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[Opinions] Re: Zephyr
in reply to a message by BBH
Yeah, he's gonna get the crap beat out of him at school. Seriously, do people not think about the fact that someone hase to live with this name? Please talk her out of it.
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Actually, it seems more likely to get a reaction of "Dude, your name is awesome" than a negative one, plus he has Tristan to fall back on, so what's the problem.
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I highly doubt it.A Zephyr would NOT be beaten up at school.In fact, most kids DO NOT get beaten up at school because of their names. I really hate that people say that here; it doesnt happen. Would YOU beat up a kid named Zephyr? Or Jhaiydyn? Or even Gunner or anything? Because I don't know anyone who would.
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I agree, even teasing isn't as common as some people think much less getting beat up. The only person I can think of off the top of my head actually getting teased about her name was my ex-boyfriend's cousin, Onme (not sure of spelling but it's prn. on-MEE). I really thought he was kidding until I talked to his dad and he confirmed that his niece was in fact named Onme. I couldn't help but giggle when I heard her name though. Onme is pretty bad but a little Zephyr has as much teasing potential as Joshua and Elizabeth IMO.

This message was edited 6/10/2009, 10:36 PM

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I agreeThere have only been two times I have ever heard of a kid getting teased for their name- one was a girl named Bliss in my brother's grade at school (they are 17...don't the parents think about these things) and the other was a little girl at Summer Camp last year and her name was Glacier...and she kept peeing her pants. In both circumstances the girls probably would have got a hard time anyway- Bliss is quite promiscuous and Glacier wetting herself, their names just made it worse. But even then, no one would beat them up for their names!People here don't really get teased for their names at all, maybe because we are so multicultural, I don't know. I know some people with names that could so easily be rhymed with things or laughed at but if anyone teased them for that reason alone I am sure they would get a look that implied "How lame are you, teasing someone for their name."
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Seriously. I've never even heard of someone getting beat up because of a name. Not even the worst kids in my class would have done that. Teasing, sure, but actually hitting someone? "YOUR NAME IS ZEPHYR... TAKE THIS!" Does that happen?
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They might not get physcially beat up (are NONE of you familiar with Eddie Izzard???), but they will get emotionally beat up, from which it takes longer to heal.Children tease other children. Adults tease children and other adults.Trust me. My parents gave me a name that is a word and I've had to live with the annoyance all my life.Think about it. You're nameing the kid "Wind". Wind is a pseudonym for flatuence. Then there's the whole "blowing" aspect. There's more to consider when you name your child than "it sounds cool/pretty/etc."
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How many small children know what a Zephyr is?Really. If my brother (age 11) was home, I'd ask him if he knew. I bet he doesn't. I wouldn't be surprised if my 14 year old brother didn't know either. It's not really a common word; I've never met anyone who says things like "Oh we are experiencing such a nice zephyr today." I've never even heard it on the Weather Channel or anything.Have you ever looked at your "OHFARTJOKE" logic on any other names? Let's try:Brooke / Brook -> small stream -> urine
John is a slang term for "toilet"
Everything dies in Autumn
William -> Willy -> Penis
My youngest brother is Josh. Sometimes called Slosh, and sometimes called Juice. YES. ALCOHOLIC JOKES!
And imagine all the ways kids could tease Tucker and Ryder.I could probably do more. You can probably find a way to tease anyone with any name. You are RIGHT: CHILDREN TEASE OTHER CHILDREN. What you don't mention is that CHILDREN WILL TEASE OTHER CHILDREN NO MATTER WHAT THEIR NAME IS. Really. Now, you say you have a word name and had to deal with "annoyance" all your life. Being annoyed is not the same having the crap beat out of you.Raise a well adjusted kid who knows how to handle being teased, and this shouldn't be an issue. If you have a little Zephyr running home, crying his eyes out because someone said "Haha, Zephyr means wind. Hahaha, wind. Windfart"* then you tell him it's not a big deal. Because it's not. *And by the way, that joke was awful. I have no idea how a child would really tease a Zephyr. IDK. "Oh i smell a zephyr, eew?"

This message was edited 6/11/2009, 9:46 AM

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I agree...i didn't even know what a Zephyr was until like this year and I'm 26...call me stupid but I just didn't. Zephyr is about as good a name as any...in my town there is a little boy named Coy running around, along with a Maddux, a Boady, and a Julius, and Mavrick. So what's the big deal? Nowadays, there are so many odd names...the ones that will stand out are the Josh's and Ryan's because they are becoming less and less...No kid is going to associate Zephyr with a fart...at all!
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I think most people here agree that a name should be more than the fact that it sounds pretty. We're name nerds, after all. Pretty much everyone got teased in my class. Whether it be their name or their looks or the stupid answers they gave to teachers. I got teased because of my (sur)name myself. The kids that got teased for their names include: Anna, Johannes, Viktoria, Stefanie, Sinah, Marija, Tatjana and Thomas. Those are the ones I remember. All incredibly common and normal names.That said, I hate word names, and I definitely think it's a difference whether you name your kid Sven (which is one of the most common names where I live) or you name it Gaylord or HeavenleighPryncess.

This message was edited 6/11/2009, 9:05 AM

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Oh, I have seen -=MUCH=- worse.
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And that's justification for burdening a child with such a name?
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We have different points of viewI live in a very large metropolitan area which is a melting pot of different ethnicities, so a name like Zephyr doesn't seem strange to me at all having been exposed to such extremes of diversity, and gratefully so. Zephyr would be considered the pinnacle of hip, and the mere suggestion of wind would not inspire fart jokes among this urbane, slightly jaded onomastically, melting pot. Try typing "Zephyr" into facebook, for example, and you will see plentiful examples of this (at least 500 anyway). Being a small fish in a big pond can inspire some fresh names. However...I assume you must live in a more quaint setting in which being different is not thought of so much as a commodity, but rather, a burden, and yes, I agree that if the child would be subject to such a setting that a name like Brian or Robert would be much more appropriate.Thank you for your perspective.

This message was edited 6/11/2009, 9:33 AM

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I don't think of Atlanta as being quaint. ;-)I don't think names should be "hip" or "cool" or "different", either.You might would call me a stick in the mud or a fuddy duddy, but I think traditional names are best. I especially dislike all the kre8tive spellings and flat out made up jumbles. Those really make the parents look ignorant.Objectionally, Zephyr isn't so bad. Not my taste, but it's worlds better than some of the names out there.Just out of curiousity. Would you us Zep as a NN?
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I see no problem with preferring traditional names. I love many of them myself!Oh, and I think Zeph would be a good nickname.
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Yes, that would be a good NN. :-)
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