours?
• Who sang your first dance song?
• What’s the name of the hotel you stayed in on your honeymoon?
• Example: San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom named his daughter Montana because that’s where he and his wife got married.
• Example: One of my commenters named her son Boston because she got engaged after running the Boston Marathon.

And now the fun part: What names can you come up with from your own relationship? What’s the story behind each one, and did you use (or do you plan to use) any of the names for your children?

Let’s try an analogy. A unique name is a pair of red stilettos. A common name is a pair of brown loafers. The stilettos are conspicuous and memorable; the loafers are plain and forgettable.

The big drawback to red stilettos? (Besides knee pain, back pain, sprained ankles, hammer toes, corns and calluses?) They’re a distraction.

The big benefit to brown loafers? They aren’t distracting at all. They make it easy for the wearer attract attention to herself, which is the way things ought to be. A person shouldn’t have to compete with her name (or her shoes!) for attention.

People named Marijuana, Renesmee, Bandit and Zealand-New are forced to walk around in red stilettos their entire lives. People named Isabella, Olivia, Chloe and Sophie, on the other hand, get to wear comfy loafers.

(Holds true for boy names as well–I just thought it would be strange to throw a bunch of boy names into a post about red stilettos.)

I know scores of chocolate lovers, so let’s start with chocolate. Below are names I found while researching the evolution of chocolate from the bitter Mesoamerican beverage it once was to the sweet, addictive confection it now is.

Hernando
Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés was one of the first Europeans to try (and like) chocolate, circa 1519.

Hans
Ulster-Scot physician Hans Sloane (technically) invented chocolate milk while visiting Jamaica in the 1680s.

John and James
Irish immigrant John Hannon and American physician James Baker opened America’s first successful chocolate mill in Massachusetts in 1765.

Casparus and Coenraad
Dutch father-and-son chocolate makers Casparus van Houten and Coenraad van Houten developed several chocolate manufacturing techniques, including the Dutch process, in the early 1800s.

Joseph and Francis
English chocolate maker Joseph S. Fry began was the first to use a steam engine to grind cocoa beans in 1795. His son Francis Fry was head of J. S. Fry & Sons when the company introduced the first chocolate bar in 1847.

Domingo
An anonymous worker at the Ghirardelli factory in San Francisco discovered the Broma process around 1865. (Italian-born Domingo Ghirardelli was originally known as Domenico.)

Daniel and Henri
Swiss chocolate maker Daniel Peter produced the first milk chocolate bar in 1875, after years of experimentation. He did so by using the powdered milk invented by German baby formula maker Henri Nestlé (originally named Heinrich).

Rodolphe
Swiss chocolate maker Rodolphe Lindt invented the conching machine in 1879.

Milton
American confectioner Milton S. Hershey built the world’s largest chocolate manufacturing plant in 1905 in what is today known as Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Jules
Swiss chocolate maker Jules Séchaud invented a machine for manufacturing filled chocolates in 1913.

And now, two questions for you:

• What other chocolate-inspired names can you come up with?
• What other interests and activities should we namestorm about next?

Sources: A Brief History of Chocolate, Chocolate, the exhibition, The History of Chocolate, Wikipedia

1. Yes, I’ve met babies/kids of both genders named Shay/Shea/Shae. And the stats tell a similar story–if you look at the top 1,000 baby names in the U.S. over the last 50 years,

• Shay ranked 15 times for boys and 3 times for girls,
• Shea ranked 35 times for boys and 31 times for girls, and
• Shae ranked 0 times for boys and 1 time for girls.

2. Shay doesn’t sound girly to me, but it doesn’t sound masculine either. More like androgynous. (I’d say the same about Peyton, Avery, Dakota, Riley, Jordan, and about a dozen other names.)

What’s your take on Shay: Girl name? Boy name? (Does the spelling make a difference?) Is Shay too girly for a boy?

• Bland Ballard (1761-1853) – soldier and statesman.
• Burgoyne Diller (1906-1965) – abstract painter.
• Comfort Sands (1748-1834) – merchant, banker and politician.
• Crispus Attucks (c.1723-1770) – first of five civilians killed in the Boston Massacre.
• Errett Bishop (1928–1983) – mathematician.
• Fitz-Greene Halleck (1790-1867) – poet.
• Grantzberg Hart (born in 1961) – musician.
• Jouett Shouse (1879-1968) – lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician.
• Reverdy Johnson (1796-1876) – statesman and jurist.
• Ringgold Lardner (1885-1933) – sports columnist and writer.
• Spottswood William Robinson (1916-1998) – civil rights attorney and judge.
• Squire Whipple (1804-1888) – civil engineer.
• Stith Thompson (1885-1976) – folklorist.
• Theophylact Bache (1735-1807) – merchant.
• Verplanck Colvin (1847–1920) – lawyer, author and topographical engineer.
• Zackquill Morgan (18th cen.) – founder of Morgantown, West Virginia. Son of Morgan Morgan.
• Zealous Tower (1819-1900) – American soldier and civil engineer.

“Comfort Sands” might make a nice name for a beachside resort, don’t you think?

Maybe your father, Mr. Fix-it, always has a Phillips-head screwdriver in his back pocket. Maybe your mother the perfume-lover constantly wears Oscar by Oscar de la Renta. Maybe your Grandpa attended all of your childhood recitals and graduations and other events wearing his favorite Jimmy Chen suit.

There are two keys to finding a good name this way. First, the association needs to be strong. The only way these names have any real significance is via these connections with your loved ones. Second, the name should be appropriate. It doesn’t matter how well words like Motorola or spatula symbolize someone in your family; Motorola and Spatula make terrible baby names.