West Auckland that is, where people have taken to aflicting their children with Silly First Name Syndrome. Only pain and suffering comes from Silly First Names.
Ruby and Liam were among the most popular baby names in New Zealand last year but in West Auckland be prepared to come across Unique or Hannibal.
Many parents in the west are proud to give their children names that are a little different.
Shaela Nathan and John Tike of Henderson are parents to 10-month-old Hurricayn Rob and his 2-year-old sister Riivah Jayde.
Miss Nathan says her children’s names reflect their personalities.
“Riivah was pretty hard to name and it took three weeks before one stuck. She’s really calm and quiet,” Miss Nathan says.
“But when Hurricayn came out the midwife said he was loud and proud. When he cried you could hear him from the letterbox.
“Hurricayn also matches the season he was born in because when I went into labour it was 3am and pouring with rain.”
Miss Nathan has always liked unusual names but her parents were shocked by her choices.
“They were like `why’d you name him that for?’ but you only have to spend five minutes with him to know why. He’s going to be a rugby player for sure.”
Suburbs rugby premier team coach Ramsey Tomakino says he’s come across some unusual names during his three years with the Waitakere team.
“Last year we had Hannibal, Nissan and Rambo – we have lots of people who say they like seeing our team lists because of the names.”
