See, here's the problem (at least as I see it) with the "vanity" names.
I understand wanting to give your kid a somewhat unique name. (Like, Unique and her twin sister Monique.) But the issue I have is that these people don't really consider what life will be like for their kids. I don't just mean as a little kid in grade school, I mean throughout their ENTIRE lives. I mean, let's consider for a second what life will be like for little Courage Jones.
As a very little kid, he'll undoubtedly be teased about it and feel pressured to actually be courageous. Possibly to a stupid and dangerous degree. Now, being teased is nothing that you can shield your kid from. People will find ways to turn even the most mundane name into something used to torture a kid. So, in that sense, I guess you get a pass for an "exotic" name as a little kid. I mean, hell, even John is gonna get grief from his friends once they find out it's another word for "toilet," ya know?
But think about when the kid hits junior high where being "different" is a mark of shame, rather than a badge of honor. It's hard enough on kids to go through taht period of life dealing with all the normal junior high BS and such. But to throw in the added burden of being named Courage? Unless that kid is SUPREMELY confident in himself from a very early age, AND has managed to somehow command the respect and admiration of his junior high peers, he's in for a rougher time than most.
College, I suppose, you get a pass on. Nobody cares what your name is then, because they're too busy doing the college thing.
But what about when someone decides to go into a profession. I mean, not to disrespect anyone on this board who may be named or know someone named Tiffany, but dude, that's a stripper name. Can you imagine hearing a bailiff say "All rise. The honorable Judge Tiffany Jones now presiding." Or someone paging doctor Random Smith?
Ultimately, I think you can rock almost any name (except Aloysius) if you're an interesting/cool enough person at your core, but I can see where stuff like that would also be a burden because it ends up with you having to explain yourself EVERY DAMN TIME you talk to someone. "Hi. Yeah, my name is Random. No, not a joke and I didn't change it myself. Yeah, my parents thought it was cool."
Thing is, a name is something you have to live with every day of your life. It can affect your experiences throughout life (see also, A Boy Named Sue). I don't think it's soemthing that should be taken lightly, nor something where "oh, I just thought it sounded cool" should be the deciding factor. I also think that there's an element of "vanity plate" mindset that can go into naming a child, and that can be kind of self-centered on the part of the parent. Yes, your child is an extension of yourself in some respects, but they're going to live their own independent life, and they'll have to do it with the name you gave 'em, good, bad, or ugly. Yes, they can change it later in life, but even so, it's already part of their identity.
Which is exactly why I'll be naming MY children after the characters from Welcome Back Kotter. Meet Horschach, Boom-Boom, and Epstein, and my youngest, Mister Kotter.
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