Names carry a lot of weight, meaning, and significance. Even though Shakespeare wrote “A rose by any other name, would still smell as sweet”, a name is more important then that. In that case the bard was trying to point out that it shouldn’t matter what a person’s name is, but rather what that person does, who they are, and your feelings for them. Unfortunately it does not always work like that. Words are attached with certain meanings and imagery that affects their use and interpretation. This leads to a never ending list of possible meanings and reactions to the words. And names are simply words with even more importance as they serve to specifically identify something. So is it any wonder that problems with names arise?

Cable network apologizes for mocking name of Massachusetts town Athol in ads. At first I assumed it was simply because the cable network was purposefully mispronouncing the town’s name. Which they were. I read the first part thinking the name should probably be pronounce “a toll”. When in fact the “correct” pronunciation is “ATH-awl”, which to me sounds very much like what the network was accused of insinuating. I say insinuating because they never said it out-loud, it was in fact a complaint about a PRINT ad playing on the possibility of mispronouncing the towns name. Call me crazy, but when you yourself admit the problem with saying the name, perhaps it is time to change the name and avoid all the confusion in the first place.

Now, my wife and I have been discussing having kids in the near future. As part of those negotiations we have talked about names. For some reason she insists that they have the same initials (don’t ask, i have no idea why this is important). Currently she is pushing for the first and middles initials “PB”. On the surface this is not so bad. But what you need to know (without giving out too much information) is that combined with our last name this would then turn into “PB and jelly”. (no my last name is not and jelly, but it does sound very much like it when mispronounced). Why in the world would I as  parent do that to my kid? Other names have been tossed around with each of us pointing out the problems and possible inflammatory nicknames or comments that may result. Such as the initials “AAA” which for a girl could be bad, she’s does road side service 24 hrs a day, and well you get the picture. This also extends to names as well. It has been a challenge to find a unique name that we both like that does not have some sort put-down possibilities. It is also for this reason, my sibling over at Delusions of Grandeur switched to also use his middle initial. He no longer wanted to be “Man Jelly”.

So now I look for funny or humorous names in public. News casters or writers are typically the best source, although the real names are better then “stage” or pseudo names.