Or do you think it’s tainted do to its association with JonBenet [name_m]Ramsey[/name_m]? I’ve heard a few girls with the name but I wonder if it will ever be used more in the mainstream or in literature. I’m working on a book currently and something about that name just sticks in my head.
She died about 22 years ago. Her peers are the ones having children, and considering how young she was, they probably don’t have the same connection to her name that older generations do.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think if the name was used for a character in a book it would be okay?
I think it’s a name very tied to one little girl. In fact, if I remember right, her parents created her name as a smoosh of her dad’s name and her moms maiden name?? Or something like that??
To me that name is very much tied to sadness and death so I wouldn’t use it. I think if it had ranked in the top 1000 at any point then maybe it could work but I think that won’t ever happen and will forever be tied to that situation.
For your book maybe [name_f]Joelle[/name_f] and [name_m]Benet[/name_m] as her middle name?
I just feel like it was a name created for her by her parents, so it can only have her as the connotation. It would be hard, at least while people are still around that remember it. It’s not like [name_f]Caylee[/name_f] [name_m]Anthony[/name_m], where the name [name_f]Caylee[/name_f] was already common & popular.
I sure hope so
It may have happened decades ago, but the name is still very much tied to the little girl and that situation. At least for a couple more decades to come, I think the association will stick.
My thoughts exactly.
Honestly, the name is too tainted for use now. I looked around, and it’s apparently a made up name. There is no way Jonbenet is coming up ever.
I don’t know - I think that it’s better to just go with another name.
I wouldn’t use it. It never comes up anywhere other than the little girl - since it was made up for her after her father [name_m]John[/name_m] [name_m]Bennett[/name_m]. I think it will be forever tied to her and her story.
I agree with missmanati and the others above. Jonbenet isn’t just an unusual name- it’s a name that was created specifically for one child, a child who became famous in the most tragic way. I’ve never heard of any other person named Jonbenet and the name originated with that particular family. The sound is appealing, but I don’t think it’s salvageable, even for a fictional character.
The name was made for her as a smoosh of her dad’s first and middle name, so no, I don’t think so. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if she died in '96, that name is tied to her and her only, and even a Google search of ‘JonBenet’ comes up with pages upon pages of info about her and her tragic death. Completely unusable.
Maybe in 100 years… not yet.
Agreed with all the posters above…definitely unusable. I agree that it’s a nice-sounding name, but like everyone else has mentioned, it was created specifically for the one and only Jonbenet [name_m]Ramsey[/name_m].
Which part of the name appeals to you for your character? Is it the “[name_m]Jon[/name_m]” sound in a girl’s name? Or the [name_m]Benet[/name_m] part? Maybe there is a suitable alternative.
It is doubly horrific to me, both because of the association and because I think it is the ugliest name I can imagine.
I hope I don’t sound ignorant here but I hadn’t actually heard of Jonbenet [name_m]Ramsey[/name_m] before. To me it appears as though this name was made up for her, and is very much connected to her.
I personally think its a really unattractive name anyway.