Overall Trends You Dislike
DISCLAIMER:
These are USER SUBMITTED ideas.
they DO NOT necessarily reflect the ideas of the website. If you disagree
with anything written here, DO NOT EMAIL ME ABOUT IT!
Unique Spellings:
- this weird love of completly re-arranging names.I think changing 'emily' to 'emelie' is lovely but when you see 'm'Kaila' or 'Ashe-leigh' or 'Brittanni' or 'Kaitlinne' it is just goin to confuse people as the spell or pronounce it wrong and, orally, it doesnt sound any different so they will still be the 6th 'ashley' in their clas even if it is: ashley, ashe-leigh, ashlee, ashelei, aislea and ashe-lé.
- Yooneek spellyngues: Picture this: you need a lawyer. Two lawyers in the firm can help you. One is named say... Elizabeth. The other is named Ellyzzabethe. Who do you choose? No contest really.
- names with creative spellings: There are a few names I don't mind with different spellings, such as Kaitlyn over Caitlin or Jordyn (for a girl) over Jordan, but when someone takes the name Hayley for example and spells it Haiyeleigh it just looks complicated and awful.
- Youneek Spelyngs: contrary to popular belief, you can't tell the difference between Caitlin and Kaytlighnne when you're calling roll our shouting across a playground; and honestly, can you imagine a placard reading "The Honorable Jazzamyn Jones, Presiding," or a newspaper article about president-elect Phelyx Smith?
- I can't stand names that are spelled funky. Like instead of Ashley .. Ashlee, or Ashleigh, or Britney instead of Brittany. Or Lizbeth, Aleesha, etc.
- 'unique' spellings - people have a hard enough time getting names right in the first place, don't make it any harder for them. If you really feel you have a 'special' name, then take it yourself. Seriously, changing your name is quite an experience, try it.
- Any name that is going to be hard for the name's owner to spell at 4 or 5 years old, or for minimum-wage clerks to spell at any time: Shaneequa, LaQueenah, Krystie, Mikaelah, Jahsmeyne, Aunjanue, Shaunah, Marjonique, etc.
Place Names:
- "Station" names like Madison, Mackenzie, Waverley... they're cute sounding, but a lot of these last name used as first names make me think I should catch a train there.
- Place Names as People Names: I'm not crazy about this practice. Virginia and Georgia were people names long before they were states. Milan, Paris, and Vienna are OK. But Madison? Trenton? You may as well name your kid Fargo, or Detroit, or Las Vegas. Works for places, but not for people.
- Place Names of Conception: Madonna calling her daughter Lourdes. No offense, but when a 12 year old finds she's named after where her mom had sex (specifically for conception, or the poor girl would have 1000 names), she'll be sickened or mortified. When she's 25, she may be more philosophical about it. But who among us really wants to know details of our parents' sex lives. And think of practicality....we could have millions of people named Manhattan or Chicago! (And I should admit, my sister was called Sandy because she was born in San Diego. I hope it was because of the born part....but the timing could also be conception.)
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Not as bad, but pretentious and trendy are place names, with very few exceptions. Aspen, Cheyenne, Dallas, Montana, Trenton, Dakota, Houston, Britain/Brittany/Britney, Ireland, Chelsea, Indiana, Brooklyn, Cairo, Hiahleah, London, Galatia, Geneva, Asia, India, etc. Savannah, Virginia, and Georgia are just as familiar as women's names as place names, so I'll leave them alone.
Nickname or Substanceless names:
- Any shortenings of traditional names annoys me. Alex, Max, Harry, Jamie, Sam and Jenny etc. At least give the child a choice as to whether they want to be known by a nickname.
