Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with name

Where once we were lost, now we got founded. Name us plz.

TomMelee — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:02:51 -0800

Can you help us name our IT company? Or rather...will you? Myself and a friend have decided that it's time we stop doing small IT jobs on the "side" and actually incorporate and call it a business. (Mostly so we can pick up some nice contracts.) We need a name.

Bonus points for wittiness, humor, and ease of remembering. Obviously, it has to fit on a business card/car magnet. It should also sound good when we pick up the phone "Awesome Possum IT, where we make dinner from roadkill, how may I help you?"

We do pretty much everything your local IT company does, from network wiring to custom software. He's ex-millitary, huge, semi-pro rugby player. I'm uhh...smaller, and I play soccer. We are located in Appalachia, and the bulk of our work is with non-profits (although that might change once we're legal.) If we're not working, we're fishing, or at least playing in the woods.

Some suggestions from friends that have been rejected:
-Nuke From Orbit (NFO) (cuz we rarely nuke, we usually salvage the system)
-RedneckTechs (we might be good ol' boys, but we're not rednecks. We feel like this has a negative connotation.)
-Computer Fix (supposed to be a take-off on "drug fix", but I don't think 99 out of 100 people read it that way.)
-Kickass Seabass IT. (I just thought it would be fun to sign off "Kickass, Seabass!", but I think that's less than professional.)

So, lemme have it. I will espousenate any winners, if said winner desires espousenation. Feel free to include your catchy phone answer too.

Help with cartoon Film

maxmix — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:09:10 -0800

It is a 60's or 70;s cartoon film, it starts live action and involves a boy who enters a cartoon world, I seem to recall a winding road, and has a Dr Suess kind of feel to it.....Pretty vague I know, but it's all i can remember, apart from it being shown on Cartoon network about 10 Ish years ago, any one help me??

I haven't seen one of these in a while...

tybstar — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:46:44 -0800

We need a name for a kitten, before he's not a kitten anymore. We adopted a little (for now) Maine Coon kitten and so far we haven't managed to keep a name stuck to him. Pictures! Details below. He is a very high-energy kitty. He loves water: he'll hop up onto the side of the tub and lick at the faucet after we've showered, and he loves it if we splash a bit of water on the floor in the kitchen doing dishes. He's going to be a big kitty--he's growing by a pound every two weeks, and if he does have significant Maine Coon blood in him, he'll keep growing slowly for a few years.

I want to call him Sylvester McMonkey McBean, but Ms. Tybstar doesn't like that. Something short and two-syllable would be perfect. Previous animal names have included: Speedy, Sorsha, and Minerva. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

what is this Fabolous song?

tunestunes — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:52:44 -0800

what is this Fabolous song? the clip i put up is way slower than the actual song but you should be able to get the idea. what do you everybody think?

Name me!

n'muakolo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:59:28 -0800

I am converting to Judaism and need to pick my Hebrew name. Any ideas? Kind of fun, huh?

My Rabbi suggested to choose a name that represents a trait I aspire to, or a name I just like the sound of, or a name that begins with the first letter of my name. The traits I've come up with that I seek to emboy more are "courage," "joy," "strength." I have a few options for joy, but "courage" and "strength" I can only find boys' names (and I'm a girl). I like names like Yael and Haviva and Chaya but those names are out because family members have them.

I'd like this name to be pretty and somehow feel like 'me.' This is harder than naming a baby, since I already exist and know what "I" feel like. I don't really want a well-known biblical name like Sarah or Rebecca or a name that sounds harsh/ugly. I don't want a name that is defined by the person's relationship with God (i.e. Gavriella - God is my strength) although I love the way some of those names sound.

What do you think of "Words Like Notes"?

jlhopes — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:08:32 -0800

I have tentatively given my freelance editing and design business the name Words Like Notes. What do you think of it? I am creating a name and website for my freelance editing and print layout/design business. I would like to have a name that is not just my name, but which covers the different types of work I do (editing, writing, layout, and some translation) and gives a sense of the style I aim for - light and refined, yet professional.

