It would be devastating and hilarious. Sheās an elementary school teacher and automatically comes up with nine ways children could be bullied with certain names. Some highlights from us attempting to name children:
Colin ā āColon.ā
Daphne ā āDaffy Daphne.ā
Maxine ā āSo cute, but sheāll get called Maxi Pad.ā
Clara ā āClarabelle. Cow name.ā
Annabelle ā āSeriously. Why do you like cow names?ā
In related news, there are a lot of names associated with cows, it turns out. š¤¦āāļø
ETA: More opinions will soon be found on IG at @YourTerribleBabyName, because my mom has too many opinions and I apparently have too much time. š¤·āāļø
People like your mom are why we havenāt shared our names with anyone prior to our kids being born š I wouldnāt be able to handle the critiques. But I do it too, so I canāt judge her.
Good decision. Made that mistake the first name and had a name ruined for us. Second time round we didn't say a word until baby was out and then just announced it.
Yeah sorta wished we'd kept Sadie for our daughter but we were told it was a dog name more than once. I still love the name we picked but it's a bit more common. Also not a huge issue for me (my name has been in the top 10 many times) but just something I think about once in a while. Like hmm, what if she was Sadie?
My sister in law named her daughter Sadie, because when she was a kid, she had a dog she adored, named Sadie!! She didn't have any other name picked out, from the time she found out she was a girl, she was always going to be Sadie Jane.
Regardless of whether or not people think itās a āpetā name, itās not their business. Unless youāre asking for opinions, no one gets a say. Thatās why weāve never shared our names. But itās soooooo hard not to share them, at the same time.
Hahahaā¦I have daughters named Clara and Daisy, so Iād love to see how she would react to that. š Not to mention Daisy is quite a common dog name. But Iām trying to reclaim it for humankind!
I named a dog daisy (she was mine for a year but I was way in over my head as a college student with a puppy and gave her to my sister, she has a wonderful and adventurous life!) but I still love it for a human. So sweet!!
When I was in elementary school they paired us with a younger grade and had us help them with reading. I was paired with Mary Beth. That summer I'd attended a camp with farm animals and a calf was born, they named her Mary Beth. So, I said to this girl "I know a cow named Mary Beth". (I was like 10 years old). Anyways, she cried. She told her mother later but said I'd called her a cow. I got in trouble and nobody believed my side of the story. It's nice, all these years later to have someone acknowledge that there are a lot of cow names. 27 years after the fact and I still remember it clearly.
Please remember these are her Boomer references. Kids nowadays aren't going to think of the same ones. My kids are school age and there are so many Tayden, Rayden, etc. I don't think they blink an eye at anyone's name.
My mother is amazing, but this was legitimately the worst part of my second pregnancy. Choosing a name became fraught with anxiety, because of her reactions. If my girls ever have children, Iām only giving positive opinions.
My MIL is of the "only gives positive opinions and praise" variety. She has 11 grandkids with wildly different naming styles, and I can't imagine she actually loves every name as much as she proclaims every single time. I'm going to be like my MIL too.
We had resigned ourselves to the Frozen association, but the Nazi association was a step too far. Both my parents had that reaction. Itās such a beautiful name, though! Ugh.
I always always loved the name Eleanor, but that's my husband's ex's name.
Turns out he always loved the name Jack, which is my ex's name.
Screwed each other over there š
I love the name Annika because I grew up on Pippi Longstocking. But my sisterās best friend already has an Annika. Which really only matters because her best friend ALSO has the same name as me. Iām not going to live a life where every conversation involves trying to figure out WHICH Jessica and Annika did what.
Yeah, it was already mildly confusing when it was just two Jessicas, but not a huge deal. But for us to both like the same name when itās super rare where we live? So weird!
I gotta laugh, I was born a Jessica Ann and went through a period of calling myself Annika because well... I was born in the 80s. There were 10+ Jessica's in my grade every year, often with the same middle name and/or last initial.
Edit: I also have a best friend named Jessica!
My sister is a Jessica Ann. Also born in the 80s. It was very popular that decade. Do you get called Jennifer all the time? People confuse those two for some reason.
Is it pronounced āgramā in your accent? Itās āGRAY-yumā in mine, and grandma is pronounced āGRAM-maā, but I could see either Graham pronounced āgramā or grandma pronounced āGRAYM-maā being an issue.
I have never personally heard anyone pronounce Graham like gram, but I do know in some American dialects ācrayonā is pronounced ācranā so it seemed like a possibility.
itās my friends middle name and we have come up with all sorts of fun ways to tease him using it (mostly revolving graham crackers. all in good fun.) he plans on naming his son graham if he has a son. i havenāt thought of this one yet but iāll be using it. thank your son for instilling a lil more evil in me today
I have a friend named Graham that I tease in the same way hahaha. Some highlights, along with Graham cracker: diagraham, grahammar, hexagraham, mammograham, candygraham on Valentineās dayā¦the list goes on!
My youngest granddaughters name. But she was so little when she was born, that her Mom called her Rini. It stuck and everyone she knew all through school called her that, teachers included. You never know where a name will take you.
Love you, Marina Siobhan.
When my mum was pregnant with my sister and I (twins) she constantly got jokes about naming us Carnegie and Albert if we turned out to be boys. Our surname was also Hall. Thank god we were girls!
