Baby names you hate

[blacksand]

I had to join this thread. I'm Lori Jane. Lori is a classic American name of the early 1960's. I was born in 1962. No problem, except for the spelling issues that I CONTINUE TO HAVE TO THIS DAY. It is such a PITA to have to spell my name to just about everyone unless I've written it down for them to see. Oh, and then there is the pronunciation of my name....it is Lori with an O....not an A...and I get really frustrated being called "Laurie" all of the time.

I remember this debate came up in a Linguistics class I took, and I still think it's funny. In my dialect, there is absolutely no difference in pronunciation between "Lori" and "Laurie." I imagine (correct me if I'm wrong) you would pronounce "Laurie" as LAH-ri? Do you differentiate between "Laura" and "Lara" in pronunciation? I do, but I learned that many people don't. It's interesting, because I always thought of Lori, Lora, Loren, etc. as just being inventive spellings of Laurie, Laura, and Lauren (and I must admit, they irked me because I am not a fan of inventive spellings), but I only recently learned that many people spell them differently to indicate a difference in pronounciation that I was previously unaware of. Dialects are funny like that. I find this stuff really interesting.

I'm big on acoustics, I guess. I don't like middle names that don't seem to fit with the first and last name. FI and his family have a lot of names that just don't flow at all. FI's middle name is Craig, which I don't hate, but it's very staccato. FI's last name is also a sharp, one-syllable word, so it's just not pleasing to my ear. FSIL has a first and middle name that just sound backwards. It would flow nicely if they were reversed, but no. My new nephew also has a middle name that seems out of sorts with his first and last name. FI wants our son (if we have one) to have the middle name Craig as well, so I guess I will have to learn to like it! Oh, well.

I'm big on language, if you couldn't tell, so name meanings are also important to me. I'd never give my child a name with a meaning I didn't like. I've seen quite a few babies named Corbin lately, for example, and I can't dissociate that name from its meaning, which is "crow". It's not a bad name, but I think of crows every time I hear it, so I could never use it. A name I actually love is Benjamin, but since I know it was a name traditionally used for the youngest son (and at least in French, "benjamin" actually means "youngest son"), I'd feel weird using it for anything other than my youngest son! FI loves it and wants to use it for our first son (if we have one), but I had to veto. I wouldn't be able to dissociate it from its history and meaning, so it would bother me. But I know most people have different priorities than I do when choosing a child's name, so I certainly don't begrudge others their own name choices!

 

[Puppmom]

Can someone clue me in on this Presidents' last names as girls first names? The only one I can think of is Madison.

 

[fieryred33143]

Can someone clue me in on this Presidents' last names as girls first names? The only one I can think of is Madison.

I've also seen Kennedy, Reagan, and Taylor.

 

[amc80]

[quote="blacksand|1310487421|2967313 In my dialect, there is absolutely no difference in pronunciation between "Lori" and "Laurie." I imagine (correct me if I'm wrong) you would pronounce "Laurie" as LAH-ri? Do you differentiate between "Laura" and "Lara" in pronunciation? [/quote]

I agree. Lori = Laurie but Laura doesn't equal Lara.

I have a friend named Laura. Her mom wanted her name to be Lara, but didn't know there was a difference in pronounciation. So even though her name is Laura, her family pronounces it Lara.

 

[amc80]

Can someone clue me in on this Presidents' last names as girls first names? The only one I can think of is Madison.

I have a friend doing this. Their list:

Girls
Reagan (who they already have)
Kennedy
Quincy (nn Quinn)
Madison

Boys
Carter
Jackson
Grant
Lincoln

They like Taylor for a girl but already have a niece with the name. She also like McKinley fora girl as well, but her husband doesn't.

 

[Lanie]

Then I'm going to continue this trend and name my daughter Eisenhower.

 

[amc80]

I remember a lady who called into Dr. Laura. The lady's mom was making negative comments about her (the caller's) new baby's name. The name was Montgomery. Dr. Laura started talking about how it was a perfectly fine name and how she needs to tell her mom to stop bashing it, etc. And then the caller referred to the baby as a she...that's right, she had named her baby girl Montgomery. Dr. Laura was like "um, don't you know that's a man's name?" The called had NO idea it wasn't a girl name. Um, hello!