The name I have been going with is Words Like Notes. I like the sound of it, but I realize that it is not a straightforward name, and I'm concerned that it will just confuse people.

What is your reaction to the name? Does it convey anything? Does it turn you off? Do you have any suggestions regarding how to use the name, or modify it, or replace it altogether? Thanks!

Help me name my web show!

mordecai — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:50:48 -0800

Name-my-web-show filter: I'm launching a web show that features the places and foods of Singapore. I need a shot, snazzy title for it, ending with a .tv domain. Anybody got any ideas? Thanks so much!

What's my name?

Cogito — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:39:31 -0800

Help me guess this person's name. I've been given some clues. I share a given name with the poor-but-virtuous protagonist of one of the first English novels, but it's more likely that I was named for an actress who played a girl detective on a 1970s TV series.

It's not Rumpelstiltskin, in case you were wondering.

Help, I feel culturally patronised

Xianny — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:11:39 -0800

My boyfriend's mother keeps trying to rename me and I find it offensive, what should I do? I use an anglicised version of my Chinese name for convenience. It's a nickname that my friends started using when I was around 13, so it's not just something that I made up. Upon meeting my boyfriend's mother, she concocted a more "English-sounding" pronunciation and spelling for my name - from "Xianny" to "Shanni".

I find "Shanni" to be ridiculously twee but even if I liked the name I don't like being renamed so casually and by someone else, especially someone that I'd (at the time) just met. It wasn't even in the context of "oh, that's hard for me to pronounce, can I call you Shanni instead?" - she just started doing it, no questions asked.

I would just write this off as a harmless annoyance, but for the fact that she's starting to be more aggressive about it and I find it quite rude and patronising. If other family members ask me how to spell my name in her presence, I'll start to tell them but she'll talk over me to deliver her version. On a recent birthday card from her and her mother (who I have a pretty close relationship with), she striked out my name and wrote "Shanni" instead. The rest of the family seem to have no problem with my name, it's just her, but I don't want to wind up having everyone call me "Shanni".

This is starting to bother me quite a bit. I've been with my boyfriend for about 2.5 years and I've known her for about 2 years. She doesn't take kindly to being corrected. She won't make a fuss, but usually just dismisses anyone who disagrees with her, and acts as if she's being personally insulted. How do I deal with this - should I talk to her about it at all? It's quite a close-knit family and simply avoiding her is not something I'm willing to do.

Hangul help

larsks — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:13:43 -0800

Help me find someone with Hangul calligraphy skills. When I travelled to Korea to adopt our daughter, the proprietor of the store where we buy our name stamps heard that I was adopting and made a lovely calligraphy of our daughter's Korean name. I would like to find someone to make something similar for my son. We live near Boston, if that helps.

What should I name a blog about question-asking?

unknowncommand — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:58:23 -0800

I'm starting a blog about question-asking (including Q&A sites, library reference, etc) and I need a good name for it. I was thinking of some kind of wordplay involving hives/bees/honey/pollen because I love bees, and because "hive mind" is kind of related. Obvious names like "hivebuzz" or "infobuzz" or "hivetalk" are a little too obvious for my tastes (and are also already taken, so it could just be sour grapes). Any ideas? Non-bee suggestions are also welcome!

Legal name change in TX not relating to marriage/divorce

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:04:55 -0800

How can I legally change my last name in Texas without it being due to marriage or divorce? My father just passed away. I am his daughter, his only child. I am married and took my husband's last name. Now that my dad is gone, I want to carry on his name by hyphenating my last name with maiden-married. Some places on the internet says I can just fill out some forms, others say I need to hire an attorney. Anyone out there change their name in Texas without it being due to a marriage/divorce and did you have to hire an attorney? Thank you.