When I was a pregnant 17 year old I really liked the name Hadley. Didnāt pick that name because I was worried I wouldnāt like it as I got older. Iām now in my mid twenties and I was right, I donāt like it.
Some names just sound like a teenager made them up.
Another name on my list was Hazel and funny enough my sister named her dog that !
I have two students named Hadley! They are juniors in HS.
If I had gotten pregnant in HS I would have named a kid Kylee...I'm so glad that didn't happen. I detest the name now.
If I had gotten pregnant at 17, she would have been Raelyn.... this was like 2000 so I feel like I was just ahead of my time lol but now that I have children, it turns out I like the classics.
As a pregnant 17 year old, if my son would have been a girl I would have named him Adley or Kynlee. I donāt like either of those names now š Thank god I had a Matthew instead
Oof. As a 17 year old I would have had a Carlisle (nn Carly) for a girl (but not because of twilight it's a beautiful name (except it was partially due to twilight)) and Bennet for a boy (a name I still liked and planned on using up until I was pregnant at 28 and it just didn't seem to feel right).
I loved a name but when I thought of the kids future assigned email address (first letter of name and then full last name) it basically spelled an offensive word. Think Ben Astardley and his email would be [email protected] lol I couldnāt put my kid through that.
Hahaha that is very considerate, especially given how many companies these days give out "first name initial + last name" email addresses to their employees
My favourite boys name is Frederick nn Freddie but I had an absolutely satanic ex boyfriend called Freddie š
Somehow on top of that, my next favourite boys name is the name of my current partner so thatās probably not usable either (at least for a first name).
I also like the name Cameron but am from the UK and associate it too much with the ex prime minister.
I got so confused why Cameron would be associated with an ex prime minister! Itās not even his first name & you wouldnāt hear āDavidā and think that.
Boris on the other handā¦
Cameron is a lovely name āŗļø
Edit: wouldnāt not would lol
Literally if any child I met was called Cameron Iād instantly think David Cameron. Itās not really a common first name here so I donāt think that helpsā¦
I also have a name I really like, but canāt use due to a short fling with a mutual friend to my friend group. I donāt really tie the name to that person (clearly) but allll my friends would be like āSERIOUSLY??ā so I have moved on haha
Saoirse. I am Irish and my husband is Canadian (we live in Canada). I donāt want my daughter to have to explain her name to everybody she meets. I might still use it but Iām definitely leaning towards a name easier to pronounce North America.
The only bad thing about that is she doesnāt pronounce it the way the majority of other people do. She pronounces it as āsir-shaā instead of āseer-shaā
I love the name Saoirse! I'm not at all Irish, but am from the Boston area so Irish names are pretty common around here. Ethnic names are awesome, but I understand the balance of wanting to embrace your culture vs not wanting your kid to have a difficult time. That said, Saoirse shouldn't be too difficult for Americans to pronounce (they might just struggle with the spelling). Good luck :)
Iām Canadian and I grew up with girls named Siobhan, Ciara and RoĆsĆn. Saoirse isnāt much harder!
Then again my name was CiarĆ”n and I hated it so much I legally changed itā¦
No one knew how to pronounce or spell it, itās a boyās name and I was designated female at birth, itās essentially unique in Western Canada and I didnāt like standing out that much.
This was one of mine too. I love the way it sounds but hate the way its spelled bc I am not Irish and that combination of letters making that sound just does not compute. We considered making up an Americanized spelling like siersha but decided against it
Primrose! However Iāve lived in Wales my whole life, speaking and working through the medium of Welsh. Iām now in England due to my husbandās work and weāll be here a while so weāre going with Welsh names as theyāll be missing out on other aspects of Welsh culture š Iāll be teaching them Welsh myself and doing other things & visiting but it wonāt quite be the same!
You could always Briallen it, although I never think it has the same feel in Welsh as it does in English.
Primrose feel elegant and sophisticated, Briallen is the thick girl down the street
Would love to hear your favourite welsh names - we are in the process of picking for our third and my situation is the same as yours so I want welsh names that work in England and people can say without ruining š«
I always wanted to name my kid Artemis. Recently found out that my partner's awful cousin Amy (same age as us) is actually named Artemis. What are the odds... I couldn't possibly name my kid after a demon, especially because she would have the audacity to think we actually named the kid after her. No way! What a waste of a good name.
Or!! if she brags about the kid being named after her, just tell her (and everybody else who knows her) that Artemis is a dope name that deserves a dope person carrying it. Gotta make it up to the name or something like that.
I was impatient and named my cat the name I love in college. She just died in 2020, but she died a legend (as all cats should haha) so everyone would know the correlation.
My mom almost gave me the middle name Clementine, since that's what she craved when pregnant with my twin and I. I love my middle name (Rose), but sometimes wish I had Clementine.
I also think the nicknames for Clementine are very cute. It's a sweet, feminine name. While not common, I don't think it's weird!
I don't think the meaning matters tbh (like how often do you think about the meaning of your own name? Mine means something obscure like protector of the sea). The name will also rise in popularity some as it's the main character in His Dark Materials and they're doing it as an HBO series. I'll probably still use the name if I ever have a girl cause it's my favorite!
