Beyond Beyond

This may come as no surprise, but the Dada Drummer loves smart opinionated people. Yes, that includes you there. If you interact with the Drummer in real life and feel a warm sense of being loved in that relationship, then you can rest assured that you have been found non-stupid. Congrats.

I bring this up not to make you feel good (though that is an acceptable by-product) but because I want to talk about the non-stupid baby name book authors Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran. I love their many books. I sometimes don't share their opinions--and I get impatient with their tolerance of some tryndeeness!--but I always find them to be interesting. And sassy. The Drummer loves sass.

My favorite of their baby name books is Baby Names Now which has pithy essays on dozens of great (and not so great) names.

But the book that got me hooked was Beyond Jennifer and Jason. Now in newer edition, the book carries the title Beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana.

I have gotten a kick over the years at Rosenkrantz and Satran's spin off "Beyond" books which include Beyond Shannon and Sean: An Enlightened Guide to Irish Baby Names, Beyond Sarah and Sam: An Enlightened Guide to Jewish Baby Names, and Beyond Charles and Diana: An Anglophile's Guide to Baby Names (that one's for you Leila!).

So I thought we could have a little fun inventing our own baby name guide book titles in the style of the "Beyond" books. What books do you think ought to be out there? What books do you think some idiots might be consulting for their stupid choices? What books do you fear actually exist! For example:

Beyond Braden and Jaden, Caden and Haden: New Rhymes for the New Age!

Beyond Austin and Dallas: An Enlightened Guide to Naming your Texan

Beyond Ebony and Violet: Color Names Now!

Let's hear yours!

Tryndee Nayme Game: Webster's Edition

Greetings, Drummer Nation!

There has been a hiatus from Dada Drummer briefly whilst I frolicked in golden fields and ate figs fed to me by elfin handmaids. This is what happens when you get tenure—who knew?

But I’m back. And I’m ticked off about names I’ve seen on the back of local car windows. You know, the ones over icons of soccer balls, soft ball, limber gymnast silhouettes, and/or pom-poms. The thing that’s really pissing me off is the spelling choices. When did we decide as a nation that it was OK to insert irrelevant H’s, Y’s, and any manner of vowels in perfectly well-spelled given names?

Khaytlynn

Brahndyn

Emmaleighanna

We don’t do this to other nouns. Imagine…

bhayguls and kreyme xees

paypher and pynsyls

But if this is where America is headed, I think you and I need to lead the way. Goodness knows you’re smarter than the cre8tiv namers out there fouling up kindergarten rosters with there inventions. So your Tryndee Nayme Game for the week is to generate the most inventive spelling for a standard English first name.

Sic ‘Em Drummers.

Tryndee Nayme Gayme-NEVAEH edition

If you are not already aware of this fad, let the Dada Drummer be the first to alert you to the popularity of novelty name NEVAEH for baby girls in the United States. The name has moved from non-existence to obscurity to trendiness in a matter of about 36 months.

But why is it a novelty name? Because it's HEAVEN spelled backwards. Sigh.

Like any fad--or plague--this is sure to spread. So let's ride the front of the wave, drummers!!

Your challenge this week is to backwards spell any word in order to invent an original tryndee nayme. The winning names will be those that most please the expectant Mom and Dad.

Let me introduce you! Nora and Aron Setates are from central Ohio. Their interests include television, John Grisham novels, Appelbees, and outlet malls. Aron is a regional manager in the copier industry. Nora left her job as a bank teller to stay at home with their first born who is named, you guessed it, Nevaeh.

FOODIES Favorites!

You rocked the house on last week's name game! The Foodie Mom and Dad have reported to me their front runners(boy and girl):

Bleu Fromage-Hommage

Picón Cabrales

Petitepois Cornichon Escoffier

Bain-Marie

When the little yummy darling arrives, you call expect to receive FABULOUS muffin baskets!

Tryndee Nayme Gayme---GOURMAND EDITION

The Dada Drummer is both fascinated and horrified by California Goddess Laurie's suggestion of Bologna and Dijon as place names. In my dreamy brain these names blended with California Goddess Shannon's name origins at an A&W drive-in to create a VISION for this week's game.

Mom and Dada are sophisticated American foodies expecting their first (and probably only) child. Mom's hobbies include collecting signed celebrity cookbooks and attending specialty cheese-tasting shows (she's grumpy about being off blue and soft-ripened cheeses during the pregnancy!). Dad is an artisan jam maker whose clients include Giada, Rachel, Martha, and Ida. They are in need of the most deliciously original food themed name you can invent!

Bon Appetite!

Tryndee Nayme Gayme--PUPPY Edition

Have you heard?? UNO the Beagle won Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club! He beat out the winningnest dog in the US, a poodle named VIKKI. It was quite a shocker!

But what if, after the show, Uno and Vikki met up to share a water bowl and bury the hatchet? And what if that tete-a-tete blossomed into something more...like a litter of seven bouncing pups!!

And what if the Dada Drummer let you NAME A PUPPY!

