# Names you loathe... and why! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991 "2010-04-13T21:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/21 "2010-04-14T02:18:50Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > 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… “Geez, that poor kid is never going to get anywhere in life saddled with a name like Condoleezza.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/22 "2010-04-14T02:27:19Z")
I would never name a boy “Hollingsworth.” ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/23 "2010-04-14T02:31:58Z")
Kaden/Caden? Is that really a name? That is one that I have never heard before. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/24 "2010-04-14T02:32:39Z")
Girls given boys names. There are so few boy names that haven’t been co-opted! There are plenty girl names, leave the boys alone! In my kids’ elementary school there are GIRLS named George Hunter Ryan Fisher Noah ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/25 "2010-04-14T02:47:14Z")
The one that I have been disliking lately is Avery for a girl. I don’t hate it on a boy (don’t really like it either though) but on a girl it just seems especially unattractive to me. I think what bothers me the most about it though is that it is insanely popular, at least around here. If I only knew of one, I might think it wasn’t the prettiest name but at least it was mildly interesting, but in my neighbourhood alone there are no less than 6 little girls under the age of about 4 named Avery. I have the same issue with the last-name-as-first-name thing, especially any Mc- type ones. Bad AND too common to be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/26 "2010-04-14T02:52:52Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I’ve always hated the name Penelope. It just feels gross to say it. I feel the same way about Chloe, too. Yes yes! Like\* blood clot\*! I don’t care for Sofie either because it makes me think of an old overstuffed couch. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/27 "2010-04-14T02:55:01Z")
> [@Terra1041](#): > > - Nevaeh (seriously, you’re spelling heaven backwards and calling it a name?) Is _that_ where that comes from? I had never seen or heard of it before. Beats Puritan slogan names like [If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned](http://gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/England-Medieval/Puritan.htm) though. > [@Terra1041](#): > > - Names of states. Even legit names like Georgia and Virginia bug me. Granted, the state was named after the person in these cases… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/28 "2010-04-14T02:56:48Z")
> [@Elret](#): > > The one that I have been disliking lately is Avery for a girl. I don’t hate it on a boy (don’t really like it either though) but on a girl it just seems especially unattractive to me. I think what bothers me the most about it though is that it is insanely popular, at least around here. If I only knew of one, I might think it wasn’t the prettiest name but at least it was mildly interesting, but in my neighbourhood alone there are no less than 6 little girls under the age of about 4 named Avery. I have the same issue with the last-name-as-first-name thing, especially any Mc- type ones. Bad AND too common to be interesting. They’re naming kids after [office supplies](http://www.avery.ca/avery/en_ca/) now? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/29 "2010-04-14T03:06:04Z")
> [@Neptunian\_Slug](#): > > Kaden/Caden? > > Is that really a name? That is one that I have never heard before. Yes. My husband’s granddaughter named her son Kaiden, two years ago. Names/words that bug me are the ones with the hard G sound in the middle – maggot, trigger, blogger, Goggins (as in Walton Goggins) – they sound harsh, almost combative. But I like L words – L’s are peaceful. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/30 "2010-04-14T03:29:55Z")
I hate virtue names. Prudence is my least favorite, but Hope, Faith, and Charity are up there. I wonder if someone, somewhere has ever named their kid Purity or Virginity? :: shudder :: I used to joke with a gay friend of mine that we’d get married (me for a visa, him to keep fooling his parents) and have a kid just so we could name her “Brings Daddy Coffee.” ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/31 "2010-04-14T03:47:47Z")
“Landry” I know of at least two. One was a student. One was male, another female. Both were named after Tom Landry because their fathers absolutely _worshiped_ Tom Landry. Yeah, I know. He was a _great_ coach. But he’s still a coach. Of a bunch of guys that play a game for a living. I love video gaming, but I can’t see naming my children after anyone in the industry, or, worse yet, any characters. Imagine, little Clouds, Tifas, Dukes, Gordons, or Master Chiefs running around. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/32 "2010-04-14T03:53:03Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I hate virtue names. Prudence is my least favorite, but Hope, Faith, and Charity are up there. > > I wonder if someone, somewhere has ever named their kid Purity or Virginity? :: shudder :: > > I used to joke with a gay friend of mine that we’d get married (me for a visa, him to keep fooling his parents) and have a kid just so we could name her “Brings Daddy Coffee.” Yeah, “Prudence” is, like…ew. That name should be abolished. I doubt someone would name their kid “Virginity,” though “Chastity” is still out there last I heard. