# First names you hate. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820 "2005-06-11T00:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/61 "2005-06-11T16:42:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ultraviolet] I have an irrational hatred for names that end in “een” or “ene”, they just sound so trashy to me. I suppose it’s a connection with some girls I knew in high school. Arlene, Darlene, Marlene, etc. [QUOTE] I totally agree! I can’t think of an -een name that I like. My in laws are wonderful people, but Eileen and Maureen had been not expect any of my offspring to carry their names. Maureen gets a double-ick because it sounds so morbid and depressing and blah (see also: Maura, Moira, etc). ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/62 "2005-06-11T16:48:43Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Every Elizabeth I have ever known–from senior citizen to elementary school age has been opinionated, bossy and insensitive. Every one. Doesn’t matter if they cute it up to Betsy or Betty or Beth or Liza or Lizzy or any other of the million variations of the name… :eek: ☹ Well, now you know an Elizabeth who “cuted it up” to Betsey but who _isn’t_ opinionated, bossy and insensitive. Okay, I have my opinionated side, but I’m not a bitch about it. Just so you know. 😉 As to the OP: I’d say the current ‘last name as first name’ trend bugs me. Jackson, Cameron, Campbell, McKenzie, Carter - unless it’s actually your family name, don’t do it. There’s an overabundance of Irish names around here. At my son’s baseball practice, I sometimes think we’ve moved to Ireland and no one told me. Liam, Conner, Devon, Tristan, Dylan, Ian, Aidan, Declan… welcome to Dublin! ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/63 "2005-06-11T17:13:35Z")
I don’t know if there are any names I _hate_. Certainly there are some I associate with a nasty people I have met (Joanne, Angela, Tina) but the names themselves are fine, I guess. Ridiculous spellings do irritate me somewhat, however. Oh, and there are some names I associate with strippers: Trixie, Trina, Trista, Bambi. Okay, the name was had picked for a girl has been mentioned by eleanorigby. We picked it because I think it sounds lovely, I don’t know anyone named Lauren and it doesn’t seem cutesy. What am I missing? I won’t even mention the boy’s name. No one else has either, but I anticipate full-on hatred since it’s not a common name (255 on NameVoyager) but _sounds_ trendy. Since it’s taken months of negotiations to get me to agree to it, we’re not going back to the drawing board. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/64 "2005-06-11T17:29:09Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > Ooh, now I can ask them “is that with an i or e” and if they say “e” I can say “Huh. Why did your parents give you a boy’s name?” On top of that, I can attempt to pronounce it the correct way and get all snotty when they tell me it’s Keer-sten. Heee! 😃 Whoops! Look carefully, I mentioned three different names. Kirsten is a girl’s name in Norwegian. So is Kristin. But Kristen is a boy’s name. As far as the “proper” pronunciation, well, my two boys’ names are pronounced a little differently in English versus Norwegian, and we’ve taught them (as they are bilingual) that both pronunciations are correct. So I don’t really care how people pronounced Kirsten. I was just being a wiseacre 😃 ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/65 "2005-06-11T17:33:24Z")
Cecil - far too precious, far too twee. But Ed - there’s a real man’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/66 "2005-06-11T17:46:22Z")
> [@Cockatiel](#): > > No offense to anyone with these names, but Gertrude and Prudence. If it’s somebody who was born fifty or more years ago, I can deal, but it’s just cruel to name a kid that nowadays. I actually like the name Rufus, but once again, naming your kid that today is just mean. I had a coworker who named his son Rufus, after a friend who passed away. Given that the kid’s name is Rufus Leo, I expect him to become a funk musician when he grows up. I used to loathe the names “Bob” and “Harry” but this subsided after years of hearing them. Nothing will make creative spellings of common names better. “Brittonnee” was the worst I’ve ever seen. “Dakota” just seems played out, and was never that great to begin with. After years of reading News of the Weird’s regular feature about killers with the middle name “Wayne,” I think “Wayne” is a crappy middle name. I have a cousin who gave his son a trendy name whose spellings differ, the middle name Wayne and our easily mispronounced, difficult-to-spell last name. Triply damned. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/67 "2005-06-11T17:46:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Filler middle names. Most every girl I’ve met has either ‘Rose’ or ‘Marie’ as a middle name, so their parents wouldn’t have to put any thought into coming up with a middle name that means something. Heh. My sister’s middle name is Rosemarie. In her case, though, it’s justified, as the name came from my mother and grandmother’s names. > [@](#): > > Why would someone name their son Jody? That’s a girls name. No, it’s a boy’s name, as are Evelyn, Carol, Lindsay, Courtney, Ashley, Shirley, and Kelly. They merely have been wrongly appropriated by the female sex. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/68 "2005-06-11T18:08:51Z")
