I live in a culture that is not like the one I grew up in and the names here are a never ending source of entertainment to me. This culture is predominately West Indian (African Descent). There are a TONS of made up names, just meaning that they are not common and most of the time the parents kind of invented them on their own, as well as the spellings. With most of these names very African sounding. BUT, nobody seems to go by their name. Most people have a nickname, that has nothing to do with their real name. Just to give you an idea of some of the nicknames.... Ball-bee, Fyah (fire), Ital, Fed-up, CeeJah, School Food, I think you get it!
My thoughts on names... as much as I like unusual names, I try to stick to something that doesn't tell too much about the racial or ethnic background of the child. When my kid grows up, and they hand in a resume, I want the person reviewing it to be able to make as little judgment as possible about them from their name. I like unisex names, that are easy to pronounce. Just my 2¢!
I've got a baby boy on the way and we are thinking of names now. I've got a few ideas, but I'm still open. Most of the names I like the husband doesn't. I told him, "You get the last name, I get to pick the first name!"
I'm thinking of "M" names. Just because my name is "J", Husband's is "K", son's is "L", and for some silly reason I just thought we should follow the alphabet and go with a "M" name. Anyone got any suggestions? I think the top runner is Mica, no "h" at the end, spelled just like the mineral.