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone somewhere was named “Purity,” that’s not too unthinkable. > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I would never name a boy “Hollingsworth.” Not unless you wanted him to grow up to be a butler. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/33 "2010-04-14T03:58:35Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Any last name as a first name if there is no family connection. Eh, it works out well once in a while. > [@Terra1041](#): > > - Any name that starts with Mc Agreed, but it’s particularly bad when this is done with girls. “Mc” means “son of.” When I hear about a girl named Mcwhatever I think the parents couldn’t be bothered to google the name they wanted for their child to find out what it means. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/34 "2010-04-14T04:07:04Z")
> [@Neptunian\_Slug](#): > > Kaden/Caden? > > Is that really a name? That is one that I have never heard before. Names-that-rhyme-with-Aiden are, as a group, the most popular set of boy’s names in the US. The category includes Aiden, Hayden, Brayden, Jayden, Caiden, Rayden, Zayden, plus a bunch of others, plus spelling variations on all of the above. A good list, plus a link to a discussion of the subject, is [here](http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2009/5/checking-in-on-the-age-of-aidans). It’s part of a larger trend of names-that-end-in-N, especially for boys, but for girls as well. **Palo Verde** , is it possible that the little girl was named Noa, with no H? Noa is a Biblical girl’s name, totally unrelated to Noah, that is actually the number one baby girl name in Israel at the moment. I know of a few American (Jewish) Noas as well. ---
**Author:** ![Race\_Harley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Race\_Harley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Race_Harley)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/35 "2010-04-14T04:24:26Z")
Agnes - we really need to retire this name before some poor little girl has to carry it for the rest of her life. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/36 "2010-04-14T04:35:09Z")
Ethel, Bertha, Mildred, Edna, Horace, Stanley. All these sound ugly to me. Wasn’t Avery the name of Murphy Brown’s baby? I hate apostrophes in names. Don’t people have any idea what an apostrophe is for? I know someone named Rawhide. The unusual thing is that he’s in his 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/37 "2010-04-14T04:48:45Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I hate virtue names. Prudence is my least favorite, but Hope, Faith, and Charity are up there. > > I wonder if someone, somewhere has ever named their kid Purity or Virginity? :: shudder :: Every time I hear a name like that anymore, I think of Terry Pratchett’s take on that: > [@](#): > > The Carter parents were a quiet and respectable Lancre family who got into a bit of a mix-up when it came to naming their children. First, they had four daughters, who were christened Hope, Chastity, Prudence and Charity, because naming girls after virtues is an ancient and unremarkable tradition. Then their first son was born and out of some misplaced idea about how this naming business was done he was called Anger Carter, followed later by Jealousy Carter, Bestiality Carter and Covetousness Carter. Life being what it is, Hope turned out to be a depressive, Chastity was enjoying a life of negotiable affection in London, Prudence had thirteen children, and Charity espected to get a dollar’s change out of seventy-five pence, whereas the boys had grown into amiable, well-tempered men, and Bestiality Carter was, for example, very kind to animals. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/38 "2010-04-14T05:03:04Z")
Dear lord, the proliferation of Aiden and his comrades Jaden, Kayden, and Raiden (!!!) makes me want to punch some parents. Thanks for the link, **GilaB**. That name is so suburban, it’s not even funny. I think I will be seeing it plastered on the back of minivans for years to come. Maybe I’ll get used to it… nah. The ubiquitous K in girls’ names is annoying. Kayleigh, Kadence… enough already. (Says the dad of two kids with K names.) As others have noted, I think it’s cool if a name comes from a family tradition. But last name first names need to die. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/39 "2010-04-14T05:42:47Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Girls given boys names. There are so few boy names that haven’t been co-opted! There are plenty girl names, leave the boys alone! Hmm? I thought that had been happening for years. Ashley, for instance, was originally a male name. The names that I hate? Plain, boring names like Rachel and Heather. Nothing against folks who have those names, or even their parents, they’re just not names I’d give my own kids. Like others have said, I hate alternative spellings. Even ones that are fairly mild, like Ashlee, or Kristina. The crazier ones, like Mykynzie? Even more awful. Also, I’ve never met a Brittany I’ve liked. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/40 "2010-04-14T05:53:40Z")
I hate L heavy names like Lachlan, Lyle, Lilla and Lyla. My all time least favourite name is Bethany, followed by Tiffany. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991.md?page=3)