The Good baby Names Blog

Lots of people out there document awful, weird, or funny names. This one catalogs the "good ones"

Good Baby Names Blog

Everyone Loves Michaela!

The most popular spelling of the name pronounced /mik AY la/ is Makayla, and has been for a number of years. However, the name has become so popular that there are tons of "copycat" names that have arisen because of it. This happens a lot in the world of names. For example, Katelyn became popular, so then we started hearing Kaylin... and then Maylin and Shaelyn.

Here are all the spellings of Michaela from 2009 (followed by # babies given that particular spelling):

Makayla (5197), Mikayla (1810), Michaela(860), Mikaela (589), Mckayla (431), Micaela (232), Makaila (228), Makaylah(222), Makaela (124), Macayla (87), Makala (86), Mikaylah(83), Mykayla (80), Micayla(70), Mikaila (62), Mackayla (60), Mikala (51), Michayla (51), Mekayla (51), Mickayla(31), Michaella (30), Makeyla (30), Makalah (29), Mikalah (28), Makailah (28), Mykaela(27), Michela (27), Mikaella(24), Mykala (23), Mahkayla (22), Mykaila (21), Micheala (20), Mckaylah (19), Macaela(19), Micaella (18), Mkayla (17), Mikeyla (17), Mikela (15), Makeila (15), Mickaela(13), Michala (13), Mikeala (12), Mckaila (12), Mychaela (11), Mikaelah(11), Maykayla(11), Makhayla (11), Mikeila (9), Mikailah (9), Mekaylah(9), Mckaela (9), Machaela(9), Miquela (8), Mykaylah(8), Mikhayla (8), Mikhaila(8), Mikhaela (8), Mikayela(8), Michaelah (8), Mckala (8), Makela (8), Mahkaylah(8), Mykalah (7), Mekaila (7), Makaelah (7), Maikayla (7), Michaila (6), Mccayla (6), Maykala (6), Macaylah (6), Mikaeyla (5), Mickala (5), Mekaela (5), Micaila (5), Makhaila (5), Makaiyla (5), Maekayla (5)

Michaela is off the charts, though. In Addition to Mishayla, Mikayle, Makaylee, Mikyla, Mikaylin and Mikylee, There are spin-off for most of the letters of the alphabet! Here are some from 2009:

Akayla
Dakayla
Jakayla
Lakayla
Markayla
Nakayla
Nakaylee
Rakayla
Rickayla
Sakayla
Shakayla
Takayla
Zakayla

NAME FAIL!

Names that seem related but aren't.

There are a lot of names out there that sound like they are the same, but actually have different sources. Today's example:

Cecilia, Celia and Cecil

All three of these names are Latin in origin, but people often think that Celia is a short form of Cecilia, often to the point where Cecilia is often spelled Cecelia.

Cecilia is a feminine form of the Latin name Caecilius, which means "blind."

Celia is a feminine form of Caelus, which was introduced to English by William Shakespeare for his play As You Like It. It stems from the word caelum, meaning "heaven."

Cecil, in modern use, comes from an anglicization of the Welsh name Sesyllt, which comes from the Latin name Sextilius, meaning "sixth." There are a lot of Latin names that are ordinal numbers:

Primus (still used in its Italian form, Primo)
Secundus
Tertius
Quartus
Quintinus/Quintus (still used in an Anglicised French form-- Quentin)
Sextilius/Sextus
Septimus
Octavius
Nonus (the feminine form, Nona is still occasionally heard today)
Decimus

Fun with the Social Security Administration

Every year the Social Security Administration posts a list of the 1000 most popular baby names of the previous year. These lists comprise names down to 194 instances for boys and 263 instances for girls (this means at least 263 or so girls would have to be named something in order for it to appear on the list). This is awesome, but it leaves out a ton of names that are popular, but have a ton of different spellings. Take the name Demitri, for example. if you put all spellings together, there were 576 baby Demetris born last year with 12 different spellings, which, had it been counted, would have ranked somewhere around #415. However, since the most popular spelling only had 191 instances, it didn't appear at all.

I just discovered that they have posted the lists down to 5 instances for boys and girls from last year all the way back to 1880!

So, I am putting all the names together by spelling, so all the Jaydens, Jadens, Jaiden, Jadyns etc. all count together.

Anyway, with instances down to 5, you get a ton more names, and there are a lot of interesting/weird/funky ones out there. I'll post a few.

These are from the BOYS' 2009 list:

First of all, these are either alt spellings or foreign names, but they have weird meanings in English or other languages:

Atom 32 - This is an Armenian form of Adam, but it's kind of funny to name a kid this in English. I hope his last name isn't Baum.
Avion, Chaise - in French these mean "airplane" and "chair."
Dali - probably named after Salvador Dali, but most kids will still call him Dolly.

Some adjectives (these are all girls)
Coy
Gabby - I know this is usually a nickname for Gabriell/a, but on its own?
Golden
Gorgeous
Savvy
Rainy
Marvelous
Naturell
Shy
Sincere
Southern
Sovereign
Steely
Stellar
Victorious
Beautiful
Breezy
Celestial
Classie - I think this is a foreign name, but still!
Crimson - I guess it's no worse than Scarlett
Daily
Fancy
Gracious
Irish
Jazzy
Lovely
Loyal
Majestic
Marvelous
Mystic

And nouns (again, all girls):
Arrow
Belladonna
Breeze
Cinnamon
Cricket
Fanta
Fantasia
Feather
Fedora
Galaxy
Gift
Goddess
Harbor
Heiress
Hunny - because Honey wasn't sweet enough
Island
Jazz
Jubilee
Kindred
Majesty
Mandolin
Maple
Memory
Meridian
Moxie
Nature
Navy
Novella
Paradise
Poet - she'll grow up to be a NASCAR driver, just you watch!
Poetry
Princess
Queen
Rhapsody
Romani
Safari
Saga
Sativa - it sounds pretty, too bad it's the species of marijuana!
Saxon - and her brother, Viking
Season - couldn't decide between Autumn or Summer
Senna
Shadow
Siren
Sundae - nicole Kidman named her daughter Sunday recently, but Sundae?
Tequila
Tomorrow
Twilight
Valkyrie

Verbs:
Shine
Whisper
Sparkle

X-Men Characters -# given)
Angel- (girls- 1857, boys 9762)
Aurora- 1,478
Bishop- 174
Cable- 6
Danger- 5
Darwin- 312
Domino- 6
Gaia- 47
Jubilee- 89
Karma- 366
Mercury- 6
Mirage- 6
Mystique - 6
Omega (girls-9, boys -9)
Phoenix - (girls- 398, boys-814)
Pixie- 31
Rogue - 28
Sage - (girls-784, boys-295)
Storm (girls- 43 , boys - 43)
Sway - 8

More to come because I'm having way too much fun with this!

