Worst Baby Names

WhatawagSBNy

sarahufl said:

I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.

Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.

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Why some people think there MUST be some longer version, I don't understand. When someone introduces himself by saying, Hi, my name is Chris there is always a possibility that he knows his own name and it actually is Chris.

The teachers in the very small schools I attended for my first 8 years were good at general teaching, no question. But they behaved like idiots about names.
My oldest brothers used to get this over and over.
Starting with K-1, they would tell kids to print their names, and Zak would write Zak, and they would say no dear, I mean is it Zachariah or Zachary ?
And he would say , I know my name and it is Zak. It is not an English name, just Zak Z-A-K.
And they would say, but what is your full Christian name, and he would say, since I am not Christian I don't have one. Just Zak. And two teachers sent him to the principal's office for talking back to the teacher, which they called by parents about at home.

And guess what my parents said?

WhatawagSBNy

snarkymaid said:

maeday2 said:

snarkymaid said:

I'm also a Kathryn... I've been called everything under the sun. ...Cut...

YES. 

People think I'm irrational over this, but it's not my name damnit! 

I'm Katherine and I still get Kathy. There is no "y" to be seen in my name. I don't get it.

It's not irrational at all. I totally get it. It's a respect thing for me. That is not my name. Please call me by my name. I call you by yours. 

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EXACTLY.

WhatawagSBNy

@bethsmiles says: I'm pretty sure Liam is totally a name on it's own. I've literally never heard it as a nickname for William.

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Liam by itself is an old Celtic name, not uncommon in Denmark, Cornwall, Isle of Man, and Scotland, though most people associate it with Ireland where it can be just LIAM or a shortened version of William.

WhatawagSBNy

lolo883 said:

bethsmiles said:

charcoalandblush said:

Wow this thread got long....

A few more/comments on stuff other people posted/followup

I also hate -leigh instead of -ly. I went to school with a girl named Ashleigh who we all hated and behind her back we all called her "Ash-LAY" like immature third graders (this was literally in grad school).

I'm on the opposite side as some people re: nicknames. I hate hate HATE when NICKNAMES are used as given names. My cousin named her son Liam. Liam is not a name. William is a name, for which Liam is a nickname. That is the entire point of nicknames.

I also went to middle school with a girl named Unique. Literally.

Also, a girl from college who I cannot stand. She embodies all of the negative stereotypes about southern sororities - super rich and pretentious, overly concerned about her appearance, always decked out on Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rodgers, very vaguely racist, etc. She named her daughter Ellora. I figured it wasn't a real name and googled it. For SO long I was tempted to comment on one of her posts about the baby "That's awesome, I didn't know you and your husband were such huge Star Trek fans!"

I'm pretty sure Liam is totally a name on it's own. I've literally never heard it as a nickname for William.

Nope, she's right. http://www.behindthename.com/name/liam

Liam as a free-standing name only goes back to the 1970's.

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It may not have been common in US until the 1970, but it is found in old Danish literature, and inscribed in Celtic things preceding some Teutonic invasions of Danemark. There is a monument in København to an old hero Liam somebody, and all that is left of a settlement in Greenland is a stone marker to the people who died, Liam someone who opened a mission where everyone disappeared. Centuries old, both of them. So immigrants have brought the name with them. I went to school with kids who were Liam Junior and Liam III. Here in NH . And their families were here since the 1700's.

I think that research was not very thorough and maybe looked only at popular names.

Kahlyla

charcoalandblush said:

Interesting. The only time I've ever seen it as a standalone name is my cousin's son.

According to Wikipedia, shortening "William" to "Liam" is an Irish thing. So based on my family/where I'm from, it makes sense that I've only seen it that way.

ETA: But my point doesn't just apply to "Liam" specifically, that was just an example. I am equally opposed to "Bill" or "Katie" or "Annie" or whatever.

