Using a Unique Name

plunderb

We're getting close to committing to a truly unique name: Samaritan.

It embodies our values and we love the nn Sam. Also, I have a longstanding weakness for virtue names and I love the idea of being as adventurous in picking a boy's name as a girl's. But I'm still on the fence with three main concerns:

1) The middle name will be my maiden name, which is something very similar to "de los Angeles." It's purely a coincidence, but I'm worried that it makes Samaritan 100% cheesier.

2) I'm having a hard time imagining using his full name in anger. As in, "Samaritan, you have three seconds to put on your coat." It just sounds sort of funny to use a name with such positive connotations in a disciplinary situation. I suppose that's sort of the point ? a virtue name is supposed to be a reminder of high ideals and the reminder is for me as much as anyone.

3) If he ever becomes a supervillain, the headlines just write themselves.

So hit me with your opinions. I know it's a weird name. And I'm not totally committed yet. But I want to hear whatever you've got (good or bad).

Empireceo

FWIW, I love your daughter's name!  It's my mom's middle name and her aunt's name and it's nice to see it on a younger person too.

Samaritan is a little out there for me.  If you love the nickname Sam, have you though about Samson or Samir?  Samir is kind of close without being so on the nose.

Helenahhandbasket

1) I think you just have to let the fn/mn combo be what it's going to be-- regardless of feeling like it sounds cheesy.  I think many agree that semtiment trumps flow or meaning.

2) While it does sort of sound funny, imagine a little girl named Grace being scolded for picking her nose (or something equally as un-graceful.)

3) This totally made me LOL.

Good for you for considering a bold name for your son!

TheWop

I just....can't get on board. The thought is great, but I just don't see it as a human name. I'm sure you'll get a lot of "Samaritan? As in Good Samaritan?...Um ok." with a confused look.  I mean if you love it, go for it, but if I knew someone IRL name their kid this I'd give them this look

mmb248

It's a little out there for me, but my main problem with it is that I think it would be a little like the Angela problem I've noticed.  Everyone I know named Angela (or some form of that) has a devilish streak a mile wide.  I see Samaritan growing up to be a total d!ck or a complete hellion.

BlueRidge8

I live too close to Samaritan's Purse HQ (and have some issue with them) - so my association is not great.

lollipoppoop

I can't picture this on a resume...

AsOctoberFalls

No. It's really bad. Samaritan is not a virtue; it's an ethnoreligious group.  I also think the nickname "Sam" is a stretch, because Samaritan isn't pronounced with the same vowel sound.

I'm all for unique names, but I really hate this one.

StickyBaby

I like less common virtue names, I say go for it.

Eta, I just was reading a little more on where that word derived from and what I read said "considered an outcast" hmm, I am not so sure about it now.

Buckeye608

CitrusXoXo:

I can't picture this on a resume...

This.

Also, I think the understanding of Samaritan has radically changed. OP I'm assuming it speaks to you because of its biblical presence. The power of that story wasn't just in the kindness of the act, but the contemporary context of Samaritans. They were mostly rejected, marginalized, and disdained, especially by the contemporary audience of Jesus. I do love the sentiment but it's just too out there for me.

 I love your DD's name, and the pairing seems a bit odd too.

led2009

It doesn't work for me. A) It's a virtue name and there's not a one that I like. It sounds like the parents are sure they're going to have the perfect child who'll be honorable, angelic, gracefull, etc. It's more of a description of a type of person to me, not an actual name.

VOR

Moidonna:

For the whole first half of your post I thought you were naming a girl. 

Yeah, so did I.  Once I realized it was for a boy, I really thought "no".

 

austenreader85

I actually really like it, which surprises me since it doesn't have a history as a name (that I'm aware of).  As for the anger part- I think that comes natural no matter the child's name.  I'm sure there are plenty of Angel, Angela, Angelica etc. or Jesus that get yelled at without a problem.  By the time you're yelling in anger at your child you've already said the name so often it's much more common place and less "reverent."