Names really do matter!

Good or Bad, Baby Names Have Long-lasting Effects

By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor

posted: 13 June 2010 04:30 pm ET

Choosing a baby name proves to be a challenging task for many parents. And they're wise to work hard at it. A name can have a profound impact on a child that reverberates well into adulthood, a growing body of research suggests.

"There is a reason why baby name books are extremely popular," said David Figlio of Northwestern University in Illinois. "We're always trying to think about the first bit of a child's identity and so if we as a society pay a lot of attention to names it makes a lot of sense that people's names might influence how they think about themselves and the way in which people might think about them."

Plenty of research suggests the name chosen impacts a baby's life well into adulthood. For instance, donning your newborn boy with a girly sounding name could mean behavioral problems later in life. And unique baby names that only your child will have can be a hardship too.

A British study of 3,000 parents released in May suggests one-in-five parents regret the name they chose for a child, many of whom were distressed over the unusual or oddly spelled names they'd chosen. And even those who didn't explicitly regret the name choice admitted there were names they knew now they wished they'd chosen then, according to the study conducted by Bounty.com. [List of history's most popular baby names.]

Girly names

Boys with names traditionally given to girls are more likely to misbehave than their counterparts with masculine names, research suggests.

When in elementary school, boys named Ashley and Shannon, for instance, behave just like their more masculine-named classmates named Brian and other boyish names.

"Once these kids hit sixth grade, all of a sudden the rates of disciplinary problems skyrocket [for those boys with girlish names], and it was much more the case if there happened to be a girl in the grade with that same name," Figlio told LiveScience.

Imagine, Figlio said, having to come face-to-face with your girly name every day when there's a girl in the classroom with a matching moniker. That suggests feelings of self-consciousness, which are perhaps magnified by teasing from others, play a role in the name-behavior link in this case.

Girls given boy names also see an effect. In a 2005 study, Figlio parsed out names by their phonemic sounds and then figured out their likelihood of belonging to a girl. For instance, the names Kayla and Isabella were so phonemically feminine their predicted probability of belonging to a girl was more than 100 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, Taylor, Madison and Alexis were phonemically predicted to be twice as likely to belong to boys than girls.

"I found girls with names that are relatively feminine in high school chose advanced coursework in humanities – and less feminine are more likely to choose math and science courses," Figlio said, adding the research focused on high-achieving girls.

He can't say that one causes the other. Perhaps parents treat one daughter, Morgan, differently from an early age than they do her sister Elizabeth, whose name is much more feminine. “Did the parents choose that when they were choosing the name or did the name end up shaping their behavior toward their daughter?” Figlio said.

Socioeconomic status and expectations

Just as a person's accent or clothing can indicate something about that individual's background or character, so can a first name. And just like any other external indicator, names can lie.

Figlio got names from millions of birth certificates, and then broke down each name into more than a thousand phonemic components. He analyzed the names for letter combinations, complexity and other factors, and then used a statistical analysis to figure out the probability that the name belonged to someone of low socioeconomic status.

"Kids who have names [that] from a linguistic perspective are likely to be given by poorly educated parents, those kids ended up being treated differently," Figlio said. "They do worse in school and are less likely to be recommended for gifted [classes] and more likely to be classified as learning disabled."

He specifically looked at more unusual baby names, since with common names people have their individual experiences that can taint one's perspective of that name. Say you went to school with a jerk named George, you're likely to associate that name with negative qualities, regardless of how the name sounds linguistically.

To account for the idea that "dropout moms" might just give their babies poor-sounding names, Figlio included siblings from the same family with both high- and low-status sounding names. (Not all "poor-sounding" names were donned by kids of low socioeconomic status.)

Meeting low expectations

The link between a name and success later in life could have to do with these kids fulfilling others' expectations of them. Names that sound as though they came from a family of low socioeconomic status, might be tagged as less capable of achieving, for instance.

"People draw subconscious cues all the time about people. You meet a person for the first time and without thinking about it on an explicit level you're looking at the way they're walking, what their accent sounds like, how they're dressed, whether they smell ... and you're developing these immediate reactions," Figlio said.

He added, "I think there's probably an evolutionary reason behind that. We're hardwired to try to figure out in a heartbeat whether or not we want to trust somebody, whether we want to run from somebody.”

Today, Figlio said to imagine a teacher on the first day of class looking over his or her roster and trying to figure out what to expect from a child. Plenty of teachers have told Figlio "I have to fight myself from doing this. I see this name ... I think maybe they aren't going to have active parents."

And so the story continues. Children typically meet expectations, research has shown.

Self-esteem

Whether or not your name sounds upper class might not matter if you don’t like it. Accumulating research has shown a strong link between a person's like or dislike of his or her name and high and low self-esteem, respectively.

"The relationship is so strong that when people want to measure self-esteem in a more subtle way you can do it with the name-letter task," said Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, referring to a method in which subjects report whether they like different letters of the alphabet. Those with high self-esteem will say they like those letters in their names, particularly the first letter, she said.

It makes sense if you think about how much a part of a person a name really is.

"Our names really are wrapped up in our identity, and that might be why you get this somewhat surprising finding at least in some areas," Twenge said during a telephone interview. "People who particularly dislike their name and also if other people think it's an odd and unlikeable name, that can cause some problems. [They] tend not to be as well-adjusted."

Unusual vs. common names

When it's time to pick baby's name, there are two types of parents, those who want an unusual baby name and those who prefer a more common name donned by lots of kids.

Turns out, even if the particular name chosen doesn't make a difference in a child's success later in life, whether or not that name is common or unusual does matter.

