First names you dislike

[DawnM]

Let's see...... I have to agree with crazy spellings. Teaching in a predominantly Hispanic high school I try to pronounce them as Spanish and then get told it is something else Mikael (to me mick-aye-el) nope Michael. Eiras (rolled r, thought it would be a male) nope "it's iris, like the flower"

Also don't care for people with twins naming them similar names. Especially identical twins. It's hard enough for me to tell them apart now I got to try to remember which name goes with which?

I had a student named Ariola, and yup, pronounced areola. I simply could NOT say her name out loud. I pulled her aside and told her what it meant in English and we both decided to give her a nickname.

 

[crazymama]

Audrey and Naveah

I second this post!! Mostly because I have a highly annoying relative named Audrey and I just truly dislike this Nevaeh trend. Yes we get it... it's heaven backwards. Once knew siblings called Denim and Levi. And a child named Areolah.

 

[LJSquishy]

Nevaeh is definitely the worst. I can't believe people actually use that as a name.

There are a lot of names I don't care for such as Sarah, Tyler/Taylor, Jessica, Jennifer, Michael, Aiden/Aidan/Aden, etc but not for any particular reason. I'm not fond of strange "names" like Stryker for instance either.

What bothers me more is the way people spell their children's names to be "different" and what it actually does is make the parent look illiterate! I feel bad for the kids.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

What's funny is that every single name in the entire world was made up by someone. Whether it be you or someone else. My kids names are fairly common but I don't understand why people have a problem with a different name or spelling. What's the difference whether it's a unique name or some name you got by someone who made it up 2000 years ago? It's strange to me when we sweat the small stuff.

 

[alicat8]

What's funny is that every single name in the entire world was made up by someone. Whether it be you or someone else. My kids names are fairly common but I don't understand why people have a problem with a different name or spelling. What's the difference whether it's a unique name or some name you got by someone who made it up 2000 years ago? It's strange to me when we sweat the small stuff.

My thoughts exactly. BUT I do get how some names are just annoying to people

 

[Magpie]

In my experience, the person makes the name. If I've met someone nice, I like their name, no matter what it is. If I don't know anyone by a particular name, I have no opinion about it at all.

Certain names have do negative associations for me, but that's only because they belonged to people whom I've had negative experiences with. "Jamie", for example, belonged first to a boy I knew who had Down's Syndrome, and then later belonged to a wheelchair bound boy who whined a lot, would start screaming hysterically whenever the fire alarm went off, and who had to be accompanied everywhere in school by his mom. Jamie Oliver seems to be a pretty cool dude, but I don't know him personally, so for me, the name has connotations of weakness and disability.

Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the name, though, and I'd really hope I'd be open minded enough not to judge any future "Jamie"s I meet, by the past ones I've known.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I had a student named Ariola, and yup, pronounced areola. I simply could NOT say her name out loud. I pulled her aside and told her what it meant in English and we both decided to give her a nickname.

May I ask how old she was at the time? Were you teaching in a foreign country or was she and ELL student?

 

[DawnM]

May I ask how old she was at the time? Were you teaching in a foreign country or was she and ELL student?

She was Latina, in Los Angeles, ELL, high school. I can't remember her exact age.

 

[dollarmite]

I met a girl named Maybe. I would not like to have that name....

Sorry, Maybe

I wonder if she was named after the character in 'Arrested Development'.

What bothers me more is the way people spell their children's names to be "different" and what it actually does is make the parent look illiterate! I feel bad for the kids.

Yes, it does. I saw a post somewhere once (can't remember whether it was here or another board), about someone wanting to name their daughter Miichael. Who does that? First off it's bad enough giving your child an opposite gender name, but to then deliberately mangle the spelling? If I came across it somewhere I'd assume there was a typo in some boy's name, and correct it to Michael before adding their name to the boy's list if people/lists were being divided by gender.

Nevaeh is definitely the worst. I can't believe people actually use that as a name.

I can't even work out how to pronounce Nevaeh.

 

[Vicki926]

I wonder if she was named after the character in 'Arrested Development'.



Yes, it does. I saw a post somewhere once (can't remember whether it was here or another board), about someone wanting to name their daughter Miichael. Who does that? First off it's bad enough giving your child an opposite gender name, but to then deliberately mangle the spelling? If I came across it somewhere I'd assume there was a typo in some boy's name, and correct it to Michael before adding their name to the boy's list if people/lists were being divided by gender.



I can't even work out how to pronounce Nevaeh.

I have one in my class. It's Nuh-VAY-uh.

 

[Mrs Eeyore]

Also not a fan of Nevaeh. Wouldn't heaven in reverse refer to...you know, the bad place?

My father, who was an odd duck, had an irrational dislike for the names Jenny and Scott. I have no clue why. His own name was Geoffrey and he was convinced that was the greatest name ever. He would tell you that every character named Geoffrey in books or movies was a handsome, dashing hero. After years of his bluster I came to dislike the name Geoffrey.

 

[cyneswith]

Humility (knew a woman who named her kid this)
Any disease/body part names (my dad lobbied for my nephew to be Cooter. No, Dad. No.)
Names that mean something potentially embarrassing that the parents refuse to acknowledge (Poor Tauren.)
Jezebel, Tobias, Delilah, and other beautiful names ruined by their most famous bearer
Names on the opposite sex child (I got enough hassle for a quasi-unisex name that I dislike it to this day. If the bearer is fine with it, though...)
Last names as first names (I know a kid with a string of surnames... Imagine something like Schofield Smith Daugherty.)

