What's In a Name?

Okay, time for a not-so-heavy blog.

What's with the sudden popularity of the name Cooper? We picked it and suddenly every network feels the need to have a Cooper on one of it's shows?

You can know ten people named "Jeff" and love them all, but you know one with the same name and know that you could never name your child that. (No, Reverend, you are not the one that bumped the name off the list for us - not that we're having anymore kids!)

Abby wanted her most-recently born cousin Pink Rose Pitney. They went with Summer Ann instead, but Abby has insisted she's calling her Pink Rose anyway. We have another niece or nephew on the way and we're trying to convince mom to select LaToya LaKeish LaShawn LaSanders if it's a girl. So far, I don't think any of them are on her top five favorites.

When you are selecting the name for a child, it's so much more than what you like or what sounds good to you. Sometimes the names aren't bad until they are partnered with a first name. Here are some examples:

• A teacher friend of ours was telling us about a student whose last name was Dye. The student's name is John. Which when attendance is called is funny. "Smith Joe Smith. Dye John Dye."
• The same teacher knows of a Paige Turner.
• When Jimmy was in HSBS, a fellow student had the last name Sheets. He married a girl named Taryn.
• A friend of ours has the maiden name, Amy. I have to wonder if, pre-marriage, she was asked her last name and upon replying, "Amy," heard, "No, your LAST name." And as fate and true love would have it, her brother married a girl named, you guessed it, Amy. She is Amy Amy.
• There's a guy we know whose last name is Stoffer (the o is pronounced "ah".) His first name is Chris. Well ... that's what he goes by. Cause if he used his full name, he'd be Christ'ah'pher-st'ah'pher. Which is what my kids call him.
• Here are some other funny ones I found: Anne Teak, Neil Down, May Ann Naze, Rita Booke and Gene Poole.

So what funny names have you heard of?