I’m not THAT picky because I like many, many names and all different types of names. I think I’m more open-minded about names than the average person, that being said…
I am just a little against (o.k. I’m pretty against) using very masculine names ([name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]David[/name_m], [name_m]Jacob[/name_m], [name_m]Richard[/name_m]) on girls. I’m o.k. with some name crossovers but I must admit that I eye still twitches whenever I hear that someone named their daughter [name_m]David[/name_m] [name_m]Alexander[/name_m](which is a dashing combo for a boy), I mean did they want a boy?
Names like abcde are not names, they are just ridiculous. Names like Luxx, Ahmiracle, Laquishria, Money, Younique, and others should not exist, they are not real names imo. Parents can name their kid whatever they want but seriously, some parents need to get their brains examined. I just don’t made-up, trashy names that don’t even sound real or are related to a good fictional character.
I dislike kre8ive spellings that are very extreme. Why spell your daughters name Caaeylliey when you can name her [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f] or [name_f]Kayleigh[/name_f] or something a bit less ridiculous or difficult.
On the other side of the spectrum, I don’t like it when people call a name that is real and even has a meaning and history and sounds fairly normal ridiculous. For some people a name like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is already rocking the boat, that seems so close-minded to me. I remember reading someone say that [name_m]Adler[/name_m]([name_m]German[/name_m] for eagle, and a real if uncommon name) was ridiculous, I mean, you don’t have to like it but it is a crazy name or anything like that. Another person said that [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is a crazy choice for a modern girl, seriously.
Another pet peeve is when people want to force their opinions on others. O.k. you don’t like [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] but please it is still a normal sounding name and popular for a reason, why do you constantly have to trash it and say that people should never choose it? Now, if someone is going to name their son Lamoniquia-[name_f]Lola[/name_f] then everyone should attempt to talk them out of it, for the child’s sake.Oh and when people are rude about their opinions, they are opinions, not fact.
Confession time : I prefer Vanellope/Venelope to [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] because I’m Hispanic and the first four letters of [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] is actually a certain male body part so you can see why I’d never choose it. I like the sound though ,and the character from Wreck-it-[name_m]Ralph[/name_m]. [name_m]How[/name_m] is [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] fine but Vanellope ridiculous? They sound nearly identical and I honestly think Vanellope looks better too. At least it sounds like a classic name. I’m not saying I like [name_f]Bloodrayne[/name_f](which is sort of cool but not good for a child imo) or [name_f]Katniss[/name_f] (and I read the Hunger Games, the name is cool but doesn’t fit a real person and has some teasing potential). There are some other names that I like but I’m afraid to say so because I’m probably going to get criticized, don’t worry I don’t like names like Buttrisha or Artaquesha or [name_m]Engelbert[/name_m] and Dorkish. I do like some strange but real names and names of characters in movies and books but they are usually more normal sounding.
Sooo I think those are my main pet peeves, what are yours? I do think that I’m not too picky, I like A LOT of names. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think you’re really picky? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have any confessions (name confessions, of course lol)?
I hate boy names on girls ([name_u]Aubrey[/name_u], [name_u]Dylan[/name_u], [name_m]Connor[/name_m]). Can’t stand that trend.
I don’t like creative spellings. Spelling “[name_f]Emily[/name_f]” like “[name_f]Emileigh[/name_f]” is not cute. It’s stupid.
I believe that names should sound professional on an adult. Names like [name_u]Briley[/name_u] and [name_f]Kinley[/name_f] fail that test.
Names should have an etymology and history. I hate made-up names and putting two names together to create a name. Ugh.
I don’t like people used dated names such as [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], [name_f]Melissa[/name_f], [name_f]Deborah[/name_f] and [name_f]Susan[/name_f]. You can instantly tell what decade they came from.
I don’t like when people use nicknames as full names. [name_u]Sam[/name_u] instead of [name_m]Samuel[/name_m]. [name_m]Jake[/name_m] instead of [name_m]Jacob[/name_m].
