D’Brickashaw…Really?

I remember it like it was a few years ago, because it was. The NFL Draft was a few months away and the mock drafts were mocking.  That’s when I heard it. D’Brickashaw Ferguson, tackle from the University of Virginia. Say what? Come again?

Ferguson is named after Father Ralph de Bricassart, a fictional character in the 1977 novel (and on the 1983 television mini-series) The Thorn Birds, played by Richard Chamberlain.^{(From Wikipedia)}

^{You girls should LOVE that!}

Okay, at least that makes a little sense. Sort of. I actually like unusual names, heck, I have an unusual name. How many Rex’s do you know, personally? My full name is even better or worse, depending on how you look at it. Noble from my paternal grandfather and Rexford from my Father. The first day of school every year was an adventure, with each teacher getting to the R’s and hesitating but eventually saying, “Noble Robinson”? I would wait for the giggles to subside and I would sheepishly say, “just call me Rex”.

Some parents just go off the deep end in their attempts to make their children “stand out in a crowd”. Instead of allowing them to create their own identities, they do it for them by naming them like cartoon characters. Celebrities are the worst. Apple? Audio Science? Pilot Inspektor? Sage Moonblood? Bronx Mowgli?

The reason this subject came to mind is one of our commits(as of today anyway), Da’Rick Rogers. Do you know how to pronounce it? If you are a die-hard you might, but I bet many of you do not. You might think it’s Duh-Rick or Dah-Rick, but you would be wrong. It’s Day-Rick with the apostrophe taking the place of the “Y”, what’s wrong with you? I have talked with many teachers over the years and have heard some great names.

See if you can figure this one out. This is a real name.

Le-a.

I’ll even give you a hint. It’s a girl’s name.