The only name I absolutely hate, is my own… Mary I use my middle name instead. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/69 "2005-06-11T18:13:20Z")
What I find particularly irritating is when parents of 3 or more kids give tham all the same first initial, which is why I get a good laugh out of Jiminy Glick’s sons’ names–Morgan, Mason, Matthew and Modine.I was never fond of Stuart (or Stewart), but after Mad TV’s creepy sketches, I find that name even more distasteful. As far as girls’ names go, I have to go with the dreaded “ABCs”–Ashley, Brittany and Courtney. Michaela also rubs me the wrong way (no matter how it’s spelled). ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/70 "2005-06-11T18:21:12Z")
My mother always told me never trust anyone named after a spice or a baby animal. I’ve never been too sure about the name Princess, either. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/45deac/32.png) [@Evil\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_One)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/71 "2005-06-11T18:24:45Z")
I have always hated non-traditional spellings as well. It’s as if the parents are trying to visit their perceived sense of superiority onto the child by giving them a name with a “unique” spelling. I’m also amused by pretentious names for males, usually ending in “on”…such as: Mason Hampton Preston etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/72 "2005-06-11T19:56:51Z")
Guys’ names starting with K sound dumb to me, like the person whose name it is is just a little thick. Keith Kevin Kyle Probably because I know at least one dumb guy with each of those names. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/73 "2005-06-11T20:01:30Z")
Also Sheldon. I’ve met two in my life, and each time, my mind immediately creates a new Pokémon. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/74 "2005-06-11T20:22:05Z")
There’s a little boy who goes to school with my youngest daughter. He’s double damned; not only is his name Cameron, but it’s _spelled_ Cam’ron. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/75 "2005-06-11T20:42:43Z")
Interestingly enough, I don’t like sticking ys willy-nilly in names, either. But I didn’t name myself, and I am pretty much stuck with it. My other pet peeve with names is grown men calling themselves “Junior” or “Little \_\_\_\_” Grow up. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/76 "2005-06-11T21:00:04Z")
I’ve got the stereotypical grandmothers’ names: Mildred and Gertrude. True, they were both born early in the 20th century, when those names were much more popular. The first names I’ve never been able to stomach are Sue, Peg, and Babs. Don’t know why, know very few people with those names, but the names just bug me. I also shudder at made-up names, or trendy names with made-up spellings or apostrophes. English doesn’t use apostrophes except for contractions or possession. First names do not have apostrophes! ---
**Author:** ![Fortytwois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@Fortytwois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortytwois)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/77 "2005-06-11T21:22:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Trixie, Trixie Belden isn’t a stripper! I hate trendy names too. Be ORGINAL people! …I know too many Laurens, too many Jenns and too many Elizabeths. At one time in high school all of my friends were named some varient of Elizabeth. Most of the people with common names that I know, go by their last name (eg Brady, Hendry…i remember i knew her for a few years and just this past year found out her name is Jenn) ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/78 "2005-06-11T21:25:27Z")
**Panache45** said: > [@](#): > > I’m surprised no one has mentioned Shithead and Latrina. I actually have come across someone named LaTreena. I wonder what her parents were thinking!!! ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/79 "2005-06-11T21:29:13Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > I also think, as a general rule, that it’s poor form to name your kid anything they’re going to have to spell out all the time, either b/c no one knows how to spell it or b/c you decided to put a “unique” spin on the spelling of a classic. In my data entry work I ran across the application of a girl named “Meghaan.” Really, come on now. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820/80 "2005-06-11T21:36:29Z")
The pronounciation/spelling thing goes both ways. I named my son Atticus. Not very common, but still a relatively straightforward name. I got a telephone call shortly afterward from the hospital and the girl wanted to survey me on my experience having “A-TISH-iss”. It took me a good two or three seconds before I realized what she was saying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-names-you-hate/307820.md?page=5)