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BBsGarage
BBsGarage Reader
8/1/08 1:44 p.m.

(CNN) -- When you hear the name "Indiana Jones," you think of an archaeologist carrying an idol and dodging a giant boulder. When you hear about "Dow Jones," you might wonder if it's up or down that day. However, in this case, Indiana and Dow Jones are siblings, 12 and 7 years old, respectively. Dow and Indiana Jones participate in many sporting events. Indiana says, "announcers love to say our names."

Dow and Indiana Jones participate in many sporting events. Indiana says, "announcers love to say our names."

Indiana Elizabeth Jones shared her story with the iReport community, and we spoke with her mother, Jennifer Jones. The Port Deposit, Maryland, resident says Indiana got her name simply because her husband's family is from that state.

As for Dow Joseph Jones, there was serious talk of naming him Jack Ryan Jones, to keep the Harrison Ford theme. (Jack Ryan is the character Ford played in a series of action movies.) Instead, her husband named their son Dow on a dare while Jennifer was asleep in the hospital bed after giving birth.

She said she cried when she found out and even thought about having Dow's name changed.

CNN.com asked users to share their unusual names after a 9-year-old New Zealand girl named Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii won the right to change her name. (Full story)

Dozens of members of iReport.com community explained the stories behind their odd names, as well as what they've experienced in their day-to-day lives. Don't Miss

Some names might not seem problematic until they're actually used on a daily basis. Open Weaver Banks of Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey (speaking of odd names), says that she shared her story with iReport.com in hopes that parents would think twice before giving their children an unusual name.

Open is an unusual name, but it's not necessarily a name that one might expect to cause regular difficulties. Weaver Banks, however, says that she often has problems with it. iReport.com: Check out Banks' story

"I have a hard time using my credit cards for personal items, because clerks will accuse me of using a business card. I cannot tell my name to someone without having to explain it. Some days, it is exhausting, and I can't even disguise the annoyance in my voice."

Banks' childhood was "painful" because of her name, too. "I still give my mother a hard time about the name choice, and she tries to explain that she was young, she liked how it sounded, it was 1970 and various other reasons," she explains. "I actually tried going by another name for a year, and I realized that as much as I truly hate my name, it is embedded in me and so much a part of my experience." iReport.com: Read about more unusual names

Some people avoid the use of their name altogether to avoid questions, confusion or embarrassment. "At times, for the sake of avoiding an uncomfortable conversation or throwing someone off guard, I answer to the names of 'Mary' or 'Kelly'," says Bluzette Martin of West Allis, Wisconsin. At restaurants, "the thought of putting an employee through the pain of guessing how to spell and pronounce 'Bluzette' just isn't worth it to me."

Martin was named after "Bluzette," an up-tempo jazz waltz written by Jean "Toots" Thielemans. Despite her daily problems with this name, it certainly has its perks, like when she met Thielemans in 1987 at a club in Los Angeles. "When I met [him], he thanked my mother," she says.

She called her mother in the middle of the night and told her that she had a surprise for her. She gave the phone to Thielemans, and he started doing his famous whistling, to the tune of "Bluzette." iReport.com: Check out Martin's story

Even celebrities aren't immune to the use of unusual names. Take boxer George Foreman's children, all named George. (Or actor Jason Lee's son, Pilot Inspektor, or comedian Penn Jillette's daughter, Moxie CrimeFighter.) These are just-plain bizarre names, like that of iReporter Holden Holden.

Holden, a sophomore at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, says that having a double name has its pros and cons. He says he has a face people will remember because his name is easy to remember. Unfortunately, he says, he's not very good about remembering names himself, so it can lead to some awkward moments.

Holden's grandfather died a month before he was born but was always called by his last name as a nickname. "My last name is my mother's maiden name, which she reverted to after she divorced," he explains.

Holden also says that he plans to run for president in 2036. "Since my name is pretty easy to remember, it'll be easier to garner votes that way." iReport.com: Check out Holden's story

As for Dow Jones' mother, she didn't go through with changing his name. Now she sees it as something unique for someone with the very common last name "Jones." And perhaps that's the bright side to having an unusual name: It sets you apart from the crowd.

Dow's sister doesn't seem to mind.

"There is a new Indiana Jones movie out this year, so all my friends think it's pretty cool," she says.

Salanis
Salanis Dork
8/1/08 1:54 p.m.

[Sean Connery]"Indiana" was the dog's name.[/Connery]

Keith
Keith GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/1/08 2:15 p.m.

One of my coworkers recently named his son Jerrick Danger Wingerter. I have no comment about "Jerrick" (that's gonna hurt in the playground, though) but giving his son the middle name Danger? He's my hero. Both of them.

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/1/08 2:47 p.m.

Keith don't get a big head here... I named my son Tanner Brown because I like the ring to it... I giggle every time I say "one or the other" after his name.

Per Schroeder
Per Schroeder Technical Editor/Advertising Director
8/1/08 2:58 p.m.

I've never really liked my name, but thought my brother's name was cool—Thor is much more masculine than Per, although harder to live up to.

So, despite that (or maybe because of it) Kim and I decided to name our upcoming boy Stig.

And before anyone asks, it's not because of Top Gear, it's actually after I showed Kim a picture of Stig Blomquist getting medieval in one of the factory rally 99s. She thought the name sounded cool. It means "wanderer"

Per (whose wife is now 5 days overdue.)

Gearhead_42
Gearhead_42 HalfDork
8/1/08 3:00 p.m.

Stig is a cool name, just watch for your wife changing YOUR name to "Loki" after a few hours of labor...

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/1/08 3:07 p.m.