Name that tune!

wsg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:40:02 -0800

What song is this, please? (youtube link) http://tinyurl.com/ykppwlo

Help with a band name

Astro Zombie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:30:34 -0800

I want to start an Irish band called the Peter O'Tooles. Might this be a problem? Can Peter O'Toole stop me, since we're just taking his glorious name?

What's My Name Again?

ericc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:55:33 -0800

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out this person's name. She says it, right there in plain language, but I just can't catch it. Does the name sound familiar? I kinda think the last name is Gomez, but even that I'm not so sure of.

Self-help but I need your help - what should I name my blog?

Chrysalis — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:31:37 -0800

Help me name my blog! I'm in the process of turning my life around and changing some really unhelpful mental habits and would like to start a blog basically about the things I'm learning and trying towards enjoying and living life more fully, feeling good in my own skin and having a positive attitude etc, hopefully to a) keep me motivated and on track with this and give me a place to record the journey and b) hopefully maybe give other people some ideas/inspiration. I'm thinking along the lines of each entry being about a little concept or something I've been thinking about or an idea I'm trying, maybe a question, rather than a "dear diary" overly personal to myself style.

I'd like something positive and catchy and easy to match with visual images, so I was thinking of something like "making life sweet" but less cheesy, but am open to any suggestions (on any theme) at all as long as you don't mind if I ultimately end up using your idea :)

URL forwards in a frame

andrewzipp — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:17:49 -0800

Is there a domain shortener like TinyURL that forwards, but keeps the http://tinyurl.com/whatever part stay in the address bar? I need to send links to sites that are stored at MyCompany.com/whatever and not have it say MyCompany.com. I used to use Good.to or Goin.to for this, but they are going under soon.

Dutch name translation

eaglehound — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:13:09 -0800

I have found a written reference to a person with a last name of: ten Thije ook genoemd Boonkkamp. I am assuming that it is Dutch? and can anyone transliterate it into English, especially the non-capitalized parts? Does it mean 'Thije' who is married to 'Boonkkamp' or anything like that?

I have a baby education society, now it needs a name.

soma lkzx — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:52:48 -0800

Help me name my wicked-cool collaborative learning group! This question has more backstory on the project, but the basics are: a bunch of people get together to work through a book or topic together, about which none of them are experts. We'll be holding a few classes at a time.

Facts: We're in Brooklyn, probably doing it around the Gowanus, classes will run the gamut from crafty to pure bookish intellectualism

Notes: A lot of words related to collaboration make us sound like an anarchist collective. We're trying to avoid that! We'd also prefer to sound fun over being a horribly formal institution, but we don't want it to be embarrassed to say it out loud. It also isn't a requirement that the name be entirely descriptive.

Things we like: If every class also was about prom, we'd just call it The Dilettante Ball. Brooklyn Guild unfortunately already exists. Brooklyn Creative League has a fun name, too.

and sure, these classes will probably be full of hipsters, so it's okay to court them a little bit as long as you don't alienate Everyone Else

Something a little less unweildy than "Cú Chulainn" would be nice...

256 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:30:09 -0800

My future son needs an Irish first name with some muscle. Long winded: My wife and I are expecting our first child. I'm Irish Canadian with one of those Irish Cop sounding last names.

My wife didn't change her name when we married and has a particularly uncommon German last name. All of the men in her family, with the exception of her father, died childless in and around the second world war with the result that she is basically the only person of her generation to carry her surname.

Neither of us are too keen on the idea of giving our children stupid hyphenated last names and my wife really wants to pass her name on to them. I'm fine with that. Still, I've read "Irish on the Inside" and would like to pass a little something of that heritage down to my children.

To clarify, I'm looking for Irish Gaelic names in the style of "Éamonn", not Irish Catholic names in the style of "Patrick".

I really like the idea of giving a child a name with some weight and my wife and I particularly like the idea of being able to read stories to the child where the protagonist or another major character shares their name. So, we're mostly looking for names from literature, legend and mythology.