Eh, this doesn't bother me if it's just what the parents prefer (although I'm also a name nerd and like to know where the names actually come from as well). We had "Katie" on our list for a girl - we had no interest in "Katherine" but we genuinely loved the sound of Katie. We also knew that it was a bit cutesy but that it would still leave her at least three options - Katie, Kate, Kat, even Kitty if that's what she preferred to go by. Similarly, Annie still leaves the option of Anne/Ann. They're far better than some of the alternatives...

Oh yes, and Holden can suck it. I would seriously side-eye any parents who thought that character was worthy of naming their child after.

Fran1985

lolo883 said:

Fran nobody's saying people don't use lots of names as freestanding names, or that anybody isn't free to do that, just that at some point in time they originated as nicknames. For Liam, it became popular in the US in the 1970s, meaning it wasn't in the top 1000 names before then. 

Oh yeah, maybe Liam wasn't popular in the US until the 1970s, but your first post said it didn't exist as a stand alone name until the 1970s, and it goes back much much further than that.

WhatawagSBNy

Yes, and Lyam which is pronounced the same as Liam comes from Old German when the Celts were dominant there, and means the same.

Places you get Lydia, you get Lyam. Places with Liida, Lida and Leda like the swan in Swan Lake, you get Liam.

I like to know where words come from too.

theartistformerlyknownas

Fran1985 said:

lolo883 said:

Fran nobody's saying people don't use lots of names as freestanding names, or that anybody isn't free to do that, just that at some point in time they originated as nicknames. For Liam, it became popular in the US in the 1970s, meaning it wasn't in the top 1000 names before then. 

Oh yeah, maybe Liam wasn't popular in the US until the 1970s, but your first post said it didn't exist as a stand alone name until the 1970s, and it goes back much much further than that.

Sorry, I mistyped.

FTR, I don't personally mind a lot of diminutives/derivatives given as full names, as long as people know not to put them together like they're wholly different names, like the Lisa Elizabeth I mentioned. And I HATE when people know they want to call a kid by a nickname, and then just smash -son or-lyn onto it to make a "full name." No. Stahp.

WinstonsGirl

Another FB post on my feed, a friend who liked someone else's post.  Happy birthday to my Ella Bella.  I'm really hoping this is just a kiddy nickname but several others have commented with the same name in their comments.  Please tell me her name isn't actually Ella Bella.  

WhatawagSBNy

WinstonsGirl said:

Another FB post on my feed, a friend who liked someone else's post.  Happy birthday to my Ella Bella.  I'm really hoping this is just a kiddy nickname but several others have commented with the same name in their comments.  Please tell me her name isn't actually Ella Bella.  

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Her parents were probably disappointed that
Cinderella was already taken.

Blergbot

My favorite nickname turned real name is Gretchen. In Germany you would never be named Gretchen, and would only be called that by your family if your full name is Margarete. "Chen" is a diminutive suffix in Germany. It was popularized in Goethe's play Faust, in which the female protagonist, Margarete, is nicknamed Gretchen (she's only 14, so it makes sense that she would go by a diminutive nickname). Yet, in the US, it's just a name on it's own. It's not even known to be a nickname for Margaret. Same goes for Gretl, though there aren't a lot of people named Gretl.

--You're welcome, from my inner German-geek.

theartistformerlyknownas

@Blergbot‌ that's rally cool!

princessbuttercup09

FI and I have picked out some boys' name for our future children. Ezekiel and Maximus are our favorites right now. There were several names I LOVED or FI loved but after having a child in my classroom with that name it was no longer an option. 

lurkergirl

If the reading teacher can't read your name, it's probably a bad name. And apostrophes in the middle are super unnecessary.

(Back to reading through this monster thread)

KytchynWitche

I know that the whole "full names when you just want the nickname" thing has been brought up a lot here and that the general consensus is that it sucks, but I wanna weigh in with some personal experience.

My parents named me Elizabeth (first) Claire (middle). I hate it. They called me Bithy, and I hated it. My grandparents still do, and I still hate it. When I started school (well, playgroup really) I insisted that everyone use my full first name, because Elizabeth was better than Bithy IMO. 