The difference between choosing, say, one of five common, relatively likeable names is small in terms of any impact on the child’s life. "If you're choosing between a relatively likeable, common name and one that is really odd, that definitely could have an impact," Twenge said.

"Some of it ends up being a proxy for the parents' philosophy on life in general," Twenge said. "The parent who says 'I want my kid to be unique and stand out' and gives their kid a name that’s uncommon, probably will have a parenting style that emphasizes uniqueness and standing out."

She added, "So it ends up building on itself. The type of parent who would give a really unusual name is often going to parent differently from a parent who says 'I want to give my child a name so they fit in.'"

Twenge's recent research suggests parents are, in fact, choosing more unusual baby names than decades ago.

Baby-naming advice books and blogs often suggest changing up the spelling of a common, or on-the-rise, name, in order to add some flare. Preliminary results from Figlio’s work suggest that may not be wise. Children with a deviant spelling of a common name tended to have slowed spelling and reading capabilities.

"That suggests a lot about internalizing," Figlio said. “You have the child named Jennifer spelled with a "G" – her teacher says 'Are you sure your name is spelled that way?' That can be incredibly hard on a person's confidence.”

All this parents end up realizing, as the Bounty study shows: One-fifth of parents in the British study wished they had chosen a name that was easier to spell; 8 percent were fed up with people being unable to pronounce the child’s name; and one in 10 thought the chosen name was clever at the time, but said the novelty had worn off.

Awesome blog

Check Out: http://nameoftheyear.blogspot.com/-- a blog devoted to strange names. An awesome read!

Meet 'Flicity & Conna', the new baby names from the texting generation

The nice thing about baby names is that even older articles are usually still relevant.

By LUKE SALKED

Last updated at 08:06 31 March 2008

Read more:
ore parents are giving their children names derived from texting language

Given the unstoppable rise of text language, it was only a matter of time before children's names went the way of traditional English.

Sure enough, text-style versions have begun to appear on birth certificates.

Anne has been changed to An, Connor to Conna and Laura to Lora.

Six boys were named Cam'ron instead of Cameron. According to the online parenting club Bounty, one girl born last month was named Flicity. And there are numerous young chaps named Samiul.

Last year, a couple were told they would not be allowed to register their son's name as 4Real.

Officials in New Zealand ruled that the use of a number made it inappropriate, so Pat and Sheena Wheaton had to opt for their second choice - Superman.

In this country, other bizarre choices officially registered have included Ikea for a girl as well as Moet for a boy whose parents might have a soft spot for the champagne label.

The trend is thought to be inspired by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, who named her daughter Apple, and Jamie Oliver, who has daughters Daisy Boo and Poppy Honey.

Bounty spokesman Pauline Kent said: "Some of these new and different names are a way for parents to give their children a unique identity.

"It is similar to the thinking that goes in to naming a new brand of product for example - something to make them stand out from the crowd."

Others in recent registers have followed the example of the Beckhams, who named their eldest son after the place where he was conceived.

But while David and Victoria chose Brooklyn, children in Britain have been named after places such as Finchley in North London and the cathedral city of Ely in Cambridgeshire.

Both are male names. Other examples of unusually-titled boys registered in the past 12 months include Rocky, Rivers and Red.

As well as Ikea, recent girls' names have included Paprica, Caramel, Bambi, Fire-Lily, Skylark and Tame - which apparently stands for The Apple of My Eye.

On the text-style names, John Dunford, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was possible that new mothers and fathers had lost the ability to spell.

He added: "Some of it is genuine misspelling; some is parents looking for a unique way to spell a name and some is just carelessness.

"It makes life very difficult for teachers taking the register and completing forms."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-550688/Meet-Flicity--Conna-new-baby-names-texting-generation.html#ixzz0neTws8O3

Report: Lord Jesus Christ Hit by Mass. Car

Updated: Friday, 07 May 2010, 1:18 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 07 May 2010, 1:18 PM EDT

(NewsCore) - Cops in Northampton, Mass., issued a traffic citation this week to a driver whose car hit Lord Jesus Christ, WWLP reported Friday.

The crash happened Tuesday on Main Street in front of Fitzwilly's, Northampton.

Lt. Michael Patenaude told 22News a 50-year-old man, Lord Jesus Christ of Belchertown, was struck as he crossed Main Street a little after 3:30pm Eastern Time.

Twenty-year-old Brittany Cantarella of Pittsfield was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Lord Jesus Christ was treated for facial injuries at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Lt. Patenaude said the man had a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles identification card. Officers checked his ID and discovered that, indeed, his legal name was Lord Jesus Christ.

I suppose it's better than naming your kid Satan.

The Twilight Effect: Why Do So Many Parents Choose The Same Baby Names?

From Time Magazine:

By Claire Suddath Monday, May. 10, 2010

People are naming their children after vampires. The Social Security Administration has released its list of 2009's most popular baby names, and the leading choices were Isabella and Jacob. Both names just happen to belong to main characters in the Twilight book series. True, Isabella has been trending steadily upwards since the 1990s and Jacob has been in the top spot for 10 years in a row (thus predating 2005's Twilight). But one of the rising names is almost certainly the result of Stephanie Meyers' blood-sucking romance: Cullen. The last name of Meyer's sexy main vampire jumped 297 spots in one year and is now the 485th most popular first name for a baby boy. (Read TIME's Q&A with Kristen Stewart.)

Cullen is also part of a larger trend: two-syllable male names that end in the sound "-en." Aiden is another example (12th most popular name). So is Jayden (#8), Logan (#17), Nathan (#24), Kevin (#44), Justin (#46) and a name I've never heard of before — Brayden. At #47, it means I'll probably start meeting a number of Braydens in about 20 years. Likewise, nearly half of the 50 most popular girl names end in "-a," just like Isabella. Why does this happen? Why do parents so often choose the same names for their newborns?