Fionn/Finn is obviously right up that alley, but I'd like something a little less common. My current favorite is "Conán" but my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm.

And for what it's worth, the child's middle name will be "Robert" and his surname will start with a K.

Will I have trouble flying under my old name?

pantheON — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:08:27 -0800

I have a new name. My passport is in my old name. I've booked a flight under my old name. Will I have trouble traveling? Say my name used to be "John Smith". Also say that I recently changed my name to "James John Smith". I have a valid Canadian passport in the name of John Smith. I have booked a ticket in the name of John Smith for travel from Toronto to London, England and back. Will I run into any trouble?

I'm guessing I'll be fine because the ticket and the passport are in the same name, notwithstanding the fact that my full legal name is now slightly different. Just looking for some reassurance. I am traveling the last week in October and do not have time to apply for a new passport.

WHAT IS THIS RAPSONG SONG?

defmute — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:23:12 -0800

What is this song? I found a song on an old harddrive and I really like it! I don't know who the artist is, however, though. I tried looking up the lyrics online but nothing came of it. Any thoughts (p.s. the song is called "Thoughts" punpunpunpunpunpun)?

"Thoughts"

How to change the name by which people call me?

demagogue — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:40:54 -0800

I reeally dislike my RealFirstName. I want to start going by a NewName. Unfortunately, I have complicated things by not introducing myself as my NewName at my new "career", office-y job. So everybody just calls me by RealFirstName. So if I want to change this, and eventually go by NewName, what do I do now? Some more self-indulgent background:

About RealFirstName, many friends describe it as not suiting my personality. I personally hate it. Even though it's short, I am constantly fumbling over the syllables. Like when I go to shake someone's hand and introduce myself, my mouth trips and stumbles of its own accord. It's not like the name is even complicated, but I digress. Suffice to say I'd like to go by another name.

What do I do now?

P.S., I am not set on my new preferred name[s]. As I don't currently have a middle name, my idea is to leave my RealFirstName the same, and "graft" on a new middle name[s], one of which would become my preferred name.

If you want to help me come out with my new preferred/middle name, please give me a shout at MeFiName@gmail.com.

Should I worry that my great-aunt shows up when one Googles my unusual name?

rzperllian — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:03:22 -0800

Should I worry that my great-aunt shows up when one Googles my unusual name? I have a very unusual name, which is great. I'm just starting a career as a writer and I'm anticipating my web presence will be pretty important at some point.

Problem? I had a great aunt with the same (extremely unusual) name as me, who in 1985 published a book that still comes up all the time in Google and Amazon searches. There are also a few news articles about her from the 1960s.

Is there anything I can do about this? Is it cause enough to start using my middle initial? I wouldn't worry about it if I were called Jennifer Smith; I'm just so not used to the possibility for confusion.

"Chill out and let it go" is an acceptable answer :)

Help me name my dog please...

saragoodman3 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:16:48 -0800

I've had this dog for… a long time, I’m ashamed to admit how long. I keep thinking I’ll just ‘come up with’ a name, like I have with past cats and dogs. I am stumped. She is ten, 15 lbs, Chihuahua / min pin mix (I think).
She is interested in people, tolerates other dogs, and ignores cats as if they were houseplants.
She jumps for joy like min pins do, and has the skinny legs, but a stocky chi body. She is black.
She loves food, and will climb like a mountain goat if there is food at the top of whatever.
She is an excellent companion and dog friend. She follows me around from room to room, and snoozes while I am still, but is up as soon as I move.
I was thinking a traditional girls name might fit her…
Maybe a Spanish name since she's a chi?
I’d like a two-syllable name that’s easy for me to say, and call at the dog park, as I have to yell pretty loud for her to her me (she is going deaf).
Feel free to disregard my preferences tho, as these restrictions so far have left me with no ideas.
She is a wonderful companion, who so far has just been ‘the dog’. I owe her a name. please help… I feel so lame about not being able to come up with anything that fits her.