# Irksome names for children **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434 "2003-04-13T15:04:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/21 "2003-04-13T19:56:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by altoid \* > \*\*Baby- Yes, this girl was twelve and will grow old being called Baby > > Last name: King, First name: Nosmo. Put together: Nosmo King. > (If you miss it the first time, keep looking at the name…) > > I think I am improving my poker face everyday when I call roll. \*\* These are just cruel, and the parents should be beaten about the head and shoulders severely. I mean, WTF are they thinking?? Perhaps you should design a lesson around how government works and include instruction on “How to Legally Change Your Name.” Something the kids can remember as they get older. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/22 "2003-04-13T20:11:30Z")
I’m just waiting for the day we get an actual Major Major Major Major. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/23 "2003-04-13T20:25:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Already in Use \* > \*\*I sort of think Aristotle is a cool name, at least for Greeks. > > But I HATE HATE HATE yuppie-ish wannabe WASPy names that make kids sound like banking firms. All trendy flavor-of-the-month names are pretty stupid, for that matter. Look, people, if you want to name your kid something “unique,” find something unique yourself, not something that makes you look like a mindless sheep. \*\* Yeah, I try to be understanding about this, but sometimes it seems so put-on. I have a friend whose son has surnames as his first and middle names, but I happen to know that the names are family names (both grandmothers’ maiden names). People have said to my friend, “Oh, I love your son’s name, I think I am going to name my son that!” While she appreciates the compliment, she feels that her son has more of a “right” to have those names, and I agree - although I can’t blame other people for NOT knowing the origins and just liking the way the names sound. Likewise, location names bother me personally, but I understand the desire to name your child after a place that’s special to you - I just find it hard to believe that Wyoming, Dakota, Indiana and Cambridge are ALL that special to you. Rhyming names - or close to rhyming - like Phil and Lil, Tim and Tom or (my favorite example of this) Tristan, Justin, Kristin and Austin. Bleeah. I had neighbors who named their sons Dirk and Eric, and to my mother they were forever Derek and Eric (to my sister, they were Dirk and Irk.) Or the families who don’t realize there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and they can’t come up with anything better than Joan, Jane, John, Joe, Jake and Jehosophat. Hmm. Turns out I have more opinions about what other people name their children than I probably should! ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/24 "2003-04-13T20:25:47Z")
My wife knew someone who wanted to name her daughter Brook. This was before she got married when her last name changed to Case. That was the end of that idea. ---
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/25 "2003-04-13T20:32:21Z")
Hey! I’m an Alexis! Although I have to admit it sounds a whole lot better when it’s used as a boys name. As a girls name I think it is a bit prissy, which is why I go by Alex, or just Al. ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/26 "2003-04-13T20:44:55Z")
Well, Big Alex, it seems your parents beat the trend – and that’s cool! I bet you were the only Alexis in class. … My name is just hateful, and it has a funky spelling to boot. It’s mispronounced, misspelled, utterly mangled at every turn. Sigh. But at least I wasn’t saddled with Hannah. Or Morgan. Or Arianna. ---
**Author:** ![Sapphire\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sapphire\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapphire_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/27 "2003-04-13T21:20:35Z")
I can understand your pain, **MercyStreet**. My first name is… ugh. I can’t even type it out, I hate it so much. Unfortunately, there was a famous actress with the same first name as mine, and the way her name is pronounced is the way that my is _mis_pronounced. Constantly. I’ve gotten used to it now, but it still irritates my mother. Which then prompts me to remind her that she let my father choose it, and why in all the gods didn’t she go with HER choice of China Jo? (My first name: Marlene - pronounced: Mar-lay-na. Mispronounced: Mar-leen. Mar-lee-na. Mar-lane. Mar-lay-nee. Mar-lee-nee. And a whole host of other things that now cause me to use a nickname of MJ) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/28 "2003-04-13T21:57:32Z")
I’ve watched a parade of name fads during my lifetime. The following groups aren’t set in concrete, but it is close to what I’ve seen: Some of my elderly mother’s aunts were named Myrtle, Elsie, and Mattie. By my mom’s generation I heard Ethel, Marjorie, Lucille. I grew up with Patsy, Betty, Barbara, Joanne, Sandra, Jean and Sue. Ten or so years later we began hearing Tammie and Debbie. (I suspect that we can thank Debbie Reynolds for both.) In another ten or fifteen years, Michelle, Melanie and Angela were favorites. Then came the Nicole and Kristin era, quickly followed by Samantha (a revival of a name from 150 years ago). The first time I heard “Madison” was in a Darryl Hannah movie where she was a mermaid. Whitney came in about the same time. Brittany was soon to follow. I’ve always liked traditional names and I am pleased to see them come back into more common use. My husband and I could never agree on any names for our “future children.” We finally settled on “Bat Nose” out of pure stubbornness. I guess it’s a good thing that I have step-children and not children! The names on nursing home doors have changed during my lifetime. The Mabels and Myrtles are mostly gone. It’s strange to think that in another sixty or seventy years, we will see Madison and Bailey instead. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/29 "2003-04-13T21:59:43Z")