 

[JanBlessed]

We also get a lot of kids with interesting names in the office: Sincere, Journnee (not my typo!), Peace, Harmony... I can keep going!

ETA: Weird spellings get me too. We had a little girl in the office last week named Hanna. Nothing weird about that, but when I called her back, her mom huffed, rolled her eyes, and goes "It's Anna. The 'H' is silent." How in hades would I know that? I felt like saying "that's what you get for spelling her name the way you did!" but I refrained.

DD went to school with a girl named Jammi. She got all bent out of shape if someone actually pronounced it as Jammi - it's pronounced Jamie. Now how would anybody know that? She also went to school with a Klrissa. pronounced Clarissa.
Ask Vanna if you can buy a vowel. At work I have seen a Destiany- pronounced Destiny - and many Micheals.

 

[JanBlessed]

I see that someone mentioned dogs (or pets), so I will be adding more names to that post when it comes up! Hahaha!!! Pet names you hate...

 

[sasywtch]

I really don't like the very old names Bertha, Mildred, Dorcus. For some reason, they remind me of very old women in the kitchen cooking all day They just don't seem like a cute little baby name to me. Some of the old names I like, Emma, Emily. I come from a family full of Georges (was Georj, then Georg, then George). Pretty much not fond of my grandmother (on my dad's side) choice of names. Forgive me dad but Clarence, Elmer, Earl, another George? Just sounds like old men instead of a cute baby. If there was one name I'd change, it would be my daughter's middle name of Nicole. Had no idea 7 years later her dad would have an affair with a Nichole. (and yeah, her spelling fit her).

At my work I get a lot of people applying with the names princess, Beautiful, Queen, Precious. A friend of my grandson is Willard. That one reminds me of the rat in Ben (the movie).

 

[ThePopUpDance]

There are very few names I hate - different strokes, you know? But it makes me cringe when a parent doesn't take their kid and their kid's future into account when they name them. You may really want to spell Ashley as Aschleeknighigh, but that kid is going to have to spell that thing for the rest of their lives. You're probably only going to have to deal with the frustration of people mispronouncing and misspelling it for the first 18 years of their life.

I love nicknames - I have a ton of them myself because my dad has always been big on that - and I love the versatility they can bring to a name. My full name is Allison - country club/Nantucket - and my two primary nicknames are Alli - cute, girly - and Al - much more tomboy, rough and tumble. I like all of them, and all of them suit parts of my personality.

I do like the resurgence in the use of more classic names, though I'm anti any name that can be shared with a dictator or mass murderer. Just say no to Adolph, people.

As for pets - I would never give an animal a common person's name, like Maggie, but that's really a preference stemming from hearing my own name called out a few too many times in a dog park, only to discover they were calling a Yorkshire terrier and not me. I've had a Boomer (short for Boomerang - when you sent him one way, he came right back), Taisha, Barnaby, Cornelius, Woody, and Buster. All are technically people names, but not ones you'll hear every day.

 

[Skywalker]

You people are being very civilized lol. I remember a very similar thread a few years back where someone got their nose really out of joint because I hated a certain name. Granted I said it sounded like a dog's name but I am glad people aren't as sensitive anymore ha ha.

I agree on made up names, stupidly spelled names, and hyper-trendy names being on my hit list.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I really don't like the very old names Bertha, Mildred, Dorcus. For some reason, they remind me of very old women in the kitchen cooking all day They just don't seem like a cute little baby name to me. Some of the old names I like, Emma, Emily. I come from a family full of Georges (was Georj, then Georg, then George). Pretty much not fond of my grandmother (on my dad's side) choice of names. Forgive me dad but Clarence, Elmer, Earl, another George? Just sounds like old men instead of a cute baby. If there was one name I'd change, it would be my daughter's middle name of Nicole. Had no idea 7 years later her dad would have an affair with a Nichole. (and yeah, her spelling fit her).

At my work I get a lot of people applying with the names princess, Beautiful, Queen, Precious. A friend of my grandson is Willard. That one reminds me of the rat in Ben (the movie).

.

 

[Dawnlight]

Various single syllable names: Bob, Tom, Tim, Jim, Gage, Hank, Brooke, Paige, Blair (though do like others like Maeve, Grace, Drew, Clark, Finn)

Russian names: Igor, Luba, Oleg, Olga, Polina, Boris, Svetlana, Vladimir, Stanislav

Israeli names: Dor, Bar, Mor, Smadar, Dror, Shlomo, Ofek

Names that are changed: Michael to Mikey, Thomas to Tommy. Rebecca to Becky, Samantha to Sammy- I like the full name, but the nickname sounds childish to me when used by an adult.

 

[Tinker06]

I love common names. (My kids can always get a Disney World cup with their name on it! haha) I have 2 girls, Grace Elizabeth and Sophia Elizabeth. Neither were popular when we chose them. I had never met another Grace or Sophia. Now, we go to church with 3 Grace Elizabeth's and a few Sophia Grace's. haha But I love their names and they will be beautiful and elegant even when they are older. Now they go by Gracie and Pia (like leah, but with a P) Originally it started because her sister couldn't pronounce the "ph" so she would call her Sopia, and it gradually shortened to Pia with her. Now we call her that because if you holler Sophia or Sophie at the park 13 little girls look at you. LOL

My name is Michelle. I love it. I grew up in the 80's and it is a traditional name of the era, but not overdone. I was named after my dad (michael).

If I had any more children (which I will NOT) I would name her Juliette. Love that name.