Michael Moran, the books editor for Times Online, has discovered a book that makes every Jane Doe or Tom, Dick and Harry thank their lucky stars. We're familiar with the celebrity trend of giving children playful, silly, impractical names on the basis that they'll never have to endure the vicissitudes of a real school or workplace. The first one most of us noticed was probably Zowie Bowie, or perhaps Marc Bolan's little boy Rolan, and probably reached its apotheosis in the wilful christening flightiness evinced by Bob Geldof or Gywneth Paltrow. Michael Sherrod and Matthew Rayback, the authors of a new book, Bad Baby Names, have looked into a century of US census reports and discovered that the history of weird names is longer, and stranger, than most of us could have possibly imagined… Here, in ascending order of weirdness, are the 20 strangest: 20: Wanna Funk 19: United States 18: Lotta Bacon 17: Hysteria Johnson 16: Waitress Seholley 15: Nail Rambo 14: Jump Jump 13: Tackle Feigenbutz 12: Mustard M.Mustard 11: Jelly Bean Cook 10: Fat Meat Fields 9: Geography Bryan 8: Zero Pie 7: Cylinder Klinefelter 6: Nice Veal 5: Cylclops Walthour 4: Envy Burger 3: Cancer Grindstaff 2: Young Boozer 1: Dracula Taylor And, just to demonstrate that not all parents are capricious and michevous come christening time, here are an even dozen names that I’d prefer to plain old Michael Moran: Peach Skeeters Watermelon Pete McNeil Experience Fairweathers Limbo Holloway Bluebell Plopper Beauty Outlaw Darth Wilson Christian Devil Welcome Darling Sexy Chambers Love Catts Permelia Buckaroohttp://timesonline.typepad.com/alphamummy/2008/07/20-strangest-ba.html
GirlInterrupted wrote: » Spartacus is a risk because your son may not turn out to be Kirk Douglas. .
Moonbaby wrote: » I'm calling my ginger kid Blaze and I don't shiote what any of you think!
stovelid wrote: » He'll just called 'Blazer' in school...
kittensoft1984 wrote: » Sitting in the cinema last night and the name effy popped into my head! I have no idea why..... For a girl obviously!
gogglebok wrote: » I like Effi. Isn't it a straightforward German name? There's a novel called Effi Briest.
alexjk wrote: » When I used to live in Ballymun,I heard a woman shout "Shakiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiira, get off the bleedin' balcony!".Brightened up my day.