[This](http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babynames.cgi) site has the top ten baby names for 2001 (most recent year available) for all you parents-to-be out there so you can make an informed decision if you want your child to be one of the five Jacobs or Emilies at their pre-school. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/30 "2003-04-13T22:05:31Z")
When I was pregnant with my daughter (she’s now 23) all the women my age were naming their daughters; Britney, Whitney, Chelsea, Courtney, Tiffiny etc. With a few Jennifers thrown in for good measure. I wanted a strong, pretty and unusual name so that my daughter wouldn’t be in first grade with 3 or 4 other little girl’s with her same name (I’m a Laura/Lori so I went through that). So far I’ve only seen a few other women named Scarlett. She hated it as a child, but as a hair stylist/part time dept store model, she now thinks it’s a pretty cool name. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/31 "2003-04-13T22:07:20Z")
A few names that I’ve loved for years are starting to get popular - and so they’ll get bumped off of my baby name list. SO and I both love the name Ava (hence the screenname), but I’ve heard of several little Avas - I’m hoping it’s just a quick fad and by the time we’re ready for kids in three years or so, it’ll be an unknown name. I’ve also always loved Natalie, which seems to fall in the ‘sorta popular, but on the lower popular’ scale. And I’ve had the name Leo set aside - because it was my great-grandfather’s name and I’m a big one for using family names. Unfortunately, even Leo seems to be gaining in popularity. It doesn’t particularly bother me what people name their kids, unless it’s something that’s going to make their daughter sound like a stripper in the future. Ava ---
**Author:** ![mr.splitfoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@mr.splitfoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.splitfoot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/32 "2003-04-13T22:16:24Z")
Some interesting names of people I know: My cousin Freedom and his wife Patina They named their daughter Oisin (pronounced E-shin) Friend named Jens Cousin named Nikita I think the most common name I’ve known/heard the most is definately Melissa ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/33 "2003-04-13T22:21:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earl of Sandwhich \* > \*\*A “current trend” that goes at least as far back as to the time of Jefferson Davis and Johns Hopkins. \*\* Trends come and go, my esteemed bread-flanked brother. I’m not denying that past generations had their shares of Millards, Dylans, and Washingtons, but lately things have gotten out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/34 "2003-04-13T22:30:16Z")
> [@](#): > > …three of his four kids are named Beck… He’s a loser, baby. Why don’t you kill him. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Max Torque writes: “What I really hate is the current trend of ‘last names given as first names.’” > > A “current trend” that goes at least as far back as to the time of Jefferson Davis and Johns Hopkins. Yes, people have long used last names as first names, but they were generally family names or something. In the last few years, it’s been exceedingly common for people to give their kids totally random 2-syllable last names as first names, and misspell them to boot: “Hi there. These are my kids, Taylor, Tyler, Baylee, Ryleigh, and Snodgrass.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/35 "2003-04-13T23:28:39Z")
If it makes you feel any better, **Sapphire Wolf** , _I_ know how to pronounce your name, and I think it’s “wovewy.” One thing I’ve learned is, never complain about “Caitlyn” or “Ashley” or “Baylee,” or the person you’re talking to will either be named or will have named their kids “Caitlyn” or “Ashley” or “Baylee.” ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/36 "2003-04-13T23:32:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by altoid \* > \*\*I teach and I see tons of absurd names that parents name their kids. (Then I meet some of these parents and it becomes clear.) > > So, in no particular order: > > First names: > > Baby- Yes, this girl was twelve and will grow old being called Baby > > \*\* Okay, I can’t help myself. Did anyone put her in the corner? Susan ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/37 "2003-04-13T23:42:14Z")
NOBODY puts Baby in the corner. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/38 "2003-04-13T23:44:04Z")
WRT some of these names, I am often reminded of a scene from one of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books. Hawk: The skinny shooter? His name Ty-Bop. Spenser: _Ty-Bop?_ Hawk: That what happens when you got thriteen-year old girls namin’ babies. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/39 "2003-04-13T23:54:19Z")
I worked in a children’s zoo three years ago, and at that point all girls not named Brianna were named Caitlin. Also, every boy, every _single male child_, was named Hunter. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434/40 "2003-04-14T00:19:41Z")
Ah, for the good old days. When I was going thru school (1960-1972) my friends were named Jeanette, Denise, Hazel, Mary, Karen, Anna, Jane, Patty, Janet, Pam, Beverly. Among the boys were Michael, John, Frederick, Albert, Steve, Rick, Phil, Don, Dave. I used to think that if I had a son, I’d name him Matthew, then all of a sudden, there were Matthews everywhere. We named our daughter Sarah because no one on either side of the family had that name and there were no obvious nicknames. He middle name is mine - Michelle. The day after she was born, in the same hospital, delivered by the same doctor was another Sarah Michelle. I think she’s had a Sarah or Sara in her class every year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irksome-names-for-children/168434.md?page=3)