Worst Baby Names

BrandNewJ

esstee33 said:

SmileDamnit said:

amelisha said:

doeydo said:

I guess I dislike super common names; there would always seem to be at least two Sarahs, Ashleys, and Emilys per class when I was a kid and I guess I don't get why anyone would want to name their kid a name that is so so common.  Also:

But now instead of Sarah/Ashley/Emily (my classmates were Heather/Jessica/Jennifer), a few years ago they were all Madison and McKenzie and now they're all Olivia/Charlotte/Lucy. Girls' names are super susceptible to trends, so what was common in your childhood isn't common at all for kids now. My name, for example, was in the top ten for years when I was little and now it's barely used at all. Or in my mom's generation, everyone was Sandy and Susan and Brenda and those are very uncommon now.

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

This is a good site to look at name trends. You can look up by year, decade, state, etc.

Aw hell yes, top 5 of 1982!!!!

Funny story true story, there were like 12 or 13 Sarahs in the sorority I pledged. 

I also dislike super common names. I'm a "Sarah". My first name is Jessica which is the most common girl name of the year I was born. My middle name is the second most popular girl name of the year I born. When I pledged, there were 3 other girls with the exact same first and middle name. 80s baby. 

hellohkb

I dislike odd spellings... I find it interesting that I hate alternative spellings because growing up I experimented with different spellings of my own name. I love the name Amy/Aimee but I worry that if I use Aimee (the French version) people will think I'm trying to be "yoonique". I would just go with Amy.

I also have a strange hatred for the names Dustin and Logan. I don't know why, I just really truly dislike them. 

WinstonsGirl

I had a friend of a friend pop up on FB.  He's got a couple of kids, Zephyra Eirene and Solomon Euthos, which just blew my mind.  I think he's a Minister or similar, but still, I feel bad for those kids when they get to junior high.  

My hated is currently for Isaiah, partially cos I can never spell it and partially cos there is a shit kid Isaiah in my class at the moment.  And most J names for boys (Jesse, Jeff, Jeremy).  Most of them are shit kids in my experience.  James' have been ok kids though though.  Most of the names I hate are already mentioned, or kids who are pissing me off cos they're acting like idiots

mrsdee15

WinstonsGirl said:

I had a friend of a friend pop up on FB.  He's got a couple of kids, Zephyra Eirene and Solomon Euthos, which just blew my mind.  I think he's a Minister or similar, but still, I feel bad for those kids when they get to junior high.  

My hated is currently for Isaiah, partially cos I can never spell it and partially cos there is a shit kid Isaiah in my class at the moment.  And most J names for boys (Jesse, Jeff, Jeremy).  Most of them are shit kids in my experience.  James' have been ok kids though though.  Most of the names I hate are already mentioned, or kids who are pissing me off cos they're acting like idiots

I have an irrational things against Melissas because the ones I've met in recent memory have all been horrible to me.  

natswild

I've posted about it before, but my most disliked name ever is Damyyn (pronounce Dam-eye-in -- ridiculous! and it took his mom and ENTIRE year to decide how she wanted to pronounce it, JFC)
He goes by Day now, hopefully he won't get teased nearly as much.

hellohkb

mrsdee15 said:

WinstonsGirl said:

I had a friend of a friend pop up on FB.  He's got a couple of kids, Zephyra Eirene and Solomon Euthos, which just blew my mind.  I think he's a Minister or similar, but still, I feel bad for those kids when they get to junior high.  

My hated is currently for Isaiah, partially cos I can never spell it and partially cos there is a shit kid Isaiah in my class at the moment.  And most J names for boys (Jesse, Jeff, Jeremy).  Most of them are shit kids in my experience.  James' have been ok kids though though.  Most of the names I hate are already mentioned, or kids who are pissing me off cos they're acting like idiots

I have an irrational things against Melissas because the ones I've met in recent memory have all been horrible to me.  

Now thay I think about it, I dislike the names Amanda and Dana because of people I've met with those names. They've all been mean to me or just overly annoying.

mrsdee15

hellohkb said:

WinstonsGirl said:

I had a friend of a friend pop up on FB.  He's got a couple of kids, Zephyra Eirene and Solomon Euthos, which just blew my mind.  I think he's a Minister or similar, but still, I feel bad for those kids when they get to junior high.  

My hated is currently for Isaiah, partially cos I can never spell it and partially cos there is a shit kid Isaiah in my class at the moment.  And most J names for boys (Jesse, Jeff, Jeremy).  Most of them are shit kids in my experience.  James' have been ok kids though though.  Most of the names I hate are already mentioned, or kids who are pissing me off cos they're acting like idiots

I have an irrational things against Melissas because the ones I've met in recent memory have all been horrible to me.  