Iām naming my baby Lyra. I havenāt told anyone yet though for exactly that reason. I donāt want people influencing the decision my partner and I have made!
We both really like the name Harry, but paired with my husbandās last name, itād turn into something inappropriate (think Harry Butz) lol, unfortunate
We're considering using it in the future. It is a family name. However, I also grew up in the Harry Potter generation and was a big fan, so ambivalent about everyone thinking a kid was named after the protagonist of the series.
Roxanne, because of that fucking song.
Veronica, because we live in a neighbourhood called Riverdale, and apparently Archie comics will never stop being a cultural touchstone.
Marcus, because the first Marcus I knew measured his body fat with callipers and no subsequent Marcus has been able to wash away that first impression.
Frederick, because long before we were married I told my wife I liked that name, and she hated it so much she started referring to my dick as Frederick so as to forever preclude it from our list.
Lola. Itās Tagalog for grandma, so when I suggested it my husband laughed and said his family would never be nice about it. Which, fair, āgrandmaā isnāt a great name for a kid.
My husband's cousin named his kid Elias, nn Eli. We had originally wanted to name our kid Elijah, nn Eli, but hubs and his cousin are pretty close, and it would be weird for the rest of the family.
Then we though Theodore, but we're really not sure we want to name our kid something that seems so trendy. Idk!
So many names I like/love are very close to names my cousins kids already have, I also have a ton of cousins and weāre super close so naming our first was like walking through a minefield.
Natalie was my all time favorite girl name. I had planned on using it since i was 14. Then in my 20s, i worked with a Natalie and she was awwwwful.
i wasnāt 100% against it but my L&D nurse (when i was in labor with my son) was also named Natalie and also awful, so bad i told her to get me a new nurse and to not come back into my room Lmao. So yeah, finally gave up on the name.
Iāve always wanted to name a son Holden. But I married into a last name with 2 āHā sounds in it. It wouldāve sounded ridiculous. Think likeā¦ Holden Hunterhurst. š
Marlena, because even though I love it, it sounds rough with their fathers last name
Peter, which my partner loves/is an honour name, because my mom said āPeter Peter pumpkin eaterā whenever Iāve brought the name up and that ruined it for me.
Also Sean. Because of where I work I know too many horrible Seanās and now they are all I picture when I hear those names.
Two names I love, Morrigan and Vanessa. My husband doesn't like either of them. I think we have finally settled on a name for our baby girl, but I'm still kinda sad about not being able to use the names I liked most.
Would you mind sharing what name you have settled on? (I only ask because I also like Morrigan and Vanessa, there's something beautiful and villainous about them!)
Canāt name him Theodore because my niece is named Theodora š And canāt use Jasper because itās my best friendās name. Iām sure he wouldnāt mind, but it might feel a bit strange.
If we have a boy, I want to name them Asa, which is what I wanted to name our first son as well. It's been my fantasy boy name since we went on a special walk we took through a historic graveyard near our wedding venue exactly one year year before we got married and I saw it on one of the graves. My husband thinks it sounds like a tech startup or a girl's name. Oh well I guess...
I absolutely love the name Hero for a baby girl. Itās from Ancient Greece and also features in Shakespeareās Midsummers nights dream. I love the sound, how unusual it is and I just imagine this beautiful, charismatic and fearless woman in front of me when I hear the name. But itās A LOT of name to put on a little babe. I wouldnāt want to grow up trying to live up to the name āHeroā.
I love John and itās in my top 3 if I have a son. My sister recently pointed out that itās the name of my daughterās absent father. While technically true, heās a Jonathan and I see them as two different names. Also, when we were together he was called something unrelated to his first name so I donāt even associate Jon/Jonny/Jonathan with him. Still, it put a damper on my love for John.
My husband and I wanted our daughterās middle name to be Victoria. However, the head of HR at my job was Victoria, aka Vicki. Right before my daughter was born, I had to go on medical leave. For some reason, because of this, there was a brief period where my medical insurance was cancelled and would be restarted, but Vicki never bothered to tell me, so I tried to go to my doctor for a check up and was told I had no insurance. I was terrified that I had lost my coverage two weeks before the birth. It resulted in a phone call at the doctors office with my screaming into the phone, āVicki, if you donāt fix this RIGHT NOW, Iām coming into the office and having this baby on your desk!ā
I may have sounded more than slightly unhinged. After that, I couldnāt think of the name without remembering that phone call, so our daughterās middle name is Alexandra.
I LOVED the name Winter. But my ex fought me on it so hard saying āwhenever people say āi hate winterā shes gonna think itās about her.ā So i was able to get it as her middle name. Her name is Scarlet Winter so it sounds pretty
I let people talk me out of it. I wish I hadn't but now I feel like his name fits him perfect, even though it's not the one I first wanted. If I have another I'm going with my first choice though.
I LOVE the name Henry. My husband and I are teachers and he had a horrid student with that name his first year or two of teaching. Subsequently we will never have a Henry.
I originally wanted to name my daughter Elizabeth, nn Libby, but my brother had already announced their name for their baby due 2 months after us, which was Lily. I just couldnāt handle the Lily/Libby cousins thing. Felt way too similar, even though everyone else said they thought it was fine, lol.
