Conrad gives me a Bye-Bye, Birdie earworm.

connie, actual pirate? Coolness. You know, Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming up. Arr.

I think what sounds odd to my ears might not to others'. Just my perception, of course, but when I was growing up, in the rural deep South, the only names I ever heard were Biblical or "traditional" Scots-Irish and Teutonic names. (Unless, like my grandmother's name, somebody just made it up.) The oddest ones were the obscure Biblical ones, especially if the parent got creative with the spelling. I remember the woman named Vashti pronounced it "vash-TYE" and I always thought it was "VASH-tee". Anyone know the correct pronounciation?

So, ita, going from what you just said, is ita your actual name? As opposed to an internet name?

Dammit, now I'm going to have to dig up the family tree, which is in my keeping and so I should probably keep track of where it is. I just know there's some men with odd names that I'm forgetting.

Much less of a kick-me factor.

Dude, if you think the kids care about British vs. Irish, you're delusional.

is ita your actual name?

Ayup. I managed a normal middle name, but my sister has a fragmented first name too (though Yoruba, not Spanish) and a Ghanaian variant of a day name as her middle name.

My parents like crack.

Two words for you, Hec:

Jug. Band.

When I hear the name "Conrad," the first thing that pops to mind is an image of a guy with a battery on his shoulder.

Yep. Robert Conrad. That was my thought, too.

Emmett is an Irish name not a British name. Much less of a kick-me factor. And while he hasn't had any classmates named Emmett, it is a name which is heard around the Bay Area.

I don't know that kids take the time to figure out the etymology of the names, before they start the teasing and beating. I will soften my stance slightly though to add that with your last name, Alistair is actually begging for more of a beating. I might go with Bob, Mike, John, or the like (although I do like Gabriel, with your last name).

Conrad gives me a Bye-Bye, Birdie earworm.

"One last kiss. Oh baby one last kiss...."

You also never know what's going to set people off by the time the child's ready to start school. Katrina was a perfectly ordinary name a few years ago. But now, any Katrina starting kindergarten in the next few years is going to get a lot of grief.

Signed,

If I Had a Dollar for Every "Fred Flintstone" Joke I Suffered As a Kid....

If I Had a Dollar for Every "Fred Flintstone" Joke I Suffered As a Kid....

In my Christian elementary school, I sometimes got teased with "Doubting Thomas."