For some parents, when it comes time to name their baby, their thought process goes a little like this:
So, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share the unusual backstory of how they were named, and they came through with stories that were, yes, a little weird and freaky, but also hilarious and even heartwarming:
1. "My dad met Matthew Perry on a plane about a week after he and my mom found out she was pregnant with me. He was a HUGE Friends fan (and turned me into one) and I was born in ‘96, literally the height of the show’s popularity. Once he came home and told my mom that he met Matthew Perry, it was decided I would be named Chandler. I got teased for having a 'boy name' as a little girl but now as an adult, I absolutely love my name."
2. "I was supposed to be named Alicia, but my mom wasn’t present when the nurse came in with the birth certificate and my dad realized he didn’t know how to spell Alicia, so he went with the closest name he could spell — Ashley."
3. "My mom cheated on the man she was married to and got pregnant with me. The man she was married to wanted to name me Matilda, but when I was born he realized I wasn't his kid and left. When they brought the paperwork in for my birth certificate, my mom couldn't think of anything so she saw a calendar and named me April."
4. "My mom wanted us to both have a middle name that started with 'K,' but I guess 'Knacole' (exactly how you think it sounds) was all she could come up with instead of literally any other 'K' name."
5. "My brother's name was taken from a business card. My parents were still deciding on the last day of registering my brother when my dad found a business card in his pocket and noted the contact details. He asked mom what she thought of this name. She liked it enough to go with it."
6. "My former sister-in-law named her son after a popular DJ in her town. Why? He was running the contest, 'What Would You Do For a Free Pizza?' She said the pizza was good."
7. "I was named after '50s pin-up model Bettie Page and my dad's hot neighbor who babysat him when he was a child named Paige. Weird reasons to name a BABY."
8. "I know two sisters who are named after their dad's first wife and the daughter he disowned."
9. "My mom was a huge Disney fan and wanted her first girl to have a princess's name. My dad, however, hated Disney and refused. So my mom suggested 'Aurora' and my dad — unaware that was the name of sleeping beauty — agreed. He only found out when I was two and a stranger asked 'Aurora? Like the Disney princess?' He wasn't too happy."
10. "My mom named me Zujey, pronounced Zoo-hey. She lived in Koreatown when she was pregnant and heard two ladies talking in Korean and heard that word and thought it would be a pretty name."
11. My parents are both lawyers so I was named Miranda after the Miranda rights — you know, what police officers read to detainees being arrested: 'You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you...'"
12. "My mom was out shopping one day while pregnant. She found a hair barrette with my name on it — Caitlin — and liked the spelling. She bought the barrettes and I still have them 20+ years later."
13. "My parents' friends' had a little shih tzu pup named Tiffany. They loved the name. My parents then got a female hamster who they named Tiffany. Fast forward to my conception, and they still weren't over the name. And so the story goes. I was named after a hamster who was named after a dog."
14. "My parents wanted to name me 'Tracie' but because of their thick Haitian accents, the nurse heard 'Jessie' and wrote that down. they didn't realize the name switch until I was signed up for preschool. I was "Tracie" until about 3 years old and then I went by 'Jessie' after that. I wish I could record how they say 'Tracie' because it does sound like Jessie. In a Haitian accent it sounds like 'Chaysee' because they pronounce the T and R together as a 'CHE' sound."
15. "My parents were sure they were having a boy, and decided to name the baby after my dad, David. Cut to the day of labor and my dad didn't get the junior he was expecting. So, with no back-up name, they slapped an 'a' on the end of my dad's name and Davida was the result. I hated it for the longest time and was teased for it, but it's nothing a few punches couldn't handle."
16. "My name was going to be Rebecca, but when my mom was about eight months pregnant my father read an article about a woman named Caitlin who was arrested for a bunch of IRA bombings. His thought was basically, 'Oh that's a good name for a girl.' This was 1983, way before Caitlin became trendy. I've only met a couple of other Caitlins my age."
