They were among the more obscure names rejected by the Queensland Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages during 2008 but sadly not all so seemingly inappropriate were disallowed.

Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight, Chardonnay and Violence were all bestowed on unfortunate babies in what seems a growing enterprise for new parents.

Unusual spellings, names inspired by fictional characters and even a poor nine-year-old from New Zealand called Talula does the Hula from Hawaii, seem to be the rage for parents intent on being different.

I thought I copped it bad when I started school with Alysia. It doesn't seem that difficult but it is amazing how many people have trouble pronouncing it correctly.

I get Alicia and Alyssa a lot and on the phone more often than not Olivia.

Starting high school, where teachers changed every hour, I got used to responding to anything vaguely resembling my name from Alison to Eliza.

It become so common that upon the incorrect pronounciation my whole class would chorus "It's not Alicia/Eliza/Alyssa. It's Alysia".

Employers of years would still get it wrong on occasion and a former boyfriend took so long to get used to it I had to write it down phonetically.

Interestingly if my mother had her way, when I was born I would have been called Angela.

Fortunately for my father, she passed out exhausted shortly after my birth and he changed my name to Alysia.

He also at various times when I was young tried to convince me it was pooh in another language.

However, this is also the same dad who, in cahoots with my older sister, had me convinced that a long held scar on my left shoulder was where they removed my third arm at birth.

I still have the scar.

So while my name may not mean pooh, it sure poohs me when parents give their children difficult to spell or pronounce names.

Pleasingly the Queensland authorities knocked back Sex Fruit, Twisty Poi, Stallion and Fish and Chips - for twins.

But one has to wonder what sort of self image Number 16 Bus Shelter is going to have when they are older or the difficulty Violence is going to have getting a job.

When did being unique turn into downright cruel?

A baby's name should fit their personality, which, despite being very young, many parents would argue they have.

I fail to see how attempting to call your child after a fizzy drink or confectionery item turns the rolls at schools into anything more than a teacher's shopping list.