Naming Tips and Quips

Bowen Theory Of Executive Advancement
Is it possible that the more unusual a person's name is, the more successful they will be in life? 

Changing Your Name Is Almost Like Changing Your Life
About rookie outfielder, Willie Dean McGee, and how he felt about his name.

Chips Off The Old Block
According to Arlene Gregory of Delaware, Ohio, a man from that place, named Douglas Fir Trees, married Jane Wood. Other members of the Trees family have also taken tree names. Read about this unusual family.

Choosing a Middle Name
We have received quite a number of emails from users wanting advice on choosing a middle name. Therefore, we have set up this page in hope that it will be of use to anyone else needing help in that area.

Choosing a Name for Your Baby
20 Questions to think about.

Do Children's First Names Affect The Grades That Teachers Give Them?
Herbert Harari, a psychologist at the University of California in San Diego, made a study of this in 1973; you'll be surprised at what the results were!

From One Pierre to Another
Read about a little boy who was embarrassed about his name until he became acquainted with another Pierre. 

H. L. Mencken's Unusual Names For Girls
A list of some unusual girls' names that were found in newspapers of the 1930s and 1940s, mainly in the South and Southwest.

Headaches For A Genealogist
About siblings with duplicate names.

How Many Johns Aren't Named John?
There are many variations of the name John in different languages. Some are quite surprising.

How To Avoid A Baby Name You Dislike
If you don't like the name your spouse has chosen for the baby, use tact.

If You Have A Hundred Sons
Why would anyone give all their sons the same name?

Names Most Of Us Answer To
A list of 100 most common American surnames.

Names That Brighten The Day
Another list of unusual names, including some for twins.

New Affects Naming
About the tendency of people to choose names related to current events, including some examples from the past.

Numbering One's Children
People often numbered their children in olden days. Do they still?

Perhaps The First Choice Was Better
About a couple who named their child for Adolf Hitler. They later changed it; but perhaps they shouldn't have.

Wild Poppy
More unusual names - very, very! unusual. 

Ya Gotta Have A Middle Name, See
Did you know that in the U.S. armed forces everyone is assumed to have no fewer than three names. Read more about this.