# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/101 "2015-08-27T16:01:17Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > They named their daughter Echo, which I think is lovely. I worked with a woman whose name is Echo and she’s a total, complete, batshit crazy flake! Think of all the most inane glurge that has ever come thru your email, and I guarantee she was within six degrees of its forwarding! It was so nice when she quit that job… sorry, off topic. :o I had an aunt who was born in Poland - her name was Stanislawa, but as an American, she became Stella. My dad’s name was Thaddeus - one doesn’t hear than very often. My mom is Loretta - another that seems to be rare these days. I can’t stand cutesy names - yeah, your baby is tiny and soft and gurgling adorably, but that little bundle is going to be an adult some day, so pick a reasonable name that yields the nickname you want. My father in law is Bobbie. Not Robert, or Bob, but Bobbie. It doesn’t fit him at 85, it didn’t fit at 55, and I expect after he was 5 or so, it ceased fitting him. I also can’t stand names with bizarro spellings: Khrystyne instead of Christine - really? My daughter’s a teacher - she’s seen some really, um, interesting names over the years. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/102 "2015-08-27T16:28:05Z")
Dolores and Dorothy are both depressing monikers. Anything in the Ethel- family must go. We had a family friend named Ethylene. My mother never understood when I warned her about smoking in her presence. Definitely Ralph, Rowdy, and Randy. Just awful first names. I dearly want to see the fad of place names used as human names go away. The nice thing about place names of Native American origin is that these seem immune. I know no Oconomowocs, Chicagos, nor Oshkoshes. The lovely names I think need revival are Charlotte, Fern, Ruth, and Louise. For men, Leo and Albert need revival. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/103 "2015-08-27T17:13:12Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Dolores and Dorothy are both depressing monikers. Anything in the Ethel- family must go. We had a family friend named Ethylene. My mother never understood when I warned her about smoking in her presence. > Definitely Ralph, Rowdy, and Randy. Just awful first names. > > I dearly want to see the fad of place names used as human names go away. The nice thing about place names of Native American origin is that these seem immune. I know no Oconomowocs, Chicagos, nor Oshkoshes. > > The lovely names I think need revival are Charlotte, Fern, Ruth, and Louise. For men, Leo and Albert need revival. Delores is one of those that I think is “objectively” pretty, even though it has certain connotations / seems era specific. I’d like to see it revived. Dorothy does not sound good. Charlotte and Louise are quite pretty, Fern is neutral, but _Ruth_? The initial ‘roo’ sound is not good (to my ears) and that abrupt ‘th’ is just awkward. If ever there was a perfect example of an unpronouncable restaurant name it’s _Ruth’s Chris._ ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/104 "2015-08-27T17:23:29Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > And I’ve always pronounced Zoe so the I rhymes with Joe. If you want me to say “Zoey”, then stick a Y on the end. Putting a y at the end of Zoe is an abomination. Did you want Chloey too? And relatedly, how does Zooey get pronounced the same as Zoe?! ---
**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 27, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/105 "2015-08-27T17:41:01Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I also can’t stand names with bizarro spellings: Khrystyne instead of Christine - really? My daughter’s a teacher - she’s seen some really, um, interesting names over the years. Anecdote: Those “creative” spellings always give me fits. And I almost mean that literally. They bother me so much so that I should probably get myself checked. It’s one of the many reasons why I can never be a school teacher. So, anyway, I met an Amy, spelled “Ami”. Not the worst example ever, by a very long shot, but still enough to give me a weird eyebrow twitch. Which really bugged me, because she was a perfectly nice person, and I liked her just fine otherwise. Imagine my intense relief, then, when I happened to glance at the mailbox outside her apartment, with her full name on it, and I realized that “Ami” was actually a nickname for “Anne Marie”. So, Ami, I guess you get a pass. Everyone else: Get that willful dyslexia sorted out, would you? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/106 "2015-08-27T17:59:38Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I had a grandmother called Desi (well actually I called her Nana) which I didn’t know until she died was short for Desdemona. A great-aunt (her sister) who was Aunt Demi, ad I likewise didn’t know her name was Demeter until she died. > > I think Desi and Demi are cute, but Desdemona and Demeter? > > On the other side I had a grandma whose name was Josie and it was not a nickname, and a great-aunt Bessie, also not a nickname. Again, I didn’t know this until they died; I thought they were short versions of Josephine and Elizabeth. > > My granddaughter’s name is Jocelyn. Her brother has nicknamed her Jaws. (But he’s only 5.) Everybody else calls her Joss, which is not all that different, basically. > > At some point this summer I played a woman on the tennis ladder whose name was Ethel. I can’t fathom a time when Ethel was considered a pretty name, and I also couldn’t figure out how old Ethel was going to be. I figured either in her 80s or in her 20s. She turned out to be about 50. Desdemona is the wife in Othello, you know, right? And Demeter is a Greek goddess. