And They Never Learned Each Other's Names

 

So I confess that there was a guy in my previous neighborhood who had a dog names Jasper (like one of the foundations of the New Jerusalem, per the owner) and every time I saw them walking I always remembered the dog's name but totally forgot the owner's name. For whatever reason, it can be easier to remember cute kid's and pet's names but adult's names just go in one ear and out the other. 

Text:
Title: And They Never Learned Each Other's Names
M: This is Zoey. (walking a dog)
L: Aw, this is Lucy! (holding hand of toddler)

Jurassically Awesome Names

 Those names are really a mouthful. Are you familiar with Archaeopteryx or Ichthyosaurus? Archie (I'm not going to keep spelling those, I'm not sure which is more difficult - spelling or saying them) was a small flying dinosaur and Theo was a swimmer who was recently in the news for a fascinating fossil showing one swallowing a meal nearly the size of itself (it might have choked). 
For some reason, and I know I've said this before, my sisters and sister-in-laws don't take my name suggestions. I think they're great names, with thought-out nicknames, and so unique. But they come up with great names on their own so I guess I can't hold this against them. 

Text:
P: Here are my kids, Archie and Theo.
F: Nice.
A: Our full names are Archaeopteryx and Ichthyosaurus. 

Nameless Wife of Noah

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! And Happy Birthday to my niece!

Explanation: In the Biblical account about Noah, his sons' names are Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The phrase "such a ham" means someone who over-acts it seems? It's a weird phrase and now that I've looked into it I don't feel better about it. This comic is highlighting that parents tend to mix up their kids' names. I remember hearing a song a few years ago where the singer bemoaned that his mom would call him a string of all the kids' and pets' names. It's the classic kid-in-a-large-family experience but I guess I'll find out if just having two kids means I'll still mix up their names. 

Text:
NW: You are such a ham!
J: Mom, I'm Japheth.

Names Starting with E

 

One of these names is not like the others :) I couldn't resist adding my favorite bird into the lineup. 

My friend's due date is today and she has already shared the name of her kiddo so is not in need of any suggestions but I figured it wouldn't hurt to do another short series on names. 

To explain the comic, the first person has a picture of her children (3 kids and a dog). The second person thinks Emu is the dog since it's not a normal human name while the others are. The first person corrects the misinterpretation by saying Emmett is the dog, which means her kids are named Ella, Emma, and Emu. 

Text:
A: Here's a picture of my children - Ella, Emma, Emu, and Emmett. 
B: WHAT?! Oh, three kids and a dog, nice.
A: Yeah, Emmett's a good dog. 

Adults Have First Names

I remember having a conversation like this either when I was in college or had just graduated. It's really weird to start calling people by their first names when you've been using titles for the past twenty years or so. And then you also have to learn their first names, not just Mr. Williams or Melody's Dad. Yes, that's a sci-fi reference there. And then you're working with these people in ministry and kids start using a title with your name and it's weird and you've joined the other side! Now you're gonna start sympathizing with the parents in children's movies! 

Text:
D: So, Mr. Williams -
R: Call me Rory - you've graduated college so you're an adult now.
D: ...am I?

Jurassic Names Part 2

Thankfully I did not need to re-draw my banner since I had it for the earlier comic. Also, I realized after making this that the DNA was extracted from a mosquito not gnat in the amber. Whoops.

Explanation: Terry, Rory, Amber, and Nat are all normal names. Pterry, Roary, and Gnat are not normal names. Amber fits in both categorize in this context.

*did you see this posted last week? No you didn't, because I surely would not forget to schedule and just straight-up post a comic. Surely, I would not do such a thing and I'm gonna make my blog agree with me.

Text:
Banner: WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
A: There are my kids - Pterry and Roary.
B: Wonderful! My kids are Amber and Gnat. 

Biblical Names on a Theme

One of these names is much more popular than the other. Actually Esther's Jewish name, Hadassah, is probably more popular than Vashti. Nobody really wants to name their kid after the deposed queen. It's always good to know the history of a name before naming a child, pet, or object. If you're unfamiliar with the Biblical story, Vashti is the queen in the first chapter of Esther but the king asks her to do something which she refuses to do, and so she is deposed. Her removal leaves a vacancy which Esther is able to fill, and this elevated position gives Esther the leverage needed to save the Jewish people from Haman's plot. The whole book is an epic, dramatic adventure with sub-plots and intrigue. I highly recommend reading it - it's only ten chapters and one has only three verses and the plot really moves the whole book quickly. 

