Maybe it's just me but. . .

[xiphias]

Does anyone expect that the whole story about Penn Jillette's daughter being named "Moxie CrimeFighter" is just a not even particularly elaborate joke?

I mean, c'mom. Let's start with the fact that the story says that his wife's name is Elaine. Penn-Elaine. It's a joke, see?

(I meant that as a gag, but I looked it up, and, according to IMDB, his wife's name is "Emily Zolten" and was an assstant director on a small budget direct-to-video movie in 2002. . . . so I could be right that that was a deliberate clue to it being a gag. . . no, wait -- it was just a typo as the story got transmitted, and the original congrats from Neil Gaiman do say “Penn and Emily”. So disregard this part. But not the possibility of the whole thing being a gag.)

Comments

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

There are plenty of references to the birth online. According to an article I saw, Penn said they chose the name because that way, if she's ever pulled over by a cop, she can say "But officer, we're on the same side: my middle name is 'CrimeFighter.'"

It sounds like it could be a gag, but it also seems pretty much inline with Penn's personality. I mean, if anyone had asked me what celebrity was most likely to name his child "Moxie CrimeFighter," I'm pretty sure I'd've picked him. So I'm pretty sure it's legit.

I have to say that his wife must either be just as weird as he is--which is difficult--or be absolutely in love with him to agree to name their child that.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I have to say that his wife must either be just as weird as he is--which is difficult--or be absolutely in love with him to agree to name their child that.

Which I'd put as a mark in the "likely to be a gag" column, but, on the other hand, it does seem likely that the category of "Feels That Marrying Penn Jilette Is A Good Idea" is very probably almost entirely a subset of "Is Just As Weird As Penn Jilette".

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

I'd say that it's quite possible Penn's wife wasn't as weird as he is when she decided to marry him. However, if that was the case, actually making the decision to marry him almost certainly pushed her into the category of "Is Just as Weird as Penn Jillette."

I must say that the post in Neil Gaiman's blog certainly makes it sound legit.

[brooksmoses]

Yeah -- my first reaction to the name was, "That's going to make it hard for her to have a normal growing-up!"

But, then, I realized that if she wanted a normal growing-up she should have picked people a lot less weird to have for parents anyway, so any small additional effect from the name is not likely to actually matter.

[mathwhiz78.livejournal.com]

When I was in Vegas, I got Penn to record my cell voice mail greeting. So it's now, "This is Penn from Penn & Teller. Leave Mike a message or leave Mike alone!"

[ckd]

Hah! I got Teller to record mine! Of course, he made me do all the talking....

[jadasc.livejournal.com]

So what kind of Hebrew name would you give to a child named Moxie CrimeFighter?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Um, let's see. . . it's a girl's name, so girl's names. . . I think for "CrimeFighter" I might use "Shamarit", and for "Moxie" . . . um. . . all my books are at home. . . .

[temima.livejournal.com]

Well, Chutzpah is more Yiddish, but I see nothing wrong with it as a name. 'chazak' is 'be strong' (Chazak, chazak, ve-nit chazek), so you could make a feminine name (chazakeh?) from that. However, you are more familiar with Hebrew grammar than I am, and I am thinking as 'moxie' being closer to 'courage.' YMMV

[temima.livejournal.com]

Oh, and 'chutzpah' is closer to rudeness, but some folks may take as courage.

[querldox.livejournal.com]

Well, Kevin Smith did name his daughter Harley Quinn Smith.

Perhaps Moxie Crimefighter Jillette and she will be arch-enemies.

[navrins]

Or else they'll team up against their parents...

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

With my libertarian bent, I'm the last person to say "there oughta be a law," but giving your kids weird names that greatly increase their chances of getting beaten up on a grade school playground comes awfully close to clearing that particular bar. You can't do much about an unfortunate last name, but first names are entirely within the control of the parents.

http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/index.html has some more good examples.

[power-c.livejournal.com]

Moxie CrimeFighter (note the intercap) Jillette and Zolten Penn Jillette are both wonderfully delightful names! When we think that Penn spends his day running around with a strange little guy who doesn't talk and makes things bleed, Penn could have done much worse.