The Arduous Task of Naming a Baby (And Some of the Weirdest Filipino Names)




        My sister is currently pregnant with her third child. And you know what’s the most laborious task during pregnancy? No, not the pregnancy itself. Or the delivery—but the naming of the baby. Tee-hee.This is the reason, I think, why some kids are just named after their parents. 

        My sister’s four year old daughter already has suggestions: Maya if the baby’s a girl and Julian if it’s a boy. When asked, my niece (who speaks a lot better English than me) said, “Well, I got it from the cartoons I was watching.”

        My sister wanted to know If I had names in mind.

        Nonchalantly, I said the first two names that cropped up in my mind.  “David if it’s a boy and Josephine if it’s a girl.”

        “Why Josephine?” she asked.

        “Why not?”

         Josephine’s one of my favorite female names.

         Napoleon Bonaparte’s greatest love was a woman named Josephine. Jose Rizal was once married to a lady named Josephine.  Tori Amos had a song named Josephine (which, of course, was about Napoleon's inamorata). I’ve met a few Josephines and they were all nice. Two of them became my good friends and both were great persons.  Kind, humble, God-fearing human beings, these two didn’t have a single mean bone in their body and wouldn’t harm or hurt anyone in any way.

        Maybe, every girl named Josephine would grow up fine. Maybe, because the name’s biblical, the female equivalent of Joseph.

         But my sister still doesn't dig Josephine. “It’s kind of old school for me,” she said.

         She has a point, though. One Josephine I know is already 85 years old. “But what if you put hashtag in the name? #josephine isn’t old school anymore,” I suggested.

         “Meh,” frowned my sister.

         Meanwhile, here are some of the weirdest names given by Filipino parents to their children:

1. Merry Christmas

2. Valentine's Day

3. Halloween Marie

4. Abcdef

5. Nuclear Bomb

6. Knives Acid Rain

7. Cheese Pimiento

8. Spaghetti 88

9. Sincerely Yours

10. Son of God

These (Filipino) names are real.  One of them is probably your Facebook friend. Their parents are either way too cool or way too eccentric. It’ll be interesting to know these kids' nicknames.  Merry Christmas’ nickname is probably Xmas.  Valentine's Day is probably called Heart by his/her friends and Son of God? he’s most likely Jesus to his buddies.



And here’s a classic joke about names:

ANACLETA: Attorney, I want to change my horrible name. Can you help me?
ATTORNEY: Yes. What’s your name?
ANACLETA: Anacleta Bagong-Gahasa.
ATTORNEY: Eww! That’s horrible indeed.  Do you have a new name in mind?
ANACLETA: Yes.
ATTORNEY: What is it?
ANACLETA: Angelina Bagong-Gahasa!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things You Are Not Allowed To Do During Holy Week (Or So They Say)

Image
       Today is Holy Tuesday, three days away from Good Friday. For many, this is the week to be holy (pun intended). The week for an individual to repent or show how good a christian he is. Ask a priest or any religious person  and they will most likely tell you that the following things are not allowed this week(especially on Good Friday and Black Saturday):        Gorging        Meat        Sex        Porn        Cursing        Vices        Loud music        R-Rated films        Dirty thoughts        Singing (loud music)        Dancing (to loud music)        Bathing (just ki...
Read more

"Hey, This Song Has Built A House Inside My Head!"

Image
If you'd notice, I'd put a little musical thingamajig somewhere on this blog and I called it Last Song Syndrome. Last Song Syndrome, of course, happens when a song you just heard refuses to leave your mind for hours or even for days. You sing it or hum it while working or while taking a bath or changing your baby's or your granddad's diaper or taking your dog for a walk or just bumming around. I listen to a lot of Pink Floyd songs so most often than not, it is a Pink Floyd song that will always swirl inside my head. But I also listen to other musicians. I'll try to dissect and write a small background of every song that I will feature in this blog. The Final Cut is one of my fave Pink Floyd songs. Very emotional, very depressing and has great vocals by Roger Waters , it is one of the songs from the album The Final Cut (an anti-war CD that was released in 1983), the last album where Roger Waters (Pink Floyd's main songwriter) took part in. After that album, Water...
Read more

AND HERE'S SOME BAD NEWS...

Image
Seventeen years ago, Maureen Hultman, 16 years old, Roland John Chapman, 21 and Jussi Olavi Leino, 24, were returning home from a party when they were accosted and confronted by Claudio Teehankee Jr, 45. Teehankee, who was unknown to the three, demanded some identification. Leino took out his wallet and showed Teehankee an ID. Chapman approached them and asked Teehankee: “Why are you bothering us?” Teehankee drew out his gun and shot Chapman in the chest. “Why did you shoot me?” Chapman asked Teehankee as he was crumpling to the ground. Chapman died on the spot. Teehankee then ordered the now hysterical Hultman and Leino to sit together on the sidewalk. While seated, unarmed and begging for mercy, the two were gunned down by Teehankee. Hultman was killed while Leino survived and later identified Teehankee as the gunman. The nation was enraged with that senseless crime and demanded that the death penalty be restored. Teehankee was sentenced to one count of reclusion perpetua (ranging f...
Read more