Tennessee James Toth is the name of Reese Witherspoon's new son. My first reaction to the name is that it is better than Apple or Moroccan or Pilot Inspektor. I think the child should also be grateful that Reese is not from a state like Rhode Island or Massachusetts. That would be a tough name. It is going to be hard for this kid to learn his name but at least he will always get this state's name right in a spelling bee. What do you call him? Tenny? Ten Ten?
I'd call him Jimmy.
ReplyDeleteOh Ten Ten sounds cute!
ReplyDeleteNessie.
ReplyDeleteWow. I'd call him TJ. Congrats on the babes!
ReplyDeleteGood for her. Silly name though. Hopefully he will go by James.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of the name, but if he looks anything like his big brother and sister, he'll be just fine..gorgeous kids!
ReplyDeleteDang it, so close, I had Lord Garnett Camel Toed in the office pool...
ReplyDeleteBeleive it or not, that's not a bad Southern name. I know a lot of Bama's/Bear's/Dixie/Georgia/Tide's. I've met a woman who called her son Tenn.
ReplyDeleteOT - good news! the bacon shortage was all a lie!!!
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Ugh, Tennessee? I assume he'll want to go by James and then he gets the pain in the ass of not using his official first name so passports and other types of ID get to be complicated.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine working with someone named Tennessee?
Tennessee Toth!
ReplyDeleteI would go by Jimmy too, SusanB. Every time I say it in my head, I hear a strong southern accent followed by the sound of spitting into an empty beer can.
Aw congrats! Hope mommy and baby are both doing well!
ReplyDeleteWasn't there a writer named TN? TN Willimas? I choose to abbreviate because it's too long to spell out.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a blues guitarist or pool shark.
ReplyDeleteYes, Patty, Tennessee Williams did pretty well for himself, name and all. And Reese isn't exactly the most common name on the planet (unless you're talking about candy) but the kid has a good middle name and TJ is perfect. Good luck to him.
ReplyDeleteI have the theme song from Tennesee Tuxedo in my head now....
ReplyDeleteOMG all I can think of is Tennessee Tuxedo. I am surprised his middle name isn't Chumley. I suppose this will usher in a spate of Illinois, Idahos, Arkansas and Mississippi's now.
ReplyDeleteI like Tenn, Tenny or TJ. She carried her baby weight very well and seemed so happy all the time. Congrats to both. :)
ReplyDeleteI never thought Apple was that bad... (Heh, no "bad apple" puns intended.)
ReplyDeleteI'd go by Tennessee. It's not a common name, so I'd embrace it.
ReplyDelete@NYCGirl, for whatever reason, Apple doesn't bother me either. I don't know why.
ReplyDeleteWe'll I think it's cute. Although, I do have a son named Montana. :)
ReplyDeleteMoon Unit still holds the record for craziest name, though. RIP Frank Zappa
ReplyDeleteGuys, Tennessee Williams' really name was Thomas Lanier Williams. "Tennessee" was a nickname he gave himself for his writing career. It wasn't his given name like this is. And this is just...odd. I love Tennessee as much as Reese does, bein' that we're both from there, but this is ridiculous and trashy.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I'm being judgy. Ridiculous names are a pet peeve of mine. That kid has to walk up and pick up a diploma, and get married, and have THAT name announced all over the place for his whole life. Parents should THINK about this.
I guess it will help that he'll have money. That usually cancels out the stigma of a strange name.
DeleteMe too @AKM. Bad names, and especially made-up ridiculous complicated spellings of names, along with superfluous apostrophes (really? You want your name pronounced with a glottal stop right there? Because that's what it means) make me want to throw my head back and howl in derision.
DeleteI imagine kids spending a lifetime spelling and explaining.
And yeah, Tennessee is a ludicrous name.
*real name
ReplyDeleteCowboy? Or Writer? Or possible douche bag?
ReplyDeleteHaving an unusual name can either make you or break you. I have a common name that's uncommonly spelled. It taught me to speak up when I had to ask that the spelling be corrected.
ReplyDeleteTen Ten can always change his name, it worked for David Bowie's son.
i like Moroccan Enty, don't hate! and Tennessee is nice, I'm sure they'll just call him Jimmy like his dad
ReplyDeleteA lady I know named her daughter Tennesea - same silly name, even worse spelling.