Text:
A: We wanted Biblical names, but on a theme.
B: So that's why your daughters are Esther and Vashti. 

Json and Perl

A naming series wouldn't be complete without names that will never be spelled correctly. Well, clearly people would think Jason and Pearl as those are normal names. But if you want to be a true nerd, this is the way to go. Are you familiar with either Json or Perl? I feel most devs are at least familiar with them but not all people are devs (clearly). I will try to come up with some more naming comics to give my sister more options for her child, maybe she'll listen to me this time (unlike all of my sisters and sister-in-laws who have so far named their children normal, non-traumatizing names). [that is actually a good thing - please do not make your child's name a joke]

Text:
Here are my kids, Json and Perl.

Carson and Family

 

My brother came up with this one when I was telling him about these kid-sized chairs I got for free but they had names embroidered on them (one of which was Carson) so I put some iron-on patches over the names and presto no more not-my-kid's-names! They looks really nice, the butterfly chair and the dino chair. 

Explanation: Carson is a normal name but also a compound word of vehicle (car) plus child (son). Another name that could follow this pattern would be Traindaughter (and Planechild in the mouseover).

Text:
A: These are my kids, Carson and Traindaughter.
B: *silent confusion*
C+T: *silent resignation* 

Charity

Happy Easter! He is risen indeed. I didn't think up an Easter comic this year. Since I'm safe at home, I'm not near other people to overhear their conversations and make hilarious comics about them, so I have to make due with references from TV shows and also my backlog of comics I haven't gotten around to writing up. But I am safe and healthy so that is good and I am grateful.

You know what they say - I Peter 4:8.
I looked at many Bible versions and none translate sins as law-breaking, but sin is breaking God's law so I think it still counts.
I could make a series on this, using the different fruits of the spirit that also happen to be names of people (Charity, Joy, Peace, Temperance, ...) but now I'm thinking I could just do a kids names comic on that because why are some traits used as names but not others? Kindness, get over here. Gratefulness, stop hitting your brother.

Text:
Detective 1: Should have known Charity was their cleanup woman.
Detective 2: Yeah, she can hid a multitude of law-breaking.

Philippian Names

Another entry into my naming series - search on "names" to get the others. The passage this is inspired by is Philippians 4:2-3, where Paul (and Timothy) entreat these ladies to get along. Neither of those names are currently popular and there are probably several reasons why. But Euodia seems like a Sherlock-style name. The latest movie, Enola Holmes, gives their mother's name as something similar and now I need to look up what it was - Eudoria. Not quite Euodia, but probably inspired by it. 

Text:
A: My kids are always fighting.
B: What did you expect? You named them Euodia and Syntyche. 

Team Names: Beta

 

Another list of team names! To explain, "beta" is used in tech to signify a new feature that isn't fully ready to the public - usually just released to a small set of users to get a feel for how it works and get feedback to make it ready for general release. The fish names were picked because Beta fish are loners (have to be in a tank by themselves and yes they can live in small quarters but no they should not, give them space), Marlins have pointy noses (i.e. sharp, cutting-edge), and Goldfish are known for their short memory span. 

Text:
A: Would you like to join the Beta team?
B: I do like cutting-edge stuff.
A: Oh, that'd be the Marlin team. Beta is our solo projects. Goldfish is short-term projects. 

Prince of Cinderella

 

I'm thankful my parents did not give me 11 middle names. That would be a bit excessive, but if you look up the names of royals then you will see this is an actual thing with at least European royalty. 
This is inspired by the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical version of Cinderella. We watched it with my kids because it's very low peril - no evil cat (which is the scary part for my little ones). And the 1965 version is honestly delightful. A very chill movie for your viewing pleasure. 
Explanation: In the musical, there is a song titled "The Prince is Giving a Ball" (you should watch it on YouTube to get a feel for the movie) and the prince's full name is given. His parents also have similarly lengthy names. It's a royal thing. In most adaptations of Cinderella, her prince is known as Prince Charming. 

Text:
E: My name is Ella, but my stepfamily calls me Cinderella.
CRWVCAFRLHGJ: My name is Christopher Rupert Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander François Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James, but people call me Charming. 

