I just run
cat /dev/urandom | strings | head -10Until I find something that slaps.
Are you checking out the competition Elon?
TIL you can generate random character strings like that
There’s room for improvement, as strings in this configuration will output arbitrary lengths, so it’s very likely to result in 10 lines with 1 char, or one line with a length of 100+
grep ‘[[:alpha:]]{3,16}’?
Get one of the books with baby name suggestions. Weed out all of the names of annoying uncles and aunts, childhood bullies etc. Let your partner do the same. Then get rid of all of the names that rhyme with something silly so they won’t be bullied in school for their name. Then argue about the few remaining names and pick one or a few. Sleep a few nights, then take a long, hot/steamy shower and commit to it.
(You can doodle around in the book, circle a few names and add a few or your favorite movie characters.)
For our kids, we wrote down a small set of rules :
- french origin (with my very french and common surname, living a in french-speaking country)
- kind of rare (I have a very common firstname)
- that would go well or be used in english as well
- that would survive the atrocities of the local heavy accent (teachers and so on…)
- not too long, easy to write
- aesthetically pleasing when written down
Me and the wife each separately looked through lists of names on those sites, then we compared notes on ones we liked. This lead to our shortlist. Over the course of a few weeks we managed to narrow it down untill we had a name we both liked with the advantage of having said it out loud many times… so it was good.
Using the name before deciding on it is definitely a critical part of picking a good name.
In general I look for receipts or random pieces of paper I find on the side of the curb on a rainy day. But that’s just me.
My third son, for example, is named Hmmmblehgjlighininah Stornagherighison
That’s so poetic.
My mom found my name in the ending credits of a random show.
My son is Subtotal Tree Fiddy.
We had a couple important criteria for the names we chose. First, it should be pretty easy to yell in case you need to call them, and second is that it’s hard to turn into an insult.
We added the second after a friend named their boy Hurley. Poor guy.
Hurley murley?
Or girly hurley. Or just Hurl. Or maybe they’ll nickname him Chuck.
It’s a tradition in my family, that all children have the same 1st letter.
I come from a family like this and my husband’s family did the same. Coincidentally my husband and I also share the same first letter. Our family gatherings can get confusing so most of us have family nicknames.
This is my grandmother Ursula…
And my grandfather Umbridge. My uncles ‘Uncle 1’, ‘Uncle 2’ and ‘Uncle 3’, and my step-aunt, Ugly.
My mum here is ‘Unfortunate’ (gran and gramp were big Les Miserables fans but couldn’t stand French).
Here’s my brothers Ulysses and Ussher. And my sister Ungoliant. My youngest sister miscarried, you can find her grave over there, marked with her name: Unobtanium.
Oh, me? Pleased to meet you: I’m Umphrey.
Last name is single syllable so the first had to be 2 or more. Made a big list of names I liked the sound of and people I admire and let my wife decide from that. Would have been happy with any of them. We didn’t know the sex yet so we picked both a male and female name.
The middle name is Tiberius after James Tiberius Kirk from Star Trek.
First you have to pick something you like, like some sort of hobby to draw on for inspiration. Like say you like motorcycles, you might want to name your child Harley. But people would tease them if you just named your child the same name as a motorcycle, so you need to modify it into something cool like Hurley. Now you have a name that means something to you, and you know your child won’t be teased.
something cool like Hurley… your child won’t be teased
“I don’t know, Hurl, you’re looking kinda queasy! snigger-snigger-snigger … Don’t you want to… Hahahaimsofunny”
I’ve come to the conclusion kids are going to make fun, and though it’s worth being a bit careful over a teaseable name, more important to help your child carry their name with confidence and comfort them when they’re hurt.
We were careful to choose first names that are easy to spell on first hearing and can be understood in multiple cultures. Their second names are a little bit more exotic in case they don’t like the simpler ones.
Spent ages making lists and whittling it down.
Then yeeted the list 30mins after the birth and picked a name we never discussed, mentioned, no family history, or knew anyone with.
when we went to the shelter we considered the names on their adoption forms but we also considered colours, markings, and behaviours
oh and they’re cats
If they’re humans, you have to be careful about colour names, some people get fussy about that. Especially if you use Latin.
I went with local shipwrecks for my cats (Mim and Ida).
In my culture, name is parents’s prayer for their children. For example, if you wish your child to be a wise person, you name them something that means wise. If you wish them to be strong, you name them something that means strong. Etc. So, naming your child something wacky like “X” would be like cursing your own child here.
Interestingly, there is also a believe that your child will be sickly if you give a name that’s too heavy for your child. E.g. naming them with long names that includes too many great traits. You used to be able to identify people with aristocracy lineage because their name would be something most people considered “too heavy”, but the line is blur these days.
“I name you, ‘pretty awesome, but, y’know, no pressure, like’”
List of old family names, plus any we liked.
Removed any we disliked, even for trivial reasons.
Practiced saying them out loud. Could we yell it? Could they be introduced in serious society with it?
Was it the popular name recently?
Are there any family names patterns we liked?
Was it too old fashioned?
Was there obvious school yard taunting capabilities?
Did it have negative connotations?
Are a lot of pets using the name?
Told the granddads to choose a name as is Korean tradition.
