My sister will call her kid Megatron

[Khorne_78]

This is one of those Facebook things, 'My sister will call her kid Megatron if I can get 1 million fans. Just wondering if anyones heard about it already, and is it as dodgy as it looks? Seriously, wouldn't Hasbro have something to say about it if it was serious?
Anyway, heres the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MY-SISTER-SAID-IF-I-GET-ONE-MILLION-FANS-SHE-WILL-NAME-HER-BABY-MEGATRON/333067975442?v=app_2373072738&ref=nf#!/pages/MY-SISTER-SAID-IF-I-GET-ONE-MILLION-FANS-SHE-WILL-NAME-HER-BABY-MEGATRON/333067975442?v=wall&ref=nf

[Omega Supreme]

To me it just seems as a cheap way to get "fans" for facebook groups.

[Sky Shadow]

This is one of those Facebook things, 'My sister will call her kid Megatron if I can get 1 million fans. Just wondering if anyones heard about it already, and is it as dodgy as it looks? Seriously, wouldn't Hasbro have something to say about it if it was serious?

You can name your child or yourself anything you like, as long as it's made up of letters. Not that it's really going to happen. I assume it's like most Facebook groups - they just want members and attention. And:

http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=159741#post159741

[SofaMan]

You can name your child or yourself anything you like, as long as it's made up of letters.

I think there is some judicial discretion to demand a change where the name exposes the child to ridicule or contempt. There was a case recently in NZ (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2452593/Talula-Does-The-Hula-From-Hawaii-not-a-girls-name-New-Zealand-court-rules.html) (which isn't Australia obviously, but has a very similar legal tradition).

[GoktimusPrime]

:eek: Divine excrement! That makes naming your kid Eyjafjallajökull (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull) seem perfectly mundane! :cool:

[Sky Shadow]

I think there is some judicial discretion to demand a change where the name exposes the child to ridicule or contempt. There was a case recently in NZ (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2452593/Talula-Does-The-Hula-From-Hawaii-not-a-girls-name-New-Zealand-court-rules.html) (which isn't Australia obviously, but has a very similar legal tradition).

On the other hand (also from New Zealand, bizarrely - what do they put in the water over there, Zippo? Soundblaster? Anyone? ;))

http://funinlife.wordpress.com/2007/09/10/superman-the-weirdest-baby-names-ever/

Related, plus some celebrity baby names:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1559705/This-babys-name-is-not-4Real-couple-told.html

If Superman and Kal-El are allowed, I don't see why Megatron would be a huge problem.

[SofaMan]

If Superman and Kal-El are allowed, I don't see why Megatron would be a huge problem.

Kal-El is in America, and any foolhardy nonsense goes over there. And Kal would a reasonably inconspicuous name.

There does seem to be a bit of inconsistency in NZ around this. Registration officials have blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy, Stallion, Twisty Poi and Sex Fruit. But others have been allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, a pair of twins called Benson and Hedges, and (wait for it) Violence. :eek:

I think the bigger concern is the selfish narcissicm shown by some parents that completely trumps any concern for the social wellbeing of their child.

[griffin]

These are people, sentient people, and these 'parents' are treating it like they are naming their car or some other material possession. The act of naming a person is something to revere and respect, as it can define a person and shape their childhood. It is important to take naming a sentient human being, seriously, as many cultures have done in the past (often when a person comes of age).

[Bartrim]

Geez and my wife thought I was crazy for wanting to name our son Wolfgang... I know it's wrong but still I LOL'd at Number 16 Bus Shelter

[VERT]

My Daughter is Mara Jade (both old Hebrew names that just happen to be that of a Star Wars character) and my son is called Anakin :D But Megatron is going a bit to far. But if its a Girl you could call her Megs :D

My wife & I have had NOTHING but compliments on their names. We named them these as my wife loved the names, and that is why people name their children what they do. My son's middle name is a family name. No-one in our families carries on first names, they do it with middle names. First names are names that both parents agree on and love.