Confession time: The only boy name that I like on a girl is [name_u]Allison[/name_u]. For some reason, I have always liked that name, although [name_f]Alice[/name_f] is one of my favorite girl names. I actually like some “cute names”. Examples of those are [name_f]Zoe[/name_f], [name_f]Kayla[/name_f], [name_u]Lindsey[/name_u], [name_f]Kailey[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], and [name_f]Delia[/name_f]. I just feel that they won’t age well. I tend to like classic names for both genders. The only made up name I like is [name_f]Kalley[/name_f] (pronounced like [name_f]Callie[/name_f]). The reason that I like this name is because of the meaning “most beautiful” and the [name_f]Bethel[/name_f] worship leader [name_f]Kalley[/name_f] Heiligenthal. Her song “[name_u]Ever[/name_u] Be” is so beautiful. I love the song and so I fell in love with the name. I would never use this name in real life because it would constantly be misspelled.
Unrelated question: Snowprince, since you are a male, how did you start liking names? I find it interesting because this topic/hobby is mostly dominated by females, so it is rare to find a man who loves baby names. [name_m]Just[/name_m] wondering!
I don’t quite remember what it was that first got me really interested in names but I know that sometime around [name_u]August[/name_u] last year I started searching for baby name websites and found Nameberry and joined. I know that growing up I was always very attentive to people’s names, I’ve always been good with names, and I’ve always liked to look through name books but before last year I never actually thought about names a great deal. Perhaps it was a copy of [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names Now by the site’s creators that got me really interested in names. I now think about names all the time.
I guess the interest had always been there but I just hadn’t acted on it until recently. I’ve realized that baby names are something that women tend to be more interested in perhaps because of a motherly instinct, who knows, but I wonder why more guys aren’t interested in names. I find them downright fascinating. I’ve always been really observant and I pay attention to things like names unlike most guys apparently so I guess that is how I got interested in them.
I don’t know what exactly attracts me so much to names but I’m happy that I like them more than most guys
I’ve always been great with rembering people’s names as well. I started liking around junior high. My naming style has drastically changed, though. Back then, I like names such as [name_f]Kayla[/name_f], [name_f]Hailey[/name_f], [name_m]Brendan[/name_m] and [name_m]Zachary[/name_m]. Now, I like classic names such as [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_m]Andrew[/name_m] and [name_m]William[/name_m]. I always wanted my future children to have nice names lol. I would hope that my future husband would like names just as much as I do. I wish there were more men like you in the naming community! Most men I know don’t care or are indifferent about names, lol. I follow so many baby name instagrams. My favorite one is @namesdaily. I also watch baby name YouTubers like anastasiaruby, Rebe Sharpe , Tulipbyanyname, and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names. You should check them out! I love Nameberry! It’s a perfect outlet for me who loves names! You seem really sweet!
Yes I am very picky but what bothers me bothers virtually no one else.
I don’t like first and middle or last names to start OR end with the same letter. Combos like [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] or [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] [name_m]John[/name_m], [name_m]Joshua[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u], are things I wouldn’t pick.
I don’t like names that look like misspelled words. [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f], [name_f]Starr[/name_f], [name_m]Forrest[/name_m] are just silly to me. Oddly enough I like [name_f]Mae[/name_f], but sometimes people have exceptions, me included.
[name_m]Son[/name_m] names on girls. The only one that doesn’t bother me is [name_u]Allison[/name_u], because I have heard that it is not a “son of” name but derived from [name_f]Alice[/name_f].
Worse yet is when name sites try to change the meaning of son names to “child of” to make them look more appealing for girls.
Nope, it’s son of.
Gotta love the classic names My naming style has also changed a lot but mainly because I like way more names now than I did a few months ago, I think I add a name or two to my list of names almost daily and if I say most names in my head enough times I will sort of start to like it, which scares me a bit because their are some names that I definitely would not want to add to my list so I avoid saying those a lot in my head lol.
I know what you mean, I wish there were more men in the naming community as well, not that I have a problem with it being a largely female community but I would like to see more of other guy’s perspectives. I watch [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]'s videos too but I think I’ve only seen one video each for the other youtubers you mentioned. I’ll need to check out @namesdaily.
Yeah Nameberry is really nice.
