# Guys, what do you like in baby names? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458 "2006-04-13T00:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/81 "2006-04-14T21:46:12Z")
Yeah, but I don’t care if other people’s daughters have skank names! ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/82 "2006-04-14T23:28:25Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > My naming pet peeve is common names with wacky spellings. Since I have a very common last name( Hint: 5 letter color surname, begins with B) , I prefer unusual names. My favorites are all old names that have fallen into serious disuse. I like Gertrude, Beatrix, Esther, Ruth and Winifred(actually the name of a great aunt of mine) for girls. I like Wolfgang, Jasper, **Ptolemy** , and Lazarus for boys. Only Pt name I’ve seen in baby name books is Ptah, which has to be less common historically than Ptolemy. I am sure that any potential baby mama of mine would probably nix all my names, but since I don’t have even a girlfriend currently, it’s probably moot. Will your little Ptolemy have a sister named Cleopatra that he can marry? Ptolemy is actually the anglicized version of the Greek name Ptolemaios, which means “warlike”. Cleopatra is from Kleopatra, “father’s glory”. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/83 "2006-04-14T23:37:22Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Because those are now skank labels. I beg to differ. Well, Brittany you can have, but Jessica has a long and proud history, being the name of Shakespeare’s heroine from _Merchant of Venice_. Brittany falls into my category of skank names because it’s a place name. Brittany (and it’s mispelt cousin, “Britney”) is the name of a French province. Any name taken from a physical location is automatically skanky. Arabia, China, Africa – those are all STRIPPER NAMES. Your darling little Arabia will be dancing at the local titty bar off the interstate. You don’t want to give your daughter a STRIPPER NAME, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_O\_Malley\_s\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Mrs\_O\_Malley\_s\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_O_Malley_s_Cow)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/84 "2006-04-14T23:55:07Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I am the father of daughters (one on the way) and I am very picky about names. I have an unusual but great name myself (Maverick) and that has always made it perfectly clear to me what names do to a person. > > The criteria I use are: > 4) No Redneck or trailer trash names. Full Disclosure: Female here so I will not be offering suggestions Ok, I have to ask, what is your definition of a trailer trash name? Can you give us some examples. 🙂 Also, imagine in 50 or 60 some years when all the nursing home residents are named Brittney or Emily. “Now Brittney, it is time to time to go Bingo.” “Emily, we need to get your teeth so we can clean them.” ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/85 "2006-04-15T01:28:31Z")
Jacqueline, Audrey and Serena - obviously I like traditional names. When picking baby names, I went for -classic names -non-top 20 names -preferred one with easy demunitive (jacqueline, jac, jackie, etc but that didn’t work for the other two) -liked the original greek/latin/french meanings -avoided names that could be easy teasing targets -avoided names that had poor personal connotations (Jane didn’t make the list because the skank ho broke my heart) Penelope was a name I really liked but my wife didn’t. Veronica was one my wife loved and I can’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/86 "2006-04-17T01:58:18Z")
> [@Mrs O'Malley's Cow](#): > > Ok, I have to ask, what is your definition of a trailer trash name? Can you give us some examples. 🙂 From the book _Freakonomics_, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner: **Most Common Low-Income White Girl Names** 1. Ashley 2. Jessica 3. Amanda 4. Samantha 5. Brittany 6. Sarah 7. Kayla 8. Amber 9. Megan 10. Taylor 11. Emily 12. Nicole 13. Elizabeth 14. Heather 15. Alyssa 16. Stephanie 17. Jennifer 18. Hannah 19. Courtney 20. Rebecca **The Twenty White Girl Names That Best Signify Low-Education Parents** 1. Angel 2. Heaven 3. Misty 4. Destiny 5. Brenda 6. Tabatha 7. Bobbie 8. Brandy 9. Destinee 10. Cindy 11. Jazmine 12. Shyanne 13. Britany 14. Mercedes 15. Tiffanie 16. Ashley 17. Tonya 18. Crystal 19. Brandie 20. Brandi All data from the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/87 "2006-04-17T02:11:37Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Brittany falls into my category of skank names because it’s a place name. Brittany (and it’s mispelt cousin, “Britney”) is the name of a French province. Any name taken from a physical location is automatically skanky. Arabia, China, Africa – those are all STRIPPER NAMES. Your darling little Arabia will be dancing at the local titty bar off the interstate. You don’t want to give your daughter a STRIPPER NAME, do you? Somehow, I don’t think Boston Harbor Jones would end up there. (One of my favorite place names given to a character in fiction. Not something I’d saddle on any kid of mine.