Mom is the Toy Poodle VIKKI (Smash JP Win a Victory) and Dad is the champion Beagle UNO (K-Run's Park Me In First).

THIS WEEK'S RULES: Use the letters of each parent's fancy registered name (in parenthesis) to give the puppy a new fancy registered name and a new CALL NAME.

And since it's a big litter, feel free to name a few of the pups!! Have fun!

Last Week's Baby Name Gayme WINNER

First of all--sorry tydwbleach--but if any contestant on PR is a likely candidate to be the love child of Heidi and Tim, it’s Christian. Sweet P might be the nanny, but that’s it.

Now for the winners:
3. Hildi Nu-Kim Nutmeg
2. MidHug Klimt Ennui
1. "King" Denim Muhlitu

You're Either IN or Your're OUT!

I have four words for you: BEST. REALITY. SHOW. EVER. That's right!! It's the Tryndee Nayme Boggle Factor Gayme PROJECT RUNWAY Edition!

Your challenge this week is name the fashion-forward glamour baby of HEIDI KLUM and TIM GUNN. You must use all the letters in their names to generate the fierce new moniker for their tiny little style icon.

Entries will be acceped from tonight until next Wednesday.

Make It Work, Designers!

Last Week's Baby Name Gayme WINNER

You had some CRAZY good entries this week, readers! And considering that you were working with two names that didn't have a single freakin' "E" between them, well, I really couldn't be any prouder!

But in this season of political theatre, there was one clear winner. Kudos to one of my two favorite California goddesses...

Lorry Cohabit Banana MacKill.
"Today, I tearfully acknowledge my use of a PEP -- performance- enhancing program. In suspending my campaign, I urge all of you to continue to fight for the right to engage in offspring naming abuse. Can we do it? Yes, we can!In closing my friends, let my mistake serve as a cautionary tale. Always remember that your children, too, could end up named for a 16-wheeled, vaguely disreputable piece of presumably Scottish fruit if you engage in such behavior. God bless America!"

Tryndee Nayme "Boggle Factor" Gayme: The Political Edition

Wake the kids! It's time for this week's installment of the Dada Drummer's New and Improved Winter/Spring 2008 Tryndee Nayme "Boggle Factor" Gayme 2.0!!!!

The Set Up:
When a freak CNN live-feed satellite truck accidently claims the lives of Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama, Hillary and Barack turn to each other for emotional support. What starts as friendship ends in romance and eventually produces a love child prophesied to be the One to unite the Democrats. Name That Baby!

(Rules of the Game: You must use all the letters in the names Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to generate a new, and preferable tryndee, name for their tiny presidential hopeful. Entries will be accepted for one week.)

Rockin' Bogglin'!

You people rock.

While I suspect iplawguy is correct that Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo probably couldn't imagine anything wittier than TONY SIMPSON ROMO, there were still some AMAZING entries in the New and Improved Winter/Spring 2008 Tryndee Nayme "Boggle Factor" Gayme 2.0!!!

In fact, I'd like to give a few shout outs...


Buck (SPORT-JOY MESSIANIC MOONS) and Clay (SOSSA OMNISCIENT JOY ROMP) get props for excellent use of real words in their naming. I choose to believe they wrote these entries because of their awareness of noun-based baby naming trends (ask me about the recent babies I know of named Fox, Canada, Story, and Kansas) rather than thinking that these find gamers used on-line descrambling sites to play!

My hat is off to Carver's JIMMY "NOISES" TACO SPONSOR. This name has it all. Believability, a kicky hip hop nickname, and a suggested profession. Plus its stupid. Excellent!

I enjoyed the Meatball's JASPER SOSIMION McSNOOTY because it's fun to imagine the happy parents inventing their own new last name by combing their favorite restaurant and their strongest character trait. Good one.

But my favorite entry has got to be the offering from California goddess Shannon. TESSIMY JONICAS ROMO SPON is an all around big winner for me not only because Tissimy could pass for an actual stupid name, but also because the word play on "spawn" makes me giggle.

Many thanks to all who played this week. Your new nayme gayme will be posted later today. Tell your friends!

Tryndee Nayme Wednesday....with a Twist!

I know you Tryndee Nayme Wednesday Fans have been on pins and needles, waiting for the return of the most annoying game on the blogosphere. But we at Dada Headquarters commissioned a Dada Think Tank to investigate issues in Tryndee Nayme Gaming and the group, frankly, met longer than expected. I should never have set them up in Stockholm. Live and Learn.

The New and Improved Winter/Spring 2008 Tryndee Nayme Gayme 2.0 features a kicky new name and a new degree of creative difficulty. We at Dada Universe, Inc. like to call it the "Boggle Factor". I'll give you the parents names and description (if they aren't already well known) and your job is to rearrange the letters of their names to create something both Tyrndee & Gnew.

Rules:
1) You have to use all the letters in both parents names
2) You can't add new letters
3) New Name can have as many parts as you like

Ready? OK!
**************************
Tryndee Gnew Boggle Factor Nayme Gayme, January 23

Use all the letters in their names to generate an original moniker for the love child of Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo.

