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So one woman decided to start documenting all of the bizarre names that have popped up in Utah in recent years
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Later, the author revealed how many different versions of “Michaela” she’s come across
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Naminga child is a lot of pressure. Parents might consider family names, names that remind them of loved ones, names that aren’t too common, names that aren’t too challenging to spell and names that don’t remind them of anyone from their past they have bad memories of. Making a list and pitching your favorites to your partner can turn out to be a full-time job!
In this day in age, where everyone wants to stand out from the crowd, many parents resort to “creating” their own unique names that (they assume) have never been used before. And for some reason, Utah seems to be the epicenter of these strange names. According to Haley Swenson atSlate, one factor that plays into why parents name their kids so creatively in Utah is the prevalence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She notes that, “if you’re a Mormon kid in Utah, it can be hard to stand out from the pack,” so having an uncommon name can be one easy way to be considered unique. Over 40% of residents in Utah identify as members of the LDS church, but in some towns, over 90% of the inhabitants are Mormon. And Mormon adults between the ages of 40-59 have had an average of3.4 childreneach, compared to the national average in the United States of 2.1 kids.
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“Today, the menu is limitless, and the goal is style, which puts pressure on parents to make bold choices”
“We’ve seen a revolution in the very nature of naming. In past generations, most parents took for granted that they’d pick from an established set of traditional names. Today, the menu is limitless, and the goal is style, which puts pressure on parents to make bold choices,” the naming expert shared.
“Also, in the internet age we’re all accustomed to choosing usernames so we expect names to be unique identifiers. Parents will look up a full name they’re considering, see that it’s ‘taken,’ and move on,” she added.
We also asked Laura what she believes are the most important factors for parents to consider when naming their children. “An unlimited menu of choices is a recipe for decision paralysis. Parents stress over name choices so much that they talk themselves out of their own taste,” she pointed out. “I recommend that once you have your short list of candidates, instead of narrowing the list down, try narrowing it up. Focus on what you love most about each name and see what rises to the top.”
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Certain nameshave also been banned around the world because parents attempted to get a littletoocreative when naming their kids. In France, the name Nutella was shot down, and in Sweden, the government had to put its foot down to prevent parents from naming kids Metallica, Superman, Veranda and Ikea. But as we’ve seen from this list, the United States is a bit more lax when it comes to naming.
Later, the name collector answered a couple of questions from readers and provided more info
Some even shared interesting names that they’ve come across in Utah as well
Thanks! Check out the results:Rugilė Žemaitytė
Larysa Perih
Parenting
