What not to name your kid: Molech
There’s a lot of silly sounding names out there - Englebert and Moon Unit come to mind - but isn’t it unfortunate when parents unwittingly name their children after mythological or historical figures with nasty backgrounds and bad associations? As it happens, Molech may be the worst; not only is this ancient deity identified with elaborate child sacrifice and merciless burning, but the name itself comes from the Hebrew for “shameful king.”
Not convinced? Modern incarnations of the name don’t fair much better. Molech (or Moloch, as the deity was often called) has been a crime boss character in a comic book, a demon on the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the name of a documentary film about Adolf Hitler, and an arch-devil in the geeky role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. Molech has also appeared as a sinister street fighter in the Mortal Kombat video game series, and it’s the name of a death metal band somewhere in Kansas. And have you ever read Alan Ginsberg’s Howl? Any guesses what the alternate title is?
Perhaps it sounds interesting on the surface; exotic, maybe, or like one of those nice archaic biblical names (may we suggest sticking to the saints?). Well, it may be a tad more benign than naming your first-born Beelzebub, but with all the classic evil in this name, we wouldn’t recommend it!