# First names: the good, the bad and the fugly **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423 "2015-08-21T12:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/41 "2015-08-21T23:08:07Z")
We tend to associate names with people we’ve known. The names Judith, Ellen, and Sheryl, all of which were mentioned above, conjure up memories of three beautiful women I used to know. Gertrude, not so much, though it was the name of one of my favorite teachers; the nickname Trudy, though, is nice. And though I’ve never met a Gretchen personally, the name makes me think of Gretchen Corbett, one of the prettiest actresses on TV in the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/42 "2015-08-21T23:36:37Z")
Some family names in my gene pool: Ralph, Arthur, Frederick, Grant, Albert & Herbert & Heber (brothers), Florabelle, Violet, Clara, Josephine, Louisa. Most could easily be recycled in future fits of nostalgia. Emma used to be an old lady name, and now it’s consistently in the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/43 "2015-08-21T23:39:04Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > And though I’ve never met a Gretchen personally, the name makes me think of Gretchen Corbett, one of the prettiest actresses on TV in the '70s. Mmm, Beth Davenport… ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/44 "2015-08-21T23:42:59Z")
I thought my grandmother’s name would have disappeared over the horizon, but then earlier this year Vin Diesel named his daughter “Pauline” in honor of his friend Paul Walker. Maybe it will make a comeback, yet. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/45 "2015-08-22T00:02:41Z")
I like the name Judith. Perhaps because I knew a nice woman with that name. I probably wouldn’t give it to a child, but it’s nice. Now, the newly popular Sloane as a name for baby girls, on the other hand, makes me nauseous. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/46 "2015-08-22T00:23:47Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I like the name Judith. Perhaps because I knew a nice woman with that name. I probably wouldn’t give it to a child, but it’s nice. > > Now, the newly popular Sloane as a name for baby girls, on the other hand, makes me nauseous. New? Wasn’t that Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend’s name? I cannot imagine Bertha getting a lot of usage any more, mainly because of it’s association with the word “big”. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/47 "2015-08-22T00:34:41Z")
I love the name Esther, it was my maternal grandmother’s name. My paternal grandmother had a name that I hear is coming back already, Sophia. I would like to name a girl Judith, it’s rather empowering. We could revive the name and a movie genre at the same time, the Biblical epic. Make a movie out of her story. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/48 "2015-08-22T00:39:21Z")
I have thought most of my life that a child should have a fairly common, fairly traditional name. It makes life easier, and they can always change it someday if they want to. Now though, so many kids have so many varied names that I don’t think it matters much anymore, so go ahead and give them any name, they can always change it someday if they want to. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/49 "2015-08-22T00:50:58Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What about people who never use first names? Like “J. Rondolph Blatz”? If they dislike their names, why not change them? It could be that J. is a common name within the family, so he’s not using it to avoid confusion. For example, my dad goes by his middle name because his first name is the same as his dad’s. He’s not a junior though, as the middle names are different. Or it could just be that it’s easier to just go by the middle than whatever hassle comes with changing the first name. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/50 "2015-08-22T01:30:08Z")
My birth grandmother (who I never met) was named Marjorie. Horrible name, but she was apparently a lovely woman. I also love the name Tamara (pronounced TA-mə-rə, but not tah-MAHR-ə ). And the name Rhys. Not Reese, and not as a girl’s name, for God’s sake. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > What, you mean like “Cecil”? > > Some are nice, like Tristan and St. John, but I don’t think we need to revisit the likes of Archiblad or Bertram. I threatened to name any male child I had “St. John” (which, for anyone unfamiliar, is pronounced kinda like “sin-jin”). The redneckier portion of my family was horrified and/or decided that it sounded like something I would do. The Anglophile portion of the family loved the idea. Oh well. Maybe I’ll name the next cat St. John. (I have/had felines named Zoë, Pandora, Baxter, and Sebastian. No Mister Flufferbutter type names for my overlords.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/51 "2015-08-22T01:32:27Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > New? Wasn’t that Ferris Bueller’s girlfriend’s name? Not “new,” but “newly popular.” It’s in the top 400 now (370 this year), and wasn’t in the top 1000 in the 80s or 90s. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/52 "2015-08-22T01:34:02Z")