When I got to high school and had to pick the name for my badge (in addition to ugly-but-quite-comfortable uniforms, we all had name badges too so that the faculty didn't have to bother learning our names), I picked Liz because it was the easiest, and had that whole edgy "z" thing going on. I probably would have gone for Libby instead, if it hadn't sounded totally idiotic with my dad's surname.

Here's the thing though - I had options. I could have picked from any number of variations on Elizabeth, including the obvious Liz and Beth, and the perhaps less obvious Lisa, Elise, Libby and about a dozen other options. I could even have gone by Claire if I wanted to, which I didn't because 1) it sounded like an old lady name to kiddy-me and I didn't think trading one old lady name for another was worth the trouble, and 2) there were half a dozen Claires in and around my age group already in our very small community. 

If my parents had straight-up named me Bithy (or Bethy if you prefer that spelling) because that's what they wanted to call me, I think I would have done myself in as soon as I knew how.

If I ever have a son, I intend to name him Jonathan James. I might then call him Jon, or Jono, or Jonty, or Nathan, or Nate, or JJ. If I ever have a daughter, I intend to name her Caroline Rose, and I might call her Carrie, or Caro, or Lina. Or I might call either of them something completely unrelated, like Noodle. But they will have options without having to go through the drama of a legal name change (which is a major mission in SA, and the main reason I never changed mine) and not just be stuck with something that DH and I think is cute.

/rant

Oh, and Elisabeth with an "s" is fairly common in Afrikaans, where it (and Elizabeth) are pronounced with an "s" instead of a "z" and a "t" instead of a "th". I believe it comes from German, or possibly other European roots, but I could be mistaken. Can't remember who brought that up, but there you go!

FiancB

I know someone with a Tavery. Wut. 

OTOH my friend just had her baby last night and named her Faolyn, or Fae for short and I love that. 

No idea what to name our kids. Needs to go with a Polish last name without being so long the name is a goddamn novel. 

hellosweetie1015

@kytchenwitche (not quoting because it's long, hahah) Yep. I could be Catie, Cat, Lyn (even though it doesn't match my spelling, technically), or Caitlan. Not as versatile as Elizabeth, but certainly pretty versatile. I have, in fact, at one point or another, been called all of those. 

KytchynWitche

hellosweetie1015 said:

@kytchenwitche (not quoting because it's long, hahah) Yep. I could be Catie, Cat, Lyn (even though it doesn't match my spelling, technically), or Caitlan. Not as versatile as Elizabeth, but certainly pretty versatile. I have, in fact, at one point or another, been called all of those. 

I've been called so many things in my lifetime, including a handful of things not in any way related to my name. Seriously. Kathleen? Bonnie? How did they get there?! LOL

madamerwin

MagicInk said:

Fiona didn't even cracked the top 1000 until 1990. And it's still not in the top 100. No wonder I don't know another Fiona. I think I'm gonna name my kid Topanga and get irrationally angry when anyone suggests I got it from Boy Meets World.

I was almost Fiona. I'm the youngest of four girls, and all of our names are 3 syllables and end in "a". And no one can spell any of them correctly. I like my name now, but I wasn't a huge fan of it as a kid - especially when the allergy medicine came out when I was in middle school... On top of that, my last name rhymes with a common last name, but is spelled differently. Even if I spell it out slowly, NO one spells it correctly.

I am a huge fan of old names, like Helen, Jane, and Beatrice. My FI wants to name our future son Harold (old family name), but I'm not sure how I feel about that one...

I agree with PPs that deliberately spelling a name in a non-logical manner is going to cause problems for your kid down the line. But the only specific name I really don't like is Bethany, because I knew a Bethany in 2nd grade who was really annoying. Funny how one person can ruin a name for you.

sarahufl

bethsmiles said:

charcoalandblush said:

Wow this thread got long....

A few more/comments on stuff other people posted/followup

I also hate -leigh instead of -ly. I went to school with a girl named Ashleigh who we all hated and behind her back we all called her "Ash-LAY" like immature third graders (this was literally in grad school).