Aw, thank you, I try lol. You seem very nice as well
@theodora_phoenix- lol this was me reading your pet peeves. "Yeah, misspelled words as names are sort of weird"then I see [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f], “well, you know, sometimes they look nicer than the actual word” stares at [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] in my favorites list, “thank goodness I didn’t put it in my signature”. Lol.
I don’t know why but I really do prefer [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] to [name_f]Scarlet[/name_f], it seems more interesting and correct in my mind. [name_f]Scarlet[/name_f] feels like it is missing something, to me.
Oh, and yeah I’ve noticed the whole “child of” thing too and every time I wonder, “doesn’t that mean son of not child of?”. This name book I got from the library does that a lot and it bothers me, it also has a lot of iffy name meanings.
I am a somewhat picky person when it comes to naming.
My [name_f]Pet[/name_f] Peeves
1 Boy names on girls. The biggest problem that I have with this is that many parents who do this wouldn’t use a girl name on a boy, so I don’t really like that.
2 Misspelled just to be unique. I don’t mind names that are trendy or popular, all of them aren’t always my cup of tea but they don’t bother me, but when parents purposely misspell a name to be unique it is just weird to me.
I think those are the only two pet peeves that I have concerning names honestly.
I enjoy learning about so many names here on Nameberry, so many berries have educated me on some awesome names and I am glad to be a part of this name nerd community.
I suppose you’ll be pleased to know that [name_f]Alison[/name_f]/[name_u]Allison[/name_u] is not, and never has been, a boy’s name. I see that you are confused by the ‘son’ at the end, but you’re looking at it wrong. It’s [name_f]Alis[/name_f]-on, not [name_u]Ali[/name_u]-son. It’s a diminutive of [name_f]Alice[/name_f], so it means ‘little [name_f]Alice[/name_f]’, not ‘son of [name_f]Alice[/name_f]’ or ‘son of [name_u]Ali[/name_u]’ or whatever.
Unisex names, I believe names should have one gender
Crazy spellings, one or two variants are ok, but anything beyond that is pushing it
Food names
Names usually used on pets used on kids
Boy names do not belong on girls. I still consider [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] a boy name since I associate it with the basketball player, but I tolerate it as a girl name because it’s my niece’s name and I knew a girl with that name when I was a kid.
[name_u]Allison[/name_u], [name_u]Madison[/name_u] and [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] shouldn’t be given to boys nowadays even though they’re originally boy names ([name_u]Ashley[/name_u] [name_m]Wilkes[/name_m] is the only man who can still get away with it).
Odd spellings for otherwise normal names. Why complicate it? However, I gave Kathren a free pass out of love for my best friend, but if I name a daughter any variation of the name it’ll be [name_f]Catherine[/name_f].
Surnames as first names with the exception of [name_u]Emmett[/name_u], [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] and maybe a few others. [name_u]Emmett[/name_u] and [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] get passes because Dr. [name_u]Emmett[/name_u] [name_m]Brown[/name_m] and [name_u]Flynn[/name_u] [name_m]Rider[/name_m]. Sorry, Mr. [name_u]Darcy[/name_u], but as much as I like you I wish your parents had chopped off the [name_m]Fitz[/name_m]- part and just named you [name_m]William[/name_m] even if it means sharing your name with Sir [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_m]Lucas[/name_m] and Mr. [name_u]Collins[/name_u].
Giving a child a name with negative connotations. What person who’s seen The [name_m]Little[/name_m] Mermaid would name their daughter [name_f]Ursula[/name_f]? Yes, she made a good villain, but poor kid.
Naming a kid after a living relative. If I say the name [name_m]Paul[/name_m] up to three males answer and I have to add “the short one” or some other identifier.
Misspelled words as names, but [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] is fine because I love Gone With the Wind. I’ll also allow [name_f]Mae[/name_f].
Nicknames as full names. I love my nickname, [name_f]Vicki[/name_f], but it doesn’t look half as good on documents or in cursive as my legal name does. Besides, a longer name leaves more nickname options (I tried [name_f]Tori[/name_f] for a bit due to “Icky [name_f]Vicky[/name_f]”, but I couldn’t answer to it).
Food names. Why do people do this? It’s fine for the pets, but not the kids.
