At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)
I just had this dream, and I woke up with this question. Don't ask about the dream. Like most of my dreams, it was disjointed, weird, and defied description. But I don't mind, because the what if I was going to use this week was pretty pitiful.
What if the name your partner picked for your child was the name of a nemesis of yours? But, you have to use it, because that name is linked to something big--like it's a family name and/or it's tied to a very large inheritance.
(In my dream, it was a full name--first, middle, and last. Or something like that. The details have gone a bit murky.)
Also, this week it's my turn at Unicorn Bell. I'm discussing weekly bloghops you may be unfamiliar with. I'd love it if you'd stop by and say hi.
If it was a huge problem, I might ask that the name be used as a middle name rather than a first name.
ReplyDeleteBut what if you had to use the whole thing?
DeleteI did think about this a couple of times before, I'd have a problem only if it is some very stupid name or offensive one, not if it was shared by a nemesis
ReplyDeleteI guess I'd be grateful I have no kids!
ReplyDeleteIt happened to me already!! I just made a different story for the name and we moved on down the road! A name is just a name!
ReplyDeleteReally? Wow. That's one way to make lemonade out of lemons.
DeleteI liked what Paula said; I'll go with her answer with a name is just a name, though it hasn't happened to me like it did to her.
ReplyDeletebetty
Yeah, I think Paula wins the comments for today.
DeleteI'm not sure I'd allow the child to be named that. I wouldn't care if it was tied to an inheritance or a family name. It's my child and I wouldn't want that association hanging over them. If it's not something my spouse would agree to, I wouldn't have married them in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have strong associations with names. I never met a Sean I liked until I met and married mine. So I think my own kid would definitely become the bigger association with the name and it would turn it around for me.
ReplyDeleteIn order to make sure you never have to contend with this, though, I suggest that everyone adopt a cat and give their cat their nemesis's name. You'll feel good every time you can say "Bad, Nemesis!" and your spouse will never name your kid after your cat.
That's a good plan.
DeleteDepends if I like the kid:) I would have that name for the kid but I would be calling it by a nickname of some sort so it always is associated with the nickname
ReplyDeleteAussies are lucky cos there is no name we can't abbreviate or modify just cos. So name away, grab the cash and play the nick-name card.
ReplyDeleteThat's also a good plan.
DeleteNo. Wouldn't do it. I'm very particular and superstitious about names. I certainly wouldn't name my child or even dog after someone I didn't like.
ReplyDeleteBut if your spouse insisted...?
DeleteAaaaand that's where a totally random nickname would come into play that had nothing to do with the legal name. There was this guy a long time ago and his name was Matt but eh I called him Travis just because ;)
ReplyDelete