I doubt he stood out that much amongst his peers at the time.

I think one thing the conversation has made clear is that it really can be a huge matter of geography, so you're very likely right. I mean, if there were four other Anfernees in the schoolyard with him, it ceases to be an issue on that level, although Penny as a nickname for a boy (to this day, my brain wants it to be Fenny and tries to convince me I've heard it that way) still strikes me as way the fuck beyond mean. But I still hope, for his sake, that they let him write out either "Anfernee H" or "A. Hardaway" on his schoolwork.

edit:

The basis of my point is that Anfernee's not a long name as far as perfectly conventional names go. You having to write yours all out does seem a trial, but I'm not sure what it has to do with Anfernee.

Point taken. But I just think parents really ought to consider the day to day reality of the kid's life, and how the name is likely to affect them, conventional or otherwise (and I'm still not sure what "conventional" is, except in local cultural terms).

Another literary example: Edmund Crispin, from "Glimpses of the Moon", had a little girl named Anna May. Her brother was called John Will. The last name was Bust, and her parents had done that on purpose. Anna and John are conventional names, but the pairing made their lives hell.

It hadn't occurred to me that Anfernee was supposed to be an alternate spelling of Anthony, since they don't sound the same. But I don't know.

Huh. The first time I heard his name, I parsed it as "Anthony," though I knew the announcer's pronunciation didn't match it exactly--I just thought the announcer had accidentally flubbed it somehow. It wasn't until I heard it a second time that I realized it had to be done on purpose and actually asked someone how it was spelled.

t hugging my full name and whispering "there, there, I like old-fashioned things"

Don't blame you. Hence my suggestions for my daughter - Eleanor, Julia, Emma.

I know three Stephanies myself. But one is a pencil-pushing hump(thank you Andy Sipowicz) I have little occasion to talk about. One is a Buffista. And one is my oldest pre-Buffista adult friend.

You may think of me as a Teppy. It's shorter than Buffista Stephanie.

t edit I also hated spelling out S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E as a kid, although it's not heinously long, especially with my one-syllable German surname. But I shortened it to Steph as soon as my teachers would let me use it on papers I turned in.

It's shorter than Buffista Stephanie.

There are actually two Buffista Stephanies, and I differentiate easily: I have a Steph (Vortex, my adopted daughter) and I have a Teppy.

One of each, both bebes.

oh...that's right. And I do think of you as Tep, Tep. But sometimes I have to explain "Oh, Teppy sent me a card." or something. And Hec is Hec, and the Lizard's the Lizard, until I get the puzzled expressions from Not Online People.

My full name is 9 syllables, 21 letters. My middle name is Regina, and the US seems to be the only English-speaking country that pronounces it re-GEE-na, which is how I pronounce it. My last name is unpronouncable to anyone who doesn't speak German and unspellable on hearing it. It also contains a Z and a G, both of which my lisp mangles to some weird sound that I can't even begin to figure out how to type. So, even when I spell out my last name, it usually ends up with a T and a P.

I'm pretty much against changing my name when I get married, but if they guy I marry has a last name that's unusual, meaningful, and something I can pronounce perfectly, I might consider it. I probably wouldn't do it, but I might consider it. Also, there's no way I'm going to give any child I have a name with sounds that are frequently difficult with speech problems. (Until we were about 10, one of my friends said my name as Hiwwawy. Which I guess was OK from him, but would have been hell if his own name had that many Ls and Rs.)

Along with unfortunate name combinations, let us not forget initials. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, please do not name your darling daughter Anna Sue.

I do know a couple whose last initial is T. They named their sons Adam Christopher, Alan Charles, and Andrew Carter. Yes indeedy, boys and girls, ACT 1, ACT 2 and ACT 3. More of an in joke for family friends, since it won't be a point in their adult lives, not being formal successive appendages, i.e., I, II, III, etc.

I mispronounced DH's name when I first introduced him to my parents. Never again, though.