Notwifezilla7

I'm sorry. I just can't get behind it. It just doesn't work for me period. 

apc1929

I should preface this by saying I really dislike most "virtue" names. They come off a bit preachy or something to me and seem to put an immediate expectation on the child. This name has an almost super-hero vibe to it that I don't think would translate well into real life. LOVE your dd's name and just don't think this comes close to it sorry

plunderb

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. This is just the sort of feedback I need. I am an historian of colonial America, so the virtue names are very familiar to me ? I don't doubletake at all when I see a given name like Waitstill or Experience or Diligence, so it's good to have an external check on what sounds normal to me.

I just wanted to clarify one thing on the Biblical reference. The antagonism between the Jews of Jesus' time and the Samaritans is part of what makes the Samaritan story meaningful to us. We are actually atheists, but the Good Samaritan story speaks to us specifically because of this theme. I'm thinking about Martin Luther King's exegesis of this text in his Mountaintop speech from 1968; basically, he interprets the story as a commandment to love recklessly and to expand the boundaries of our imagined communities, even/especially when doing so is risky or uncomfortable. It's not just about being charitable, but about obliterating social boundaries for the sake of human compassion. It's a story that speaks to us as ecumenical humanists.

allegro55

The name is different, but I actually like it.  He will most likely go by Sam, so it doesn't seem weird.

My only concern would be the connotation in different cultures.  Most people will think of the "Good Samaritan", but if he moves to another part of the world, the connotation could be different. 

It's cool that the name has such a deep meaning for you!

Dr.Loretta

plunderb:

 

I just wanted to clarify one thing on the Biblical reference. The antagonism between the Jews of Jesus' time and the Samaritans is part of what makes the Samaritan story meaningful to us. We are actually atheists, but the Good Samaritan story speaks to us specifically because of this theme. I'm thinking about Martin Luther King's exegesis of this text in his Mountaintop speech from 1968; basically, he interprets the story as a commandment to love recklessly and to expand the boundaries of our imagined communities, even/especially when doing so is risky or uncomfortable. It's not just about being charitable, but about obliterating social boundaries for the sake of human compassion. It's a story that speaks to us as ecumenical humanists.

I think this is placing a LOT of expectations on your LO

barnwife

I am not sure what to say here.

In the Biblical Good Samaritan story, the protaganist was from Samaria. That's why he's called a Samaritan.

So to me it's like naming your child Floridian, or Wisconsinite, or Californian. It just comes off as slightly ridiculous sounding to my ears.

Also, in Biblical times, being from Samaria was seen as a bad thing by people from elsewhere. It was as if they thought nothing good could come from there. 

So Jesus chose to make the protagonist of the story a Samaritan in part to show that not everything from Samaria was bad.

Getting to your concerns, point number one would make me think "two place names." Which is NMS at all. However, I like using family names so the mn gets a pass. Overall though, 2 place names gets 2 thumbs down from me.

To point 2 I say, once it's LOs name, it will start to come naturally. Point 3 wouldn't bother me at all. If he becomes a supervillian, if his name didn't lend itself to headlines, something else would. 

I'll go back to lurking now. 

82Sonia

I want to hate it but I don't.  That said, I don't really like it that much either.  I think you'd need to be very open to using the nickname Sam which is not very unique at all. 

austenreader85

plunderb:

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. This is just the sort of feedback I need. I am an historian of colonial America, so the virtue names are very familiar to me ? I don't doubletake at all when I see a given name like Waitstill or Experience or Diligence, so it's good to have an external check on what sounds normal to me.

I just wanted to clarify one thing on the Biblical reference. The antagonism between the Jews of Jesus' time and the Samaritans is part of what makes the Samaritan story meaningful to us. We are actually atheists, but the Good Samaritan story speaks to us specifically because of this theme. I'm thinking about Martin Luther King's exegesis of this text in his Mountaintop speech from 1968; basically, he interprets the story as a commandment to love recklessly and to expand the boundaries of our imagined communities, even/especially when doing so is risky or uncomfortable. It's not just about being charitable, but about obliterating social boundaries for the sake of human compassion. It's a story that speaks to us as ecumenical humanists.

I totally get your first point.  I am a bit of a fan of virtue names, especially the ones that we have decided to discard in the last 300 years.

And I think if you're going to pick a virtue name that Samaritan is something that can transcend religious lines (even those with no belief) so it works much better than something like Faith or Grace in that respect, for you.  

