From the May 5 New Scientist:

"Parents who make up bizarre names for their children are ignorant, arrogant or just foolish."  Psychologist Albert Mehrabian of the University of California, Los Angeles, on his study looking at how people reacted to names.  Traditional names aroused positive feelings, but alternative names did badly (The Guardian, London, 29 April)

My first name is unusual for a boy, I was far from popular, and some suggested the two facts were related.  We gave our kids unusual middle names, but common first names, thinking they could choose to emphasize their unusual names when/if they ever felt so inclined. 

So do people who give their kids odd names mainly have odd preferences, wanting their kids to be less popular and more distinctive, or are such people just mistaken about the consequences of their actions?