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/88 "2006-04-17T02:26:27Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > **The Twenty White Girl Names That Best Signify Low-Education Parents** Three different spellings of Brandy _in the top 20_? That’s painful. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/89 "2006-04-17T05:41:03Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > 1. Mercedes While I have never met a Mercedes in real life, I noticed a long time ago that every single model I’ve seen calling herself Mercedes has long, straight, brown hair, skin-tight jeans or leather pants, a very snug T-shirt, mirrored sunglasses somewhere in the picture, and a studded leather belt. She is often adorned with some sort of “tribal” accoutrement, usually a beaded choker or a feathered roach clip, and 90% of the time she is posing with a motorcycle or a tricked out car. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/90 "2006-04-17T07:48:43Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > While I have never met a Mercedes in real life, I noticed a long time ago that every single model I’ve seen calling herself Mercedes has long, straight, brown hair, skin-tight jeans or leather pants, a very snug T-shirt, mirrored sunglasses somewhere in the picture, and a studded leather belt. She is often adorned with some sort of “tribal” accoutrement, usually a beaded choker or a feathered roach clip, and 90% of the time she is posing with a motorcycle or a tricked out car. > > What’s up with that? I met a real Mercedes once. Guess what she did? She was a stripper. In high school. Yes, she was a senior at my school when I was a junior, and had just turned 18 and started working. Talk about self-fulfilling prophecy with those kind of names… I don’t really want to say the names I most love because I don’t want to give anyone any bright ideas. 😛 Yes, being at least reasonably uncommon is an important factor. You have to distinguish yourself in this world, do you really want your kids having generic names and turning into generic people? Yes, I have issues. My real first name is Michael. My dad’s name is Michael. My grandfather’s name is Michael. My uncle’s name, is also Michael. There is another Michael in my building. I don’t think I’ve ever had a class in school where there wasn’t another Michael. I meet a new Michael almost every day. And when I was a kid, my mom would tell me whenever Michael was the #1 most popular name, again, that year, like she was _proud_ of it. (I was born 1985) At least it’s not still that high up there for new babies (I don’t _think/hope_). But parents, please listen to me: don’t ever name your kids Michael again. I will spit on you. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/91 "2006-04-17T09:10:45Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > I am so very, very happy! Two pages into this thread, and nobody has said it yet, and I actually get to be the first! > > UPS Driver: I have a package for a Mister Asswipe! > > Mr. Asswipe: That’s ah-SWIP-ee! ah-SWIP-ee!!! > > Now I sit back and pray somebody recognizes that 😃 It’s an old SNL skit with Nicholas Cage. The couple are trying to pick out names and he keeps shooting then down because kids might make fun of whatever the mom picks. I was bored long while ago and I picked out my future children’s names. **Boys:** Jacob Matthew Christian Gabriel Isaac Joshua What sucks is I absolutly _love_ the name Israel. In fact, I wanted the name to be Jacob Isreal, but my last name’s Green, so it would be Jacob Isreal Green. grumblestupidlastnamegrumblegrumble. And I adore the name “Elizabeth” for girls, my the girls names are going to be: Hayley Elizabeth (I don’t really carey about the spelling for ‘Hayley’) Audrey Elise In meaning, “Elise” is just another form of “Elizabeth.” And then I noticed there was a pattern with my boy’s names. Oh well. Shame my wife’s not going to have any say in the names. I’ve called dibbs already, even though I’m not even dating anyone. P.S. I’ve have some other names saved up in case they’re needed: Noah Joseph Raynoldo (my grandfather’s name) ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/92 "2006-04-17T10:14:32Z")