ETA: It drives me nuts when people give their kid some cutesy name, not realizing that the kid will be young and cute a much shorter length of time than the kid will be an adult. I can’t wait until the Ashleys and Tiffanys of the world turn 70. Please add “Veronica” and “Victoria” to the “keep” pile. > [@JcWoman](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned the name Buford, which I think sounds like the noise you make praying to the porcelain god after drinking too much. Burford and Roscoe are great names. For slightly dopey dogs. The kind you take bird-hunting with you. (I once nicknamed a southern guy friend who really, really, really liked women, “Roscoe, the southern cooter hound”.) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/53 "2015-08-22T01:42:04Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Now, the newly popular Sloane as a name for baby girls, on the other hand, makes me nauseous. Wow, yeah, that’s a bad one. Sounds a bit like “slither”. Or “slurp”. Like something passing through a moist orifice, anyway. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > For males names, I seem to not be attracted to ones in end in “ard” such as Howard, Willard, Leonard, Edward, etc. I really like those! Ard… ard… sounds a bit like… hard. OK, maybe you don’t need to be a Freudian to figure me out on that one. I do, however, need to check myself to see why my innate gender preference module seems to be on backwards today. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/54 "2015-08-22T02:03:32Z")
Three old spinster sisters at church when I was a kid: Essie, Bessie, and Tressie (Esther, Elizabeth, and Beatrice.) I think all 3 are still ok, although Elizabeth’s the only one I’ve heard lately. ---
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/55 "2015-08-22T03:08:09Z")
My older sister got saddled with a Great Aunt’s name as a middle name. Can we agree that Ethel is a horrible name? Luckily they used up the truly awful names by the time I came along. I missed Bernice and Irene, but almost got Thelma. My husband had Aunts named Edyth, Bertha and Isobel. His mother was Edna. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/56 "2015-08-22T03:08:37Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > I forget where I saw it in my internet travels this week, but I saw something attributed to a man named Nimrod \. I had to pause and wonder if it was a joke name, a snippet from The Onion, or real. What sadist would name his son Nimrod? I’ve always only heard it used to mean an idiot. Is it a real name? Possibly Nimrod Hilliard IV - a fairly decent college basketball player. Found one story where he plans to make his son Nimrod V. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/57 "2015-08-22T03:15:42Z")
Had a girl in the office this week whose first name was Abcde, why would a parent do that to a child? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/58 "2015-08-22T06:11:08Z")
Cornelius could probably be decommissioned. There’s Connie Mack IV, whose real name (as NYT columnist Gail Collins has frequently reminded us) is Cornelius McGillicuddy. Jennifer has been in-and-out of fashion. When I was in elementary school, it was unheard of, except in the stories we read about life in colonial America, where the girl was always Jennifer. Later, in the 1970’s, it came back, and there were newly-minted Jennifers (Jennifera?) all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/59 "2015-08-22T07:00:39Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Had a girl in the office this week whose first name was Abcde, why would a parent do that to a child? How was it pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/60 "2015-08-22T12:43:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “Judith” is perfectly okay as “Judi.” But another name that belongs on the list of “cranky old lady” names is Gertrude. > > Oh, and I am irrationally annoyed at names that, if you didn’t already know, you’d never guess how to pronounce/spell them. So: Joe, Moe, Zoe, Chloe, and Phoe…be—you guys should all rhyme. Make up your mind how that “oe” gets pronounced. As you wrote them, they all do rhyme. Had you used a diaresis, they wouldn’t. Zoe is one syllable, Zoë is two (zo-e). People think it’s an umlaut but it’s not. It is used to indicate the vowels are pronounced individually. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423.md?page=4)