 

[mayerling]

I don't know if anyone's mentioned the Beckhams in this thread, but don't you think their kids' names are ridiculous? Brooklyn, Cruz, and something else which I don't remember for the boys, and their new baby girl is named Harper Seven! As soon as I heard it, I thought of George Costanza on Seinfeld who wanted to name his child Seven

 

[packrat]

I dunno..some of the boy names I think sound cute for a girl and don't always sound "boyish" to me. Our neighbor across the street is named Lindsay. That to me is a girl name, and he's not. I had a lot of people harp on me that London is a boy name, and they were very insistent that the only London's are big boy linebacker football players from the South. To me, London is so massively feminine I could never imagine naming a boy that. Weird how that works.

 

[amc80]

I dunno..some of the boy names I think sound cute for a girl and don't always sound "boyish" to me. Our neighbor across the street is named Lindsay. That to me is a girl name, and he's not. I had a lot of people harp on me that London is a boy name, and they were very insistent that the only London's are big boy linebacker football players from the South. To me, London is so massively feminine I could never imagine naming a boy that. Weird how that works.

Agreed, London is a girl's name. You know what name also seems girly to me? Evan. I have to remind myself that it's a boy's name. Maybe because of Evan Rachel Wood or something? No idea. My friend's niece has identical twin boys named Evan and Arron (yeah, not Aaron). She was 16 when she had them so maybe that's to blame for the spelling.

 

[Lanie]

I'm from the south and I've never heard London for a boy! London sounds girly to me as well.

 

[sillyberry]

I'm from the south and I've never heard London for a boy! London sounds girly to me as well.

London Fletcher of the Washington Redskins. He's from Cleveland, Ohio, though... Cincy I count as Southern, but not Cleveland!

(just a brief interlude from someone without a baby!)

 

[akmiss]

Girls names like Madison, Lola, Bella.... Not that they sound bad but just lack originality.
I guess unisex, trendy, and overused names bug me too. My husband and I agreed that our baby names couldn't be on the top 100 but sadly most of the girls names we like are slowly creepy in....

 

[Puppmom]

Fiery, I was seriously running through past Presidents' names in my head and couldn't think of anything!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Here is a funny story about names and gender.

My son has long blond hair and a very pretty face. I think he looks like a boy, but people regularly think he is a girl.

One day we were out and he was wearing: Blue jeans, a green jacket, and a blue knit toque. BLUE BLUE BLUE. In fact with the hat you could hardly see his hair.

We were eating at an outside fish n' chips place and the woman next to us started a conversation. She said to us, regarding Hunter, "Oh, and what is your child's name?"

I replied "Hunter."

"Oh!" she said, "I have never met a girl named Hunter before! I know a boy named Hunter though."



She over looked so many cues that he was a boy -- the blue, his name for goodness sakes! -- and could not let go of the fact that she assumed he was a girl. So funny how strong gender ideas are.

 

[Octavia]

I seem to hate pretty much anything my husband likes, and vice versa. We're going to have a GREAT time when we're actually in the position of having to choose something...

I know some people here have chosen names on my "dislike" list (not the bizarre ones my DH has picked, either) so I'm not going to say what those are. There aren't very many names I really love but there are a lot I like just fine or am sort of indifferent to, and a few I hate mostly because of bad associations with people I've met with those names. I tend not to be a fan of most of the trendy names right now, though.

 

[AGBF]

A name I actually love is Benjamin, but since I know it was a name traditionally used for the youngest son (and at least in French, "benjamin" actually means "youngest son"), I'd feel weird using it for anything other than my youngest son! FI loves it and wants to use it for our first son (if we have one), but I had to veto. I wouldn't be able to dissociate it from its history and meaning, so it would bother me.

I, also, love language and I had never heard that "benjamin" meant "youngest son" in French although I try to speak French! I never associated the name Benjamin with French at all!

So I went and looked it up and got the definition below (which, as you can see, mentions that its origin is Hebrew and goes on to mention other things about the way the name was used, never mentioning that it meant, "youngest son" in French.) So, wondering if you were crazy, I went on to search "Benjamin" and "youngest son" and found many entries on how "benjamin" meant "youngest son" and "benjamine" meant "youngest daughter" in French and was given a sample of how the pronunciation sounded in French aurally! It explained that this was because, in the Bible, he was the twelfth and youngest son of Jacob. What an interesting name!