17. "My mom had me when she was 16, and named me Rayden after a character in her favorite video game, Mortal Kombat."—raiden3543
18. "My mom was a bit new-agey in the '80s and went to get her 'past lives' read by a medium who claimed to be channeling the spirit of a long-dead Tibetan monk. The 'spirit' told her that her soul had once belonged to a priestess in the lost city of Atlantis named Alaia. My mother liked it so much she made it my middle name."
19. "So my son's middle name is Adam. My husband is obsessed with Adam Sandler, they have the same birthday (10 years apart though), and he thinks they're like destined to be friends. He bugged me until I agreed on Adam as a middle name. Anyway, if anyone knows Adam Sandler please inform him that he has a 34-year-old stalker. Kthanks."
20. "My mother named my sister and I after English Queens. So my sister Elizabeth gets to rule generation after generation, and I, Katherine, get my head chopped off by Henry the 8th. Guess we know who mom's favorite is."
21. "I was named after the character Clarice from Silence of the Lambs. My parents watched it while my mom was pregnant and liked the name and the character, then argued for months if they should or should not keep the '-ice' part. My dad won and my name is Claire."
22. My mother-in-law is named after her dad's mistress. Same first and middle name as his mistress at the time. I’m not sure how her mother allowed him to get away with that one."
23. "I went rock climbing with a guy named Rancis. His mom wanted to name him Francis but she spelled it wrong on his birth certificate and then was too lazy to change it."
24. "My daughter is named after my favorite band, The Smashing Pumpkins, whose lead singer is named Billy Corgan. Her name is Kinley Corgan Faith, we call her Corgan."
25. "My parents decided before I was born that my initials would spell ‘ALF’ because it was the '80s and my dad smoked a ton of weed and loved that show, of course. Later, my dad called my mom from the bar and said, 'We should name her Amber!’ His inspiration came from the beer he was drinking. So I'm named after beer and an alien who eats cats."
26. "My mom was a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse. She took care of a baby that she really bonded with. Unfortunately, the baby ended up dying. The baby was a triplet and her sisters lived. After the baby died, my mom stayed close with her family. A couple of years later, when my mom found out she was having a girl, she decided to name me, Kathryn, after the baby who died."
27. "My grandparents had a bet on whether my parents would give me a Korean name or a more western name. My maternal grandparents thought that my parents would give me an 'American' name because both of my parents were born in and lived in the US their whole lives. My paternal grandparents were hoping they would stick to their Korean roots. They had a $500 bet over it, and my aunt found out. She told my parents, who decided to flip a coin to decide who would win. My name is Alex."
28. "When I was 3-years-old my parents said I could name my new baby brother. I loved Winnie the Pooh and so I picked the name Christopher Robin after the little fictional boy in the stories. My parents rolled with it. My brother's name IS Christopher Robin. He's not a fan."
29. "My parents were set on naming me Alexandra when my mom had a vivid dream where I came to her and said, 'That’s not my name. My name is Julia.' My mom woke up, unnerved, so to feel better she turned on the 'Beatles block' on the radio. The first song to play was 'Julia' from the White Album. My mom considered it fate and named me Julia."
30. "My younger sister is named after Toy Story. My parents and I were watching it together shortly after learning my mom was having a girl. There’s a part where Woody says 'Hannah, oh Haaannaaah!' to Sid’s sister, and my dad immediately knew he wanted that as my sister’s name."
31. "When my parents were picking out my name my mom wanted to name me Stormy. My last name is Rainwater. My dad fought and fought to change her mind knowing how much crap I'd get from kids growing up. So they settled for Shelby."
32. "I’m the fourth girl in my family. At this point my parents had lost all creativity with names. They gave me my standard Italian first name but let my older siblings choose my middle name. It was 1980 and The Price is Right was really popular. So my sisters decided to name me after the 'prettiest model on the show and only brunette...Holly!' Funnily enough, out of my entire dark haired European family, I’m blonde."
33. "My name is Jennise, my mother was inspired by Denise from The Cosby Show. She swapped 'D' for 'J' and added an extra 'N'. Later, I learned Jennise means merciful God/ Gracious God."
Do you have a wild story of how you got your name? Let us know in the comments!
Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.