Here’s the latest batch of name-related quotes…
From a 2017 interview [vid] with professional basketball player Isaiah Thomas (who was, at that time, a star player for the Boston Celtics):
My dad is from Los Angeles, California. He’s a big Laker fan. And he made a wager that if the Detroit Pistons beat the Lakers [in the 1989 Finals] he’d name his son Isiah Thomas. […] My mom, she grew up in church, and she liked the name but she wanted it spelled the biblical way, that’s why my name is spelled slightly different than the older Isiah Thomas.
(Thomas was born in February, but the Finals weren’t until June. Sports Illustrated clarifies that the bet was made before the birth — and well before the Finals — but that, by the time the baby arrived, Thomas’ father had “had warmed to the idea of his very own Isiah.”)
From the same interview [vid], former Detroit Pistons player Isiah Thomas getting a kick out hearing his own name being chanted at the Boston Garden:
It’s so beautiful [laughs]. I love it. I love it that, you know, and even though they’re not chanting my name, to hear them chant “MVP” and they’re talking about Isaiah Thomas in the Boston Garden — it’s just awesome.
(Here’s some background on the Pistons-Celtics rivalry.)
A name story from the recent Washington Post article “What’s in a name?” by John Kelly:
When Barbara Zigli was young, she never bothered to ask her parents why they named her Barbara. Much later, she learned that Saint Barbara is the patron saint of miners.
“My mother’s father was a coal miner, so I asked her if that was why they named me Barbara,” wrote Barbara, of Arlington.
There was a long pause, then Barbara’s mother said, “Uh, yeah, that’s it.”
Barbara was immediately suspicious. “No, really, mom,” she demanded. “Why did you name me Barbara?”
“Promise me you won’t get mad,” Barbara’s mother said. “You’re named after Miss Barbara on [the TV show] ‘Romper Room.'”
From a recent article in the Mirror about a woman named Abba after Swedish supergroup Abba:
When I was a child, everyone would question my name and make comments about it. They’d get confused by how it’s spelt – it’s the same as the band.
I’ve never come across anyone else named Abba and I love how unique it is. I always get asked ‘Abba like the band?’ when I say it.
For more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.
In school and Mass (Roman Catholic) we had a religious song called “Abba, Father,” and I was so confused by that when I was a little first grader in the late 70s, because of the band ABBA. I couldn’t help but picture God as a bearded Swedish guy with gold chains and a satin jumpsuit.
Haha that is amazing. They should dress the Pope like that.
Now THAT I need to see. If any pope could do it, it’s the current pope.