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/107 "2015-08-27T18:04:33Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > 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. > > 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”.) Both “Ashley” and “Tiffany” peaked in the 80s. They are not nearly as popular today. That means that there are far more 30-year-old Tiffanys around now than there are babies with that name. E.g. Tiffany Chin, the ice skater, is 47 years old. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/108 "2015-08-27T19:07:31Z")
What I used to consider really old fashioned names are now extremely popular in the UK - Oliver, Esther, Ruby, Jacob, Eleanor (Ellie), and on and on. Nobody called their child John or Dave any more. My aunts were all Betty, Nancy, Joan. But the best was Dorothy. Because she was universally known as Dof. Dof! Aunty Dof! When was that ever an attractive abbreviation? As a side thingie, my friend has two old uncles (in their 80s) who are twins. Their whole lives, they have been known in the family by their childhood nicknames which referred to their hair colour (blond and brunette). So, uncle Fairy and Uncle Darkey it is. Innocent times! ---
**Author:** ![dunkleosteus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkleosteus/32/9331_2.png) [@dunkleosteus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dunkleosteus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/109 "2015-08-27T20:22:57Z")
Mildred sounds like Mildew to me. There might be a lot of names ruined by near homophones. ---
**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 27, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/110 "2015-08-27T20:29:58Z")
> [@dunkleosteus](#): > > There might be a lot of names ruined by near homophones. I know. Try being a guy named Marion, walking into a biker bar. Oh, you said homo_phones_. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/111 "2015-08-27T21:16:24Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > 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. WHO thinks says going by the middle name is “less of a hassle” than changing it? Guess again. Mona Lisa Simpson, better known as Lisa Simpson or if you must M. Lisa Simpson. Always been called Lisa since birth, not Mona. or as the bank fondly insists on calling me: Mona L. Simpson, ALIAS Lisa Simpson. Using my middle name has been the biggest freaking hassle of my life. I do plan on changing it, but generally have other uses for my cash. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/112 "2015-08-27T21:37:12Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > My girls have old fashioned names. The first is Serena Jane I like that as a name. If my son had been a girl I was leaning toward that name, although my ex-husband hated it. It was my grandmother’s [china pattern](http://www.replacements.com/webquote/ROASER.htm?rplSrc=KX&rplSubEvent=7318744&dvc=c&gclid=Cj0KEQjw6vquBRCow62uo-_J_YYBEiQAMO6HiombptHgd_bLZwU63tpcJ7M2kpBIWnWZbJW3YEzOnbAaAu_o8P8HAQ), by the way, and my mom has it now. Eventually it will be mine. I used to find the pattern kind of gaudy, but it has grown on me over the years. Also Serena Ryder is a favourite musician. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/113 "2015-08-28T12:29:39Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > What I used to consider really old fashioned names are now extremely popular in the UK - Oliver, Esther, Ruby, Jacob, Eleanor (Ellie), and on and on. Nobody called their child John or Dave any more. > > My aunts were all Betty, Nancy, Joan. But the best was Dorothy. Because she was universally known as Dof. Dof! Aunty Dof! When was that ever an attractive abbreviation? > > As a side thingie, my friend has two old uncles (in their 80s) who are twins. Their whole lives, they have been known in the family by their childhood nicknames which referred to their hair colour (blond and brunette). So, uncle Fairy and Uncle Darkey it is. Innocent times! Aren’t Dorothys usually shortened to “Dot”? Aunty Dorf just cracks me up though 😛 The part about your uncles is adorable. I shall now have to get two cats, one light one dark, and name them accordingly. \*\*Martian Bigfoot’\*\*s joke aside, I think Marian / Marion has a beautiful ring to it, male or female. Of course now Marian is considered an old lady’s name and Marion for a guy is just not done. Shame. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/114 "2015-08-28T14:43:10Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > The lovely names I think need revival are Charlotte, Fern, Ruth, and Louise. For men, Leo and Albert need revival. Charlotte was the [tenth](http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/) most popular baby name last year. So it’s being revived. Chelsea Clinton used as did the heir to the throne in England. > [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > I like that as a name. If my son had been a girl I was leaning toward that name, although my ex-husband hated it. It was my grandmother’s [china pattern](http://www.replacements.com/webquote/ROASER.htm?rplSrc=KX&rplSubEvent=7318744&dvc=c&gclid=Cj0KEQjw6vquBRCow62uo-_J_YYBEiQAMO6HiombptHgd_bLZwU63tpcJ7M2kpBIWnWZbJW3YEzOnbAaAu_o8P8HAQ), by the way, and my mom has it now. Eventually it will be mine. I used to find the pattern kind of gaudy, but it has grown on me over the years. > > Also Serena Ryder is a favourite musician. That is a really pretty pattern! I was grateful eldest was girl. DH and I argued about boy’s names. He wanted some very Irish names I hated. I threated him with Yitzcock or Yankel. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dunkleosteus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkleosteus/32/9331_2.png) [@dunkleosteus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dunkleosteus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/115 "2015-08-28T15:54:52Z")
What I think is weird is that so many of these names started out as having understood meanings. The names changed (or didn’t) separately from the language and so now we’ve lost the connection. Names like “Ashley” which meant [something] along the lines of Ash [tree] lea [tract of open ground]. Same with the name Wesley and Stanley (West Lea and Stone Lea respectively). The name Albert from æþel-berht meaning Noble-Bright, or Edgar meaning wealth-spear, also Edwin meaning wealth-friend, and Winfrid meaning friend-peace (from friþ meaning peace). All these names started out as actual words or phrases and most of that is lost to us (aside from names like “Hope” and “Faith” where we still understand it) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/116 "2015-08-28T17:25:40Z")
> [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > WHO thinks says going by the middle name is “less of a hassle” than changing it? > > Guess again. > > Mona Lisa Simpson, better known as Lisa Simpson or if you must M. Lisa Simpson. Always been called Lisa since birth, not Mona. > > or as the bank fondly insists on calling me: > > Mona L. Simpson, ALIAS Lisa Simpson. > > Using my middle name has been the biggest freaking hassle of my life. I do plan on changing it, but generally have other uses for my cash. Why not just let the bank call you Mona? So long as people who know you call you Lisa then what’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/117 "2015-08-28T17:44:31Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I know. Try being a guy named Marion, walking into a biker bar. > > Oh, you said homo_phones_. Probably not a problem for Marion Barber or Marion Barry. Or Marion Morrison. (Former NFL running back, crackhead ex-mayor of Washington, DC, and John Wayne, respectively.) ---
**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 28, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/118 "2015-08-28T17:53:33Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Probably not a problem for Marion Barber or Marion Barry. Or Marion Morrison. > > (Former NFL running back, crackhead ex-mayor of Washington, DC, and John Wayne, respectively.) It probably wasn’t the best joke of my not-so-illustrious career of lame quips and one-liners. 😉 Although, John Wayne was actually who I was thinking of. There’s a reason he went by John Wayne. Being a macho western star called “Marion” is practically like being a boy named Sue. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/119 "2015-08-30T00:38:49Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Why not just let the bank call you Mona? So long as people who know you call you Lisa then what’s the problem? I DO let them call me whatever they want. It is a hassle though. Cashing a check made out to Lisa Simpson can be dicey. A former bank of mine would not cash a check…even with a Drivers License, Birth Certificate, Governent issued (photo ID)health card; my passport, a credit card issued in my full name and a credit card with middle name only. They refused to cash a “third party check.” It’s me dammit. I went to a credit union, opened an account, and Never looked back. Still… I advise parents. Unless there is a really good family reason, just plan to call your child by his first name. My son has an old English name that is a plural of a noun. He likes it and puns with it. I hope he always appreciates it. His middle name is my surname. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423/120 "2015-08-30T02:00:46Z")
My paternal grandmother and grandfather gave all their childrenn two middle names. Some of them worked well together, others…not so well. Ruth Esther Dorothea? Individually ok, but together, not so good. Amanda Hilda Pauline? grrrrr But their sister had a lovely, almost royal combo, Charlotte Sophia Louisa The brothers did better, except for my own father. All of his names started with the same letter, Harold Harry Herbert. I can’t say much for my grandparent’s naming conventions. I once knew a woman named Floydene Earlene, by a father who despaired of getting a son. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-the-good-the-bad-and-the-fugly/728423.md?page=7)