Weird made-up names that aren’t even from a decent work of fiction that I might recognize.
Unisex names that aren’t short for something that makes gender more obvious. If I hear the names [name_u]Sam[/name_u] or [name_u]Chris[/name_u] I’m going to assume the person is a guy unless I learn otherwise.
I also don’t like [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] for the same reason! I speak Spanish and my fiance is Mexican.
My biggest pet peeve is unisex names and boy names on girls. There are so many beautiful names for girls, why pick a masculine name? I love feminine names on girls.
I also don’t like last names being used as first names. Last year, I met a 4 year old girl named [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u]. Working in a school, it may be hard to tell which name is the first name.
I actually have a male student this year named [name_f]Alison[/name_f]. He is Hispanic and pronounces it [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-lee-sown. I thought it was strange because my best friend’s name was [name_u]Allison[/name_u].
Name combos that employ the same ending. EX: I like a lot of names ending in -us or -ius but I won’t combine them, I don’t like the repetitiveness.
Last names used as first names
Names borrowed from a culture the namer has zero relation to. There’s a mini trend of white Americans using Japanese names that I’ve noticed, I hate it.
Names that hold importance that is ignored in the use of the name. [name_f]IMO[/name_f], [name_u]Cherokee[/name_u] should not be a name, certainly not for suburban kids who don’t even know what a reservation is and think an “[name_f]Indian[/name_f]” is something appropriate to dress as on Halloween. (Sorry, as someone from both a Jewish and [name_u]Cherokee[/name_u] background I run in to wayy too many things like this that make me grind my teeth.)
Names genning in [name_u]Brae[/name_u] Bry or Brax
Names ending in -lyn/-lynn (No real problem with them, just really dislike them for an unknown reason)
I think this primarily a young southern mom thing because I haven’t noticed it as much elsewhere, but names similar to Braaelynn or Taxtley seem to be common and I dislike them
Awful regurgitated letter spellings like Syminn or Jefriee or Brylylynn that are just unnecessary
Girls with extremely masculine names. Saw a little girl named [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] yesterday.
A whole lot of place names. Some work, some don’t. Refrain from naming your child Toronto or Los [name_f]Angeles[/name_f] please.
Extremely trendy names that will later be super dated. When little Braelee is 40 everyone will immediately know she’s 40.
People who tell the parent they hate the name. If you’re not close to the parent and they’re not still in the naming process, don’t. If I meet Brayxlyn I’m not going to pull a face and verbalize my opinion, I’m going to comment on how cute the kid’s hair is, because I’m not so rude as to try to make someone feel bad about a personal decision that’s already been made permanent.
Most of these don’t really bother me. I might cringe a bit when I see a kr8if spelling, but I don’t see it often enough to really care, and I think people exaggerate a lot when they talk about them.
Masculine names on girls aren’t my favorites, but once again I don’t personally know any female [name_u]James[/name_u]'s.
I do wish names like [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] or the -son names were still acceptable for boys, but I probably wouldn’t use them if they were.
I don’t care for a lot of unisex names, but I also don’t mind them. [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] and [name_u]River[/name_u] are the only two I really like for both boys and girls. Same with surnames as firsts. I don’t understand why people have an issue with this one actually. [name_u]James[/name_u], Peters, and [name_m]Williams[/name_m] are all surnames. I actually adore [name_m]Rhodes[/name_m] as a middle for boys or girls. It feels a bit fresher than [name_f]Rose[/name_f], I think.
My one pet peeve is nicknames as given names. There’s a lot of “name them what you’ll call them” that goes around, but nicknames don’t age as well to me. [name_u]Sam[/name_u] is fine, but [name_f]Libby[/name_f] or [name_u]Joey[/name_u] sound like children. Plus, it gives them more options. I’m the only one who seems to like [name_u]Billy[/name_u], but I’d be fine if he preferred [name_m]Will[/name_m]. (As long as no one calls him [name_m]Liam[/name_m]!)
Im not real picky. Not at all. But here are a few pet peeves.
