Of course this was not on my travels but have you seen the goofy movie "About Schmidt" w/Jack Nicholson? Jack "adopts" one of the children for a Children's Christian Ministry Network in Zimbabwa or some place like that & throughout the movie he writes letters to the little boy (6 years old). His adoptee's name is Ndugu (en-DOO-goo). Cracks me up just to say the name!

I work with a guy named Marcelino (Mar-sel-EE-no). He's hispanic. I don't think it is that common but it's a nice name to say. I have seen it or heard it a couple of times since I have met him so it's not a made-up name.

Please don't do this to a child either. If the last name is something that a first name added to it would give a saying or suggestion avoid it. I met a guy recently whose name was Justin. OK nice "normal" name but...his last name is Case. His name is Justin Case. I thought he was lying. DH went to school with a girl named Emma. Another good ol' fashioned name...unless your last name is Pigg. He showed her to me in his year book. She wasn't but makes you wonde if mom got to many drugs during childbirth.

I worked with a woman named Pepper & her sister's name is Ginger. Pepper's business cards were so cute. They looked as if a black pepper shaker had turned over & spilled on her card. Adorable. (Don't think I would name a kid that, tho.)

I knew a man years ago who was named Pepper Webber. Nice guy!

These are real people:
Twins: Kitty & Bunny
A woman named Crystal Pearl

Marilyn .. my response to your post. First off, yes Smel is odd. But I do know a lady named Smel. It might be a nickname but I just thought of putting it in there. Dandreb .. yes, not a name you hear everyday. Nonetheless, I also know a man named Dandreb.

To answer your question, no. I would not name my child Smel. But people have different opinions.

Oh and just so you know, I wouldnt name my child Marilyn either.

Gosh, heavenly, I didn't mean to offend, and I certainly wasn't questioning the truth of your post. I think odd names can make life very difficult for kids, especially when they are close to words that children might find irresistible for taunting. (e.g., "smelly" and "dandruff") Perhaps those names (Smel and Dandreb) are common in another culture, in which case, fine.

I've never been fond of my name, so believe me, I'd never name a child Marilyn either. (On the other hand, my mother almost named me Merry Lee, so I suppose I should be grateful.)

On the other hand, if you had posted that YOUR name was Smel, I would never have made fun of it. Manners, dear.

Islandmom - watch out for old family names with double meanings. My middle name is "Gay" and since I'm from the south I was called by my first and middle name. You can imagine the teasing I got in school!

Make sure the initials don't spell something negative or 'bad'. It could significantly affect your child's ability to wear monogrammed sweaters! lol!

In my travels I've always found Hawaiian names very unique and beautiful. I also like African names with unique consontant spellings like Nkosi or Mbele. I wouldn't name my kids that, but I like the way they sound and they're fun to pronounce.

For comic relief some odd/funny names I've personally experienced:
Buffy Cinnamon, Quantavius, Shquita, Yazmeeka, Autillia...

I love looking at our local paper's birth announcements and seeing what some parents come up with. I feel really sorry for some of these kids.

Good luck!

I wasn't going to reply to this post when it was first started, but since it has been resurrected again and I am thinking about this now, I will tell you some names I learned once while traveling through Texas. I visited a mansion in Texas that was owned by two philanthropic sisters who never married. Their names were Ima and Ura, and their last name was Hogg. Ima Hogg and Ura Hogg. Doesn't fit the "nice" category, but it is unique at least. The school kids in Houston go visit their mansion and learn about them on field trips.

Maybe Eloise for Marilyn. My name is Mystique and I would never inflict that on a child, but I have found that it has actually opened rather than closed doors for me on a few occasions. I work as a financial analyst/commercial lender and people still somehow take me seriously. I was born in the late 60's and have peers named Aura, Summer, Skye etc. My cousin is Mechelle-- to rhyme with the song and another is Collette.

I think Madison and Britney and Ashley are overused. I kind of like Eleanor. My sister is named Holly (born in July)!

I don't know if it could be considered nice but it is definitely odd. I was doing volunteer work with someone about 10 years ago & she told me about a child in her daughter's class. On the 1st day of school the teacher asked one little girl's mother about her daughter's unusual name. The mother replied that she saw it in a catalog & liked it. The name... Pajama ( Pah-ja-may). Wonder if she named a future child Lingerie??

My mother swears that HER mother's housekeeper (wayyy back in the day) named her daughter Formica Dinette. Interesting choice.

Ani- happy late birthday! I thought maybe you were in the hospital getting the birthday present you really wanted yesterday, but I guess no such luck. I suppose you will not be taking any of the suggestions in this post into consideration for your little bundle of joy...

marilyn and others: I grew up in south Georgia and I also heard from someone that there were twins named Lemonjello and Orangejello...urban legend? or do these twins live in GA?

Madison is ok if you DON"T live in a city named Madison! I live in Madison and am a teacher--you'd be amazed at how many girls are named Madison!

I've always liked the name Violet for a girl (my great grandmother's name).

I believed it when I first heard it, but I'm pretty sure now it's an urban legend.

Oh and I'm looking at an anniversary announcement taped to my fridge right now that lists the name of this Indian couples' son as "Pushpinder Singh".

A favorite (probably made-up) last name also clipped from the paper is "Oyebobola". We use it like we use "oy vey" now, as in "Oyebobola it's hot!"

love
roxy

I seem to like Gaelic names. Is that Ireland or Scotland?

IslandMom,

Gaelic generally refers to either Scottish or Irish, both of whom are descendants of the Celts. The Celtic tribes originally inhabited Southern France and Spain until they were conquered by the Romans.

Thanks. I have Irish roots so I think it will fit.

Ah emd, I almost posted a happy b-day post for the March 30th people yesterday but then thought perhaps that was too self centered of me! Unfortunately, no-I am still playing the waiting game with this baby girl. Keep your fingers crossed that it's soon!
(oh, and no ideas from this post for names...we are going with Riley...gotta love the gaelic names!)