Robin and Emu

So the emu is my favorite bird and why are some birds used as people names but not others? I was trying to think of birds that are used as names and I thought of Wren and Robin, but then I looked up a list and there are ones like Sparrow and Jay but then they're saying Talon and Heron and I'm like, that's a bit much. So anyways, like the other naming comics I've made on the themes of food, colors, music, and such, some names in a category are more normal than others.

Text:
Here are my kids, Robin and Emu.

Team Names: Mobile

 ... We don't know what the Mobile team actually does. I realized as I'm scheduling this that I didn't explain what that team did, so I'm rolling with we just don't know.
To explain the pun, "Mobile" could be read as either "handheld computers and similar technology (i.e. Android/iOS)" or "a city in Alabama (i.e. Birmingham/Montgomery)". The other cities are all in Alabama, showing that the team names are just places in Alabama, not related to the technology handled by the teams. 

Text:
A: Would you like to join the Mobile team?
B: I do like Android development.
A: Oh, that's handled by the Birmingham team. Montgomery is the iOS team. 

Cinderella vs Encanto

 

I didn't realize that the name has been used in two different movies until my kids pointed it out. Now I'm trying to think of other names that have been reused but I'm coming up blank. There are so many movies, surely they aren't all unique. But they have a lot of specific names like Cinderella and Snow White and such. Well, Prince Charming is used a few times I believe. But is it really, or do I just not remember the guy's name because the princess is the main character of the story? 

Explanation: Bruno is the name of the hound dog in Cinderella (1950). Bruno is also one of the uncles in Encanto (2021). 

Text:
Title: In our Cinderella Era
Music: We don't talk about Bruno - No no No ...
R: The DOG?!
O: *shocked*
L: Disney reused a name? I guess it has been 70 years.

Birdy Names for Children

This comic is related to one from earlier. It is probably becoming more clear, but yes my favorite bird is the Emu. Why? It's just one of those odd animals and I think they're cool. We saw the emu getting fed at a zoo once and the zookeeper was like 'eat your greens!' because the emu were just picking through their feed bins to get the apple pieces and throwing the salad leaves on the ground. Kinda reminded me of that scene from Napoleon Dynamite where he's feeding Tina the llama. 
The plural of emu is either emus or emu, both are accepted.
Also, have you heard of the Great Emu War?! How many bird breeds can say they won a war again human aggressors? Well, many birds died but the thing is the military gave up on trying to cull the herds. Also the bounty system put in place actually had people breeding emu to collect the bounty instead of hunting wild emu like intended, so there was that. 
One final thought on emu, some people keep them as livestock, like chickens or ducks! That's an adventurous backyard poultry project. But their eggs weigh a pound! And are very pretty. Good Mythical Morning did a segment on exotic eggs and yes, you can hard boil an emu egg. 

Explanation: It is implied that the name would be one from the comic linked above, namely (hah) Robin or Jay or Wren, whereas of course the name is Emu because Emus are awesome. 

Text:
D: Do you have a name picked out for your little one?
L: Yep, we're naming our kid after my favorite bird.
D: How sweet!
L: Little Emu is gonna do great things.

Violet and Green

Why are some colors fine to use as names, but not others? As for 'acceptable' colorful names, I think Sapphira is a beautiful name but sadly has that connotation with lying and death from Acts. Well now I might do a gemstone version of this because some stones are fine but others are not.

Text:
P: Here are my kids, Violet and Green.

Aria and Cadence and Staccato

We were at my sister-in-law's church and there was a family who's kid was named Cadence and I started thinking why are some musical notations name-worthy but others aren't? Well, per a quick Google search for 'musical names for children' (I was trying to find the comic/post that inspired this where it starts out with normal musical names and slowly gets to ridiculous ones) there are quite a few musical terms that some people deem name-worthy but I don't.

Text:
S: You've met my sisters, Aria and Cadence.
F: Oh, now you're name makes more sense, Staccato.

Ally and Hailey

Something's fishy about this one.... :) :) :) I might have made it up after seeing Aquaman. Are there any acceptable fish names for children? I can't think of any. I mean, Orca would be a cool name but I can't think of anyone with it and also that's a whale not a fish.

Text:
P: Here are my kids, Ally and Hailey.
R: Nice.
A: Our full names are Albacore and Halibut.