Stig is different from "The Stig". I like Stig, the only concern I have is your son may end up liking Chevrolets after being an S.S. type of guy his whole life.

By the way, I got a laugh after getting a VERY preggers Leann to eat saurkraut (which is used to start labor in one old wives tale) and while she started labor within 24 hours the hilariously uncomfortable gas pain and rocket propelled farting was enough to pay back for every Taco Bell run for the previous 10 months.

Tanners brother will be TreVor, she chose it. I wil bump him on my knee and call him tremor.

gamby
gamby SuperDork
8/1/08 3:54 p.m.

The parents in the OP (Indiana and Dow) are major league a-holes.

A kid's name is no place for a punchline.

I'm so sick of parents reaching so hard to give their kids pretentious/quirky names.

So their name is a joke or they spend their lives spelling it or explaining it. Big fun.

aircooled
aircooled Dork
8/1/08 5:25 p.m.

Hey at least his name is not Asswipe Johnson (pronounced ah-Zwee-pay).

I always thought naming a kid Zero would be cool, then they could never disappoint you.

cwh
cwh Dork
8/1/08 5:41 p.m.

Try being a Charles for 60 odd years. Worse is that my son is Charles and so is his son. Argggh.

Salanis
Salanis Dork
8/1/08 5:54 p.m.

I've heard it stated that kids with embarrassingly crappy names are more likely to be strong and successful later in life. Basically, they get so used to putting up with E36 M3 and having to fight people off, that they become tougher and more competitive to compensate.

ACarlson
ACarlson New Reader
8/1/08 7:32 p.m.
Salanis wrote: I've heard it stated that kids with embarrassingly crappy names are more likely to be strong and successful later in life. Basically, they get so used to putting up with E36 M3 and having to fight people off, that they become tougher and more competitive to compensate.

Ahh, the Boy Named Sue theory. If Shel Silverstein wrote it and Johnny Cash sang it, it's true enough for me:

And he said, "Son, this world is rough And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough And I knew I wouldn't be there to help you along. So I give you that name and I said good-bye I knew you'd have to get tough or die And it's that name that helped to make you strong."

He said, "Now you just fought one hell of a fight And I know you hate me, and you got the right To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do. But ya ought to thank me, before I die, For the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you 'Sue'.'

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun And I called him my pa, and he called me his son, And I come away with a different point of view. And I think about him, now and then, Every time I try and every time I win, And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George - anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

GlennS
GlennS HalfDork
8/1/08 10:12 p.m.
Osterkraut
Osterkraut Reader
8/1/08 10:26 p.m.
cwh wrote: Try being a Charles for 60 odd years.

If I'm lucky!

<-Charlie (Charles)

Wall-e
Wall-e GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
8/2/08 1:51 a.m.

Wallace Burton Miller the Third doesn't sound so bad after all. Some of those parents really need a beating.

MitchellC
MitchellC Reader
8/2/08 1:59 a.m.

My greatest challenge is getting people to not call me Mitch.

SVreX
SVreX SuperDork
8/2/08 6:17 a.m.

This is going to be a little hard in writing, trying to describe the pronunciation.

I have a friend who is a teacher. She has 2 students (twins) whose names are pronounced:

OrAHNgelo and LeMONgelo

/ / / / / / / /

Problem is the spelling. Actual names are spelled: Orangejello and Lemonjello.

grtechguy
grtechguy SuperDork
8/2/08 7:53 a.m.

^^^^ I really hope you're joking/

RogerB
RogerB HalfDork
8/2/08 9:01 a.m.

Years ago, I was walking through my wife's work area. The nametag on one of the cubicles was "S-H-I-T-H-E-A-D <forgot last name>". I pointed this out to her and she said it's pronounced "shu-thay-uh". Of course she was some other country, where that name is more common.

16vCorey
16vCorey Dork
8/2/08 9:45 a.m.

My friend Kyle's son is named Phoenix Skullcrusher Kellogg. No joke.

cwh
cwh Dork
8/2/08 10:03 a.m.

I have a cousin named Alfred Thaddeus Legget III. He owns a county in Mississippi.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
8/2/08 12:00 p.m.
Datsun1500 wrote: Orangejello and lemonjello is an urban legend...... Check snopes..... Unless they are still in school from when I heard it in 1985

yeah, because no name in the history of the world has ever been used more than once. would you put it past any of the "parents" at the start of this thread to name their kids oranjello or lemonjello if they liked one of those flavors better than they like harrison ford?

sometimes life imitates art. what was UL in 1985 could very well have taken place in the 23 years since.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
8/2/08 12:02 p.m.
16vCorey wrote: My friend Kyle's son is named Phoenix Skullcrusher Kellogg. No joke.

he's still gonna get called Frosted Flake and have to fight for his lunch money every day.

Osterkraut
Osterkraut Reader
8/2/08 12:32 p.m.
MitchellC wrote: My greatest challenge is getting people to not call me Mitch.

An urge I constantly have to fight.

SVreX
SVreX SuperDork
8/2/08 12:49 p.m.
Datsun1500 wrote: Orangejello and lemonjello is an urban legend...... Check snopes..... Unless they are still in school from when I heard it in 1985

OK, so I checked Snopes. Did you read it?? Their offense to the "legend" is the obvious association with racial stereotypes and education levels, however, they DO NOT identify it as false.

In fact, they reference a '70's era pitcher for the Huston Astros named Mark Lemongello.

Regardless, perhaps this is an example of life imitating art, and perhaps things have changed since 1985, but Snopes apparently did not check the public school records for Sumter County, GA. Those kids graduated just a couple of years ago.

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