The short answer is because people copy each other, and no one likes to be that unique. Just as fashion and music trends wax and wane, so do baby names. Girls born in the 1980s were given perky, peppy monikers that ended in "-y" or "-ie" — Tiffany, Ashley, Katie, Brittany. These days it's all about the soft, feminine ending: Isabella, Emma, Kayla and Ella. Sociologists and journalists often propose their own theories about child names, though they usually end up being nothing more than unfounded speculation. CBS News once asserted that Emma became popular in 2002 because Jennifer Aniston's character named her child that on Friends. But Emma had been on the rise since the 1980s and it broke into the top 20 a full three years before Rachel and Ross had their fictional night of passion. Friends probably had very little to do with it.

Dig a little deeper, and baby name trends become much more complicated. According to Harvard University's Roland Fryer and the University of Chicago's Steven Levitt, blacks and whites chose similar names for their babies until the 1970s, when hospitals began seeing a rise in so-called "black" names such as Ebony, Shanice or Darnell. The racial name divide is now so strong that Fryer and Levitt claim that 40% of all African-American babies born in California are given a name that doesn't appear on even a single white birth certificate. (They limited their study to California for simplicity's sake). (Comment on this story.)

Geography can also play a part. In 2009, Hebrew University researchers Jacob Goldenberg and Moshe Levy looked at names' varying popularity among different U.S. states, and found that people are likely to give their kids names that are popular in their town, city, or state. Judging from the Social Security's name database, they seem to be right. Isabella broke the top 5 most popular list first in Colorado and Rhode Island. From Colorado, it spread to California, Nevada and Arizona. From Rhode Island it hit Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Now it's all over the country.
But why did it start in Colorado and Rhode Island? And what happened in 1991 to suddenly shoot the name up 210 spots, from 698 to a still fairly uncommon 488, in just one year? Unfortunately, no one really knows. Ultimately, baby names remain subject to the whims of the people who bestow them. Parents are responsible for all the Isabellas, Emmas and Madisons in the world, not to mention the creative misspellings (Keighty instead of Katie, Danyale instead of Danielle) certain to drive their children mad for the rest of their lives.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1988092,00.html#ixzz0nY3BIg2W

top names of 2009!

The Social Security Administration finally published their top 1000 names of 2009! I've re-organized them based on spelling in order to get a better idea of what names are popular.

Some highlights:

Politics seems to have influenced names last year:
Two of the biggest moving names are Malia and Sasha (President Obama's daughters' names) as well as Willow and Piper (presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughters' names). Bristol, the name of Palin's oldest daughter, appeared in the top 1000 for the first time ever last year as well. Hillary, which has been slowly increasing in popularity since the end of the Clinton administration, fell out of the top 1000 last year.

The Twilight books/movies seem to have had a big influence as well, with Isabella being the new #1 name for girls. Bella is one of the biggest upward moving names for girls as well. For boys, Cullen appeared in the top 1000 for the first time. However, Edward, which peaked in popularity in 1909 and has been on a steady decline ever since, is still not showing a comeback.

Celebrities' babies also seemed to have an influence on naming last year: Vivienne, the name of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter entered the top 1000 for the first time since 1930 and Knox (Vivienne's twin brother) showed up for the first time ever. Maddox, Jolie & Pitt's oldest son's name added another spelling to the top 1000 (Maddux) and is also on the rise. Harlow, another name showing up in the top 1000 for the first time has most recently come to prominence as the name of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's daughter, although actress Patricia Arquette also has a daughter named Harlow. Kalel, the real name of Superman as well as the name of both Nicolas Cage's and actor Terry J. Vaughn's sons also debuted in the top 1000 last year.

For boys, the -aiden names still reign supreme. Aiden is still #1, with Jayden at #2. Relative newcomers Zayden and Raiden are two of the year's biggest movers, while Caden is #7, Brayden #25 and Hayden at #94.

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Awesome baby name

see more pwn and owned pictures

Traditional names are 'dying out'

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/7556228.stm

Published: 2008/08/13 09:39:49 GMT

Some traditional names such as Edna and Norman are in danger of dying out in England and Wales, research suggests.

Gurgle.com studied the most popular names of 1907 with those that have made the grade over the past five years.

In 1907, 1,048 babies were named Gertrude but none were in 2005. Baby Normans declined from 1,991 to two.

Many babies are named after celebrities or given made-up names now, rather than being given relatives' ones, as often happened in the past, Gurgle.com said.

The two Normans named in 2005 were in Shropshire and Tyne and Wear.

GIRLS' NAMES OUT OF FAVOUR

Gertrude
Edna
Ethel
Irene
Ada
Norah
Olive
Richard, which was the most popular name 200 years ago, has also declined.

A total of 4,671 babies were named Richard in 1807, but the number fell to 2,289 in 1907 and 538 in 2005.

However, the researchers for the social networking site did find that names such as Thomas, Jack and William have remained in vogue for 200 years.

The survey also suggests a royal connection has kept names such as Elizabeth, Philip and Charles consistently popular over the past 100 years.

It also found that some names which have lost popularity have been replaced by something similar, with Olivia replacing Olive as a popular name.

BOYS' NAMES OUT OF FAVOUR

Norman
Walter
Percy
Harold
Ernest
Herbert
Clifford
Similarly, Lily has become a modern-day Lilian and Alfred has become Alfie.

Sarah Stone, editor of Gurgle.com, said: "Not so long ago it seems we all knew a Great Uncle Harold or Aunty Irene, but sadly it seems these names could soon be lost forever.

"It is clear that modern parents are increasingly being influenced by fashions and celebrity. However we also need to remember that there are now more choices available."

The Office for National Statistics says the most popular baby names last year were Jack, Thomas and Oliver for boys and Grace, Ruby and Olivia for girls.


© BBC MMIX

'Most unfortunate names' revealed

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7909561.stm
Page last updated at 18:04 GMT, Wednesday, 25 February 2009

Imagine growing up as Annette Curtain or Tim Burr
What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain?

Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still.

It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK.

Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin.

And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt.

The names were uncovered by researchers from parenting group TheBabyWebsite.com after trawling through online telephone records.

Retired airman Stan Still, 76, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, said his name had been "a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life".

"When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout, 'Stan Still, get a move on' and roll about laughing," he said.

"It got hugely boring after a while."

But 51-year-old Rose Bush, from Coventry, West Midlands, said she loved her name. MORE UNFORTUNATE NAMES
Pearl Button
Jo King
Barry Cade
Carrie Oakey
Priti Manek
Tim Burr

"I always get comments about it but they are always very positive," she said.