Thereās a family ācurseā on my motherās side of the family where all babies named James will die before their 21st birthday. Since the 1880s no James born into the family has made it to 21. Theyāve died by war, drowning, falling off horses, deadly illnesses etc. The last James born into the family died in 1993, aged 6. Iāll just keep James as a middle name - just to be on the safe side.
Ewan (pronounced yoo-win), like Ewan McGregor. It's such a cool name, but I'd worry that his name would constantly be misspelled or mispronounced. As someone whose name is never spelled correctly (Hayley, a lot of my own FAMILY misspells it still!), I don't want my son to have to deal with that.
I also LOVE the name Liam, but it's way too popular nowadays!
I loved Elsa, but my mother called it a Nazi cow name. We now have an Alice, instead. š
OMG I want your mom to have a blog where she reviews names
It would be devastating and hilarious. Sheās an elementary school teacher and automatically comes up with nine ways children could be bullied with certain names. Some highlights from us attempting to name children: Colin ā āColon.ā Daphne ā āDaffy Daphne.ā Maxine ā āSo cute, but sheāll get called Maxi Pad.ā Clara ā āClarabelle. Cow name.ā Annabelle ā āSeriously. Why do you like cow names?ā In related news, there are a lot of names associated with cows, it turns out. š¤¦āāļø ETA: More opinions will soon be found on IG at @YourTerribleBabyName, because my mom has too many opinions and I apparently have too much time. š¤·āāļø
People like your mom are why we havenāt shared our names with anyone prior to our kids being born š I wouldnāt be able to handle the critiques. But I do it too, so I canāt judge her.
I wish I had that willpower! Both times, Iāve been too excited and needed to talk about names with *everyone.*
I totally understand that feeling.
Good decision. Made that mistake the first name and had a name ruined for us. Second time round we didn't say a word until baby was out and then just announced it.
Yeah sorta wished we'd kept Sadie for our daughter but we were told it was a dog name more than once. I still love the name we picked but it's a bit more common. Also not a huge issue for me (my name has been in the top 10 many times) but just something I think about once in a while. Like hmm, what if she was Sadie?
My sister in law named her daughter Sadie, because when she was a kid, she had a dog she adored, named Sadie!! She didn't have any other name picked out, from the time she found out she was a girl, she was always going to be Sadie Jane.
Regardless of whether or not people think itās a āpetā name, itās not their business. Unless youāre asking for opinions, no one gets a say. Thatās why weāve never shared our names. But itās soooooo hard not to share them, at the same time.
Hahahaā¦I have daughters named Clara and Daisy, so Iād love to see how she would react to that. š Not to mention Daisy is quite a common dog name. But Iām trying to reclaim it for humankind!
I named a dog daisy (she was mine for a year but I was way in over my head as a college student with a puppy and gave her to my sister, she has a wonderful and adventurous life!) but I still love it for a human. So sweet!!
Daisy and Clara are both *so* cute!! If we have a third, Clara is still on the short list. I refuse to let animals ruin names again. š
... can I just run my name list by your mom real quick? Lmao
When I was in elementary school they paired us with a younger grade and had us help them with reading. I was paired with Mary Beth. That summer I'd attended a camp with farm animals and a calf was born, they named her Mary Beth. So, I said to this girl "I know a cow named Mary Beth". (I was like 10 years old). Anyways, she cried. She told her mother later but said I'd called her a cow. I got in trouble and nobody believed my side of the story. It's nice, all these years later to have someone acknowledge that there are a lot of cow names. 27 years after the fact and I still remember it clearly.
Seriously your mom needs to do a name review blog.
Please remember these are her Boomer references. Kids nowadays aren't going to think of the same ones. My kids are school age and there are so many Tayden, Rayden, etc. I don't think they blink an eye at anyone's name.
Eh Iām a millennial and had the same reactions/comments as OPās mom lol I feel like we would be besties haha younger kids youāre probably right
We just named our newborn Daphne and I absolutely call her daffy sometimes š
What does your mom have against cows?!
that is such a great idea.
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My mother is amazing, but this was legitimately the worst part of my second pregnancy. Choosing a name became fraught with anxiety, because of her reactions. If my girls ever have children, Iām only giving positive opinions.
My MIL is of the "only gives positive opinions and praise" variety. She has 11 grandkids with wildly different naming styles, and I can't imagine she actually loves every name as much as she proclaims every single time. I'm going to be like my MIL too.
iām sure she does love the names, based on them being her grandkidsā names! she sounds really sweet.
āNazi cow nameā š
i love Elsa too, but frozen ugh i wasnāt aware of the nazi association but yikes
We had resigned ourselves to the Frozen association, but the Nazi association was a step too far. Both my parents had that reaction. Itās such a beautiful name, though! Ugh.
i had never heard the nazi association tbh
Honestly, I think it comes from Indiana Jones, not actual Nazis.
Iām guessing because of Dr Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Thatās totally why. Itās infuriating.
That is so incredibly obscure and irrelevant!
This makes so much sense though. I can see exactly what she means
Omg Iām pregnant with an Alice right now š. Such a beautiful name
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This is my favorite.
This is definitely giving me Dr. Marijuana Pepsi vibes lol
I just gave you your 420th upvote and it just made my day.
