What's in a Name. . .

One of my favorite books I've recently read is Freakonomics, A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  I think the chapter that stands out the most is the last chapter, "Would a Roshanda by any Other Name Smell as Sweet?" I am always curious as to the reasoning behind the names chosen for one's child.  Many of my friends who have children chose names that are beautiful and meaningful.  A cousin of mine named their youngest daughter, Ruby, after his wife's grandmother.  Working with children, I have seen my share of crazy names.  One of my favorite is Floyd Boyd, and this poor child was a "the fourth".  So, there were 3 generations of "Floyd Boyd's" prior to him, and there may be more generations to come.  Working in West Virginia for three years in my training, I was introduced to many Destiny's, Charity's, and Cheyenne's.  However, the best were two sisters, named Egypt and Stormy.  I had a couple of patients named "Stormy".  Recently, I have encountered a child named, Ecstasy.  Yes, kids, this 12-year-old girl's name is Ecstasy.  She is destined for a life in the adult film industry, so, kudos to her parents.  Since she has a sister named, Diamond, they can have a nice stake in the adult entertainment world, with one porn star, and one stripper.  Today, a little boy came in to my clinic, and his name is, "Book".  He actually goes by this name, as well.  I always wonder what inspires people to give such stupid names to their children.  I think if you are going to name your child "Book", it is part of your unconscious desire to be Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, who named their daughter, Apple.  It's like opening the dictionary, closing ones eyes, and and picking a word, and then deciding to name their child the first thing that their finger touches.  Of course, there are the clever parents who name their children things like, "Vagina", "Chlamydia", "Gonorrhea", and I recently saw, "Anesthesia".  The last one is the best--that person is destined to having no personality whatsoever.