In my daughters swimming class their was a child named Maximus........NOT after Fort Max, it was just a name they loved. We also know of many other "out there" names, like Magnus, Anarchy, Star, Griffin, Lucifer, hell even brothers named Jack & Daniel.

[Saintly]

http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=159741#post159741

Could we merge the topic that SS mentioned above? please

[Bartrim]

My Daughter is Mara Jade (both old Hebrew names that just happen to be that of a Star Wars character) and my son is called Anakin :D But Megatron is going a bit to far. But if its a Girl you could call her Megs :D

My wife & I have had NOTHING but compliments on their names. We named them these as my wife loved the names, and that is why people name their children what they do. My son's middle name is a family name. No-one in our families carries on first names, they do it with middle names. First names are names that both parents agree on and love.

In my daughters swimming class their was a child named Maximus........NOT after Fort Max, it was just a name they loved. We also know of many other "out there" names, like Magnus, Anarchy, Star, Griffin, Lucifer, hell even brothers named Jack & Daniel.:D

Cool names VERT. A woman my mother-in-law used to work with named her first son Otis after Otis Reading, then when she had a second son said "What the hell, We'll call him Milo"

[VERT]

Yep, heard of Milo too, but not with Otis :P

My wife just thought of 2 more....brothers with the names Luca Elmo & Felix Homer.......

[dirge]

I personally like Number 16 Bus Shelter... but as a joke. It belongs in a Sitcom, not reality.

As for calling a kid Megatron, I tend agree with griffin - the poor kid has to bear that name for life (although I'd say a Deed Poll is likely), and parents should frankly be more respectful. Otis.... Mara Jade.... unusual but serious, but naming kids as a joke is sad, and reflects terribly on the parents.

[SamLoi888]

It's just a scam to get people onto the fan page so they can be spammed. Nobody is calling their kid Megatron.

[Lint]

I personally like Number 16 Bus Shelter... but as a joke. It belongs in a Sitcom, not reality.

As for calling a kid Megatron, I tend agree with griffin - the poor kid has to bear that name for life (although I'd say a Deed Poll is likely), and parents should frankly be more respectful. Otis.... Mara Jade.... unusual but serious, but naming kids as a joke is sad, and reflects terribly on the parents.


I don't see how this is making the kid poor. Like the hundreds of thousands of other people in this world with 'unfortunate' names he or she will simply deal with it, as will friends and family, and either adopt a shortened form 'Megs' or some other name for common use. It only gets awkward when you have roll call or have to sign an official document.

Besides which, if I ever had to hire someone and Megatron's resume passed my desk I would TOTALLY read it. :D

[Gutsman Heavy]

none of the names posted so far even scratch the horrible misspelled bogan name tend that is gripping the country!

Shain, Shayne, Shane etc.

*shudder*

[SofaMan]

It's just a scam to get people onto the fan page so they can be spammed. Nobody is calling their kid Megatron.

In this instance I quite agree, but it's still worthwhile discussing it as it's become increasingly clear that some parents can and do give their children dreadful names for their own narcissistic purposes.

[kup]

In this instance I quite agree, but it's still worthwhile discussing it as it's become increasingly clear that some parents can and do give their children dreadful names for their own narcissistic purposes.

We need to re-introduce selective breeding into the human race. Clearly nature has become a bit obsolete when it comes to doing it.

[griffin]

I don't see how this is making the kid poor. Like the hundreds of thousands of other people in this world with 'unfortunate' names he or she will simply deal with it, as will friends and family, and either adopt a shortened form 'Megs' or some other name for common use. It only gets awkward when you have roll call or have to sign an official document.

I can speak from experiance, that an unusual name that draws unwanted attention or ridicule, can be very damaging psychologically to a child. I was given a name that is more common now, but 25-30 years ago while I was at school, it was a new name to everyone - so as with any new word, people would pronounce it phonetically, and it would become, a more commonly known, female name. Then you have the kids at school, who find anything to entertain themselves, or gain a place in the pecking order. That wouldn't be so bad if I just went through 2 schools like most kids - but my family moved around every couple years - so after 7 schools and 7 cycles of mental anguish, I hated the name so much I had it legally changed as soon as I was old enough to do it.