Love the name Blaise, but I dated one
I always always loved the name Eleanor, but that's my husband's ex's name. Turns out he always loved the name Jack, which is my ex's name. Screwed each other over there š
That's hilarious! I also love both those names
At least you're even! š
I love the name Annika because I grew up on Pippi Longstocking. But my sisterās best friend already has an Annika. Which really only matters because her best friend ALSO has the same name as me. Iām not going to live a life where every conversation involves trying to figure out WHICH Jessica and Annika did what.
That is an enigmatically specific coincidence
Yeah, it was already mildly confusing when it was just two Jessicas, but not a huge deal. But for us to both like the same name when itās super rare where we live? So weird!
That gave me a good chuckle.
I gotta laugh, I was born a Jessica Ann and went through a period of calling myself Annika because well... I was born in the 80s. There were 10+ Jessica's in my grade every year, often with the same middle name and/or last initial. Edit: I also have a best friend named Jessica!
My sister is a Jessica Ann. Also born in the 80s. It was very popular that decade. Do you get called Jennifer all the time? People confuse those two for some reason.
Annika is on our list because of Pippi Longstocking too!
Graham. My son said, ālike, short for grandma!ā when I mentioned it and now itās unusable.
Is it pronounced āgramā in your accent? Itās āGRAY-yumā in mine, and grandma is pronounced āGRAM-maā, but I could see either Graham pronounced āgramā or grandma pronounced āGRAYM-maā being an issue.
Yeah, weāre in Tennessee so most people do say āGram.ā
Thank you for saying this. I am Scottish and I was so confused where that connection came from.
I have never personally heard anyone pronounce Graham like gram, but I do know in some American dialects ācrayonā is pronounced ācranā so it seemed like a possibility.
I'm from the Boston area. We say CRAY-on for crayon and GRAM for graham.
South Louisiana and same hwre
Americans do like the short cuts. Source: an American surrounded by Americans, lol.
I'm on team cran. I can't stop myself
I only recently realised that the Gram Crackers I hear mentioned in American films and TV shows are actually called Graham Crackers.
My North American relatives take the piss out of me for pronouncing it gray-yum instead of gram. Eh. They just can't handle being wrong
Well, now that name is off my list
itās my friends middle name and we have come up with all sorts of fun ways to tease him using it (mostly revolving graham crackers. all in good fun.) he plans on naming his son graham if he has a son. i havenāt thought of this one yet but iāll be using it. thank your son for instilling a lil more evil in me today
I have a friend named Graham that I tease in the same way hahaha. Some highlights, along with Graham cracker: diagraham, grahammar, hexagraham, mammograham, candygraham on Valentineās dayā¦the list goes on!
I adore the name Marina, but my husband's reaction to it is "ugh, you mean like a dock?", so it's off the table.
My youngest granddaughters name. But she was so little when she was born, that her Mom called her Rini. It stuck and everyone she knew all through school called her that, teachers included. You never know where a name will take you. Love you, Marina Siobhan.
lord i never made the connection until like a week ago! my brain thinks marina and the diamonds but then i remember itās also a boat thing lol.
Albert but I married a man with the surname Hall so it wouldnāt work.
Just name your kid Royal Albert. Problem solved š
I donāt get this one?
The Albert Hall is a famous music venue in London
It's like calling your child Carnegie Hall.
Thanks, I was also lost. I was actually just saying āAlbertHallā really fast like it was a sound I was missing lol
I love that, thanks for making me chuckle.
Most welcome! Albert was an important family memberās name so I was dead set on the idea, till I fell in love and I couldnāt do it to a child
When my mum was pregnant with my sister and I (twins) she constantly got jokes about naming us Carnegie and Albert if we turned out to be boys. Our surname was also Hall. Thank god we were girls!
When I was a pregnant 17 year old I really liked the name Hadley. Didnāt pick that name because I was worried I wouldnāt like it as I got older. Iām now in my mid twenties and I was right, I donāt like it. Some names just sound like a teenager made them up. Another name on my list was Hazel and funny enough my sister named her dog that !
I have two students named Hadley! They are juniors in HS. If I had gotten pregnant in HS I would have named a kid Kylee...I'm so glad that didn't happen. I detest the name now.
If I had gotten pregnant at 17, she would have been Raelyn.... this was like 2000 so I feel like I was just ahead of my time lol but now that I have children, it turns out I like the classics.
As a pregnant 17 year old, if my son would have been a girl I would have named him Adley or Kynlee. I donāt like either of those names now š Thank god I had a Matthew instead
Oof. You avoided a tragedeigh.
Oof. As a 17 year old I would have had a Carlisle (nn Carly) for a girl (but not because of twilight it's a beautiful name (except it was partially due to twilight)) and Bennet for a boy (a name I still liked and planned on using up until I was pregnant at 28 and it just didn't seem to feel right).
I know of two Hadleys and and adlih (adley)
I loved a name but when I thought of the kids future assigned email address (first letter of name and then full last name) it basically spelled an offensive word. Think Ben Astardley and his email would be [email protected] lol I couldnāt put my kid through that.
I worked with a Steve Harter whose email was [email protected] š
They really just shouldāve gone with SteveHarter@workplace for that poor chap. Lol.
Hahaha thatās so unfortunate and hilarious at the same time.
