2015's 'Name of the Year' contenders include Cherries Waffles Tennis, Dr. Data Longjohn
Vote now for the best name belonging to a real person in 2015 — if you're able to pick just one favourite.
Looking for a truly unique baby name?
You might want to take a look through the list of contenders in 2015's "Name of the Year" bracket, which opened to public voting this week.
A total of 64 competitors, chosen by a nominating committee with help from email submissions, are currently facing off in the 33rd annual March Madness-style tournament — and to say that the race is tight would be an understatement.
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Round one alone is proving difficult for many to vote on with names like Cherries Waffles Tennis, Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Pleasant Crump in the mix.
If you can actually pick a favourite between Blundy Vildor and Understanding Bush, you've got this writer's respect.
Blundy Vildor. Say it out loud and try not to crack up. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/NOTYtourney">@NOTYtourney</a>: Voting now open in Bulltron Regional: <a href="http://t.co/0kIoknPlhr">http://t.co/0kIoknPlhr</a>
—@danluceroshowWhile many have questioned the veracity of names used for the bracket since it was created in the early '80s, NOTY's unidentified organizers assure voters on their website that all competitors are 100 per cent real (though we haven't verified whether or not any of the contenders have had their names legally changed in the past.)
"Name of the Year was founded in 1983 on an Ivy League campus. Its mission has remained unchanged: to discover, verify, nominate, elect and disseminate great names," reads the site's "about" section. "All names included here are, to the best of our knowledge, real. No malice is intended."
This has been easier to prove, of course, since the dawn of Google.
The tournament didn't actually come online until NOTY purchased a website in 2000, but since that time its organizers have been able to link to news coverage, professional profiles and similar evidence that proves a competitor exists (and not as a comic book character.)
„Cherries Waffles Tennis“ …bester Name überhaupt! ������ <a href="http://t.co/fPhiitFOiW">pic.twitter.com/fPhiitFOiW</a>
—@bluelevenCherries Waffles Tennis, for instance, made headlines in August after being arrested for allegedly making fraudulent purchases in Jupiter, FL.
Similarly, Amanda Miranda Panda of Boise, Idaho, was charged with burglary in December.
Forrestina Calf Boss Ribs is a Democratic member of the Montana House of Representatives, I Made Mangku Pastika is the Governor of Bali and Miraculous Powers is a high school varsity football player from Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Many on Twitter are trying to predict the outcome of this year's bracket, but no clear front-runner has emerged.
There doesn't appear to be any sort of pattern on NOTY's list of past winners, aside from the fact that they're all pretty hilarious. According to the organizers, this is normal, as a winner is merely determined by the collective taste of voters each year.
"A good name is in the ear of the beholder (or the eye, in the case of creatively punctuated names, like I-Perfection Harris and Q’Beashable Scott)," reads the website's "history" section. "You like the cadence of Fidelio Tata. I prefer the poetic rhyme of Clinton Hinton."
"A good name generally has it going both ways, that is, the given name and surname have distinctive qualities," the text continues. "A good name should be unexpected. A good name can be ironic. A good name is what you want it to be."
See the full, printable bracket of this year's 64 best names in all its glory right here, or head on over to the tournament's website to vote for yourself.