> [@Stainz](#): > > I’m not a guy, but I want to contribute a slightly O/T vent … > My husband’s family gives all of their pets PEOPLE names - Suzie, Charlie, Max, Lucie … it made me quite mental because I like all of those names, but for humans! This is my method for naming pets - I quite like the name, but there’s no way it would get approval from my husband. So the cat’s been named Sophie. He named his dog Bella (ugh, that name is so over done these days). **Cazzle’s** post reminded me that my own husband prescribes to the same theory about names. Every hypothetical name I toss up, he relates it to someone he knew, whether he liked or disliked them. I just rule out the “common” or “[bogan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan)” names. The current preference currently rhymes with his own name. Which is fine by itself, because it’s also the name of his best man. So, if were to be used, in conjunction with the practice of using the father’s name (ie, my husband’s name) as the child’s middle name, the poor child would be saddled with _Rory Corey Surname_. At least, that’s the name we’re telling everyone we’re going to use. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/93 "2006-04-17T11:58:01Z")
I prefer some good manly names. Like, Laser, Razor, Blaser… Blade, Thor, Crusher ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/94 "2006-04-17T13:48:15Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > I prefer some good manly names. Like, Laser, Razor, Blaser… Blade, Thor, Crusher I actually knew a Thor. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/95 "2006-04-17T14:27:26Z")
I don’t currently plan on progeny, but you never know. Thing is, I have a long moist German grumble of a surname that not a lot sounds good with. The name would have to be very simple. For a boychild, **Robert** , my dad’s name, would probably be choice number one. **Harry** or _Jan_ would work too. (I had forebears named John and Henry but never liked those names.) I have a cousin **Elias** who is a great kid, and always liked **Eli** , too. Girls’ names? There’s **Jan** , of course. Or **Ella.** I love **Lis** , a Scandinavian shortening of Elizabeth, although it might be awkward if she wanted to go into commercial real estate. I sorta like the name **Risa** , although it’s a little apt to be mistaken for Lisa. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/96 "2006-04-17T14:32:05Z")
> [@ninevah](#): > > The current preference currently rhymes with his own name. Which is fine by itself, because it’s also the name of his best man. So, if were to be used, in conjunction with the practice of using the father’s name (ie, my husband’s name) as the child’s middle name, the poor child would be saddled with _Rory Corey Surname_. Perfect…if you have a surname like Morey or Lawrie or DellaTorre. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/97 "2006-04-17T14:33:25Z")
There is also the cultural factor. Some names sound fine in one language or culture, but horrible when moved to another context. I knew an Indian fellow by the name of Ramee Updias. Say _that_ out loud. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/98 "2006-04-17T15:09:17Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I knew an Indian fellow by the name of Ramee Updias. Say _that_ out loud. 😉 Oddly, a Google search finds no one with the name “Updias”. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/99 "2006-04-17T16:49:28Z")
Not a guy, and not having kids, but wanted to mention a few things! > [@matt\_mcl](#): > > My mother’s name, Lynn, would be a good middle name. My name is Lynn, too. I feel I, as a Lynn Marie, have two middle names and no first name! 😛 I am surprised and pleased that **China Guy** said my favourite girl name: Serena. And I know a girl whose middle name is Mercedes. She is not a “typical” Mercedes at all. (Intelligent, nice, talented musician, etc.) I guess having it as a middle name negates the Mercedes effect. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458/100 "2006-04-17T18:02:49Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > My mother’s name, Lynn, would be a good middle name. That’s my mother’s middle name. I’d guess that it’s a very popular middle name - I know three or four women who have it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-what-do-you-like-in-baby-names/352458.md?page=6)