Would you name your kid after someone whose professional work you admired, but whose personal life might have been less than exemplary?

Nope

Like whom?

Jesse James McGillicudy?
David Koresh Simpson?

or are you thinking more like

Ted Kennedy Smiith
Marilyn Monroe Gulbertson?

This can go several different directions.

No.

@elbanditoroso Good point. I’d be curious to hear people’s examples of where they would and where they wouldn’t.

@elbanditoroso . You admire the professional work of David Koresh?

Heck no. And my husband and I even made sure to not name our kids after any of the naughty kids we knew (or know). We have come to a theory that some kids by some names are just nearly always naughty.

@geeky_mama I think ruling out people we don’t like (or think they’re naughty) is easier because there isn’t another aspect of them that we do like.

There are a lot of talented musicians and artists that have led erm…colorful lives and have met with less than desirable endings.

@fluthernutter ..good point. I should probably explain it was when we were looking for a baby boy name. We were working with a pretty small pool of possible kid names once we ruled out all names of my ex-boyfriends. <wink>

@geeky_mama Ha!

Possibly. But, I would not really be naming after that person, but more simply because I like the name, and maybe I first heard the name knowing the work of this person. I can’t really imagine naming my baby after someone who is not family or a close dear friend. Anyone outside of that circle is just someone whose name I liked.

Nah, Dirk Diggler is a silly name anyway.

Depends on what kind of personal life they have. If they are some sick murderer or rapist, I would probably never name someone after them. If it’s something else like a mess in love or a pothead or something, I might name them after someone. This makes no sense, does it?

Let me think; If I like the name, and I respect the person professionally, then that would be enough for me to consider giving the name to a child of mine.

I might use a loved relative or friend’s name as my child’s middle name but I wouldn’t give my child a first name in honour of another person.

I want my children to be individuals and so I chose names I thought would suit them. Not a name that connects them to someone else’s achievements or failures.

No. We named our first born after his great grandfather who was one of the most caring, compassionate and magnanimous people I have ever known.

To me, their personal life matters more than their professional life.

Well admiring a person isn’t really a reason why I’d name my kid after them. If I liked the name and it seemed to fit the child, that would work. The woman in my avatar is Béatrice Dalle, French actress who plays murderers and cannibals. I love her work, and I love how all movie directors say that the characters they gave her never turns out how they intended; she gives the character a soul and a life of their own. But apparently, in real life she is a complete and total dumbass twat, who shoplifts jewelry and gets married with convicted felons 12 hours after meeting them. That wouldn’t stop me from naming my daughter Béatrice; if I even liked that name, which I don’t. XD

What would be important to me is finding a nice name that fits, and like @Bellatrix says, I’d never name my kid in honor of someone else.

Yes. Like @JLeslie and others have mentioned. We do like the names. It’s just hard to not have certain associations especially with less common names.

On the other hand, would people not name their kid a name that they liked (before it became associated with someone), if that person was incredibly annoying? Does that ruin a name for you? Or is it the sentiment when you first liked it weigh more?

That doesn’t really answer your question, but for some reason or another that has nothing to do with Xena Warrior Princess I’m madly in love with the name Gabrielle. I’d never name my daughter that though, since it’s a name I’D like to have. Wouldn’t seem fair at all to my kid. Kinda like forcing them in some class or special activity you totally failed/never got a chance to take, but wanted to at as a child yourself.

I’d name my kid Ozzy or Darth Vader. :)

Seriously, I would have named my son after “Seth” from ” From Dusk Til Dawn”. Absolutely loved the character.