Cashing In On the Name Game

Shirley Ellis had no idea...not a clue. When she was singing "Shirley, Shirley, Bo Birley,,,Mi My Mo Merley." that there was money to be had in the name game. Oh sure, she had a hit song and cheerleaders throughout the world copied the cadence, but we're talking serious cash here: the kind of money Today's Translation gets.
Of course, we all try to find that special name for our child...that one-in-a-million, never-to-be-copied name that will set our child apart as the next genius (or savant, depending). Most of us try to consider eminent family members or significant people in our lives, and some even go to the extent of searching reference books for just the right name in terms of meaning. That's where it's important to know about Today's TRanslation. For a fee, that company will search more than a hundred languages in order to be certain that you have not picked unwisely. While most of us generally try to stick with a name that won't cause fights on the playground, others go far beyond to something so unique that few will emulate it. Take TomKat (Cruise and Homes). They probably would never have guessed that "Suri" in Japanese means "pickpocket," or "turned sour" in French, let alone "horse mackerels" in Italian. Just wait until the playground bullies get ahold of that one!
Nor did Wayne Rooney guess that his son Kai could be called "probably" if he were in Finland, "Pier" if he ventured into Estonia, or "Stop it!" in the expanses of Western Africa.
So you can see how important knowing these things might be prior to establishing a name for which your child might forever hate you.
So it will be for the Stephani/Rossdale child when the playmates discover that, yes, it does mean "peace" in Zuni, it also means "Lord frowns in anger" in one of the ancient Aztec tongues.
Poor kids
I know the next time I have to name a child, I will pony up the $1700 and do it right. Having a child with the letter "u" where an "a" should be is bad enough...at least it is according to him.