okay. i'll admit i have a bit of a peeve (just a little bit!) when it comes to people giving their kids "unique" names. i just wonder, are they doing it for their child or is it like a vanity plate on a car? are they just wanting people to say "oh wow that's so creative" or "how did you come up with that?" like their child's name should be a conversation starter. in other words, who benefits from giving a kid an odd name that they will have to explain for the rest of their lives? the kid or the parent? in new zealand they have a law that lets the government veto a name if it is deemed too outrageous. they used the veto only once when a couple named their kid "4real". seriously, 4real. and while i'm not saying the government should be deciding on baby names, what are the ethics of naming your baby? shouldn't we take into account what effect the name will have on the child's life? is the novelty of a made up or otherwise odd name worth causing anxiety to your kid?

"Parents who make up bizarre names for their children are ignorant, arrogant or just foolish." Psychologist Albert Mehrabian of the University of California, Los Angeles, on his study looking at how people reacted to names. Traditional names aroused positive feelings, but alternative names did badly (The Guardian, London, 29 April)

there are actually people who have named their kids things like syphilis and metallica.