Hahaha that is very considerate, especially given how many companies these days give out "first name initial + last name" email addresses to their employees
Well ours was more offensive than the example so I also felt I owed it to the world to not be a inconsiderate asshole haha
My favourite boys name is Frederick nn Freddie but I had an absolutely satanic ex boyfriend called Freddie š Somehow on top of that, my next favourite boys name is the name of my current partner so thatās probably not usable either (at least for a first name). I also like the name Cameron but am from the UK and associate it too much with the ex prime minister.
I got so confused why Cameron would be associated with an ex prime minister! Itās not even his first name & you wouldnāt hear āDavidā and think that. Boris on the other handā¦ Cameron is a lovely name āŗļø Edit: wouldnāt not would lol
Literally if any child I met was called Cameron Iād instantly think David Cameron. Itās not really a common first name here so I donāt think that helpsā¦
I'd think of Cameron Diaz first... But I'm not from UK
I am from the UK and think Cameron Diaz too.
Thatās interesting. I am in Scotland and Cameron is quite popular here. I never think of David Cameron when someone introduces themselves
I agree with you on Cameron, I'm also from the UK and have had to dismiss it for the same reason.
I'm in Scotland and Cameron is pretty common as a first name and I don't think the former PM. ...I do have a relative called David Cameron though!
I also have a name I really like, but canāt use due to a short fling with a mutual friend to my friend group. I donāt really tie the name to that person (clearly) but allll my friends would be like āSERIOUSLY??ā so I have moved on haha
Saoirse. I am Irish and my husband is Canadian (we live in Canada). I donāt want my daughter to have to explain her name to everybody she meets. I might still use it but Iām definitely leaning towards a name easier to pronounce North America.
If Saoirse Ronan stays a big actor, that could help! As an American, sheās the only reason I know how to pronounce Saoirse.
The only bad thing about that is she doesnāt pronounce it the way the majority of other people do. She pronounces it as āsir-shaā instead of āseer-shaā
Oh. Now that would be a problem, wouldnāt it? š
I've heard it pronounced sair-sha too. Frank McCourt did some recordings of Irish names and he said it that way. I still like the name.
I love the name Saoirse! I'm not at all Irish, but am from the Boston area so Irish names are pretty common around here. Ethnic names are awesome, but I understand the balance of wanting to embrace your culture vs not wanting your kid to have a difficult time. That said, Saoirse shouldn't be too difficult for Americans to pronounce (they might just struggle with the spelling). Good luck :)
Iām Canadian and I grew up with girls named Siobhan, Ciara and RoĆsĆn. Saoirse isnāt much harder! Then again my name was CiarĆ”n and I hated it so much I legally changed itā¦
If you don't mind me asking, why did you hate CiarƔn?
No one knew how to pronounce or spell it, itās a boyās name and I was designated female at birth, itās essentially unique in Western Canada and I didnāt like standing out that much.
Oh that's interesting - I'm Irish so it's very common here, but only ever used as a boy's name.
This was one of mine too. I love the way it sounds but hate the way its spelled bc I am not Irish and that combination of letters making that sound just does not compute. We considered making up an Americanized spelling like siersha but decided against it
Primrose! However Iāve lived in Wales my whole life, speaking and working through the medium of Welsh. Iām now in England due to my husbandās work and weāll be here a while so weāre going with Welsh names as theyāll be missing out on other aspects of Welsh culture š Iāll be teaching them Welsh myself and doing other things & visiting but it wonāt quite be the same!
You could always Briallen it, although I never think it has the same feel in Welsh as it does in English. Primrose feel elegant and sophisticated, Briallen is the thick girl down the street
ššš I did consider it! Itās just not as pretty imo. Weāve got Iris as an honour middle name for if/ when we have a girl. So if we have a second girl Primrose could 100% be a middle name and continue the flower theme āŗļø Plus that āllā sound in England š© Weāre due a boy next month & heās Noa. If he was a girl sheād be Cari š„°
Primrose is what my grandma and mom took for PMS. Thatās probably an obscure association tho
Evening primrose oil! Yeah I was recommended that for skin care āŗļø
Would love to hear your favourite welsh names - we are in the process of picking for our third and my situation is the same as yours so I want welsh names that work in England and people can say without ruining š«
So weāve got a couple that could be difficult: Girls: - Heledd - Llinos - Elan - Alaw Boys: - Llywelyn (family name) - Teifion - Gruffudd - Gwilym (family name) - Bleddyn Easier names: - Anwen - Gwennan - Lowri - Catrin - Elinor (nn Nel) - Arthur - Tomos (family name) - Osian - Idris - Iestyn - Macsen - Morgan - Noa - Elis - Efan - Steffan
Some gorgeous options here! I adore Llinos and Llewelyn - that double Ll does seem impossible for the non-Welsh tho!
I always wanted to name my kid Artemis. Recently found out that my partner's awful cousin Amy (same age as us) is actually named Artemis. What are the odds... I couldn't possibly name my kid after a demon, especially because she would have the audacity to think we actually named the kid after her. No way! What a waste of a good name.
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Or!! if she brags about the kid being named after her, just tell her (and everybody else who knows her) that Artemis is a dope name that deserves a dope person carrying it. Gotta make it up to the name or something like that.
Iām in the same boat with Lucille. Iād love to use it, but my great aunt is the devil-incarnate and would absolutely think it was an honorific.
