So it's only me and a small handful of you that associate the name Emmanuelle with soft-core porn!
And that's what I was trying to figure out - if that name had the same association here as it does across the pond. Apparently not so much. But if you google the name, this is the first hit. If you were to say the name to my British DH I can guarantee you that "porn" would be the first word that would pop into his head. I think it's pretty well-known amongst Europeans. I just didn't know if it was here.
How did I know about it? After graduating from high school, I did an exchange thing and lived with two separate families in Paris. One night I was alone & bored so I switched on the TV and what pops up? Emmanuelle! Bumping, grinding, moaning, breasts & all. I was mortified and turned the TV off really quickly. But then, of course, after I realized I was all by myself, I turned it back on to check it out. It was playing on a major channel there. At some point in the night, it just comes on. The same thing happened in Hungary. During the day, the channel was fashion TV. At night, all porn, all the time. Can you imagine that happening here? If NBC suddenly switched to skin flicks at 11 p.m.? Ha!
When I overheard that name being mentioned as a possible baby name, I almost choked. So what do you think? Should I say something? I like the name other than that. I didn't even think of it being a boy's name. Maybe I should say that instead? Is it not a big deal?
Re: F/U: Why I asked about Emmanuelle
I don't think that about every Debbie I meet either, but Emmanuelle is much more uncommon and (I thought) much more well known.
But I don't think I will say anything. I don't usually anyway when it comes to baby names, but that one just took me by surprise.
This was my first exposure to porn late night on Cinemax while babysitting as a teen....
Maybe send them the link to that NYT article about googling baby names before deciding?
Excellent idea!
I was just thinking about Debbie while reading the original post... IMO, Debbie Does... is much more widely known in the US than Emmanuelle. FWIW, a past roommate of mine managed a local porn shop and DDD was (maybe still is?) their most highly requested title for no other reason than kids remember the name.
I would tell them. I would be horrified if I picked a baby name with connections like that, and someone knew but didn't tell me.
I'd suggest they google the name and that article linky too. I honestly can't imagine not googling a prospective baby name.
I missed the first post, but porn was my first thought too.
I wouldn't say anything either. I mean, is she going to be in European circles? I did not think the same thing about the name Jenna until someone recently told me that she wanted to name her baby that but all these guys started telling her not to b/c it was a porn name. So she did not and she still regrets it.
FWIW, we were considering a name for DD#2 that is kinda frowned upon in British circles for what it alludes to. Once I found out about this I reconsidered the name for just a second and then decided it did not matter to me. Now, granted, porn is different than our situation was.
I wonder if you would have gotten the same reaction asking a lot of American guys? I'm thinking they would be a little more up on the current porn names - and more of them might not like it for their daughter b/c of that.
Same here