Now thay I think about it, I dislike the names Amanda and Dana because of people I've met with those names. They've all been mean to me or just overly annoying.

Dana is absolutely one for me too.  Weird.  

jdluvr06

WinstonsGirl said:

I had a friend of a friend pop up on FB.  He's got a couple of kids, Zephyra Eirene and Solomon Euthos, which just blew my mind.  I think he's a Minister or similar, but still, I feel bad for those kids when they get to junior high.  

My hated is currently for Isaiah, partially cos I can never spell it and partially cos there is a shit kid Isaiah in my class at the moment.  And most J names for boys (Jesse, Jeff, Jeremy).  Most of them are shit kids in my experience.  James' have been ok kids though though.  Most of the names I hate are already mentioned, or kids who are pissing me off cos they're acting like idiots

I actually like the name Zephyra. I wouldn't use it for a child though. I would put it in my list of names I like but are to odd for kids that I use for pets. 

jenna8984

hellohkb said:

I dislike odd spellings.... I've met a baby girl named "Izzabella" and wondered what drugs the parents were taking when they decided on that spelling (apparently mom WAS on drugs). BM has a daughter that is Madeline but spelled Madilin. The spelling looks like Penicilin to me and I feel like such a shitty friend when I think about that. I find it interesting that I hate alternative spellings because growing up I experimented with different spellings of my own name. I love the name Amy/Aimee but I worry that if I use Aimee (the French version) people will think I'm trying to be "yoonique". I would just go with Amy.

YES! DH's family is French-Canadian so our last name is very French. He likes all the French spelled names like Marc & Luc but I won't let him because people here will just think we spelled it wrong. 

l9i

mrsdee15 said:

I don't care for super common names, and am upset that Aiden is so popular because I loved that name at like 16.  Growing up I knew (not exaggerating) eight Matthews and several Jennifers, so super popular/common names are a no.

Kreative spellings are the worst to me - Madyson, Jaxxon, whatever.  Congratulations, people will forever misspell your kid's name and it's probably going to be pretty annoying for them.  FI also has a long Polish -ski name, so any additional difficulty for the kid just seems cruel.

I really dislike Rider/Ryder, or most names that are also just a word in the English language, but that's for a different reason:  My last name, which is of German derivation, is also a noun in English.  Fully grown adults STILL poke fun at it.  So, this is a PSA that if you give a kid a name that is also a word, there is a good possibility others will make comments on it for a really long time.  Just think of all the possibilities with Ryder.

Also, my three initials likewise spell a noun (I have a vowel middle name).  I can't get things monogrammed because it would just look like a random word.  We use our initials at work too, so I get called by this word at work.  FI and I are trying to avoid vowel middle names because of the potential word factor.  Just something to think about. 

I'm actually wondering if we have the same last name.  I will forever need to scrutinize any child names futher because of my last name.

Names DH and I like fall more to the traditional but not uber common.  I also don't want something too cutesy for when they are older.  It actually sucks because we both LOVE the name Emma.  Like growing up I wanted to change my name to Emma, so much love.  With the fact that now it's top 5 for baby names it's sadly not on my list any longer. 

I all second all Aiden type names and "creative spellings".

Fran1985

I loved looking at the name by year thing, I did it for 50 years. My name peaked in 83 but isn't that popular now. I saw Jacob is the number one boy name for like the last 15 years in a row. Wouldn't you choose not to name your kid that if it was becoming that popular?? There is going to be a million of them 

maeday2

My name is Katherine, and although family calls me Katie or Kate on occasion, I go by Katherine. There was not a single class throughout school where I wasn't asked if I go by something different. NO, I go by my freaking name. 

Katherine is really traditional, so I wouldn't want to slap a trendy name on my child and have them deal with even more confusion.

My first and middle names are both family names. I like the lineage. I plan to pass on my middle name if I have a daughter. I have a more "grown up" name, and didn't like it until I was older. Hopefully my kids will forgive me once they get older, because they're getting old family names too. 

redheadbride15

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

Oh yeah, and giving all your kids names that sound alike is also kind of lame. My FI and his 3 siblings all have names that start with "W" and he HATES it.

My niece is Lillian, named after my grandmother. My sister had planned that name for her daughter since we were kids. She always used to go by Lily, but this has become one of the most popular girls names recently and my niece was sick of being one of about 5 Lilys in her 2nd grade classroom, so she decided she would only go by Lillian. And she's adamant about it! She either yells at you or refuses to respond if you address her as Lily. Haha!

