twins

If you’ve been thinking that young people’s names are getting stranger and more unique, you’re not wrong. Studies show that over the past few decades, more Americans have been given uncommon names at birth, and researchers believe this is a sign of growing individualism. “As American culture has become more individualistic, parents have favored giving children names that help them stand out – and that means more unique names and fewer common names” Dr. Jean Twenge said, according to the BBC.

Having a baby and giving it a name that people haven’t heard before is also a sign of affluence. “When you have lots of resources and are less worried about scarcity, you can afford to stick out a little bit. In fact, it may be advantageous to go away from the crowd,” Dr. Michael Varnum said, according to the BBC. “There may be more opportunities to innovate, for example. If you don’t have a lot of resources or wealth, the better strategy might be conformity and to do what most people are doing.”

When it comes to strange names that make people wonder, “What were their parents thinking?" Some parents are repeat offenders and give some or all of their children unique names. But at least when siblings share unique names, they don’t feel so alone. They have a shoulder to cry on and someone to back them up when they are made fun of at school.

A Redditor asked the NameNerds forum for people to share the “sibling names have you come across, which made you think ‘hmmmm…’” and the responses didn’t disappoint. Here are 17 of the most “questionable” sibling names.

1. Brothers: Grover and Oscar

"Parents claim Grover Washington & Oscar Peterson; I say Sesame Street."

2. Twins: Archer and Hunter

"All I could think was would they name the next one gatherer?"

"On the bright side, at least they didn't go with Beau and Arrow."

3. Twins: Damian and Damion

"Maybe it's my southern accent, but are these not pronounced the same?"

4. Twins: Jenna and Jena

"How did they distinguish Jenna from Jena verbally?"

5. Fraternal Twins: Charles and Charlotte

"Let's just say my birth name gave me depression throughout my whole childhood and teenage years. I changed my name as soon as I could. I also know another pair of boy-girl twins named Ronald and Hermione (after Harry Potter's friends). Ron hates his name because he said it's like being named Romeo and Juliet as siblings."

6. Sisters: Millie Robin and Mollie Ribbon

"What bothers me most about that is that, obviously, the first one was a selected name, but the other name seems forced to match at the expense of having a middle name that's not just made up. 'Ribbon' for all the wrong reasons."

7. Fraternal Twins: Luke and Leah

"Twins named Luke and Leah (pronounced lay-uh). The mom got REAL mad if you asked if she was a big Star Wars fan. 'They’re names FROM THE BIBLE.' Ma’am, there are more than 3,400 names in the Bible. You picked the two that are also the names of fraternal twins in one of the most popular film series of all time."

8. Brothers: William and Liam

"I’ll be honest and say that I never knew Liam was a nickname for William until I came to this sub. I know people named William and people named Liam, but I don’t know anyone Williams who go by Liam."

9. Eric, Sebastian and Ursula (like 'The Little Mermaid')

"How are you gonna pick a theme and make one of the names the villain????"

"Arielle was right there And Arista .. and Alana ... take your pick."

10. Fraternal Twins: Adam and Eva

"NOOOO OH MY GOD those poor kids. That’s so weird!"

11. Brothers: Scott, Scott and Scott

"I recently met a guy named Scott who has six siblings. Two of his brothers are also named Scott. Three boys in one family, brothers, not half or step-siblings. All named Scott."

12. Andy, Sally, Sally, Tom and Tom

"I know a woman who named 2 of her kids the same name twice. So if her kids didn’t go by their middle names, it would be like Andy, Sally, Sally, Tom, and Tom. Her name was also Sally. She gave her first daughter the exact same first and middle name as her. Hopefully this is understandable- Second daughter had a different middle name. Second daughter gave variations of her or her mom and sisters names to her three daughters, and gave the fourth daughter the exact same first and middle name as her mom and older sister. Older sister was pissed as she didn’t want the name used unless she herself had a daughter… even though she was 40+ yrs old with health issues."

13. Brothers: Arthur and Arthur

"I went to school with two brothers both named Arthur. They went by big Arthur and little Arthur. Their parents reasoned that it was their favourite name and they didn’t want to give the second son a name they liked less than Arthur."

"Depending on where they are from, that’s actually normal. My dad has 5 sisters and they are all named Maria, but have different middle names so everyone calls them by their middle names."

14. Siblings: Destin and Destiny

"Destin?? Like the diaper cream?!"

15. King, Princess, Diamond, Markus, Markella

"Siblings I met named King, Princess, and Diamond. Also other siblings named Markus and Markella after their dad Mark."

16. Siblings: Heather and Heath

"Siblings Heather and Heath. Not twins and they have an older brother and younger sister with completely unrelated names."

"Those are at least pronounced differently."

17. Siblings: Amy, Mya, May, Aym

"I knew sisters in elementary that were Amy, Mya, and May. Their mom was pregnant and we were all so worried the kid would be named Yam… nope they named baby (boy) Aym."