Deb/AGBF


Definition-I guess I mean etymology-is below:

"It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Benjamin is 'son of the right hand; son of the south; son of my old age'. Biblical: Benyamin was the 12th, youngest and most beloved son of the patriarch Jacob and Rachel, and was originally named Benoni. In the Middle Ages, it was often given to sons whose mothers had died in childbirth, though it has no such connotations today. Brought into use by the Puritans until the end of the 19th century. After several decades of disuse, came back to great popularity by the 1970s."

 

[blacksand]

Thanks Deb! Yes, you are right, it is a Hebrew name, not a French one, so the original name does not mean "youngest son" per se, but it was a name traditionally reserved for youngest sons because of its Biblical origins. As far as I know, it only has the actual meaning "youngest son" in French, but having lived in France, it sticks out in my mind. I LOVE the name, but if I were to use it for my son, I would have to somehow know that he was my last son, or it would just bother me. I know most people are not concerned about what their son's name means in French, so it isn't an issue for most people, but it would be for me. Perhaps my children will be world travelers one day! They will need names that travel well!

 

[jstarfireb]

I dunno..some of the boy names I think sound cute for a girl and don't always sound "boyish" to me. Our neighbor across the street is named Lindsay. That to me is a girl name, and he's not. I had a lot of people harp on me that London is a boy name, and they were very insistent that the only London's are big boy linebacker football players from the South. To me, London is so massively feminine I could never imagine naming a boy that. Weird how that works.

I definitely feel strong gender associations with some unisex names too, and they don't always align with popular opinion. I think this is based on knowing people with certain names. For example, Lindsay will always be a girl's name, and Daryl will always be a boy's name to me, because I've only known girls named Lindsay and boys named Daryl. By the way, Dreamer - I met a girl named Hunter once. She was definitely a girl.

I actually kinda like using typically male names for girls, provided that the middle name is more feminine-sounding. For example, I know women named Ryan and Kyle. It kind of keeps people guessing, you know? The problem is that it might make them targets for bullying in elementary school.

 

[packrat]

In my early twenties I wanted a girl named Hunter Melissa. And I liked Dylan for a girl too. I like the boy names for girls.

 

[AllieLuv83]

I teach so there are always names that make me go hmmmmm. I have a student at my school who is named Sincere middle name Lee. Sincere Lee. I hate the name Ryan by association. I hate super trendy names HATE. I love biblical names, and old fashioned names. Aaron, Benjamin, Jonah, Eli, etc. My son's name is Charles, we call him Charlie, sometimes for funsies we call him Chaz or Chuck. I call him "Little Chip".

If we have a girl we will call her Caroline and if we have a boy he will be Eli.

Pupp I love Nolan. One of my favorite students ever is Nolan .

I also hate names that sound like nicknames, there is no adult version for the name.

 

[Dreamer_D]

OK, so there are maybe a few girls named Hunter (the model Hunter Tylo comes to mind). But c'mon... it is a pretty masculine name for the most part. As our cousin says, the only name more masculine we could have picked is "Hockey Stick"

 

[jstarfireb]

OK, so there are maybe a few girls named Hunter (the model Hunter Tylo comes to mind). But c'mon... it is a pretty masculine name for the most part. As our cousin says, the only name more masculine we could have picked is "Hockey Stick"

Or Butch, like Butch Cassidy.

 

[mayerling]

Listen to this: My friend's son has a teacher whose name is Mr Walker. He just named his newborn son Luke Sky

 

[monarch64]

My mother had a vendetta against her MIL, and she made my middle name a name that she hated. I have had to live with that ever since finding it out when I was 18. It kind of makes me hate my mother and it kind of makes me never want to have kids. I'm happy for you all who are feeling out kids' names. Please keep in mind that names you give stick with someone for the rest of their life.