I think there's a sweet spot in terms of name popularity. Something that generally makes it into the top 100 most popular names but is never in the top 10...

dolewhipper

jdluvr06 said:

WinstonsGirl said:

I had a friend of a friend pop up on FB.  He's got a couple of kids, Zephyra Eirene and Solomon Euthos, which just blew my mind.  I think he's a Minister or similar, but still, I feel bad for those kids when they get to junior high.  

My hated is currently for Isaiah, partially cos I can never spell it and partially cos there is a shit kid Isaiah in my class at the moment.  And most J names for boys (Jesse, Jeff, Jeremy).  Most of them are shit kids in my experience.  James' have been ok kids though though.  Most of the names I hate are already mentioned, or kids who are pissing me off cos they're acting like idiots

I actually like the name Zephyra. I wouldn't use it for a child though. I would put it in my list of names I like but are to odd for kids that I use for pets. 

If I heard the name Zephra and was a teenager, my instant teenage thought would be, "Oh yea? Did you get conceived on a Zephra-hill?" Sorry if I just burst that bubble for you.

I liked being the only Shannon. It makes me sad to hear that its becoming more popular, though. 

Other than the y's, x's in the names, and -ydn's, I'd have to say the name Ava sticks out. Too many girls have it. 

I like classic names like Elizabeth, Marilyn, Margaret, Shirley, Pauline/Paulina and Evelyn for girls, James, Luis, Robert, Daniel, Jeffrey for boys.

VulgarGirl

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.

maeday2

redheadbride15 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

What? 

I have friends from the backgrounds you described and they have perfectly "normal" names. That's a really harsh generalization. 

Educated or not, some people may just prefer Ashlee to Ashley.

ashley8918

redheadbride15 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

..

Seriously? And you know this, how exactly? You can look at a person and instantly judge their educational background and determine their drug use?

Judging HARD.

VulgarGirl

redheadbride15 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

If you hate to say something, just don't say it.

melbenso

I once had a client whose child was named Miracle - pronounced Meer-i-clee.  That one drove me crazy.

And I've already mentioned my friend's daughter Trixie Danger. At least her legal name is Beatrix and if she decides to be a scientist, she doesn't have to sound like she's a porn star.

I also have friends who named their daughter Maxwelle.  I used to think it was really odd (she's like 12 now), but it totally suits her.

FutureMrsN3312

I loved this tread by the way...

H and I don't know what we want to name this kid but we certainly know what we DON'T want to name it.

It's a lot of pressure and so far we haven't agreed on anything...

theartistformerlyknownas

I hate first names taken from last names. Don't care how you spell it, Jackson, Madison, Riley, Parker, Payton - ALL LAST NAMES. STOP IT. Extra hate if it's a girl's name ending in -son. And anytime a letter is replaced or added for exxtrah yuneequness.

Sorry but Greyton falls in the last name rule. Don't care if it's a first, middle, beach... I don't like it because it's a last name.

dolewhipper

Because of this thread I have found out one of my good friends' H wants to name their future child Jackson.

ALL THE NO'S.

And the main reason is because he just wants to call him Jack! So name him Jack, m-f'er!

plainjane0415

bethsmiles said:

lavenderfields13 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm on board with hating super common names- anything in the top 10. Right now it's Emma, Sophia, Olivia, Madison and those all make me want to barf. I guess it's not the name itself, just the fact that it's SOO popular. I swear to God, I know 9 Emmas under the age of 4. 

I can't stand names that are "southern". Sorry if that's offensive to anyone but I know some babies named Sawyer and Paisley and I just hate it because it screams country music awards and mason jars! 

I always hated juniors- the kid should get his own fucking identity. 

SIB

THIS! I hate juniors too for this same reason. Out of ALL the names in the world why do you have to name your kid the same name as you. It especially irritates me when women do it- FI's grandmother's name was Margaret and she named her daughter Margaret. I have a Christine in my family who named her daughter Kristine. I don't get it.

Also, FI's grandmother went by her middle name. I'm always baffled when I find out people's real names because so many go by their middle and no one even knows it's not their first name.

I also like to look up the meaning of names. So if I like a baby name that I want to consider for the future I look up the meaning and if I don't like it it's off the "list". I really like the name Shane but it's just a variation of FI's name so it's too similar and since I want the name to mean something different and I hate juniors I won't consider it.

My grandmother, my aunt, and I all have the same name (first and middle). I can assure you we all still have our own identities. The logic of if their a junior/same last name they don't have their own identity is ridiculous. My name doesn't define my identity.

Also, why the hell is it worse when women do it?