Any childhood trauma or pain is never forgotten. That girl in the NZ article who hated the name her parents gave her, is gonna be affected by it all her life. A child would have to have a flawless personality and physical form to be able to embrace an unusual name, as others wouldn't have anything else to tease them about, and are less likely to just make fun of their name.
But should parents really take the risk of stunting their child's mental development, on something that they liked. If Parents like certain bizzarre names so much, change their own names. If their kid ends up wanting something unusual, that's what nicknames are for.

[kup]

What Griffin said is pretty true. Kids would find anything to climb up the pecking order and entertain themselves and names are an easy target. My name isn't really something many people can easily find something to make fun of but the fact that it was unusual to them was enough for kids to try. I also went to several schools and without fail, kids always tried to make fun of it somehow. This happened in 3 separate countries too.

Now that I am older, people don't exactly try (badly) to make fun of my name but they often try to associate it with religious significance as in 'my faith'. This is specially annoying as I am atheist. The odd thing is that my name is a Biblical name in the same batch as John, Peter or Michael but because it's not as commonly used, people either think that it's odd or that I am jewish. They don't realize that the common names I mentioned before are also of jewish origin but not considered as such by some due to how common they are to Christians. The 'I must be Jewish' because of my name sh*ts me a little bit as I don't think that people named John or Peter must be Jewish despite those names being every bit as jewish as mine.

[GoktimusPrime]

I dislike my mundane name, hence why I often don't use it - and in the company of friends I just go by "Goki" or "Gok."


A child would have to have a flawless personality and physical form to be able to embrace an unusual name, as others wouldn't have anything else to tease them about, and are less likely to just make fun of their name.
Yup. I know someone who's initials are A.S.S., but thankfully nobody ever teases her about it (98% of the time she's the one who laughs about it). :)

[1AZRAEL1]

I know I don't have an unusual first name, I never got teased about it. I was different in other respects (long hair) and I got teased about that all through High School. So in some respects I know how someone with an unusual name must go through. And it is true, you do need to have a strong personality to persevere through it all. Shouldn't have to put up with it, but the worlds not perfect and someone will always tease you about something. Thankfully I had the fortitude to get through it. I would feel sorry for this kid if they do indeed get named Megatron, because I can see them going through something similar I did, I don't wish that on anyone.

[Sky Shadow]

I find it interesting that so many people on this board think it would be a tragedy for a child to be called Megatron. Personally, I'd have preferred it (heck, loved it) if my parents had called me that. And it's not like it's that hugely varied from traditional names. Meg, Mega, Megan, Meggy, Megara, Megaera and Megadorus are all 'real' human names. What's wrong with Megatron? It's got strong classical roots and is leagues better than 100% of the misspelled bogan names that so many poor kids get saddled with these days.

[Omega Supreme]

I know I don't have an unusual first name, I never got teased about it. I was different in other respects (long hair) and I got teased about that all through High School. So in some respects I know how someone with an unusual name must go through. And it is true, you do need to have a strong personality to persevere through it all. Shouldn't have to put up with it, but the worlds not perfect and someone will always tease you about something. Thankfully I had the fortitude to get through it. I would feel sorry for this kid if they do indeed get named Megatron, because I can see them going through something similar I did, I don't wish that on anyone.

I had long hair in high school as well, although where I went to school - Lockridge High - W.A. the place was filled with bogan kids so it was accepted more widely. Sad to hear you were ridiculed about it, you would have fit right in at my school :)

[1AZRAEL1]

I had long hair in high school as well, although where I went to school - Lockridge High - W.A. the place was filled with bogan kids so it was accepted more widely. Sad to hear you were ridiculed about it, you would have fit right in at my school :)

I was (and still am) a metalhead, there were maybe 3 people in my whole year that were into metal (and from memory) the only male with long hair. I was just different to everyone else. But I stuck to my guns and still to this day have long hair.