 

[steph72276]

I dunno..some of the boy names I think sound cute for a girl and don't always sound "boyish" to me. Our neighbor across the street is named Lindsay. That to me is a girl name, and he's not. I had a lot of people harp on me that London is a boy name, and they were very insistent that the only London's are big boy linebacker football players from the South. To me, London is so massively feminine I could never imagine naming a boy that. Weird how that works.

Agreed, London is a girl's name. You know what name also seems girly to me? Evan. I have to remind myself that it's a boy's name. Maybe because of Evan Rachel Wood or something? No idea. My friend's niece has identical twin boys named Evan and Arron (yeah, not Aaron). She was 16 when she had them so maybe that's to blame for the spelling.

Hmmm, never thought of Evan as girly, especially since it's been one of the most popular boy's names for a long time. It is also a Welch variation of John. But I love it for our little guy and several of our PS moms with VERY good taste have also chosen it for their precious boys

 

[LALove]

Hmm.. I don't think I hate any name... oh I take that back. On a baby forum I'm on, a gal said she knew a little girl named Vaginya. Come on! Poor kid.

I really love "old fashioned" names (Edward, Oliver, Caroline, Eleanor etc), and Hebrew-origin names (My DS is Jude and if our 2nd is a boy, he'll be Asher, or maybe Oliver). I also like a lot of Welsh names (Bran, Carys, Rhiannon, which is my name). I think I like many more names than I dislike, which made it easy for DH and I to agree on a name for our DS. I just kept offering up names I like until he FINALLY agreed to Jude (which was probably the 50th name I suggested!).

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I dunno..some of the boy names I think sound cute for a girl and don't always sound "boyish" to me. Our neighbor across the street is named Lindsay. That to me is a girl name, and he's not. I had a lot of people harp on me that London is a boy name, and they were very insistent that the only London's are big boy linebacker football players from the South. To me, London is so massively feminine I could never imagine naming a boy that. Weird how that works.

I definitely feel strong gender associations with some unisex names too, and they don't always align with popular opinion. I think this is based on knowing people with certain names. For example, Lindsay will always be a girl's name, and Daryl will always be a boy's name to me, because I've only known girls named Lindsay and boys named Daryl. By the way, Dreamer - I met a girl named Hunter once. She was definitely a girl.

I actually kinda like using typically male names for girls, provided that the middle name is more feminine-sounding. For example, I know women named Ryan and Kyle. It kind of keeps people guessing, you know? The problem is that it might make them targets for bullying in elementary school.

Funny! A lot of common female first names were originally male names... Lauren, Ashley, Kelly, and Lindsay were all originally mens names that eventually got taken over by the girls. Maybe someday a girl named Kevin or Hunter or Daryl won't seem so weird.

 

[zoebartlett]

I dunno..some of the boy names I think sound cute for a girl and don't always sound "boyish" to me. Our neighbor across the street is named Lindsay. That to me is a girl name, and he's not. I had a lot of people harp on me that London is a boy name, and they were very insistent that the only London's are big boy linebacker football players from the South. To me, London is so massively feminine I could never imagine naming a boy that. Weird how that works.

I definitely feel strong gender associations with some unisex names too, and they don't always align with popular opinion. I think this is based on knowing people with certain names. For example, Lindsay will always be a girl's name, and Daryl will always be a boy's name to me, because I've only known girls named Lindsay and boys named Daryl. By the way, Dreamer - I met a girl named Hunter once. She was definitely a girl.

I actually kinda like using typically male names for girls, provided that the middle name is more feminine-sounding. For example, I know women named Ryan and Kyle. It kind of keeps people guessing, you know? The problem is that it might make them targets for bullying in elementary school.

Funny! A lot of common female first names were originally male names... Lauren, Ashley, Kelly, and Lindsay were all originally mens names that eventually got taken over by the girls. Maybe someday a girl named Kevin or Hunter or Daryl won't seem so weird.

Funny you mention the name Kevin, OU. My mom used to be a teacher, and she once had a female student named Kevyn. She loved it and always kept it in the back of her mind. When my mom was pregnant with my sister (this was 32 years ago), she really, really wanted to name her Kevyn. My dad talked her out of it, luckily. They named my sister something else, which, although a girl's name I've seen as a boy's name occasionally.

 

[FrekeChild]

My aunt's name is Kevin. It gets confusing sometimes because my brother's name is also Kevin.