I'm with you on this @bethsmiles . I think it's really cool.  We don't have the same first and middle, but my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mom, and I all have the same middle name.  So you can bet your ass that if I have a daughter someday her middle name is going to be the same middle name that I have, and my mom has, and my granmother, and my great grandmother.  I think it's really neat to carry down a name generation to generation. I don't see why that prohibits you from having an identity.

stefuhknee

My niece is named Neveah. I find it hilarious that there's always a ton of hate on various boards for the name.  What's also funny is that at my sister's baby shower we had a game where she had her top four baby girl names on a poster board and guests voted for their favorite name, Nevaeh did not win but I guess she really loved it.

My SO and I struggled to agree on a name for our son. We didn't want something too trendy or too common or too cute. The pressure! He suggested we name our son Hurricane which is definitely fitting for the terrible 2's right now but luckily we agreed on Cameron.

cupcait927

plainjane0415 said:

bethsmiles said:

lavenderfields13 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm on board with hating super common names- anything in the top 10. Right now it's Emma, Sophia, Olivia, Madison and those all make me want to barf. I guess it's not the name itself, just the fact that it's SOO popular. I swear to God, I know 9 Emmas under the age of 4. 

I can't stand names that are "southern". Sorry if that's offensive to anyone but I know some babies named Sawyer and Paisley and I just hate it because it screams country music awards and mason jars! 

I always hated juniors- the kid should get his own fucking identity. 

SIB

THIS! I hate juniors too for this same reason. Out of ALL the names in the world why do you have to name your kid the same name as you. It especially irritates me when women do it- FI's grandmother's name was Margaret and she named her daughter Margaret. I have a Christine in my family who named her daughter Kristine. I don't get it.

Also, FI's grandmother went by her middle name. I'm always baffled when I find out people's real names because so many go by their middle and no one even knows it's not their first name.

I also like to look up the meaning of names. So if I like a baby name that I want to consider for the future I look up the meaning and if I don't like it it's off the "list". I really like the name Shane but it's just a variation of FI's name so it's too similar and since I want the name to mean something different and I hate juniors I won't consider it.

My grandmother, my aunt, and I all have the same name (first and middle). I can assure you we all still have our own identities. The logic of if their a junior/same last name they don't have their own identity is ridiculous. My name doesn't define my identity.

Also, why the hell is it worse when women do it?

I'm with you on this @bethsmiles . I think it's really cool.  We don't have the same first and middle, but my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mom, and I all have the same middle name.  So you can bet your ass that if I have a daughter someday her middle name is going to be the same middle name that I have, and my mom has, and my granmother, and my great grandmother.  I think it's really neat to carry down a name generation to generation. I don't see why that prohibits you from having an identity.

H's name is William and he's the 5th generation to share this name. They have a tradition where the first name is passed down and then that William will be given the middle name of his maternal grandfather, as a way to honor both sides of the family. H loves his name and loves the identity he's gotten because of his name. He doesn't feel like he's not his own person. H may break the tradition however and have a true junior, rather than giving our potential future child my dad's name for his middle name.  

ashley8918

maeday2 said:

redheadbride15 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

What? 

I have friends from the backgrounds you described and they have perfectly "normal" names. That's a really harsh generalization. 

Educated or not, some people may just prefer Ashlee to Ashley.

Now that shit a'int right.

But honestly, I'd love to hear how you came to this incredibly ignorant conclusion, @redheadbride15

beethery

redheadbride15 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

What in the ever-loving fuck are you talking about?

theartistformerlyknownas

dolewhipper said:

Because of this thread I have found out one of my good friends' H wants to name their future child Jackson.

ALL THE NO'S.

And the main reason is because he just wants to call him Jack! So name him Jack, m-f'er!

And that is exactly where that, and a lot of other stupid names, came from. "I want to use this nickname but baby needs a proper name! Let's slap another syllable on there."

jenna8984

ashley8918 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

..

Seriously? And you know this, how exactly? You can look at a person and instantly judge their educational background and determine their drug use? Judging HARD.

Yup. Also calling BS. My sister in law is a smart, educated nurse who has never taken a drug in her life, and she named her baby Jordynn. My friend who dropped out of high school and parties like a banchee named her daughter Dawn.

ashley8918

jenna8984 said:

ashley8918 said:

I hate to say this, but there is usually a direct correlation between the use of weird-ass spellings and the mother's educational and/or drug-using background...

..

Seriously? And you know this, how exactly? You can look at a person and instantly judge their educational background and determine their drug use? Judging HARD.

Yup. Also calling BS. My sister in law is a smart, educated nurse who has never taken a drug in her life, and she named her baby Jordynn. My friend who dropped out of high school and parties like a banchee named her daughter Dawn.

I almost named my kid Aydin. True Story. I ended up going with Ryan, luckily, but I was seriously considering it.

And I'll have you know that I am pretty damn educated, and am in no way an (illegal) drug user. I'm actually pretty fucking anti.