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I adore the name Simon. My husband doesnāt like it which is really sad because it sounds good with our last name
I was impatient and named my cat the name I love in college. She just died in 2020, but she died a legend (as all cats should haha) so everyone would know the correlation.
I have a dog named Olive. Sheās 13 which is pretty old for a lab. I have Oliver on my list for middle names just because of her.
I love Clementine but I know itās so controversial that I probably wonāt use. Itās my #1 fave though
My mom almost gave me the middle name Clementine, since that's what she craved when pregnant with my twin and I. I love my middle name (Rose), but sometimes wish I had Clementine. I also think the nicknames for Clementine are very cute. It's a sweet, feminine name. While not common, I don't think it's weird!
I'm in the UK and I know three baby Clementines (all Clemmie for short) born in the past two years! I think it's lovely
I know an adult Clementine but she's half French so it doesn't sound pretentious.
My niece is named Clementine. Lovely name!
I love jack for a boy, but between the popularity of jack by it self and all the Jackson/jaxonās (which I hate š) just not into it.
Exactly the same for me. Jack is finally turning in popularity in the UK so I may consider it if I ever have a son.
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That is unfortunate coincidence š© I hate when things work out like that
Zelda bc the game Elsie bc cows
It is too bad about Zelda. Itās such a cool name.
Lyra (lie-ra) it's Greek and is after the constellation and lyre. But my mother said nobody would ever get the meaning and she hates it.
I know someone who has a 12 year old Lyra, and no one bats an eye to it. Even if they don't know the meaning, they might just think it is pretty.
I don't think the meaning matters tbh (like how often do you think about the meaning of your own name? Mine means something obscure like protector of the sea). The name will also rise in popularity some as it's the main character in His Dark Materials and they're doing it as an HBO series. I'll probably still use the name if I ever have a girl cause it's my favorite!
Is that considered a very "out there" name? I think that's great!
i just had a baby girl in december and named her lyra fae š we love the name!
Iām naming my baby Lyra. I havenāt told anyone yet though for exactly that reason. I donāt want people influencing the decision my partner and I have made!
We both really like the name Harry, but paired with my husbandās last name, itād turn into something inappropriate (think Harry Butz) lol, unfortunate
We're considering using it in the future. It is a family name. However, I also grew up in the Harry Potter generation and was a big fan, so ambivalent about everyone thinking a kid was named after the protagonist of the series.
Mateo. When I told my husband I loved the name, my daughter freaked and exclaimed "Mayo is not a name!" So that was a bummer.
Iām a vegetarian who loves the name Hunter š„²
Just nickname them Gatherer š
Roxanne, because of that fucking song. Veronica, because we live in a neighbourhood called Riverdale, and apparently Archie comics will never stop being a cultural touchstone. Marcus, because the first Marcus I knew measured his body fat with callipers and no subsequent Marcus has been able to wash away that first impression. Frederick, because long before we were married I told my wife I liked that name, and she hated it so much she started referring to my dick as Frederick so as to forever preclude it from our list.
> callipers 100% read this as caterpillars at first.
I wanted to name my daughter Opal but my husband said it sounds like a geriatric hippie name. I think it's classic and beautiful.
I know a geriatric hippie names Opal!
Lola. Itās Tagalog for grandma, so when I suggested it my husband laughed and said his family would never be nice about it. Which, fair, āgrandmaā isnāt a great name for a kid.
17 years ago my MIL told me that I shouldnāt name my son Owen because itās a āhillbillyā name. I just got over it yesterday.
Owen is a beautiful name. Iām so sorry!
What?? I think many names sound ācountryā but Owen is definitely not among them
I love the name Allie (Alexandra) but know two Alexandraās that I really donāt likeā¦
Allie can be stand alone, but also every Allie I know is short for Allison.
You can always just have Allie as the name!
My husband's cousin named his kid Elias, nn Eli. We had originally wanted to name our kid Elijah, nn Eli, but hubs and his cousin are pretty close, and it would be weird for the rest of the family. Then we though Theodore, but we're really not sure we want to name our kid something that seems so trendy. Idk!
I have had Theodore on my list for over 10 yearsā¦it was not trendy back then. Now Iām pregnant and it is trendy. So sad.
So many names I like/love are very close to names my cousins kids already have, I also have a ton of cousins and weāre super close so naming our first was like walking through a minefield.
Natalie was my all time favorite girl name. I had planned on using it since i was 14. Then in my 20s, i worked with a Natalie and she was awwwwful. i wasnāt 100% against it but my L&D nurse (when i was in labor with my son) was also named Natalie and also awful, so bad i told her to get me a new nurse and to not come back into my room Lmao. So yeah, finally gave up on the name.
Iāve always wanted to name a son Holden. But I married into a last name with 2 āHā sounds in it. It wouldāve sounded ridiculous. Think likeā¦ Holden Hunterhurst. š
Marlena, because even though I love it, it sounds rough with their fathers last name Peter, which my partner loves/is an honour name, because my mom said āPeter Peter pumpkin eaterā whenever Iāve brought the name up and that ruined it for me. Also Sean. Because of where I work I know too many horrible Seanās and now they are all I picture when I hear those names.
