# What's the most hideous given name in your family? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973 "2004-04-02T22:53:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/41 "2004-04-03T06:06:07Z")
My Dad’s side of the family likes names with a little “character”. We have (first and middle names): Fortune Hollar Land Ford Lease Profit Misty Spring Fortune has named his kids: Leif Chance Jaggar Ace Vance Steel This side of the family was a little disappointed with my parents lack of originality with their naming choices. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/42 "2004-04-03T06:08:14Z")
I have a grandmother named _ **Cretora** _, which I always thought was hideous. On a slightly humorous note, my brother named his son _ **Frederick Flint** _. Which might be tolerable, except that his last name is \*\*\*Stoney. \*\* \* Sigh. Frederick is his father-in-law’s name, and they claim it was done to honor him. But I have my doubts. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/43 "2004-04-03T06:14:25Z")
> [@MissGypsy](#): > > I also had great-aunts named Flossie and Dolly. I had aunts named Flossie Belle and Lolly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/44 "2004-04-03T06:21:05Z")
Some of these names are just classic! (well they have made me giggle anyway). I thought my nana’s name was bad enough, Minnie Frances, but it looks tame in comparison. I am very grateful I got Frances as a middle name rather then Minnie though. Mum’s name is not hideous but it is slightly unusual these days, Gay Morgan. Strangers compulsively spell it Gaye, seems they can’t bring themselves to write Gay. As a teenager I was babysitting a 4 year old and I took her on a crowded ferry. We had just been with my mum. The little one (called Lavinia …I always thought that was an odd name) asked in a VERY loud voice if my mum was Gay. I answered in a louder voice “Yes her NAME is Gay” (I was an easily embarrassed teenager though) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/45 "2004-04-03T06:31:38Z")
> [@Sassy](#): > > She’s got a house down the hill from me - Sacramento Street, I think 🙂 That’s her! I’ve been dropping her name on the internet for years now, and you’re the first person to say, “Hey, I’ve heard of her!” Thank you for validating my geneology. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/46 "2004-04-03T06:32:43Z")
I like Eugenia… beats the fuck out of being a great grandmother and named Tiffany! And because I am feeling contrary tonight: My cousin married a woman named Lavinia and their daughter is named Emmeline. Both names are marvelously classy In my opinion! ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/47 "2004-04-03T06:38:07Z")
> [@Krisfer the Cat](#): > > And because I am feeling contrary tonight: My cousin married a woman named Lavinia and their daughter is named Emmeline. > > Both names are marvelously classy In my opinion! Ooops! Any offense caused to anyone called Lavinia was not intended. I just had never heard it before and it seemed like a mouthful on a wee girl. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/48 "2004-04-03T06:50:25Z")
NONE Taken! You posted while I was still writing I think… we’re kool… though I have to admit the shmoe that thought Florence was a good name for the little girl who grew up to be my mum in law needs to be smacked! (her mom nicknamed her Irene, a MUCH better name) My brother is Leland Bradley ooogey Mom hated it but Dad insisted… Dad was Lee BradLEY … JAYSUS! did you people not say it outloud at least ONCE before! one great gran was Bessie… I just think of cows one great grandfather was Hjalmar… which isnt bad in itself except that after he died everyone forgot HOW to say it… sigh… my daughter’s parents(she was adopted) named her Jelaire… I shudder still when I think of it… Creativity really sucks in my family… cept me 😃 I named my son Josiah David… that name ROCKS! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/49 "2004-04-03T06:57:45Z")
Heh. My dad’s mom had some very strong opinions about names; she even (unofficially) changed her and her husband’s names. Their children, in order, were: [ul] [li]Cleatis Vernon[/li][li]Quane Laverne[/li][li]Thale Hebren[/li][li]Cleo Motoya (she later changed her first name to “Cleova”, but goes by Sisty, a name given her by my dad because he couldn’t say “Sister”)[/li][li]Loris Le Roy (that’s my dad)[/li][/ul] As I recall, there are some other interesting names on that side of the family, but I’d have to reinstall the genealogy software to find 'em, and it’s late. I had a boyfriend once whose name is Maitland, and another whose mother’s name is John. And some friends of mine named their son “Coriander”, although he’s called Corey for day-to-day. ---