ReplyDeleteTJ
ReplyDeleteI guess it could be worse, at least she didn't name him Sloth.
ReplyDeleteThere is just something about Reese where if she named her kid "Tree Stump" somehow she would still come off smelling like a rose. Sometimes I admire how she can pull these things off and sometimes it annoys me LOL. I guess this just landed on an annoy day ;>
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Reese isn't her real first name either. Sorry, Tennessee is a silly name.
ReplyDelete(It's Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon and the Reese part is a family name. Very common in the South to give both girls and boys surnames as first names to preserve them and show respect. I wish she'd done something similar with this kid.)
ReplyDeleteYes, very common in the South. My daughter's first and middle names are Katherine Reade. Came this close to calling her Reade, but I was worried she'd be teased so I stuck with Katherine.
Deleteunusual names are nightmare until you are in your 20's or so. In a room of 1000 people everybody will know who an Apple or Tennessee is, and it depends on the personm you can own your name with confidence.
ReplyDeleteI mean Reese sounds like a candy bar to me.
Since all her kids are genetically perfect I think Tenny will be just fine in life.
Doesn't always work in your favor though even as an adult. I used to work with someone named Starr Lander. Very nice person but I was always distracted by wondering what kind of parents she had that they would give her this name. I never heard a word she said LOL
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the new parents! And yes, I daresay the kid is going to be adorable. :-)
ReplyDeleteTJ, duh.
ReplyDeleteI agree with timebob for the most part- unless you were one of those unfortunate kids whose hippie parents dropped too much acid..
ReplyDeleteBut I have always been one of a few in the room and there was no way I was picking from the top 25 names.
She should get that "kick me" sign ready to put on the poor kid's butt when he goes to school.
ReplyDeleteOh how I wish she would have named him Reese Robert aka Reese Bobby, and he had a son named Richard Robert. I'm from the South and don't find Tennessee anymore odd than Montana, Dakota, etc.
ReplyDeletethey'll call him T.J.
ReplyDeletevery cute.
Congratulations to them but not crazy about the name.
ReplyDeleteWhat is with celebrities and all these weird names. I know they feel they have to be unique and different than "regular" people but all of these kids are going to grow up and wonder WTF were my parents thinking. I'm sorry no kid wants to say Hi my name is Tennessee Toth.
ReplyDeleteTenn is likely. (My family is from the same area; we already have a Ben and a Zenn, I'm surprised we don't have a Tenn.)
ReplyDeletenice name and congrats!
ReplyDeletemy friend's mom is named Charmin. which is bad enough, except for she then married a man whose last name is...Starmen.
ReplyDeleteand i guess Enty doesn't know or never read Tennessee Williams the author
ReplyDeleteI have a friend named Tennessee (after Tennessee Williams). He goes by Tenn. I dig the name.
ReplyDeleteLol @ Charmin Starmen!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Reese & the family.
Renoblondee, Montana is a great name! Our late doggie was named Montana, after Joe-my husband's favorite player.
Tennessee Williams
ReplyDeleteTennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Tuxedo
All did well. The nickname Tenn is cute, as is T.J.
Hope nobody sticks him with the common Hollyweird short double name tag, which would make him TennTo.
Hey AKM, do you still live in TN? I'm from there (here?) as well. Music City USA!
ReplyDeleteNope. In STL for hopefully only two more years.
ReplyDeleteAgain, for the record, all of the folks mentioned with the names "Tennessee" had the moniker AS A NICKNAME, and they chose the nickname themselves. They had formal/common/normal/whatever-you-want-to-call-it names to use if they so chose. This kid didn't get that luxury, and it will be interesting to find out in twenty years how he feels about it.
TJ Toth. It's cute!
ReplyDeleteFunniest name I ever came across was Ira N. Maiden....IRON MAIDEN! (Bill & Ted guitar sound)
ReplyDeleteTennessee was a nickname:
ReplyDeleteThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III.
TJ
ReplyDeleteMy best friend advised me that unusual names could work for a girl, but it was bettet to go tradional for a boy. I agree.
ReplyDeleteIn college, I knew sisters named Dakota and Montana. They had another sister named Sierra.
ReplyDeleteThat name is AWESOME
ReplyDelete