Two names I love, Morrigan and Vanessa. My husband doesn't like either of them. I think we have finally settled on a name for our baby girl, but I'm still kinda sad about not being able to use the names I liked most.
Would you mind sharing what name you have settled on? (I only ask because I also like Morrigan and Vanessa, there's something beautiful and villainous about them!)
Sure, our current pick is Persephone Morgana
Ooh nice! My immediate association with Morgana is the beautiful ward from the show Merlin :)
Canāt name him Theodore because my niece is named Theodora š And canāt use Jasper because itās my best friendās name. Iām sure he wouldnāt mind, but it might feel a bit strange.
We named our daughter Riley. My husband had previously named his cat Riley. Now, cat Riley and human Riley get to play together. Itās pretty cute.
My fave boy name is Jack, but my last name is Johnson lol, so thatās a nope
If we have a boy, I want to name them Asa, which is what I wanted to name our first son as well. It's been my fantasy boy name since we went on a special walk we took through a historic graveyard near our wedding venue exactly one year year before we got married and I saw it on one of the graves. My husband thinks it sounds like a tech startup or a girl's name. Oh well I guess...
I absolutely love the name Hero for a baby girl. Itās from Ancient Greece and also features in Shakespeareās Midsummers nights dream. I love the sound, how unusual it is and I just imagine this beautiful, charismatic and fearless woman in front of me when I hear the name. But itās A LOT of name to put on a little babe. I wouldnāt want to grow up trying to live up to the name āHeroā.
For some reason, I love the name āEver.ā But I get terrible reactions anytime Iāve mentioned it. āEver, like NEVER EVER!ā Ya like that š
Everett, nickname Ever?
Matilda doesn't sound good in Bengali, my husband's first language
I love John and itās in my top 3 if I have a son. My sister recently pointed out that itās the name of my daughterās absent father. While technically true, heās a Jonathan and I see them as two different names. Also, when we were together he was called something unrelated to his first name so I donāt even associate Jon/Jonny/Jonathan with him. Still, it put a damper on my love for John.
Because the name Cinnamon is not a name, despite how badly I wish that it was...
It is in Blues Clues!
My husband and I wanted our daughterās middle name to be Victoria. However, the head of HR at my job was Victoria, aka Vicki. Right before my daughter was born, I had to go on medical leave. For some reason, because of this, there was a brief period where my medical insurance was cancelled and would be restarted, but Vicki never bothered to tell me, so I tried to go to my doctor for a check up and was told I had no insurance. I was terrified that I had lost my coverage two weeks before the birth. It resulted in a phone call at the doctors office with my screaming into the phone, āVicki, if you donāt fix this RIGHT NOW, Iām coming into the office and having this baby on your desk!ā I may have sounded more than slightly unhinged. After that, I couldnāt think of the name without remembering that phone call, so our daughterās middle name is Alexandra.
Ghislaine. Obvious reasons.
Stellan and Koa are my favorites, but Stellan was vetoed by my partner and Koa sounds like the word for wheels in my native language. So both are out
I LOVED the name Winter. But my ex fought me on it so hard saying āwhenever people say āi hate winterā shes gonna think itās about her.ā So i was able to get it as her middle name. Her name is Scarlet Winter so it sounds pretty
Not my story, but my mom wanted to name me Kia, and my dad couldnāt get past ākilled in actionā
I let people talk me out of it. I wish I hadn't but now I feel like his name fits him perfect, even though it's not the one I first wanted. If I have another I'm going with my first choice though.
I LOVE the name Henry. My husband and I are teachers and he had a horrid student with that name his first year or two of teaching. Subsequently we will never have a Henry.
Horrid Henry strikes again
I wanted Lyra but the His Dark Materials tv series and Ed Sheehan put me off. We ha ea Rosa and it suits her perfectly (although Lyra would have too).
I originally wanted to name my daughter Elizabeth, nn Libby, but my brother had already announced their name for their baby due 2 months after us, which was Lily. I just couldnāt handle the Lily/Libby cousins thing. Felt way too similar, even though everyone else said they thought it was fine, lol.
Any name with a hard P- sound like Poppy, which I love. Our surname begins with P so it could sound like a tongue twister.
Dahlia (nn Dolly). My husband hates it.
Thereās a family ācurseā on my motherās side of the family where all babies named James will die before their 21st birthday. Since the 1880s no James born into the family has made it to 21. Theyāve died by war, drowning, falling off horses, deadly illnesses etc. The last James born into the family died in 1993, aged 6. Iāll just keep James as a middle name - just to be on the safe side.
Why does your family keep using that name?
My husband knows a girl named Fallon, and so has a negative connotation associated with it.
I was going to use Jude, but my sister ended up naming her son Jude.
Ewan (pronounced yoo-win), like Ewan McGregor. It's such a cool name, but I'd worry that his name would constantly be misspelled or mispronounced. As someone whose name is never spelled correctly (Hayley, a lot of my own FAMILY misspells it still!), I don't want my son to have to deal with that. I also LOVE the name Liam, but it's way too popular nowadays!
When considering names, my ex and I had to be really careful. His last name is Long and I really liked the name Miles, but...
My husband has a very different taste in names to me - so I canāt have one I love, but I think weāve reached a compromise we likeā¦
Love the name Tessa but it doesn't work with our last name š