**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 3, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/50 "2004-04-03T06:58:50Z")
Great Great Grandmother was named Harlettie. Like Kung Fu Lola, I had a great grandmother named Gertrude Frances. Mine went by Gertie. Mr Cazzle has cousins named Phillipa (16 years old) and Bernadette (22 years old). I think both names are dreadful, musty and old fashioned. Obviously his aunts don’t share that opinion and I’m sure there are many people who think they are lovely names… ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/51 "2004-04-03T07:08:43Z")
A friend from high-school had an uncle whose first name was Henry. Not an unusual name by itself, but his last name was Henry as well. Although her first name was nothing special, another friend had the unfortunate last name of Head. And ended up with the middle nickname “Gives-Good” during high-school. (She also lived with her mother and stepfather. Her mother reclaimed her maiden name after getting remarried. So all three members of the family had a different last names.) Another friend married a guy named Lee Roy. First name - Lee. Last name - Roy. Anyhoo… ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/52 "2004-04-03T07:38:07Z")
> [@TOTBP](#): > > A friend from high-school had an uncle whose first name was Henry. Not an unusual name by itself, but his last name was Henry as well. I’ve met a couple of these. A kid named Lokeni Lokeni, and another named Tutaia Tutaia. No middle name in either case. (Lokeni I think is Samoan and Tutaia is Maori, in case you were wondering.) ---
**Author:** ![Adoptamom\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Adoptamom\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adoptamom_II)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/53 "2004-04-03T08:29:16Z")
Maternal grandmother and her twin sister: Eula and Beula 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/54 "2004-04-03T08:43:07Z")
Some old fashioned names like Phyllis, Gertrude, Hilda, Enid and Gladys in our family but the only one I found quite unusual was Jabez. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/55 "2004-04-03T09:21:27Z")
My paternal grandmother was Philomena, usually went by Phil. I’m not sure how she came by that one as all of her siblings had very plain names (off-hand, the ones I can think of are Annie, Betty and Patrick). And in one that’s hideous more for the associations than the name itself, one of my great uncles on my mother’s side is named Adolf. The current generation in my family is fairly boring as far as names go, though my uncle did just jump on the bandwagon in naming his newborn daughter Mackenzie, and he has a 4-year-old son named Teron, which I’m not overly fond of as a name. ---
**Author:** ![Necro\_Romancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Necro\_Romancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necro_Romancer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/56 "2004-04-03T10:45:32Z")
> [@Sylkyn](#): > > I realize the connotations with that name, but I really like it! Wonder if it is a family name, and no one thought about the biblical (and Poltergeist movie, albeit a different spelling) associations? > > Still a cool name, though! Good point; I really don’t know the answer. They are religious folk though. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/57 "2004-04-03T11:08:35Z")
My cousin’s name is Buffy. She mightn’t mind now, but growing up it always seemed a terrible thing to saddle a young girl with. Especially considering her surname, which I won’t mention, but take my word for it - it makes her sound like a porn star. A kiddie porn star, in fact. My grandmother’s name is Matilda. My great aunts had/have all sorts of horrible names: Albina, Nestora, Ramona, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/58 "2004-04-03T13:07:26Z")
Three unusual names among my great[sup]x[/sup] grandfathers … Gideon Dansie Redvers ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/59 "2004-04-03T15:07:30Z")
My grandmother’s name was Fleda (pronounced fleeda) LaVanche K. Her eight sisters and brothers have pretty normal names for their time. I don’t know where my great-grandmother came up with that one. They had a baby that was either stillborn or died shortly after birth and didn’t name him at all. His stone reads “Baby K.” Horace pops up as a first name fairly often in one of my lines, with the bearer always called by their middle name instead. I haven’t been able to figure out what the importance of the name Horace was to them. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973/60 "2004-04-03T15:30:23Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > You stole mine. My grandfather was Hubert Eugene. (Went by Gene) > > My wife’s brother’s stepson is named Chandler. I hate it both aestetically and because he’s actually named after the Friends character. His twin brother is Chase. That’s just SPOOKY. My dad’s name is also Hubert Eugene. He goes by Gene too. Maybe we’re related. If we are, my dad is in serious trouble. His only grandkids (that I know of 😉 ) are my kids. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-hideous-given-name-in-your-family/237973.md?page=4)