- I dislike the the
overall trend of giving girls "fluffy" names like Tiffany
or Sierra. You may think "oh that name Margaret is too serious
for a cute little girl" but that little girl will grow up and may
prefer not to be known as Dr. Bambi Smith. Give your daughter a cute
nickname if you will
but let her have the choice of being taken seriously as an adult. -
Any name that is really a diminutive or nickname of another name. The kid can always go by the nickname if you him the proper name, but if you stick him with the nickname he doesn't have the choice. Name him or her Richard not Rich/Rick/Ricky, Randall/Randolph not Rand/Randy, William not Bill/Billy/Will/Willie, Robert not Rob/Robby/Robbie/Bob/Bobby/Bert, Thomas not Tom/Thom, Zachary/Zachariah/Zacharias not Zac/Zack/Zach/Zax, Elizabeth not Beth/Bess/Betsy/Bette/Bethy/Betty/Liz/Liza/Lizzie (FYI, Lisa and Alyssa and all that group of names are also just diminutives of Elizabeth), Tamara not Tammy/Tammie, Abigail not Abby/Abbie/Gail/Gayle, Christine/Christina not Christy/Christie/Chris/Kris/Kristi/Kristy/Tina/Teena, Schuyler not Skylar/Skyler/Sky/Ky.
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Names that can't be taken seriously: Stacy, Tansy, Missy/Mitzi/Misti, Traci, Bitsy, Buffy, Tina, Tiffany, Tammy, Amber, Willy, Francis, Dickie, Buddy, Donny, Taffy, Candy, Krissie, Elmer, Panky, Amity, BeBe/CiCi/DeeDee/Gigi/LeeLee/Mimi (who, naturally, is called "pee pee" all through grade school), Petey, Bobby, Jimbo. Really, folks, you might buy a car from Jimbo, but you'd rather go to James to have your will drawn up. Bitsy might do your hair, but not your laparoscopy.
People who use the
name but loathe the nickname.
If you can't stand Matt, don't name your son Matthew. Ditto for Maddie/Madeline,
etc. Sooner or later someone will call your child the dreaded nickname,
and (I hate to break it to you) you only wind up sounding like a jerk
when you say, "His name is Michael, please don't call him Mike,"
or something equally snooty. Besides, your child might love the nickname
and allow its use, and then you'll be stuck hearing it forever.
Same sounding names for twins.
- Twin names- Day and Day Sparkle what was she thinking.
- It's hard enough
having your own identity when everyone lumps you as one of "the
twins." Having same-sounding names is so trite. That twins happen
to be a (minor) biological phenomenon is special enough without underscoring
it with
matching names and outfits. If I had twins, I'd pick two names that complimented each other but didn't sound deliberately paired. - Twins with names that rhyme or start with the same letter or are practically identical or are something like Romeo and Juliet. As a twin born Annaleigh with a brother AllanLee (later legally changed to Annalee and Griffon), I cannot stress enough how annoying this is. You have no idea. Kids called us both Lee to "save the trouble of telling you apart." (we're fraternal, obviously.) Twins are just like any other sibling set, and we hate being lumped together. I know you may think this is adorable, but we don't. And we have to live with your choice, so spare us, please.
- "Twin" names: As interesting being a twin may seem to the rest of the world, WE WANT OUR OWN IDENTITIES. Luckily, my twin and I are very fraternal and have different names - Emily and Lauren. However, it drives me crazy when twins have similar names. The first letters, sounds...these parents deserve the hectic life of raising infant twins. Also, naming your twins Anna and Allison only makes people assume that they have the same personality and are the typical twin stereotype. Aaaaaah! Also, referring to twins as "the twins," no matter who you are, is totally degrading. I do not refer to you as the moron, please show me the same respect.
Unisex Names
- Mannish names on girls: No, I do not hate the names Ashley or Lindsey. Those may have been originally intended for boys, but they got very little use with boys, so it isn't likely a female Ashley will run into many, if any, male Ashleys. And Sydney, while it's been used for men, has also been used for a LONG time for women too. I'm talking about recent crossovers like Ryan, Tyler and Blake. So many boys running around with these names that any girl is bound to be frustrated if she also has them.
- Boy's names for girls-contrary to popular belief, giving a girl a boy's name does not make her any more "powerful" than if she had a girl's name. In fact, this practice hurts boys because their name pool gets smaller as we use their names on girls. I advise you to NOT use any name that was originally intended for use on boys on a girl.
- Unisex names: The first thing people notice when they read a name is the gender of the person. Don't make them guess.
- I don't like names that can be used by either sex. To me, it should be obvious if you are a male or female by your name. ie. Chris, Pat, Sydney, Shawn.