Implications

Researchers also scoured phone records in the US and found some unlikely names there too.

Spare a thought for Anna Prentice, Annette Curtain and Bill Board the next time you sign your name.

A string of Americans also have very job-specific names, including Dr Leslie Doctor, Dr Thoulton Surgeon and Les Plack - a dentist in San Francisco.

A spokesman for TheBabyWebsite.com said: "When the parents of some of those people mentioned named their children, many probably didn't even realise the implications at the time.

"Parents really do need to think carefully though when choosing names for their children.

"Their name will be with them for life and what may be quirky and fun for a toddler might be regretted terribly when that person becomes older or even a grandparent perhaps."


Below are a selection of your comments.

I was named Simon Swindells at birth. It caused no end of ridicule throughout my childhood and teens and I changed my first name by deed poll shortly after turning 18 and changed the surname a few years later.

I found it difficult to be taken seriously when meeting people (socially and professionally when applying for jobs etc) as they laughed out loud when hearing the name.
Chrys Hudson Lee, Brighton

My name is the same as the actor who played the third Doctor Who. Growing up wasn't so bad, I used to get called all sorts, but because Doctor Who was seen as "cool" the nicknames were always positive.

But when he moved on and became Worzel Gummidge, the school taunts became crueller. I was constantly asked if I had an Aunt Sally, asked by teachers if I had the stupid head on today etc.

In my 20s, people still recognised the name, and when the actor passed away, I got several phone calls to see if I was still alive.
Jon Pertwee, Sion, Switzerland

This is a common name in Belgium and France but when I was living in UK it was quite weird, because people were always talking about Richard the Third and I had no clue of what they were talking about. I just realised some time later on.

Furthermore in France, one of my colleagues has double nationality (British and French) and his name is Olivier Moron (French origins). Once again in French, no problem at all... but in English
Richard Six, Paris, France (but I'm Belgian)

Mine tops the lot. Think about it.
Jenny Taylor, Kendal

Well, years of ruthless teasing have given way to slightly kinder comments along the lines of "what a great name". I just wish I had a decent answer to the question: "What were your parents thinking?"
Daisy Picking, London

My father, whose name was Albert Hall, had a lot to answer for when he named my brother Jim. Jim took a pounding whenever PE came round at school.

You'd have thought the "Royal" Albert would have been a bit more circumspect in his choice of name for his offspring!
David Hall, Cardross, Scotland

My cousins called their daughter Esther Munday, it has always made me chuckle.
Terry Withington, Hinckley, England

This article has put a big smile on many of my colleagues, friends and client's faces today. You would not believe how many times I have been e-mailed with links to your website.

I personally love my name as it makes people laugh and at least no-one will forget it! I'd never consider it unfortunate, it's just funny.
Jo King, London

My name was Susan Frame. I am a lawyer. I met and married Robert who is a banker. His surname is Mee. Now we are Sue Mee, a lawyer, and Rob Mee, a banker - ironic? I have taken no end of stick for this, believe me.
Susan Mee, Doncaster

My name being Andrew Burke, a lot of letters I get are to A Burke.
Andrew Burke, Aldershot, UK

When I lived near Aberystwyth, 20 years ago, I had a lovely neighbour called Ivy Plant. If she's still alive, or anyone knows of her whereabouts, I'd appreciate an address or any news of her.
John McCullough, Ballymena, Antrim

Unfortunately your name doesn't have to have a double meaning to be found continually amusing to others. However, I have found the benefit in adult life is that it is always noticed and remembered and is therefore a great networking "tool".
Bill Badger, Romford, Essex

A chap who preceded me as student's union president at Imperial in London changed his name to Sidney Harbour-Bridge for a year for charity. After the year he decided to keep it as he found it an asset in business... I'd love to hear if he has the moniker after nearly 20 years!
Chris Davidson, Market Bosworth

Hi, my mum was Hazel Nutt. Her maiden name was Morrison and she married my father, Peter Nutt. I watched her write out a cheque once with the checkout girl grinning, but my mum was definitely hiding a grin too. I think she loved it.
Donald Nutt, Dundee

My name is ok, but I have a 14-year-old niece called Lotte Flack. Luckily for her she lives in Germany so she is blissfully unaware of the implications. So far.
Eliot Flack-Hill, Hove, East Sussex

Doesn't sound bad but when people start chanting merrily, merrily, merrily it becomes tedious. Should have kept my maiden name.
Mary Lee, Pinner, Middlesex

I've always said that if my partner (a Button) and I had a baby girl we'd call her Pearl. With the fringe benefit that I'd get to call myself mother-of-Pearl Button.
Katie, St Albans, Hertfordshire

At the turn of the last century it was common to give girls the names of flowers, hence my Nan and her sisters who were called Ivy, Daisy and Rose. It's a shame their maiden name was Roots. My father, on the other hand, has a sister called June, which goes so well with our family name, don't you think?
Kevin May, Kent

I went to school with a Penny Bunn and my cousin always said she would call her daughter her favourite girl's name, Dawn, until she married a Mr Hobbs.
Delia Wyers, Burton-on-Trent

Your... name

Here's a list of all the "find your ___ name" things that I've found... WARNING: some of them are kind of offensive (Terrorist name? Come on!) I've filled in the blanks with my own answers, though most of them don't work too well!