I don't think there is an issue with the context of using it as an ethno/religious group.  First of all, a lot of them from the Bible are named after an ancestor/founder so these subgroups started as names (not sure on the history of Samaria though) and is this a group that is still really in existence?  I think it's unlikely that it's the same as using the name Florida.  Which by the way, can't be said for other locations like Virginia, Carolina, Georgia.  

I guess I'm finding this name and this situation a good exception to my usual "rules."

Kfran84

Darbie914:

TheWop:

I just....can't get on board. The thought is great, but I just don't see it as a human name. I'm sure you'll get a lot of "Samaritan? As in Good Samaritan?...Um ok." with a confused look.  I mean if you love it, go for it, but if I knew someone IRL name their kid this I'd give them this look

This.  I can understand the reasoning behind it but I just can't see this as an actual name for someone.   

Agree. I like your sentiment, but not the name. Could you perhaps find someone who embodies those virtues and use that as a namesake?

I guess my mind runs to the fact that a Samaritan just means person from Samaria and not all of them were good. Jews and Samaritans had a strong dislike of each other and that's why Jesus made such an impact by talking to the Jews about this one Samaritan who happened to break rank and be a good person.

SoMoNY

CitrusXoXo:

I can't picture this on a resume...

This! 

StephanieLove10

It's your kid.

Pepper6

Samaritan  (s?'m?r?t ? n)
? n
1.	a native or inhabitant of Samaria
2.	short for Good Samaritan
3.	a member of a voluntary organization ( the Samaritans ) whichoffers counselling to people in despair, esp by telephone
4.	the dialect of Aramaic spoken in Samaria    I get where you are going with this, but per the dictionary definition, it's really not my favorite.

BulgariHeart

TheWop:

I just....can't get on board. The thought is great, but I just don't see it as a human name. I'm sure you'll get a lot of "Samaritan? As in Good Samaritan?...Um ok." with a confused look.  I mean if you love it, go for it, but if I knew someone IRL name their kid this I'd give them this look

This is where I am too. Sorry! 

Phalaenopsis

I just want to say I'm enjoying the intellectual debate over this name. My initial gut reaction was that I didn't like it because as PP mentioned its not really a virtue name. Plus, from the standpoint of popular culture, when you hear Samaritan you think Good Samaritan, and the child may not be able to live up to the name or the personality may not fit the name. That said, the more I read the replies the more I'm not totally against the name. I love the elaborate and thoughtful meaning behind the name however in his real life all of it wont matter when it comes to school, applications, first impressions and introductions.

barnwife

austenreader85:

 think it's unlikely that it's the same as using the name Florida.  Which by the way, can't be said for other locations like Virginia, Carolina, Georgia.  

I guess I'm finding this name and this situation a good exception to my usual "rules."

This is in reference to my post, I think. 

I didn't say Samaritan was like using Florida. I said it was like naming your kid Floridian. That is naming your child "a person from Samaria" is like naming your child "a person from Florida." It just strikes me as strange.

And I reiterate that I don't think of Samaritan as the virtue from the Biblical story. The virtue would be compassion or something. 

plunderb

barnwife:

austenreader85:

 think it's unlikely that it's the same as using the name Florida.  Which by the way, can't be said for other locations like Virginia, Carolina, Georgia.  

I guess I'm finding this name and this situation a good exception to my usual "rules."

This is in reference to my post, I think. 

I didn't say Samaritan was like using Florida. I said it was like naming your kid Floridian. That is naming your child "a person from Samaria" is like naming your child "a person from Florida." It just strikes me as strange.

And I reiterate that I don't think of Samaritan as the virtue from the Biblical story. The virtue would be compassion or something. 

Some Biblical stories are so embedded in our culture that the words take on significant alternate meanings. Consider a word like "Sodomite" ? it really doesn't just mean "a person from Sodom" in modern English usage. There are other place-origin words that also have strong alternate meanings: Frankfurter doesn't just mean "person from Frankfurt" and spartan doesn't just mean "person from Sparta." They're not really comparable to Floridian because Floridian doesn't have a strong alternate or metaphorical usage in everyday language.

queenbone

I'm excited you are leaning towards this option.

I don't think #1 or #3 will be a problem. As for #2 can you just use "young man"  or "boy" when you are angry?