# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/61 "2010-04-14T14:28:54Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > 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! > > I’m sure I can come up with more. Lisa. Bad Luck, I suppose, but I’ve known too many asshat Lisa’s ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/62 "2010-04-14T14:36:29Z")
I’m aware that this has the possibility of causing offense so I offer this with an apology in advance. Generalizations are seldom of value. But this is funny to me. One day I was talking to my daughter and she told me that she had learned to be wary of anyone named Stephanie. All I could think of was, “Oh, she’s noticed that too.” Didn’t have the heart to tell her it was one of the names I had considered giving her. Hee. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/63 "2010-04-14T14:39:34Z")
I don’t like girls named with boys names. It sounds so f’ing pretentious. I dislike the names from the 50’s - early 60’s - Lisa, Linda, Nancy, Barbara, Susan, Debby, Peggy. Not only are they dated, they are coincidentally the names of a big bunch of ugly bullies I went to school with! Boys: George, Frank, Bob, Allen, Charlie, Phil, Bill - dated. And boring. Most pretentious men’s name I’ve heard: Booker. What kind of name is Booker? I knew a girl named Debbie who was dating a Booker, and she was just so darned proud she was dating a guy with a pretentious name (as opposed to all the Joe-Lunchbox names of most guys) that she said it at every opportunity. With that little head shake as she emphasized the ‘k’. BOOK-er. BOOK-er says this, BOOK-er did that. Shut. Up. Already! You know a BOOK-er. BFD. Most pretentious woman’s name: Our next door neighbors were a lovely pair who wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. They rebuffed every effort at friendly conversation. They were a pair of ugly yuppies. Her name was Andrea. Pronounced “Ahn-DRAY-ah”, if you please. I still called her “ANN-dre-ah” just to piss her off. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/64 "2010-04-14T14:53:22Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Having said that, Richmond (the county name for Staten Island) wouldn’t be so bad. But I’ve never seen it as a name. There was a famous admiral named [Richmond Kelly Turner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Kelly_Turner). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/65 "2010-04-14T14:53:34Z")
I heard somewhere that “Madison” as a name was attributable to the 1984 film “Splash”. In which Darryl Hannah sees it on the street sign for Madison Ave and adopts it as her name. According to the Social Security office, the name doesn’t rank in the top thousand before 1984, was #628 in 1985, #366 in 1986, #107 by 1992, #10 by 1997 and is now the #4 girl’s name for a new baby (peaked in 2002 at #2). Not all because of “Splash” of course but that seems to be the genesis of it. Point being, I roll my eyes at the name Madison. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/66 "2010-04-14T14:58:58Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > On the last-name-as-first-name thing, I’m sorta screwed. My last name is more often a first name, although even that has been out of fashion for a few decades. Do you ever have people call you by your last name? That’s a problem I’ve had my entire life. But we’re still better off than my first college roommate, Peter Dick. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/67 "2010-04-14T15:02:23Z")
> [@Terra1041](#): > > - Names of states. Even legit names like Georgia and Virginia bug me. I know a couple here in the DC area, they named their 3 daughters Columbia, Virginia, and Marilyn. OK, I made that up. But it could easily be true. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/68 "2010-04-14T15:10:12Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Her name was Andrea. Pronounced “Ahn-DRAY-ah”, if you please. The joke’s on her-- when pronounced that way, it’s a man’s name (in Italian). ---
**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:** [April 14, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/69 "2010-04-14T15:19:14Z")
> [@lezlers](#): > > The winner? Brooklyn. That poor baby is going to have to carry that obnoxious name with her for the rest of her life. My cousin’s dating a girl who named her daughter Brooklyn. Last girl he dated had a boy named Braxton, yes, named after the Braxton-Hicks contractions she had during the pregnancy. Common names I dislike for no good reason: Melissa, Michelle, and Nicole. My middle name is Michelle. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/70 "2010-04-14T15:32:40Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > I loathe the name Rachael, entirely because of the Rachael Green character on _Friends_. What an asshole she was. _Kicks **The Devil’s Grandmother** in the shin_ 😛 Nah, you don’t have to like my name if it really bugs you. The only names that bug me are ones that are obviously made up without a lot of thought put behind them. I know a woman who named her daughter Diamond Rolexus Lastname. Five bucks says that poor little girl will be a stripper someday. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/71 "2010-04-14T15:36:52Z")