1. ACTION HERO NAME: (first name of a main character in the last movie you watched, last food you ate)
   Lou Toast
   
   
2. BARFLY NAME:(last snack food you ate + your favorite drink)
   Cookie Cranberry
   
   
3. BLUES NAME: (disability + city you were born in + last name of the person on the currency in your pocket)
   Retarded Syracuse Washington
   
   
4. CARTOON NAME (your favorite fruit + add "ie" or "y", and an article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
   Pomegranatey Pajamas
   
   
   
   1. CARTOON VARIATION (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y")
      Pomegranate Pajamasie
      
   
   
5. CRIMINAL NAME: (name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy bar)-- this is the same as the Stripper Name-- do criminals and strippers have similar names?
   Jasmine Mars
   
   
6. DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
   Orange Wombat
   
   
   
   1. DETECTIVE VARIATION: (favorite animal, favorite color)
      Wombat Orange
      
      
   2. DETECTIVE VARIATION 2: (favorite animal, name of high school)
      Wombat Cortland
      
   3. DETECTIVE VARIATION 3: (favorite color, favorite insect)
      Orange Firefly
      
   
   
7. DRAG QUEEN NAME: (first pet + mother's maiden name)
   Emmett Schoenfeld
   
   
8. EASTERN NAME (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, last letter of your moms middle name)
   Oricaaa
   
   
9. EMO BAND NAME: (first word in the top banner ad above, city of the away team of the last major sporting event you went to/remember)
   This Sky
   
   
10. EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS: (favorite spice + last vacation spot visited)
    Cilantro Penobscot
    
    
11. FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (first word you see on your left + favorite restaurant)
    One Tu y To
    
    
12. GAMER TAG: (a favorite color, a favorite animal)
    Orange Rat
    
    
13. GHETTO NAME: (first 2 or 3 letters of your first name, -Shawn/Quan/Quita/Niqua, last name of whatever President or Prime Minister is on the currency you have in your pocket)
    Noquita Jefferson
    
    
14. GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)
    Norizzle
    
    
    
    1. GANGSTA NAME VARIATION: (first 4 letters of real name plus izzle)
       Noraizzle
       
       
    2. GANGSTA VARIATION 2:( fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
       Big Dig Oatmeal Raisin
       
       
    3. GANGSTA VARIATION 3: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
       Big Dig Slippers
       
       
    4. GANGASTA VARIATION 4: (favorite beer + favorite car)
       Negra Modelo Fiat
       
    
    
15. GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
    Black Morrissey
    
    
16. HIPPIE NAME: (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
    Toast Willow
    
    
17. ICON ALIAS: (something sweet within sight + any liquid in the kitchen)
    Raisin Vodka
    
    
18. IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name)
    Orbclaa
    
    
19. MOB NAME (Dad's name, favorite Italian restaurant)
    Bill Regina
    
    
    
    1. MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your Mum's side, your favorite candy)
       Evelyn Reese
       
       
    2. MOVIE STAR VAR 1: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, favorite candy)
       Frances Reese
       
       
    3. MOVIE STAR VAR 2: (favorite snack food + grandfather's first name)
       Doritos Sidney
       
       
    4. MOVIE STAR VAR 3: (first pet’s name + Favorite teacher’s name)
       Emmett Levine
       
    
    
20. NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
    Sidney Bill
    
    
21. NATIVE AMERICAN NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
    Orange Wombat
    
    
    
    1. NATIVE AMERICAN VARIATION: (last action you did + favorite animal)
       Typing Wombat
       
    
    
22. NEWSCASTER NAME (your middle name, moms maiden name)
    Hinman Schoenwald
    
    
23. OPPOSITE SEX NAME: (name of [opposite sex] friend + phone company you use):
    Justin Sprint
    
    
    
    1. OPPOSITE SEX VAR: (name of dad/mom, cell phone company you use)
       Bill Sprint
       
    
    
    
24. PORN NAME: (1st pet, a street you grew up on)
    Pequeño Seneca
    
    
    
    1. PORN VARIATION: (first pet and current street name)
       Pequeño Verdun
       
       
    2. PORN VARIATION 2: (middle name, father's middle initial, street you grew up on)
       Hinman T. Randall
       
       
    3. PORN VARIATION 3: (current pet's name, street you grew up on)
       Morrissey Seneca
       
    
    
25. RAP or FLY GIRL/GUY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
    No-ch
    
    
    
    1. RAP or FLY GIRL/GUY VAR: (1st Initial of 1st name, 1st 2 or 3 letters of middle name)
       N-hin
       
    
    
26. ROCK STAR NAME:(current pets name, current street name)
    Jarvis Verdun
    
    
    
    1. ROCK STAR VARIATION (your first pet & current car)
       Pequeño Civic
       
       
    2. ROCK STAR VARIATION 2:(friend's middle name, street you grew up on)
       Kerr Randall
       
       
    3. ROCK STAR VARIATION 3: (first pet and color of your walls)
       Emmett Off-White
       
       
    4. ROCK STAR VARIATION 4: (favorite candy/dessert + favorite musician's last name)
       Rhubarb Pie Adamson
       
    
    
27. ROCKSTAR TOUR:("The” + Your fave hobby/craft, your fave weather element + the word “Tour”)
    The Onomastics Rain Tour
    
    
28. SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, county where you were born)
    Hinman Onondaga
    
    
    
    1. SOAP OPERA VARIATION:(middle name, city where you were born)
       Hinman Syracuse
       
       
    2. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 2:(middle name, and childhood street)
       Hinman Seneca
       
       
    3. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 3: (middle name & city where you live)
       Hinman Cambridge
       
       
    4. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 4: (middle name + the street you live on)
       Hinman Verdun
       
       
    5. SOAP OPERA VARIATION 5: (favorite grandmother’s/grandfather’s name, city where you were born)
       Evelyn Syracuse
       
    
    
29. SOCIALITE NAME; (silliest childhood nickname + first town where you partied):
    Greeny New Rochelle
    
    
30. SPORTS NICKNAME (Favorite car maker, second favorite animal, and "The")
    The Fiat Hedgehog
    
    
31. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday to your favorite flower)
    Autumn Violet
    
    
    
    1. SPY VARIATION: (middle name and current street name)
       Hinman Verdun
       
    
    
32. STAR WARS NAME:(the 1st 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
    Burno
    
    
    
    1. STAR WARS VARIATION:(the 1st 2 letters of last name, 1st 4 letters of 1st name)
       Bunora
       
       
    2. STAR WARS VARIATION 2: (the 1st 3 letters of last name, 1st 2 letters of 1st name, 1st 3 letters of mom's maiden name)
       Burnosch
       
       
    3. STAR WARS VARIATION 3: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in)
       Burno Scsyr
       
       
    4. STAR WARS VAR 4: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
       Bur Ald Mor
       
       
    5. STAR WARS VAR 5: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom's maiden name, and first 3 letters of siblings name)
       Burnoschal
       