Unusual spellings to the point of not being able to sound it out. Only because the child will always be correcting the spelling or pronunciation
First and middle combos that sound similar. [name_f]Maia[/name_f] [name_f]Camilla[/name_f] or [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] [name_u]Evan[/name_u]. They dont seem to flow right
Im not a huge fan of sibling names that sound similar. Its too confusing.
Names that are too nicknamey. [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Lulu[/name_f], [name_f]Mimi[/name_f], [name_f]Bunny[/name_f] ect.
There are lots of names that I like that are weird or unusual. And to each their own, I may not particularly like a name, but very few names bother me.
Kre8tyv spellings. [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]? What’s wrong with [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]?
Smoosh names à la [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f].
Trendy names that only stay in style for a minute, and then your baby shares its name with five kids in his/her class, i.e. [name_f]Brianna[/name_f] and [name_f]Kayla[/name_f].
Anglicizations. It’s okay to spell Róisín as [name_f]Roisin[/name_f], and you aren’t going to name your little [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] ”stríđr, but conforming to the English-speaking “normal” is ridiculous. [name_u]Keeva[/name_u], Brinya, and Seersha are just not as nice as [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f], Brynja, and [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f].
Two or more (long) middle names. I see some amazing combos on here, but there are also names like [name_f]Ottoline[/name_f] [name_f]Valentina[/name_f] [name_f]Melisande[/name_f] or [name_f]Eulalia[/name_f] [name_f]Jamesina[/name_f] [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f]. They are pretty in theory but a bit too much for me.
I [name_f]Do[/name_f] Like:
Scandinavian names that honor my heritage. [name_f]Signe[/name_f], Freyja, and [name_f]Ebba[/name_f] are good examples.
Names of my relatives. Such as [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f], [name_f]Signe[/name_f], and [name_f]Louise[/name_f].
Names with amazing meanings– [name_f]Seraphina[/name_f], [name_f]Idony[/name_f], and [name_f]Amaia[/name_f] fall into this category.
Vintage classics like [name_f]Jemima[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], and [name_f]Rose[/name_f].
Names with history. Examples are [name_f]Rosalind[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], and [name_f]Margot[/name_f]. Bonus points if they are Shakespearean.
On that note…literary names! I am loving [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Jessamine[/name_f], and [name_f]Matilda[/name_f].
So yes, I guess I’m pretty picky. But honestly, most of it has to do with the sound…
I’m picky for names I’ll use, but generally I don’t really care what names other people like.
My only real pet peeve is boring names. You know, names that are so “Oh, that’s nice” that you’ll never remember them because it’s the same boring thing you’ve heard your whole life on a range of different people. Names like [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Barbara[/name_f], [name_m]John[/name_m] or [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. There’s nothing wrong with them, and they age well. But you got a brand new human and that was the best you could come up with?! (And yes, my middle name - that I chose for myself - is in this category. But still.)
I actually really like unisex names. I like that destruction of the binary concept. Gender isn’t binary. [name_m]Even[/name_m] physical sex organs are not always easily determined at birth as male or female. So why this hard-and-fast clinging to an out-dated concept of what should or shouldn’t be masculine or feminie? [name_m]How[/name_m] exactly does it affect you if you don’t know what gender a person is when you first meet them? Does it bother you that you don’t know what stereotypes to fall back on?
one of my weirdest pet peeves is that I can’t stand when siblings have names that differ a great lot in length - [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f], for example, I can’t help but feel like poor [name_f]Rose[/name_f] got stuck with the shorter end of things, despite it being a lovely name. [name_m]Even[/name_m] worse to me is when siblings have a different amount of middle names, or even when one of them doesn’t have a middle but another one does, maybe the kids themselves don’t even really mind, but it just doesn’t look “evened out” to me, haha, that’s probably really picky / namenerd-y.
I don’t like really dated names, which were used extensively somewhere inbetween the '60’s and the '90’s, sometimes people are like “This name is now hardly ever used anymore so they won’t have to share their name with anybody else in their class” no, but they’ll have to share it with their friends’s parents, uncles, aunts, maybe even grandparents, etc. I always felt a little sorry for people who got stuck with such names.
I’ll also never understand the American trend of surname names, both on girls and boys, in my country there’s a law that prevents surnames from being used as first names, not even as a middle name… it just strikes me as so strange.
