Published in The Great North Arrow, October 1, 2023: Names, Names, Names (Unusual Spellings and Unusual Names)

Part 3 of a 3 Part series on Names

- jim Young

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.” - Pee Wee Herman

In my last article on names, in the Great North Arrow (September 1, Issue 16, Volume 10) I discussed how the unusual spelling of a first name could have some legal benefits. The use of unusual spellings of a first name however doesn’t always involve a legal conflict.

For the first half of the 20th century, in the western world at least, most names were pretty common and easy to pronounce. Boys were often given names like Tom, Dick and Harry. Girls would be assigned names like Jane, Betty and Sue. But then came the 60s revolution and everything changed. 

First it was just unusual names for children like Skye, Harmony, Jasmine, Ziggy, Summer, Dharma and Nirvana just to name a few that were chosen for their children by the hippies.

As some of these names became more generally accepted, parents tried to find unique ways to spell their children’s names and Diane became Di-Anne, Michele became Mechelle, Michael became Mikael and so on. 

All hell broke loose during this era and there are no longer any spelling rules when it comes to choosing names for children.

As a child of the 60s, I had originally wanted to pick unusual names for my children such as Sunshine, Happiness and Peace but I was talked out of it by their mother. While I conceded to that, I insisted on two other things. 

1. I didn’t want my children named after anyone, not family members, not celebrities or heroes of the past or present. I wanted them to have their own unique identity with no pressure or expectation to live up to anyone else’s standards.

2. I wanted their name to mean something.

Michael was a name I had always liked and when I discovered it was Hebrew for “godlike”, I was sold. Angela, being “angelic” seemed like a natural choice to follow with. A cousin accused me of choosing their names after the artist Michaelangelo. While purely coincidental I admit that if I had been clever enough to think of something along those lines, I would have happily pleaded “guilty” even if it didn’t adhere to rule #1.

My son and his wife, like me, chose names for their children with meaning, but also opted for “unusual names”.  

Torin, Teagan and Zander. "What the hell kinds of names are those?" I remember thinking when I was introduced to them. I had never heard of any one of them.

Torin, as it turns out, is Irish for “chief”. There’s more Scots blood on both of Torin’s side of the family than Irish, but there is some Irish in Torin, the chief.

Teagan is a welsh name that means beautiful and creative as this young lady has grown to be.

Ironically Zander’s name fits many of the categories I have discussed in this series. Zander is actually an unusual spelling of the name Xander which is short for Alexander. Zander’s parents chose to register his name as the name he would be known by and not the original version of Alexander. Zander means defender of humankind. I doubt Mike and Amy could have picked a better name for this little imp.

Once I learned the meanings of these names I grew to love the names as I grew to love my first three grandchildren.

But I wasn’t done with the surprises.

My daughter Ange and her husband Adrian chose the name Billie for their first born. I was pleased to learn that the registered name on Billie’s birth certificate was actually Billie and not William. It seemed like I was finally making some progress. Except that…

… my daughter’s first-born was a girl. Shouldn’t they have more appropriately named her Wilhemena? Or Wilma? Or even Billie-Joe? Somehow hyphenating 2 boys’ names = 1 girls name. I think it’s some kind of a rule, kind of like double negatives in math.

But Billie, the “resolute protector” she is.

Then along came Myles. Wait! What? I won’t even dispute the issue of “unusual spellings” here. There’s a much bigger issue. Canada is metric as is Australia which is home to Myles’ father. Shouldn’t his name be “Kilometers”?

I would have thought “Myles” would mean a measurement made up of 5,280 feet but apparently the name Myles means a “medieval knight” or a “soldier”. Myles has great potential to live up to this name.

It’s funny how names grow on you. When you have a reason to love the person, the name behind the person somehow becomes much more palatable.

Convinced that was the end of it all, I was surprised at the arrival of Raya-Jaxon. Like her father Mike, the first part of Raya’s name is Hebrew in origin and means “friend”. I have yet to meet Raya, but I have no doubts we will be good friends when we do. “Jaxon” is typically a male name. It means “son of Jack” so how can it be anything else? I’m not sure what the rules are on hyphenating a female and a male name but I don’t care anymore. I have decided to forget the rules and just go with the flow. The bottom line is, like a rose, I will love them all regardless of what they are called.

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