From the apologetic M&M’s Super Bowl commercial :
“Sorry I called you Karen.”
“That’s my name.”
“Sorry your name is Karen.”
Some interesting thoughts on why only certain Irish names tend to be anglicized, from the Irish Arts Center:
“Caoimhe” has been consistently more popular than the anglicized spelling, “Keeva.” How did this happen when so many other Irish names appeared to make concessions to English spelling norms?
While Medb/Maeve, Sadhbh/Sive, Seán/Shawn and other names were popular at a time when the Irish language and pride in Irish identity was against the ropes, Caoimhe and Fiadh are names that rose in the ranks when Ireland was swaggering culturally and commercially. It was also a time when Irish language television and schools were making strides.
Caoimhe is one of the names given by parents to the first generation of daughters not expected to emigrate, who would grow up surrounded by people who would know that the “mh” sounds like a “v” in the middle or at the end of a word.
…And another quote from the same site that I just couldn’t leave behind:
Teachers warning their students of the importance of a fada will often point out that without the accent, Orla (‘uhr-lah’) would mean “vomit” rather than “golden princess.” However, Órlas have to live with this indignity in an online world where many websites won’t accept non-standard characters.
[According to this letter to the Irish Times, the same holds true for the names Méabh and Síne, which, without the fadas, turn into the words meabh, “hen,” and sine, “nipple.”]
From a Telegraph essay by Warren Watson (b. 1950), who had a “surprise” twin brother named Wayne.
So, what happened to the name William? […] It was the traditional family name for a Watson male, going back at least four generations in England and Scotland.
Fairness was paramount for my mom, you see. […] If I were named William, it would not be fair to my twin brother. So, neither Watson would be honored with the family name.
In 1950, she dug out a baby name book, purchased earlier at the Rexall drug store downtown. “Warren” and “Wayne” sat there in the same column. So, “Warren” and “Wayne” they would be. In alphabetical order, of course.
From Larry King’s 2016 interview with Dolly Parton [vid]:
Years ago when my song ‘Jolene’ came out, I came home one day from work, we had our new home in Brentwood, and there was a basket at the gate, and I thought, “Oh, somebody’s left us some food or something.” And I looked in it, and there was a baby in it, and there was a note that said, “My name is Jolene and I want you to have me. You can have me for keeps,” or something to that effect. And I freaked out.
[Dolly ended up calling the police, who came and took the baby away. She never found out what became of little Jolene.]
From a Condé Nast Traveler article about hotels using artificial intelligence, including robots with interesting names:
Meanwhile, in Singapore, the M Social hotel is using a front-of-house robot called Aura to deliver small amenities like water, towels, and toiletries to rooms. Another robot, Ausca, cooks your eggs in the morning. Elsewhere in the city, Hotel Jen uses colorful butler robots named Jeno and Jena to perform guest services that include in-room dining delivery.
From a 2014 Macklemore AMA on Reddit:
Mack-La-More is how it’s pronounced
Should have picked an easier name to say