Snobbish names: such as Brockington (although I like the name Brock) or Jackington, they sound like they come from rich snobbish families
Too many middle names: I used to think only royalty had more than one middle name, but now I see birth announcements for babies with two, three, even four of them. Pick one (at the very most, two) and leave it at that. Tacking Mc onto any random name to make it "Irish." Mackenzie is one thing, that is an actual name. But McKatie, McShay, McCaydence? I don't think so. Just looks dumb.
Giving lily-white children names like Cherokee, Cheyenne, Lakota. Honestly, would you call your kid French, or Greek? Many of these parents later claim "We're part Cherokee" as an excuse. Well hello, everybody seems to want to claim they are "part" Cherokee (never seem to be part any other tribe.) But 1. ost don't know a thing about their genealogy and 2. if you really are Cherokee, you just are, you don't call yourself part or half or anything. I am Cherokee, and I am considered and refer to myself as such even though my father was white. You may call me half-Cherokee, but there really isn't any such thing within the Cherokee culture.
Sissy names on boys: Not that there's anything inherently wrong with a "sensitive" boy (as long as sensitive here doesn't mean just whiny and high-strung) but a boy, or worse, a grown man named Sky, Sierra or Winter just doesn't give off a very flattering impression.
Presidents' names: Kennedy, Carter, Madison, Jackson (a name I especially loathe) Reagan, Tyler, taylor... and the rest. Just don't do it. Again. Please.
Cutesy-poo names: From what I've seen, the people that name their kids Miracle, Heavenly, Angel, Trinity, and the like tend to be the sort of people that don't really put much thought into having kids at all, they just squirt one out every year or so and let them run wild after that. Not exactly the type who really treat their kids as Miracles or Angels.
Spacey names: Luna Rose, patchouli Rain, Jasmine Butterfly, Wolf Blaze, Sage Mountain. Only one question: what were these parents smoking?
Unpronounceable Celtic names: There are so many nice Anglicized versions of Irish or Scottish or Welsh names, why stick the kid with something that only a Celtic scholar could pronounce?
hyphenated names: very, very annoying
Hyphenated names or names with two capitals (examples- Lily-Grace or JoAnn) - How do these people write their initials? Are LeAnn Rimes' initials L. R. or L.A.R.? I can't even write this description without getting confused!
Names mindlessly taken from popular culture: Anybody meeting a Galadriel or an Anakin for the first time will have no trouble knowing the parents' main interests. Naming after fictional character is just weird in general, kind of like naming after an imaginary friend, but when that character is a hobbit or a spaceman, that makes it doubly weird.
I dislike people naming their babies after people they don't like, no matter how nice the name may be. I know one girl who named her baby after a family member she thought was mean because her boyfriend made her do it. She just could not change his mind. I know of another woman whose husband named their baby after his ex-girlfriend. (I must say, NOT flattering to his wife.) Again, his wife could not change his mind. If you don't like the person you are planning to name the child after, don't do it, period. IMO it's wrong and cruel and will make the child feel hurt.
Season names: I like them but they are starting to be overused. My middle name is Summer.. it used to seem special to me (and it was a somewhat more original choice by my parents since I was born in the winter), but now it seems so common that I am starting to like it less.
Summer/ Autumn/ Rain/ Sky/ Stormi/ every other “nature” name- First off, it reminds me of a hippie. Second, why in heaven’s name would you name your child “Stormi?” Third, it lost its charm… oh yeah, it never had any.
I dislike any name that is derived from or commonly used as a noun. This goes for Destiny/Destinee, Delite/Deelight, Aria, Archer, Hunter, Fisher/Fischer, Taylor, Lace, Lady, Faith, Hope, Grace, Glory, Joy, Bliss, Felicity, Peace, Charisma, Charity, Melody, Harmony, Lyric, Champagne, Chardonnay, Cointreau, Courvoisier, Cristal, Brandy, Cinnamon, Peach(es), Brie, Taffy, Candie/Kandi/Candy/Khandi, Breeze, Mercedes, Portia/Porsche, Lexus, Hall, Saffron, Sage, Juniper, Willow, Angel, Rain/Rainbow, Sunshine, Midnight, Autumn, Winter, Summer, Karma, Dharma, Salvation, Concepcion, Devotion, Star, Heaven, Ocean, Lake, Heather, Jasmine, Blossom, Cricket, Hart, Fawn, Chevelle, Jewel/Jewelle, Crystal, Sapphire, Stone, Ruby, Jade, Amber, Ebony, Silver, Gold, John, Peter, Johnson, Christian, Amnesty, etc.
