People with real l337 speak names?

An anonymous reader writes "I'm considering naming my first-born child either Br4d or J4n37, depending on gender. My wife isn't too keen on the idea but there's plenty of time left to persuade her. Anyway, it had me wondering whether there are any people out there with real l337 speak given names (or even just a digit in their name). Do you know of any? Other than people saying your dad is a l4m3r, What are the possible pitfalls of having a digit in your name? Is it legal to have a digit in a name? Am I guaranteeing my child becomes a misfit? Am I the misfit?" Ask Jennifer 8. Lee.

Comments

Not a Joke

[Merlin42]

Jon Blake Cusack 2.0

Ry4an

[ry4an]

I had my name legally changed to Ry4an 10 years ago. It's worked out fine though most formal records just exclude it.

Re:First use of a number in a name

[nomadic]

It's later, not earlier, but in Asimov's Prelude to Foundation the Mycogenian names contained numbers (i.e. Sunmaster Fourteen).

In real life it was quite common in ancient Rome to give children numeric names (Quintus, Sextus, etc.).

Re:The word is "sex"

[Fedallah]

(because they don't know what the word gender means)

You mean definition (3a) here?

Wrong

[Mr. Underbridge]

unless you expect your first-born to be either masculine or feminine. English grammar does not have genders, which is why most people don't realize how screwed up this sounds (because they don't know what the word gender means). In many (most?) other languages words have geneders, e.g. in French a table is of feminine gender and in Russian it's masculine. Gender is purely a grammar term. Confusing the words "gender" and "sex" is equivalent to using "it" when referring to a person.

That's true for other languages, but you might have consulted a dictionary before attempting (incorrectly and pedantically) to correct the poster regarding English usage. As seen from definitions 2-3, gender is an acceptable term in English to refer to a male/female distinction for humans.

Other languages can do what they like, but simply because English is different from other languages doesn't make it wrong. Many languages use one word for two usages that are split in other languages See below. Sex and gender in this usage are accepted synonyms.

*****************

gender ( P ) Pronunciation Key (jndr) n.

1. Grammar.

1. A grammatical category used in the classification of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and, in some languages, verbs that may be arbitrary or based on characteristics such as sex or animacy and that determines agreement with or selection of modifiers, referents, or grammatical forms.
2. One category of such a set.
3. The classification of a word or grammatical form in such a category.
4. The distinguishing form or forms used.

2. Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.

3. a) The condition of being female or male; sex.
b) Females or males considered as a group: expressions used by one gender.

This is illegal in most states.

[httpamphibio.us]

I'm getting married soon and I looked up the laws about changing your name in a couple different states, Washington, Oregon, and Ohio, and every single one of the says that it's alright to have a number spelled out, but having a numeral isn't allowed. Granted, things may be different outside of the US.

A famous example

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple's own Bo3b Johnson. He's been a member of Apple Developer Support since time immemorial, and has managed to get Bo3b on credit cards and (it's rumored) drivers licences since way before many slashdotters were born.

The 3 is silent by the way. And apparently Bo3b is short for Ro3bert.

Re:Alfred Bester was here first...

[Valdrax]

Bester wrote "The Demolished Man" in 1953 when William Gibson was about 5.

You owe it to yourself to read "The Demolished Man." Aside from the prominent use of telepaths in the story, it was in every way a proto-cyberpunk novel as well as being just one of the best-written books I've ever read. Bester's "The Stars My Desitination" is even better, though. It takes an intelligent look at what society would be like if everyone could teleport at a whim and tosses it into the background of one of the most vivid revenge stories ever told. Gulliver Foyle is the single greatest "larger-than-life" protagonist that I've ever seen. His indomitable will is monstrous and his passion and fury leaps out and grabs the reader.

Bester is one of my favorite authors of all time.