       
    6. STAR WARS VAR 6:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of middlename and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.)
       Burno Hisyr
       
       
    7. JEDI NAME: (last name spelled backwards, your mom's first name spelled backward)
       Hcrub Arual
       
       
    8. JEDI NAME VARIATION 1: (First syllable of mothers maiden name + first syllable of city born in = Jedi last)
       Schoen Syr
       
       
    9. JEDI VARIATION 2:(middle name spelled backwards, mom's maiden name backwards)
       Namnih Dlefneohcs
       
    
    
33. STRIPPER NAME: (name of your fav perfume, fav candy)
    Jasmine Candy Corn
    
    
34. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
    The Green Cranberry Juice
    
    
    
    1. SUPERHERO VARIATION: (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add “THE” to the beginning)
       The Green Cuba Libre
       
       
    2. SUPERHERO VARIATION 2: ("The", your favorite color, the automobile you drive)
       The Orange Civic
       
       
    3. SUPERHERO VARIATION 3: ("The", your favorite color, favorite fruit)
       The Orange Pomegranate
       
       
    4. SUPERHERO VARIATION 4: ("The", your favorite color, the car your mom drives)
       The Orange Volvo or the Orange Beetle (stepmom is better)
       
       
    5. SUPERHERO VARIATION 5: ("The", your favorite color, the car your dad drives)
       the Orange Golf or The Orange Seville (stepdad is better!)
       
    
    
35. SUPER HERO TEAM NAME (The mood you are in, number of pets you own, and add the)
    The Sleepy 3
    
    
36. TERRORIST NAME (first name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards)
    Hanor Dlawneohcs
    
    
37. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (your 5th grade teacher’s last name and add a major city that starts with the same letter)
    Carrier Cleveland
    
    
38. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)
    Julie Tracy
    
    
    
    1. WITNESS VARIATION: (grandfather and grandmothers first name
       Francis Sidney
       
    
    

Baby Name Fail!

see more pwn and owned pictures

I'm not sure which site this screen shot was from, but I hope it doesn't inspire anyone to name a kid ESPN... at least not a girl. The other baby ESPN's out there seem to all be boys!

From MSNBC:

Parents name baby after ESPN, Joe Montana
But D'Iberville baby isn't alone — 3 were named after network last year

updated 12:05 p.m. ET, Mon., Oct. 9, 2006

BILOXI, Miss. - Leann Real promised her husband, an avid sports fan, that if they ever had a son he'd get to pick the name. ESPN Montana Real was born this week at Biloxi Regional Medical Center.

Rusty Real, of D'Iberville, chose ESPN (pronounced Espen) after the sports network and Montana after football legend Joe Montana.

Baby ESPN isn't alone.

Three others were cited in a 2005 report on tivocommunity.com about the network's 25th anniversary. They are Espn Malachi McCall in Pampa, Texas; Espn Curiel in Corpus Christi, Texas; and Espn Blondeel in Michigan.

"We were the talk of the hospital," Rusty Real said. "The nurses kept asking my wife if she was really going to let her husband name him ESPN. She said, 'Oh, yes.'"

Ima Hogg Revealed

Whenever anyone is compiling a list of funny names, Ima Hogg usually figures prominently. Here's an article about her from the Irish Times:

Friday, December 19, 2008
An Irishman's Diary

BEAR with me while I return yet again to the subject of funny names. But the fact is that no discussion of this phenomenon would be complete without mentioning the daughter of a famous Texan lawyer and politician, James "Big Jim" Hogg, writes Frank McNally

There could be no doubting Big Jim's delight at the birth of his only female child in 1882. In a letter he wrote: "Our cup of joy is now overflowing! We have a daughter of as fine proportions and of as angelic mien as ever gracious nature [allows]..." Then, for reasons best known to himself, he christened the baby "Ima".

Cynics have suggested that Big Jim, who was running for district attorney at the time (and would later become state governor), may have calculated that subjecting the child to a lifetime of embarrassment was a price worth paying for headlines.

Indeed, years later, it became a running joke (in more ways than one) that whenever Ima and a female friend accompanied him on campaign appearances, he would claim both as daughters, and introduce the second as "Ura". This never happened, according to Ima, who remained admirably loyal to her father throughout her life.

The truth, it seems, is that, amid the distraction of their cup of joy overflowing, it had not occurred to Big Jim or his wife Sarah that there was anything untoward in the name. It was probably chosen in tribute to the child's uncle, who had written an epic poem featuring heroines called "Ima" and "Leila". By the time it occurred to anyone that, from such a short-list, Leila was the better choice, the infant's fate was sealed.

As an adult, she recalled: "My grandfather. . .lived 15 miles from Mineola and news travelled slowly. When he learned of his granddaughter's name he came trotting to town as fast as he could to protest but it was too late. The christening had taken place, and Ima I was to remain."

You would think that going through life as Ima Hogg would be a disadvantage, and to some extent it was. She usually signed herself elliptically as "Miss Hogg", and eventually invented a new middle name, "Imogene". But apart from the endless jokes, her misfortune does not seem to have held her back.

If you must be so saddled, it helps to be well off, and Ima certainly was. She was reared a lady, playing piano from the age of three and going on to study music in New York, Berlin, and Vienna, before returning to found the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Not poor to begin with, the Hoggs then discovered oil on the family farm - a windfall that, by the 1920s, set Ima on a career in philanthropy.

We mentioned in a previous column the sad case of a woman called Ima Mae Queen, named on the register of a US army psychiatric hospital. Well, Ima Hogg had mental problems too. After being treated successfully, she founded a centre for disturbed children, established the Hogg Foundation for Mental Hygiene, and became an activist for many causes, especially education.

By the early 1960s, she was being called the "First Lady of Texas", a title not begrudged her by the woman who officially qualified for it: the wife of governor John Connally.

In 1969, Ima became one of the first female members of the Academy of Texas, along with Lady Bird Johnson (the ex-president's wife) and a woman called Oveta Culp Hobby - a fact that illustrates why having a funny name is not a major handicap in the US south. After a lifetime spent in the service of others, Ima Hogg died in 1975, at the grand old age of 93.