While we're on the subject, adjectives aren't any better than nouns. Misty/Misti might as well be Foggy or Drizzly. Poor Stormy got teased for years about having "thunder thighs." Rocky will have a hard row to hoe. Dusty and Rusty sound like they'll be ignored. Sissy/Cissy is just plain mean to name your child. Happy won't be.
Any name more commonly used for dogs than humans: Max, Butch, Sam, Bleu/Blue, et al.
Any name already used by more than 10 million people in the history of the world: Mary, you're done. Joseph, outta there. John, no more. David, pick a new one. Sarah, come back in 50 years.
Any name that looks like a normal name but whose owner insists on an odd pronunciation. I work with a Joel who insists it's "Jo-elle." If you're American and you want your son to be called Ian, don't spell it Jan.
Parents often say: "I want a name that has no nicknames." Sorry, there is no such thing! One mother chose the name Amy for her daughter because she thought it had no nicknames. I have found at least a dozen nicknames for Amy in use.
Just about ANY name that ends in ARA(H), including my own, Sarah. Tara, Kara, and Sarah were names of people at school who gave me heck all year!
Titles like Lord, King, Prince, Queen, and Princess now being used as names. These are titles, not names. They were once titles that had to be earned at one time, but now it seems like there are a dozen little Lords, Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes running around. Those names sound trashy IMHO, and the tyke will probably not live up to it. My advice? Name the kid something normal, then call him "my little lord" or her "my princess" as a nickname. But at least it won't be their legal name.
Any first name and middle name that would add up to the nickname of "BJ" - Come on, do you want to torture the poor kid? You wouldn't believe what kids come up with.
Brian John, Brent
James, or any other names with these initials: Don't parents realize
that they'll be called B.J.? I actually know someone with this name (and,
trust me, his last name makes it even worse!), and all I can ever think
it, "How could your parents be so cruel? It's worse than the name
Dick.
Biblical Names. Most of these seem to be named merely because they are in the Bible. But many horrible things happen by, and to people in the Bible. Paul is the most openly misogynistic person around. Abraham was ready to murder his son Isaac for God's sake (literally). Isaac was almost murdered. Joseph and Benjamin were sorely used by their brothers. Mary.....well.....look. Zeus had sex with 100's of mortal women. If you take the Christian rose colored glasses off....then Mary is just someone God 'chose', just like Zeus did. As a woman, I feel we're all honored when we give birth to children, but I'm grateful my children's father is a man, not a deity.
"Tragic Names": I dislike any tragic name. Why name your child after Hamlet, Ophelia, Romeo and Juliet, or Guinevere and Lancelot? This seems almost hoping that their lives will be disastrous!
I also find it corny and silly when the whole family has names that start with the same letter. I knew a family once where everyone's (and I mean EVERYONE, grandma & grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, third cousins twice removed, etc.) name started with "J"... there was Janet, Jake, Jeremy, Jason, Jeffrey, Johnathon, Jackie, Joseph, and on and on.... even the guy I knew from that family married a girl named Jennifer! Way too overboard!
Initial Names: AJ, DJ, CJ etc. Sounds very immature and trashy. It's sounds okay for a little boy but as he grows up it doesnt work.
I dislike the trend of naming girls virtue-esque names (Faith, Hope, Grace, Joy, Justice, etc.) because the people that have these names always seem to be the antithesis of what the names represent!
Any names that are made up and end with "sha" or "a" to sound like a real name. For example, Trinnika, Mariesha, Shakayla, Mateesha, Shayneequa. You can practically spell them differently every time.
Pseudo-African names: Not to be a racist jerk, but so many black people who wouldn't know Africa if it fell into their laps think they're being "African" when they give names like Torquisha or Key-Shawn. I doubt seriously if you could ever find a Key-Shawn or a Torquisha in an actual African country. Addendum: sticking La, De, Ma or Ke onto the beginning or Shawn, Eesha or Ika onto the end does NOT an African name make.
