The Name Game-Where Have All the Dick's Gone?

A few weeks ago, I was talking with my supervisor at work whose granddaughter had just had a baby.  Among the typical questions concerning the baby's health, weight, and looks came the obvious question.  What did she name her?  My supervisor, Richard looked at me and said "some weird name that I can't even pronounce".  I thought it was a joke at first but after he made a few attempts to say the baby's name, I realized he was serious.  This got the mouse in my head to jump on the rusty wheel and start wondering about the evolution of naming kids.  I understand that names at one point had gotten pretty redundant.  I am one of millions of Christophers on the planet.  Just going through my personal contact list I found several Jennifers, Joes, Michaels, Monicas, Steves, and Bryons or Brians, or Bryans.  Each of these people defines themselves with such a different character that the name is simply a reference point in their individuality.  Where did the name machine break and start throwing out insanely puzzling staples?  I asked several of my friends if they had noticed this trend also and the results of the examples they gave me were jaw dropping.  Parents have been naming their children Sniper, Pepper, La-A, Snickers, Pepsi, Ti9ne, Mister, Breezy, Thereheis, Shelf, Punnany, Rope, Placenta, and the most common odd name was ABCDE.  My good friend Jamie Janosky had some great points to make about the change in parent's thinking when it comes to naming their kids.  Jamie says “The naming of children has morphed into an extension of ego harboring that parent's self esteem.  Parents today are in a place where they feel so plain vanilla in their own skin that they scratch the need to be different by naming their kids silly things not caring about the added social pressure and ridicule that it will bring to them".  We both agree that the bullying aspect should be taken into consideration when giving kid's their identity.  We all remember the kid in class that had the off the wall name or the name that rhymed with something lewd or offensive.  It was an everyday ritual to tease these kids for something they had nothing to do with.  I remember getting teased because a girl in my class had the same last name as me.  Of course to an immature first grader it had to mean that we were married.  Kids are cruel, but what I've learned here is that parents can be crueler.  Jamie pointed out that “Parents, while picking a name, could and should still pick something cool for them without subjecting them to the added bullshit that comes along with an odd name."  I couldn't agree more.  I had an easy task of naming my daughter.  Her name Azilee was passed down from her elders in her family.  Relevant with an old school vibe.  On the flip side of the odd names, there is a resurgence of these types of names.  Chloe, Emma, Grace, Clara, Eva, and Violet have made a splash as of late.  Bottom line is- I could care less what you name your kid.  I just hope that you put some thought into it.  If you wouldn't name your pet hamster ABCDE, why would you name your offspring that?  I gotta go, have to go buy a 1st birthday present for my friend’s son, LMNOP.