Having just named, or been involved in the naming of our second child, I found myself possibly more influenced by names I don’t like than names I do.
There are some names that just grate. I hate the sound of them, but the name itself isn’t an issue.
But there are names that just conjure up such negative images and connotations I can hardly utter them. Here are mine, what are yours? (Careful, your ox might get gored. Approach this thread with a sense of humor!)
Kaden/Caden/Kayden or any derivation of this - It reminds me of the misbehaving kids on Nanny 911. Way too trendy.
Nevaeh - Stripper name!
McKenzie - I actually have a good friend that named her child this. Umm… it’s a last name!
There’s a road off Highway 62 near Bancroft named McKenzie Lane. It’s just a track through the bush, probably goes to a hunting camp, but it’s name always makes me think it should be the perky and smart redheaded teen heroine of a Nancy Drew style detective series.
Any last name as a first name if there is no family connection. I know several people with last name names (some in my own family) that is a mother or grandmother’s maiden name. Most of these predate the current trend. I’m ok with that and even think it’s cool. But the ones where there is no connection just sound overdone and pretentious.
I’m with you, Hippy Hollow on Neveah!. Or any other “precious” name like that. It seems like only the girls get these.
Any name with cutesy spellings. Fer Og’s sake, not only will your kid have to go through life spelling / pronouncing it to people, but the kids who got the traditional spelling will too. Don’t screw with other kids’ names, people!
(There, I feel better now that that’s off my chest. )
It’s not my style at all, hence I wouldn’t name my kids that way, but to be fair the practice of using last names for first names has been around a long time, at least in some cultural groups:
Mackenzie Phillips
Harper Lee
Truman Capote
Ford Maddox Ford (born Ford Hermann Hueffer)
I can’t stand names that are spelled non-traditionally. Seriously, what is the point of that? To ensure your kids name will forever be spelled incorrectly? Are you trying to be original? You’re not, you’re just annoying. Examples:
Caite
Kyleigh
Jennyfer
Also, stripper names
Candi
Destiny (try a Destinee spelling for extra “i hate you” points)
Bambi
Bunny
And finally, pretentious names mentioned upthread:
I had a student once with the middle name Harper. Turns out, his paternal grandfather was the doctor who delivered Harper Lee, and they named the baby after the doctor.
My mid-20’s cousin’s middle name is McKenzie… he was named after his maternal grandfather (who went by “Mac”). Agree that it’s a stupid trend and that McKenzie is horrible for a little girl, but it certainly wasn’t invented as a first name by this generation. Without a family connection, the random-last-name-as-surname thing is just awful.
Another cousin has a daughter named Kodee. Hate this for so many reasons (not the least of which is that her middle name is Lee).
My local paper recently carried a birth notice for a Renesmee. The stupid, it burns.
As far as more popular names that are just too precious for words, almost any name that ends with an “i” instead of a “y”.
Tami, Candi, Mandi, Cindi…all that is missing is the cute little heart (or smiley face) to dot the “i” and I am ready to throw up.
I also feel sorry for guys who have names like “Butch”, “Guy”, “Rod” or “Dick” - geez, might as well just give them a tattoo and pierce their nipples on their fifth birthday and send them out to the playground and watch the fight.
Then again, it depends a lot on the person after they grow up, no matter how odd the name - I mean, years ago if you had a kid in your kindergarten class named Barack, would you have immediately thought “Hmm, future President!”
Or imagine shaking your head and pitying that poor little girl in the back row oddly named Oprah…
