What relatively common name creates in you an unfair negative impression of some innocent kid?

I met a kid named Atreyu once. Interesting choice since I’m not 100% it wasn’t after the movie.

Mine is close to yours - Dwayne, Duane, DuWayne

Mine are usually the made-up names/screwy spellings like Caden/Jayden/Braden/Oaklyn/Neveah/Kynlee/Makaylah/McKinli/.

It’s not so much the kids themselves, as it’s the parents and what they’re probably like. I instantly think middle class/upper middle class Texas suburbanites who live in a brand new home, go to an evangelical church and are demonstrably religious, probably wear Kendra Scott earrings, have new trucks, etc…

I have known a pair of brothers, Cooper and Chandler, whose mother had no clue that these were professions. She just liked the sounds of the names.

But then I’ve also known a Stella and Celina whose parents didn’t seem to have any idea that there was a theme there. The girls were named after great-grandmothers.

Ant “alternative” spellings, Kaitlyn, etc.

And Siobhan. It’s spell pretentiously. :slight_smile:

Hey, the thread title did say “unfair”. I can’t help it. I don’t live in the UK.

George Clooney played ‘Booker’ on Roseanne. He dated Jackie, who seemed amusingly impressed at the thought of dating a man with such a high-falutin’ name.

I know someone who dated a ‘Preston’ - the attorney. Well, better than dating ‘Stosh’ the bottle return guy. :thinking:…?

takes notes

I didn’t realize the anti-Irish thing was still so strong this millennium…

I hate those “cutsey” and “unique” spellings of common names as well, however everyone I’ve ever known who has had those type of names were born into families (or, more often than not, single mothers) that were at the lowest end of the socio-economic scale as you can get without being actually homeless. I always figured these people naming their kid Brayden or Britta or Jaymez were doing it as a way of asserting status and recognition: “my kid is so special they have a name that absolutely nobody else has, and that makes me special too.” Maslow’s hierarchy, and all that. But people with those names don’t give me a bad impression, their parents do.

Most of the names mentioned so far don’t ping my radar, with a couple of exceptions. I’ve only ever met one Jason that wasn’t a total jerk. I’ve never met a Brandon that wasn’t a squirrely little shithead, and of course with the stupid #letsgobrandon / #fjb shirts, hats, flags, and bumper stickers that seems to have reached critical mass here in deep red Trumpistan, I have an even stronger dislike for that name.

Every Terrance I’ve ever met has been incredibly incompetent, a walking breathing example of the Peter Principle.

The only Karens I’ve met have been nice and pleasant. Of course, these have all been middle-aged professionals, not stereotypical uh… Karens.

I have never met a Tammy / Tami that has been anything other than a raging asshole and/or a narcissistic little Napoleon who thinks she’s Pope of the universe despite only having power over the lowliest of workers (think Dwight from the early seasons of The Office). That’s probably the one name that I truly despise.

And of course I’ll never have any respect for the name Donald again.

I expect Adolf really took a hit, although a quick check on Wikipedia seems to indicate it is still going strong in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.

I have to ask: what regular name is that an alternative spelling of? I know it as a perfectly cromulent German female name, both one of my cousins and a good friend are called that.

ETA: ah, I just see the alternative spelling “Brita” in my own link. Is that the standard spelling in English?

I’ve met two women named “Britta” and one said she was named after a television character. Both names were spelled with two T’s. It’s uncommon enough here in the US that I have nothing to compare it to.

Lots of Justins seem to be jerks, but maybe because there are so many of them due to the name having become fashionable at some point. The Prime Minister of Canada seems like a nice guy, though. Personally I don’t think anyone should be named “Justin” unless their last name is “Time”.

Are there any "Elmo"s around? To me it always invokes the image of Elmo in the “Blondie” cartoon strip, an annoying kid with a very big nose.

Are you saying “Caitlin” is a mashup name, or are you naming two different types of name you dislike?

Mark. One bad one can ruin it for all of them.

Same with “Apple”.

Heather.

The first Heather I was ever somewhat personally familiar with was a waitress at a restaurant I frequented. Never had any conversation with her other than giving her my order and saying “Thanks” for tea refills, but she just struck me as a bleached-blonde airhead. So that’s what I expect of every “Heather.”

I suspect Sesame Street killed off whatever popularity it might have had left. (See also “Grover” and “Oscar.”)

Shirley

Name of my former aunt (uncle divorced her and had a very bad relationship with her afterwards, which was unfortunate for their kids)

Name of my mother-in-law.

I made a reservation at a B&B despite the fact that the person running the place is named Shirley. I hope I don’t regret it.

I had forgotten that “Elmo” was a famous Muppet!