At least with Brooklyn, a woman can later adopt the nickname Brooke without changing her name completely. Those poor little Madicyns don’t have that option. Cutesy nicknames for little kids are fine, but at least give your kid a name they can use when they’re an adult, too. Recently I’ve discovered that a suprising number of people really DO think that naming your little Madison “Maedicyn” instead really does make the name different and unique - I was suffering under the probably naive delusion that some people just like the way a particular spelling looks, not caring if the name is trendy or not. What they don’t realize is that any time a teacher calls out “Madison” in the playground, all the little Madisons of any spelling are going to come running. I also dislike the -ayden trend for boys. Cayden, Brayden, etc. They’re the sort of super-trendy names that people for some reason think are unique. Common, normal names I dislike: Keith, for absolutely no reason at all. Also, Katherine. I’ve never met a Katherine I liked - plenty of nice Kates and Katies and Kathys, but no Katherines. Catherine, however, is fine. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/72 "2010-04-14T15:37:50Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > _Kicks **The Devil’s Grandmother** in the shin_ > > 😛 Nah, you don’t have to like my name if it really bugs you. The only names that bug me are ones that are obviously made up without a lot of thought put behind them. I know a woman who named her daughter Diamond **Rolexus** Lastname. Five bucks says that poor little girl will be a stripper someday. Rolexus? Even as a middle name? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/73 "2010-04-14T15:38:38Z")
I really don’t care for place names. You know, Winona, Cody, Casper, Dakota, Cheyenne, Sierra, Madison, Brooklyn…those sorts of names. Just, no. I really hate what my idiot cousin named his daughter - he did Cheyenne one better by spelling it phonetically. His poor daughter is saddled with ShyAnne. Nice job, bro. And he lives in Colorado! It’s right next door; he should know how Cheyenne is spelled! With luck, she’ll go by Anne as an adult. Or whatever her middle name is, provided it isn’t equally stupid. ---
**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, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/74 "2010-04-14T15:42:03Z")
I went to university with a guy named Johnson Chou. > [@salinqmind](#): > > Most pretentious woman’s name: Our next door neighbors were a lovely pair who wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. They rebuffed every effort at friendly conversation. They were a pair of ugly yuppies. Her name was Andrea. Pronounced “Ahn-DRAY-ah”, if you please. I still called her “ANN-dre-ah” just to piss her off. When I was taking art classes in the evening at OCAD, there was a beautiful Brazilian woman named Andrea, pronouned “an-DRAY-ah”, in the class. She was nice and not pretentious too–we even started to become friends. If she hadn’t smoked, I would have seriously pursued her. ---
**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, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/75 "2010-04-14T15:43:11Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > At least with Brooklyn, a woman can later adopt the nickname Brooke without changing her name completely. Those poor little Madicyns don’t have that option. They could go by “Maddie” and by indestinguishable from the Madelines of the world. Of course Madeline [which has several spellings] is a hell of a lot better than Madison anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/76 "2010-04-14T15:47:13Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > 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. > **[(mt) Media Temple - Web Hosting Services](http://thehardcoregamer.com/?p=2101)** 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/77 "2010-04-14T15:58:14Z")
I know a Lexus, a Lexi, an Alexis and an Alize with the little accent mark. But the day I meet 'Rolexus" is the day I throw my Ghetto Card in the garbage. I can’t stand it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/78 "2010-04-14T16:01:46Z")
I’m not a Brit, but I always wonder who the hell names their kid Nigel or Clive. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/79 "2010-04-14T16:03:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I went to university with a guy named Johnson Chou. Thanks, that made me laugh so hard I had to try not to pee. Guess it’s been a while since I took a bathroom break. My daughter’s day care teacher, who is otherwise a lovely woman, has a son named Steeler and another son whose middle name is Hines. I can understand being a NFL fan (as a Bills fan, I joked that if I had a son, I should name him William Cody), but there’s one thing to joke about it, and another thing to make it so there will someday be a grown man named Steeler. I mean, really, all that kid can do is either play for the Steelers, or be the grand marshal of the Pittsburgh Gay Pride parade. There’s no middle ground. ---
**Author:** ![davey77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@davey77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey77)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991/80 "2010-04-14T16:03:54Z")
In southeastern Ohio, the newspapers publish special inserts of the year’s newborn babies. It’s always fun to see the pictures and names given to the children. Except when you run across a baby girl named “Hydia.” WTF? Hydia! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-you-loathe-and-why/535991.md?page=5)