Entries will be accepted from today until the new game is posted next Wednesday.

Tryndee Nayme Wednesday - School's Out Edition!

In honor of the fall school semester wrapping up, let's have an academic themed game!

Baby Girl December 12
Mother is a tenure-track academic at Wanna-B-Ivy-League U. She teaches pop culture studies and has research specialties in Quintin Tarantino films and Manga. Dad is a university adjunct at two community colleges. He teaches 15 sections of freshman composition. He is ABD from the English department at Large Research State U. His nearly completed dissertation is "Reading Mr. Wright: Semiotics and Contemporary American "Chick Lit."This is their first child and they are planning a water birth.

Trendee Nayme Wednesday! Celebrity Edition!

Baby Girl December 5

It's time for our Celebrity Edition of the game, friends! This week's lucky young maiden is America's Mother of the Year--BRITNEY SPEARS! According to Entertainment Tonight and other reputable media outlets, our favorite Louisiana Trailer Trash is pregnant again. Dad's identity? Some one less famous! Let's help young Ms. Spears with some helpful Baby Name suggestions. She's looking for a classy and unique three part name--something that expresses old fashioned femininity but also has a rock and roll edge. Go!

And the winner is...

Last week, the Dada Drummer didn't name a winner in Tryndee Nayme Wednesday. This didn't sit well with some of you fine readers. It seems that SOME of you only work for rewards (thanks, Capitalism!) and are sad about the absence of clear outcomes. I think I saw one of you even cry.

So if you must know, Mrs. CL was the clear winner last week. Come on, you knew that! She was brilliant. But I'll say it anyway.

And because we're not supposed heap praise on any one person for fear of demoralizing the others (thanks I'M OK YOU'RE OK!) I guess I shouldn't say that her Wynstyn Earnhart was my favorite this week for its brilliant double signification of Earn as in $ and Earn as in Dale (thanks, NASCAR!) .

And I can't say that I liked danbuck's Lowy Pricelynd because he already got a university grad student paper award this week and I can't abide his head swelling.

And I guess I can't express my delight in the syllabic nonesense of Shannon's entry Crafton Alabamah. Nor can I reward her uncanny understanding that this couple was, in fact,not only from Alabama but also hardcore fans of the eponymous country music group.

Maybe next week some of you could suck at this more and make it easier. Work on that.

FINAL NOTE:
Sadly, anonymous's choice of Landynn Laird is disqualified because that is so obviously a girls's name. And anonymous's second choice of Mullet Head lacks the requisite extra syllables and excessive letters "y" and "h". Perhaps if you'd cree-ative-leigh spelled it as "Muh'lette Heyde" I could have choosen it.

TRYNDEE NAYME WENDES'DAYYEE

Baby Boy November 14

Mom is Wal-Mart Christmas department floor manager. Dad cuts hair in the Wal-Mart style shop.

SPECIAL NOTE:
Name should coordinate with existing siblings: big brother Braedin Logan and twin sisters Mack'ynzee Briannah and Mack'kaylee Savannah.

Baby is due Thanksgiving Friday....so get busy!

Tryndee Nayme Wednesday LIVES!

The Dada Drummer has been locked in a dungeon drumming for several days--thus the eerie silence on this blog. But I have escaped long enough to provide you, gentle readers, with a Tryndee Nayme Wednesdy project.

Baby Girl, October 31
Daddy is a loud-mouthed former monk who likes writing hymns, teaching, and night travel.
Mommy is a high-minded, good-natured, highly-spiritual, stay-at-home mom. Loves cooking traditional German food.

Wie heisen sie? Sagen Sie mir!

Tryndee Nayme Wednesday!

You did a good job last week, people. So let's increase the difficulty level. Your baby naming challenge is this:

Baby Girl October 24

Her Two Dads: Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelewald. Both are accomplished wizards. One has a passion for traditional education. The other desires world domination.

What brilliantly magical tryndee nayme would these two geniuses bestow on their (adopted, non-muggle) baby girl?! You tell me!

p.s. special thanks to the meatball for this challenge idea!

Good Work People!

You have made Lady Liberty proud with your awesome names, readers!

I would pick a winner but there are too many brilliant names to choose just one. If some of you were more stupid, this would be easier to judge. Alas.

Now watch this space next week for another round of TRYNDEE NAYME WEDNESDAY!

Launching Tryndee Nayme Wednesdays!

The Dada Drummer hates to be out "cooled" by the likes of lawyers and grad students. Therefore, I declare that hump day shall from tomorrow forward be known as Tryndee Nayme Wednesday.

Here's the plan: I'll provide you with a gender and a profile of baby's parents. You invent the hippest, trendiest, hottttest name you can. And no need to worry about counting syllables or finding witty rhymes!

Ready? Here's your first project.

Baby Girl October 17
Mom loves small firearms and target shooting. Dad operates a successul car dealership. Both are GOP fund raisers by night.

Now show me what you got!