I'm on the opposite side as some people re: nicknames. I hate hate HATE when NICKNAMES are used as given names. My cousin named her son Liam. Liam is not a name. William is a name, for which Liam is a nickname. That is the entire point of nicknames.

I also went to middle school with a girl named Unique. Literally.

Also, a girl from college who I cannot stand. She embodies all of the negative stereotypes about southern sororities - super rich and pretentious, overly concerned about her appearance, always decked out on Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rodgers, very vaguely racist, etc. She named her daughter Ellora. I figured it wasn't a real name and googled it. For SO long I was tempted to comment on one of her posts about the baby "That's awesome, I didn't know you and your husband were such huge Star Trek fans!"

I'm pretty sure Liam is totally a name on it's own. I've literally never heard it as a nickname for William.

Liam is ABSOLUTELY a name. And is short for....Liam....

sarahufl

charcoalandblush said:

lolo883 said:

charcoalandblush said:

Interesting. The only time I've ever seen it as a standalone name is my cousin's son.

According to Wikipedia, shortening "William" to "Liam" is an Irish thing. So based on my family/where I'm from, it makes sense that I've only seen it that way.

ETA: But my point doesn't just apply to "Liam" specifically, that was just an example. I am equally opposed to "Bill" or "Katie" or "Annie" or whatever.

Well, that's just because Liam is an Irish (nick)name... it's been co-opted but it's not like "only Irish people shorten William to Liam, but Liam is a regular name for other people." You're still right even if most people nowadays see it as a standalone name.

But lots of names do start like that... Jack didn't start out as its own name - it was originally a nickname for John. Actually a LOT of names started as nicknames for John. (Maybe cuz everyone was named John and they needed to tell people apart.)

See, to me, Jack still IS a nickname for John. I would never consider "Jack" its own name.

Jack is on our shortlist for boy names. I know several Jacks.

hellosweetie1015

KytchynWitche said:

hellosweetie1015 said:

@kytchenwitche (not quoting because it's long, hahah) Yep. I could be Catie, Cat, Lyn (even though it doesn't match my spelling, technically), or Caitlan. Not as versatile as Elizabeth, but certainly pretty versatile. I have, in fact, at one point or another, been called all of those. 

I've been called so many things in my lifetime, including a handful of things not in any way related to my name. Seriously. Kathleen? Bonnie? How did they get there?! LOL

Boxy box.

I was working at a McDonald's one summer where none - NONE - of the management called me by my name. I finally snapped at the lead manager and told her that my name WAS NOT CATHERINE, was NOT Katrina, was NOT Kathleen, and I would not answer to them.

She said I looked like a Catherine and continued to call me Catherine. I quit at the end of my shift. Make an effort to learn my damn name. I don't care if you manage me, or if you manage 100 people. If you expect me to work directly under you, you damn well better know my fucking name.

KytchynWitche

hellosweetie1015 said:

hellosweetie1015 said:

@kytchenwitche (not quoting because it's long, hahah) Yep. I could be Catie, Cat, Lyn (even though it doesn't match my spelling, technically), or Caitlan. Not as versatile as Elizabeth, but certainly pretty versatile. I have, in fact, at one point or another, been called all of those. 

I've been called so many things in my lifetime, including a handful of things not in any way related to my name. Seriously. Kathleen? Bonnie? How did they get there?! LOL

Boxy box. I was working at a McDonald's one summer where none - NONE - of the management called me by my name. I finally snapped at the lead manager and told her that my name WAS NOT CATHERINE, was NOT Katrina, was NOT Kathleen, and I would not answer to them. She said I looked like a Catherine and continued to call me Catherine. I quit at the end of my shift. Make an effort to learn my damn name. I don't care if you manage me, or if you manage 100 people. If you expect me to work directly under you, you damn well better know my fucking name.

That is just unbelievably rude of them.

Although, I did do a similar thing to a friend of mine's boyfriend once. She introduced us, and I immediately did not like him, he seemed like a jerk. So I purposefully called him "Ronnie" instead of Jason, for the duration of their relationship. And his relationship to our mutual best friend. And when he went back to first friend... Yeah. We were teenagers.