I THANK again the many readers who continue to send their own examples of apt, inapt, or just amusing names. My sympathy goes out to more than one real-life Irish woman called Annette Curtin. But no matter how many times you've been told to pull yourself together, I suspect that's still better than having to call yourself a hog.

Animal names are a recurring theme, even outside Texas. I'm informed that there is at least one Paschal Lambe in Ireland, who must have a hard time every Easter. And Steven Butler, the curator of horticulture at Dublin Zoo, tells me that the people interviewed for his equivalent job in Chester Zoo included a "Pett", a "Bird", a "Wren", a "Mole", and a "Sparrow". The sparrow won.

Thanks to several readers for pointing out the happy fact that Birdwatch Ireland has a staff member called Niall Hatch; and that, better still, he's the development officer.

But back to the pork sector, as it were, and to that apocryphal joke about Big Jim Hogg pretending to have a second daughter called "Ura". You might think such a name could never happen in real life. And you would be wrong.

Old US census records include numerous references to a similar but even less poetic surname, "Pigg". But as if that were not enough to pass on, several proud parents felt the need to add unusual forenames. The birth of one "Della O.U. Pigg" is recorded in Tennessee circa 1873. In 1900, we also find a "Ure O. Pigg" in Oklahoma. And the train of thought reached its logical conclusion in 1928, also in Oklahoma, with the christening of one "Ure Alton Pigg" or "Ure A. Pigg" for short.

We know nothing more about this unfortunate person. It must be presumed that his or her family did not strike oil.

Peruvian Jesus born to Virgin Mary on Christmas

Mon Dec 29, 2008 10:02am EST
LIMA (Reuters) - Virgin Mary, a 20-year-old Peruvian woman, gave birth to a baby boy on Christmas day and named him Jesus, Peru's state news agency said on Friday.

The baby's father, Adolfo Jorge Huamani, 24, is a carpenter. Religious Peruvians compared him to Joseph the Carpenter in the Bible.

"Two thousand years later the story of Bethlehem is relived," read the headline about the birth in El Comercio, the main newspaper in Peru, a predominantly Catholic country.

The mother, Virgen Maria Huarcaya, delivered the 7.7 pound (3.5 kg) boy, Jesus Emanuel, in the early hours of Christmas at the central maternity hospital in Lima, the capital.

"A few days ago we had decided to name my son after a professional soccer player," the father said. "But thanks to a happy coincidence this is how things ended up."

(Reporting by Terry Wade; Editing by Vicki Allen)

More Baby Obamas

Parents worldwide inspired to name kids for Obama

By ALISON MUTLER and WILLIAM J. KOLE

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — By his own admission, Barack Obama was "a skinny kid with a funny name," but that isn't stopping proud parents from Romania to Indonesia from naming their newborns after the U.S. president-elect.

Romania's downtrodden Gypsies — once enslaved, like African-Americans, yet still struggling to overcome deep-seated prejudice — seem particularly inspired.

"When I saw Obama on TV, my heart swelled with joy. I thought he was one of us Gypsies because of his skin color," said Maria Savu, whose infant grandson — Obama Sorin Ilie Scoica — was born in the central Romania village of Rusciori.

Little Obama is the third child of a poor family that barely gets by on 200 lei ($66) a month in welfare benefits.

He came into the world on Nov. 4, the day Americans voted in their new multiracial president-elect, and Savu, 43, told the Evenimentul Zilei newspaper she hopes his name will bring him luck.

Obama's victory also moved Sugiarto, a 36-year-old security guard in Jakarta, Indonesia, and his wife, Sularsih, to name their new son after him.

Indonesia, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation made up of more than 18,000 islands, is unabashedly Obama-crazy — in part because Obama spent four years there as a child.

"He's great, isn't it?" said Sularsih, 34, rubbing the cheek of their sleeping 1-month-old, Husein Obama. "I think it's a beautiful name for him. And who knows? Maybe one day he'll be president of Indonesia."

Underscoring Obama's popularity across the sprawling archipelago: Many political parties have made up new banners that feature photos of the U.S. leader, and some have even co-opted his "Yes we can" and "change" themes.

Americans also have been naming children for Obama. Patrick and Sasha Hall Fisher of Hollywood, Florida, are credited as being the first: Sanjae Obama Fisher was born a few hours before news outlets declared Obama to be the new president-elect.

In the Dutch city of Leiden, officials proudly announced last week that Obama's roots can be traced to the Pilgrims who eventually settled America after fleeing England in 1609. The Pilgrims spent 11 years in Leiden on their way to the new world.

Obama is a descendant of Thomas Blossom, local alderman Jan-Jaap Haan said, citing research by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.

"Leiden is proud that our historic city is linked via this family tree to the already special background of the new president of America," Haan said.

But Obama's victory has had a special resonance in corners of the world where the poor and underprivileged see him as an example of the change they crave in their own societies.

Atta Mills, an opposition candidate campaigning on a platform of change in this month's presidential elections in Ghana, put up posters of himself standing next to a life-size photo cutout of Obama to help make his point to voters.

And in Brazil, at least eight black candidates took advantage of a quirk in electoral laws and opted to have their names appear as "Barack Obama" in October elections.

In Romania, Banel Nicolita, a member of Romania's national soccer team, is a Gypsy who comes from a family of eight who once lived in a house made of mud. His accomplishments, against all odds, have earned him the nickname "the Obama of Romanian football."

Romania officially is home to 500,000 Gypsies, or Roma, although it's widely believed that there are really at least twice as many. Many people of Roma extraction don't declare their ethnicity due to widespread prejudice, and many live in poverty.

The European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency says Gypsies also suffer routine discrimination in education, employment, health services and housing — just a few of the reasons so many identify with the struggles of American blacks.

"Obama's victory is a motivation for us," said Gruia Bumbu, chairman of the National Agency for the Roma.

Like African-Americans, Gypsies were slaves until roughly the same time in the 19th century. But the Roma never launched a broad civil rights movement, and today, Bumbu said, "we are 20 to 30 years behind."

"When you see that an African-American becomes president, it shows you that the dreams can turn into reality," he said. "It's like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel — the fight for equal opportunities can have a happy ending."

Kole reported from Vienna, Austria. AP writers Irwan Firdaus in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this story.