The Truth About So Called Ghetto/Hippie Names!

All names are essentially "Ghetto" or "Hippie"! It is just in another language! So don't hate on those who want to name their children Lana Clover, or River Sage etc.

Here are some examples


Jennifer: White Wave, White Spirit (Welsh)

Linda: Beautiful (Latin)

Brandon: fiery hill, sword (Gaelic)

Fred: Peaceful Ruler (old German)

Nicole: Victorious People (Greek)

Michael: Who is like God (hebrew)

Sonia: Wisdom (russian or Greek)


These are just some names. My point was to show that their nothing wrong with using our present day language as a name. They did it back in the day, and most people do not realize that their name is pretty ghetto/hippie.

 

Good point; thanks for posting that!

 

I think that totally misses the point.


My first name is popular for Hindu men in other parts of the world, such as India. I am a woman in the United States. I am not a Hindu. When people hear that my name is Govinda, if they recognize the name, they assume that a) I am in a cult and have given myself this name or received it from a guru, or b) I have given myself this name and don't understand that it's a man's name and I'm just some ignorant American hippy.

I have been accused by banks and police of making a fake ID because my name is unusual. (Give me some credit. If I was trying to be sneaky would my fake ID say Govinda Starchild?)

Some teachers have refused to use my name because they claim that they can't. They say it's too long. I always point out that it has three syllables, just like Jenifer, but they act like it's too weird and just point to me or ignore me.

I just think that people should consider the consequences. My feelings about some things have changed. Before I became a parent I thought it was okay to hitch-hike. Now I would die of anxiety if my kids did that. At one point in their life a person might think it's cool to give their kid a weird name or a common-sounding name with a really strange spelling. You might regret it, though. It's not a haircut the kid can grow out.

I am not saying that everyone should be named John and Jessica. I like interesting names. What I personally object to, from experience, are names like mine that make people assume that your parents are on drugs or in a cult.

When I was a kid, having epileptic seizures, the doctor tapped my spine, which is really dangerous. He accused my parents of giving me LSD. They denied it, but he said something to the effect that any hippies who would call their kid Govinda Starchild would probably drug her, too. I kid you not.

 

Geez...what a horrible thing for a doc to say. *HUG* I think you're name sounds neato.

 

i like the Starchild part.. I read a book last year called Stargirl.. about a girl who changed her name all the time.. she'd change it to go with her personality. When she was starchild she would bring a vase with a flower in it to every class to put on her desk.

 

Wow, that doctor sure had some nerve! That is such an ignorant comment. Just because your parents didn't want you to have a name that you hear everyday, by no means entitles someone to make such a predjudist remark such as that. What a piece of work.

We have been "teased" because of the uniqueness of our childrens' names, gotten some wrinkled noses and obviously unenthusiatic "oh, that's unusual"s but I hold my head up high because we decided, because our children are unique, we wanted their names to be too.

Your name is beautiful, BTW. I used to be disappointed as a child because I wanted something more creative than my name. (Heather)

{{{HUGS}}}

 

That same fucking idiot doctor mentioned in front of me that seizures sometimes kill people in their sleep. I was about 4 or five years old. I would wake up in the night and ask my mom if I had died. What a stupid doctor.


I have never heard of that Stargirl book. My middle name is from a Jefferson Airplane song on the album Blows Against the Empire.

Funny thing is, once I got lost at a concert in Golden Gate Park, when I was about 2 years old, and my parents found me hanging out with Jefferson Airplane. I had followed Grace Slick's daughter, China, because I liked her nail polish. So my parents actually might have told them that I was named after one of their songs.

Sometimes I see the humor in it. I don't know how many times I have started at a new school and the teacher has said, "I can't say your first name. What's your middle name?" Then I always tell them, "You may NOT call me Starchild in class!" Did they really think I would be Govinda Jane?

 

I can see where having a really unusual name would sometimes be a burden. I went to school with a girl we called DeeDee, but her first name is Dlonra. If she puts that on a resume or application, she often doesn't get called back and she realized that those who DID call her in for interviews were often surprised - she didn't know why until one interviewer confessed that he had assumed she was black because of her first name being so unusual. DeeDee has 4 sisters... Robin, Stacey, Erin and Sheen... where they came up with Sheen and Dlonra I have no idea. I also went to school with a Devra. People are odd for sure...

As for that doctor --- All I can say is that he and my ex-husband now share a nickname --- T.A. "The Ass"... Aren't people just lovely sometimes? Sheesh.

Personally, If I ever have children, I want to give them names that are different enough that they won't be surrounded by kids in school with the same name (how many Heather Dawn's, Shelly Dawn's and Michelle Dawn's did I go to school with???) but not so different that people say "You name is WHAT?"... On that note however, I do like Govinda's name.

Happy naming everyone!
Gina

 

Govinda, I respect your struggles! However, it is the people like you, from our generation, that have paved the way, so to speak, for kids like my Ryvre and Willow.

Like I've said in a similar thread, i find it highly unlikely that employers be predjudiced against my kids by the time they enter the workforce--we live in a very small town, and among their peers is Star, Rio, Amarah, Kaliq, and Aja, just to name a few.

 

Totally agree
(your children's names are beautiful, they're my faves too)

Same here, it's a good happy meduim.
But then some of my favourites are a little werider (like Gaea) just have to weigh up whether I love the name enough to go though any potential problems.

I also plan on giving my child a normal middle name to fall back on (e.g River Thomas) so they can go eithier way.