# Most-regretted baby names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730 "2023-07-07T13:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/202 "2023-07-13T16:09:05Z")
Of course it’s bullshit. That’s not a dash; it’s a hyphen. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/203 "2023-07-13T16:34:15Z")
Oof, after posting, I realized that some of my wording in calling an urban legend bullshit was bad posting. I shouldn’t have called anyone a “bullshit spreader”. This subject gets me riled up and I posted before thinking. Terrible excuse, I know where I am and I know the rules. If my post needs to be deleted, I’m fine with that. I can, and will do better. Apologies all around. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/204 "2023-07-13T17:21:00Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > unfortunately, my ex GF schoolteacher had a student named “Vagina”–that child will need therapy Sure she did. That’s yet another one of the standard urban legend names like the aforementioned “L-a”, ABCDE, Femalé, etc. that everyone _swears_ they know a teacher or doctor who knows them! With the amount of people who claim to have met people with these names, they should be some of the most popular names around! ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/205 "2023-07-13T18:59:16Z")
so you’re calling me or my ex GF liars?? Based on what grounds? Just because you doubt something doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/206 "2023-07-13T19:12:53Z")
I think your ex-girlfriend was being called a liar. It’s not hard to believe she told you that story, just hard to believe she was telling the truth in every detail. Most likely she relayed the story just like you did. It’s a common means of communication and people should realize that sometimes hearsay is intended more to amuse than convey accurate details. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/207 "2023-07-13T19:32:45Z")
I’m saying I highly highly doubt your ex actually met someone named “Vagina” in person. I’m sure she told you she did. That is how _every single_ urban legend goes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/208 "2023-07-13T19:53:09Z")
Folklorist here. It’s a lot more complicated than “truth” or “lie.” These are narratives with social and psychological functions, told by humans with fallible memories. Your girlfriend probably believed she was telling the truth. Further interrogation might have revealed that she skipped a minor detail: it wasn’t her sister-in-law, but her friend’s, and lo and behold it turns out that the chain of individuals is longer and doesn’t actually lead to a person with that name. It’s not misinformation nor disinformation, it’s folklore, and while not literally true it does have meaning, so the harsh judgement of true-or-false thinkers is a little misplaced (and unkind)—put yeah, nobody has such a name, except perhaps by ostension (people acting out a previously encountered legend), and that seems unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/209 "2023-07-13T20:39:15Z")
Folklore can also be dangerous, so it’s not completely benign IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/210 "2023-07-13T21:49:19Z")
I’m glad you said that—I never claimed it was benign. In fact, I’d argue that most of these name stories have a strong component of anti-black racism, in that they’re seizing on an essential different between traditional middle- and upper-class white naming practices vs the quite different Black practices, which value creative recombination with name parts and syllables as opposed to whole names. These legends call attention to this difference, which is one small component of racism, which takes them pretty far from benign. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/211 "2023-07-13T23:28:24Z")
Then I suppose you don’t believe that I have a Italian confidential secretary named [Alotta Fagina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdNzrpQv22Y). ---
**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:** [July 14, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/212 "2023-07-14T00:17:47Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I’m glad you said that—I never claimed it was benign. In fact, I’d argue that most of these name stories have a strong component of anti-black racism, in that they’re seizing on an essential different between traditional middle- and upper-class white naming practices vs the quite different Black practices, which value creative recombination with name parts and syllables as opposed to whole names. These legends call attention to this difference, which is one small component of racism, which takes them pretty far from benign This, so much. In the course of my job history, I’ve worked for, with, and on behalf of hundreds of African-Americans. And I’ve encountered plenty of names like Keisha, LaMarcus, Shontae, and Malik. (In addition to plenty of Black Chrises, Jameses, Jessicas, and Sarahs). But I’ve never encountered a Chlamydia, Vagicil, Lemonjello, or LaDasha, outside of stories with strong “oh, those silly black people” undertones. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/213 "2023-07-14T02:01:40Z")
My kids went to school with many, She’niquas, Takinzias, La’monishas, and others. They turned into Nikki, Kinzie, and Nisha. It all worked out. It’s considered a cultural thing where we live. No one really cares anymore. Your name is your name. ---
**Author:** ![the\_art\_of\_rolling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@the\_art\_of\_rolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_art_of_rolling)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2023, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/214 "2023-07-14T10:41:39Z")
Many years ago a friend who was a police officer told me she had a colleague called Adora Dick. I thought it was a joke until, months later, I saw a captioned photograph in the local newspaper of ms Dick. My friend also told me that Adora had a brother called Ivor. Not sure I believe that one but once bitten… ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/215 "2023-07-17T11:55:54Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > and Malik I could well believe this as _malik_ is one of the Arabian words that translates as _king_. In the Arabian horse world there are a number of stallions with Malik somewhere in their name and mares with Malika (queen). ---
**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:** [July 17, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/216 "2023-07-17T12:09:47Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > > > and Malik > > I could well believe this as _malik_ is one of the Arabian words that translates as _king_. > > In the Arabian horse world there are a number of stallions with Malik somewhere in their name and mares with Malika (queen) Yes, it’s explicitly the Arabic name. A few decades ago - and perhaps still, I don’t know - Arabic names were popular in the African-American community. I’ve encountered Jamal, Omar, Ayesha, Khadijah, Malik. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/217 "2023-07-17T14:27:11Z")
Malik just = King, like King Gillette. Khadijah means “premature child”, so I don’t know, even though Mohammed’s first wife had that name. Jamal = beauty, Omar = flourishing, Ayesha = “alive” (cf. Eva and variants) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730.md?page=10)