NameNerds
butt-in comment: I
don't think that the appeal of popular African American names is that
the name givers think they sound "African." African-American
names are often created around sounds and syllables that are popular at
the time (i.e., African American girls my age have a lot of La- names,
like Lakeisha, Ladonna, LaTisha, LaShonda etc. Today's little girls are
more likely to have Ja- or Ka- names like Jakayla, Kameisha, etc.). They
are creative, and often unique (made up by the parent, rather than picked
out of a book). African-American names are often a symbol of pride and
culture for African Americans. It's kind of ironic that on a site devoted
to "Unique, Unusual, and Creative" names, some of the most creative
naming practices out there are widely considered "tacky" by
many white folks. Personally, I'd rather be named Shanikqua than be another
Jennifer, but that's just my 2 cents.
names that should stay in romance novels, like stone, ridge, fabio, Bo or Hart. You expect someone with those names to be bare chested, have a cleft in their chin and head of long, flowing hair.
Adding -lee and -lyn to the ends of names. Ashlyn. Kimberlyn. Kendallyn. Amberlee. Kateleigh. They just totally sound made up and lame. Adding -lee, -leigh, -ly to a name just makes it look like an adverb. So, how exactly do you do something "Amberly"? What next? Gingerleigh? Carefullee?
Apostrophes. Totally unnecessary and superfluous. Looks complicated when written out and I get angry just looking at a name with an apostrophe.
Double consonants where there should not be- I went to school with a Nattalie. I love the name Natalie and even the French Nathalie. But anything with double consonants where there should not be makes it look like an adverb like "carefully" or something.
"K" names-
- I dislike these types of names..........Kyla, Kiana, Kalia,Kallie, Kaitlyn, Kayla, Karlie.......etc. I dislike cutesy kindergarten names.
- Some of these are all right, such as Kassandra instead of the C spelling. But most names in Greek ( as C/Kassandra is) were originally spelled with a K in place of a C. Those are fine. It's when you take a name like Carmen and spell it Karmen that it looks weird and like the person can't spell. Does anyone want people to think they are illiterate? Of course not. But when names such as those are used people WILL think you can't spell. Maybe not everyone, but some people.
McAnnything.....
- They all sound like a McDonalds order "Yes, I'd like a McKenzie Value Meal, Supersized"
- I also don't like Mc and Mac names for girls because they mean son of, in Ireland and Scotland.
Monica/Bill/Hillary/Ken/Linda - these names are forever tainted and I can't imagine torturing a kid with any of them
Names that end in "i".
- Seems like at some point people needed a change so they took all the classic pretty names that end in "y" and changed them to an "i" or "ie" and decided this captured the same effect. WRONG.
- Names that should be spelled with an -ie that are just spelled with an I- I have a friend whose name is Stephani spelled like that and it just looks wrong. Stephanie I can picture as an adult, but Stephani looks like how a teenager would spell their name. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I like names that age well.
- Anything where people take off the 'y' and add 'i' - I'm not too keen on names that sound too trendy and modern.
The opposite of Names ending in "i": I dislike it when people misspell my name... Vicki is a very common spelling and a fairly common name, how hard is it to spell it correctly? I've had it spelled Vickie, Vicky, and even Vickee. Another Vicki and I decided in school that since no one could spell our names correctly, we would give them a reason to misspell it! I dropped the "c" and added a "k"; Vikki. My friend always had her name spelled Vicky so she switched the "i" and the "y", Vycki. Of course, I now have to deal with Victoria being spelled Viktoria... oh well... :-)
Car names (Mercedes, Porsche, etc) Where does it end? "Hi, my name is Yugo?"
I totally dislike old aged names that are boring, such as: Mary, Eugene, Marian, Eula, Beulah, Nola, Paul, Odis, Nellie...you know? Old Ladyish sounding names.
DISCLAIMER: These are USER SUBMITTED ideas. they DO NOT necessarily reflect the ideas of the website. If you disagree with anything written here, DO NOT EMAIL ME ABOUT IT!