# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/81 "2023-07-08T11:24:34Z")
My lil brother is Larry. In first grade his teacher told him that he had to use Lawrence. Our mom had to take his birth certificate to the school and meet with the teacher & principal. The teacher wasn’t pleased. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/82 "2023-07-08T11:50:45Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > His legal name was “Tracy,” and he hated it: “Nobody told my parents that Tracy is a girl’s name, I guess.” When I was in the Navy, one of the guys in my shop was named Tracy, tho, being the Navy, we pretty much called each other by last names anyway. This was almost 50 years ago. > [@kayaker](#): > > My lil brother is Larry. In first grade his teacher told him that he had to use Lawrence. Our mom had to take his birth certificate to the school and meet with the teacher & principal. The teacher wasn’t pleased. Similar story for a friend named Kathy. The nuns insisted she had to be Kathleen or Katherine till her mom brought in her birth certificate. I expect my late FIL went thru similar crap - his given name was Bobbie. Cute for a toddler, but rather startling for a white-haired man on a cane. Maybe that’s why he stayed with one employer for his entire career - once they got his name right, he didn’t want to deal with it again? My daughter’s name is Sarah. At her daycare, I once told one of the workers that it was “Sarah with an h” - and the next day, she came home with something labeled _Sarha_, which became a running joke in the family. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/83 "2023-07-08T11:59:38Z")
What is it with teachers disregarding what a kid wants to be called? I read countless such anecdotes. It’s just plain disrespectful. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/84 "2023-07-08T12:20:48Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Most people assume Chrissy is short for Christine or something similar. In fact, her father (a reverend) gave her the first name Christmas. Thus, her full name is Christmas Snow. A girl who went to my school had the last name Tannenbaum (German for Christmas tree). Her first name was Holly, thus Holly Christmas Tree. Cute. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/85 "2023-07-08T12:28:17Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Contrariwise, I know a (male) Tracy who does not regret it or abbreviate it at all… I’ve known a couple of males named Tracy. They both made it seem like the coolest thing ever. 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/86 "2023-07-08T12:55:44Z")
> [@Old\_Wench](#): > > A former co-worker has a nephew named Ruckus (yes, as in “disturbance or commotion”). Or as in “They were playing Hootie & the Blowfish in the delivery room and I couldn’t remember that singer’s exact name and then the pain killers kicked in.” ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/87 "2023-07-08T13:48:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My lil brother is Larry. In first grade his teacher told him that he had to use Lawrence. I knew a Larry who became a lawyer and was not happy because it wasn’t attorney-like enough. ---
**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 8, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/88 "2023-07-08T14:27:18Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I dunno, I grew up reading the Ashleigh Brilliant (male, British, 89 yrs old) comic and assumed that was the original spelling, and a male name before it became a popular girl’s name. I have a male cousin named Ashley, his mother was a big fan of Gone With the Wind and named him after the character Ashley Wilkes. She lived in the south and perhaps that was more common there. I’m not sure when the name was appropriated for girls, but I have heard of men being call Ash, which may be short for Ashley. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/89 "2023-07-08T14:39:59Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I knew a Larry who became a lawyer and was not happy because it wasn’t attorney-like enough. It wasn’t this guy, was it? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5QnITZm9nFo/hqdefault.jpg "Larry H. Parker Accident Attorney Through The Years") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QnITZm9nFo) ---
**Author:** ![Digger11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Digger11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digger11)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/90 "2023-07-08T15:18:42Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Lots of the name Trace for boys. I suspect because of the country music star Trace Atkins. > I have a guy cousin named Stacy. He really hates it. His baby brother ‘Bubba’ ain’t too happy either. I used to work with a man whose legal name was Stacy. His preferred nickname was “Smoky.” I’m not sure how he got it. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/91 "2023-07-08T15:30:39Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > As is [Trae Young](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trae_Young), of the Atlanta Hawks. According to Wikipedia, that’s his actual name, not a shortened or hypercoristic form. Just as well his parents didn’t give him an extra initial. Who’d want to go through life being called T. Trae? ---
**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 8, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/92 "2023-07-08T15:45:03Z")
My uncle (born in the 1930s) was officially Georgie. He was universally known by a shorter nickname, “George.” ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/93 "2023-07-08T15:49:50Z")
Somewhere there’s a woman named Karen Brandon who’s had a really, really bad year or so. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/94 "2023-07-08T15:54:46Z")
[Googles “Karen Brandon”] “About 143,000,000 results (0.39 seconds)” ---
**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 8, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/95 "2023-07-08T15:58:08Z")
There was a kid I went to school with named “Boy” Many jokes flew around his mom couldn’t think of a name for him. He was actually named a family name “Boyette” Which is arguably worse. For a guys first name. IMO ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/96 "2023-07-08T16:02:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I wanted to name my daughter Lizard. Of course she’d go by Liz. But when people would ask if it was short for Elizabeth, she could honestly answer, “no, Lizard”. [Garfield fan, I see.](https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1979/06/27) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/97 "2023-07-08T16:02:45Z")
I wonder whether “Boyette” was an Anglicized spelling for a French name. ---
**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 8, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/98 "2023-07-08T16:24:10Z")
I knew a grown woman known as Baby Girl, which was her nickname as a young child. Her first name was Mia, however she lived and worked in an area that was largely Spanish speaking and her real first name caused a lot of confusion so she decided to revert to her childhood nickname. Customer: ¿Cual es su nombre? Mia: Mia Customer: Si, me refiero a ti. Porfavor, dime tu nombre. Mia: Bebita. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/99 "2023-07-08T16:27:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > My niece has a friend who named her son Lightning. The boy isn’t in school yet but I predict regrets ahead. I predict stormy weather. > [@Spoons](#): > > He was happy as “Ron,” but absolutely detested being called “Ronald.” The first day in one of my high school classes, and the teacher was taking roll for the first time. When she got to Jeffery, he said “the ery is silent.” She was a horrible woman and was nasty to him after that. But I hated her for other reasons. ---
**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 8, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730/100 "2023-07-08T16:30:45Z")
Let us not forget Maynard G. Kreps from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. His middle name was ‘Walter’, named after his aunt. The G was silent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-regretted-baby-names/986730.md?page=6)