And I’m sure you’re lovely! That’s my point. There were at least 3 girls in my year called [name]Chelsea[/name]/[name]Chelsie[/name]. They were all ‘chavs’ and I was bullied by a couple of them (the mother of one of them is currently serving a 10 year stretch for killing her husband- they’re that kind of people). Thus, in my mind, [name]Chelsea[/name] is a name I generally associate with people who aren’t very nice, a view further inforced by Chelseas I’ve seen via the media. But then I went to sixth form at met a really lovely [name]Chelsea[/name], so I know they’re out there 
There’s no way I would ever refuse my child to play with/make friends with a kid who has a name I have preconceptions about, unless the child gives me good reason to. Not awkward at all 
I don’t judge the child! I judge the NAME on it OWN and think “urgh” - and yes there are names that I associate to a certain type of people, but I don’t go to such lengths as to bar my children from playing with them. My son is starting school in september and on his class list there are many surprises - some of them I thought uurgh, met the child - and the child + parents are lovely, others I thought were AMAZING name choices, met the parents and child and went urgh…
I always wonder which category my own childrens names fall into!
[name]Just[/name] as tiggerian says - I judge the name, not the child.
I might dislike a name, but that doesn’t mean I’ll dislike people with that name.
You can tell a lot ABOUT THE PARENTS by a name choice. Children do not have a say in their name, in most cases (other than nicknames). Kids, for the most part, are stuck with their names.
But I don’t judge class by names. I judge the personality of the parent, and what they want in their child. A girl named [name]Isadora[/name] has parents who aren’t afraid to be different. Jdyn’s parents want their son to stand out from the crowd. When I hear another [name]Ava[/name] or [name]Liam[/name], I feel that the parents have no clue about name trends and think they have stumbled upon an original name. But I try not to let this influence my actions and words, because this isn’t always the case.
I live in an area where there is a mix of affluent and lower class families. Of course, there are stereotypes. The parents with teenaged twins [name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Evelyn[/name] are a dentist and doctor with a PhD. Airielle was born to a sixteen year old mom. But, most of the time names mean nothing. Wealthy families use younike spellings like [name]Kaleigh[/name] and Madysen just as often as kids from the working class are named [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]Annabel[/name].
The child’s name can tell you something about the parent. Of course you shouldn’t judge a book (person) by its cover (name) but a bad cover will make others less interested in learning about the book. If my kid became friends with a child named [name]Sunshine[/name] or [name]Thelonious[/name] they likely have parents who have similar personalities to mine. Someone who names their child [name]Rekker[/name] Derringer is probably raising their child with very different values and beliefs than my own.
I remember when my friend’s young daughter made a new friend with a YouNeek name (can’t remember the name but it was a smoosh with a few apostrophes thrown in). My friend was apprehensive but she didn’t stop the friendship because she was a sweet little girl. Once she met the mom, the woman was exactly what my friend thought she would be. My friend turned down invites to the little girl’s house upon learning about her home life (i.e. domestic violence, jail, out of control older siblings). She had to explain to her daughter that the friendship was an at-school friendship only.
I think you can tell a bit about the parents with certain names, however there is no way I would ever dictate who my child befriended based on their name! That’s just ridiculous.
For example the one and only [name]Charmaine[/name] I know is a beautiful, hardworking young woman who was educated at one of the top universities in the UK, and is extremely successful in her field. She’s also one of my best friends, and had my mother refused to let me play with her growing up, my life would have been so much duller without me even realising what I was missing out on. I’d also be short a bridesmaid next month!
To me, names only get trashy or become fair-game for judgement when a parent misspells it on purpose to try to look super trendy. For example- [name]Jennifer[/name] is classic – Jenyfir is just bothersome. I’m all for being original and having your child stand out, but don’t butcher the spelling of an otherwise lovely name!
P.S. Location names are wonderful. [name]Don[/name]'t be discouraged!
Firstly, children’s personalities shine through. Individually their own actions speak more of themselves than any name.
As a former teacher of high school English, you can tell a lot about naming about families. I’ll give a few examples.
First, you can tell if their son/daughter is their first if they often pick a very popular classic name like [name]Michael[/name] or [name]Emily[/name]. First time parents don’t often think that their little [name]Jessica[/name] is one of half a dozen that I will likely run into a day. Second, you can kind of tell what the parents are like if their siblings have clearly obvious themes. [name]Jesus[/name], [name]Angel[/name], and [name]Mary[/name] are sib set that comes to mind. Depending on the theme, you can tell things like religion, ethnicity, culturally, or that for the likes of [name]Max[/name] and [name]Sam[/name], their parents just like more masculine names. As a general rule if they have name brand names like [name]Bentley[/name] and [name]Tiffany[/name], it reflects something more aspirational than actual. If you it so often, you wouldn’t name your child it. Parents often unintentionally or even directly have expectations for a child revealed through naming. Ultimately, their son/daughter determines through their actions what that name means.
I do judge people by their names. Not necessary their personality, and especially not in a bad way. But I do expect someone named [name]Charmaine[/name] or Shenandoah to look a certain way, exactly like I expect [name]Montgomery[/name] so look a certain way. I think names can give you a clue of how the child grew up, with what kind of parents etc, but we are all individuals and the name isn’t everything. Like, I have a brother named [name]Hunter[/name], but it doesn’t mean that he IS a hunter.
And I wouldn’t stop any future kids of mine to play with other based on their names. Behavior and other stuff, sure, but not because of the name.
I hate to admit but sometimes I do. I wouldn’t not let my children play with children with names I didn’t like or anything. But I might think their parents are trashy by their name choice, etc. I shouldn’t but hey we are human.