In defense of Nevaeh

Girl Names
1

Can we all be honest for a moment and appreciate how pretty sounding [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is, disregarding it’s trashy image?

I feel that especially name-snobs (me included, ha) are too quick too jump on names with certain socio-economic stereotypes. IE: [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is bad, [name_f]Naomi[/name_f]/[name_f]Naiara[/name_f]/[name_f]Niamh[/name_f] are good. Would you be surprised to meet an upper-middle class [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]? What about [name_f]Destiny[/name_f]/[name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u]/[name_u]Angel[/name_u]/[name_f]Mercedes[/name_f]/[name_f]Savannah[/name_f]?

I understand the argument that ‘‘it’s not a real name, it’s just heaven spelled backwards’’… but why is that a less legitimate origin than for instance [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], which only vaguely stems from the word ‘light’ in Latin, an unspoken language? I feel like we’re just trying to hide deep rooted prejudices by claiming it’s not a real name, when it quite clearly is looking at statistics.

Sorry if this comes across too heavy, haha. I’m just doing a bit of self-evaluation recently on why I dismiss certain names - I thought it would be interesting to start a conversation about how our own prejudices especially towards class affect naming?

2

Yes, [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] sounds pretty to me. Not so pretty I’d use it, but pretty.

All stereotypes are obnoxious, but they don’t appear out of nowhere. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is considered lower class because it’s mostly used by people from lower class, I think, not because it’s too bad for upper-middle class people.

Stereotypes and prejudice are part of our lives and, to be honest, I don’t think things will change anytime soon. I guess it’s just human nature.:stuck_out_tongue:

3

I think it sounds and looks ugly, but mostly looks!

4

[name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is an abomination! Real names have legitimate roots. [name_m]Even[/name_m] [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is just made-up and trashy. I would be extremely surprised to meet an upper class [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] because children’s classes follow their parents’ and an upper class woman would never name her daughter [name_f]Neveah[/name_f]. If she did, she’d no longer be upper class. I’m not saying [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] isn’t a name - of course it is. It’s used by parents, therefore it’s a name. But it’s not a legitimate name and it has no legitimate roots.

5

Ha, an abomination. Okay. What I was actually trying to do was question what makes a name’s origins legitimate, not change how [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] specifically is categorized.

Looks like I’m getting nowhere…

6

Misspelled names are more of an issue for me! I recently came across siblings named Madysin and [name_f]Maysin[/name_f]! It was was all I could do to not ask their mother what she was thinking!

7

I believe there is a cute little girl in my 5 year old nephew’s class named [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f].

I don’t think it’s an abomination, but I don’t love it either.

Why not just name the kid [name_f]Heaven[/name_f], I think it’s pretty and I actually know a girl named [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] and I always thought it was lovely.

8

People make up and misspell names or whatever all the time … it’s even trendy in many circles, of which only some are considered low class.

Yes, on paper, there are plenty of people who are going to see such a name and make negative assumptions. That said, I do like to give people basic credit in these situations that they realize that someone else named this person, so I think you’re more likely to have the chance to define your name than have it define you. It’s not as cut and dry, or cruel, as the jerk who doesn’t hire Sa’id because he’s middle eastern or only thinks Lupita must be an illegal immigrant. Either way, discrimination is terrible. It exists and always will, but that doesn’t mean it should be tolerated.

Okay, that all aside! Nevaeh does sound pretty and I think if it was an established name, say with Arabic origins, then people would be more inclined to find the “oh! It’s heaven spelled backwards in english!” a novelty. That’s not the case though, and so unfortunately it comes across kinda corny and tacky. But essentially all names are made up or derived from words anyway. It’s the established use thing that seems to be the ticket, even if it’s rare.

9

For me, it’s the fact that it’s the word heaven spelled backwards. What’s the point of spelling it backwards, as opposed to just using [name_f]Heaven[/name_f]? The meaning and sentiment would be the same. I mean, people aren’t naming their kids Ecarg ([name_f]Grace[/name_f] backwards) or Htiaf ([name_f]Faith[/name_f] backwards), are they? (I hope not!) And the “aeh” just looks ugly to me. I like [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] (I think of the city, nothing trashy about it, is there?) and am okay with [name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u]. I don’t like [name_f]Destiny[/name_f] and [name_u]Angel[/name_u] because they fall into the “random words” category for me, just so out of nowhere. I try not to but I do think trashy with aspirational names like Luxury and [name_f]Princess[/name_f] though- if you were really upper-class you wouldn’t feel the need to scream it.

10

I’m glad you wrote this post.

I don’t really have that much time right now but I wanted to add at least a little.

Vanessa is a made-up name too. It was invented by Jonathan Swift in 1726 for a poem he wrote. Now of course you could say that it was almost 300 years ago and therefor has a history now, but at one point it was Nevaeh.

I’m not American and I read in other (non-American) forums as well. I have seen this trend in all of them in different kind of ways.

I strongly believe it is a class issue, sometimes even a race issue. Nevaeh and names like that are considered lower-class. I believe that nameberry is a place with lots of people from middle and upper-class. It is a open minded place when it comes to very uncommon names. But only in one direction, in the direction that still sounds middle or upper class.

I believe on other websites you would get very different reviews for names like Nevaeh because there are different people there.

I find it interesting to read one of my preposters opinion that a Nevaeh might be born upper class but won’t stay upper class, which of course it not true. While I agree that you name is part of your first impression, it’s not what decides everything in your life.
So if your parents are rich, send you to a private school, you have good grades and you apply for a job people won’t be like “oh i see she has great grades, she seems very nice, but her name is Nevaeh, we can’t take her…”

Anyways, what I wanted to give as another example of class issues when it comes to naming is the situation in Germany (and this is only the example because that’s the other language I’m reading in, I know it exists in other countries as well). There we associate American / English names with lower class so people are strongly opposed to them. No Jayden, no Justin, no John there.

Because everyone actually believes they sound ugly? I don’t believe that. But the association and fear to be associated with something you don’t want to be is so strong that at one point you don’t even realise anymore where this “dislike” once came from.

And I think it is great that you wrote this post becasue while we don’t have to change our opinions it is good to acknowledge where they stem from. It’s about privilige that we have and want to keep.

I want to add something else:

We always say that it will be harder to get a job and all that and I do believe names can have an impact in situations like that.

But we need to be aware of that and make sure it doesn’t happen. Yes, Maysynn might come from a lower class family (she also might come from a midde or upper class family, we don’t know) but that all it tells us. Not giving her a job because you think that she might have been born into a lower class family is just wrong and discriminatory.

1 Like
11

I love the sound of [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f], though I don’t like the look/the fact that it’s heaven spelled backwards. But so what if it’s a word spelled backwards? So many names are derived from words, or entirely made up. In 100 years if [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is still around, it will have a history too. But, I do like the sound. Very soft and feminine to me. Unfortunately there is no way of spelling this name without an unnecessary amount of y/h/a’s.

12

Well, no, I don’t find [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] attractive, regardless of its image. [name_f]Neva[/name_f] is phonetically and aesthetically pleasing, but the ‘eh’ on the end just doesn’t look or sound nice to me.

For starters, lower/working class certainly doesn’t mean trashy or chavvy, but chavs are associated with a lower class, so perhaps there’s confusion sometimes. Names like [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] or [name_f]Destiny[/name_f] scream ‘chav’ to me, and that’s not something I want out of a name. I don’t like that lifestyle or ‘culture’, and having been bullied by chavvy girls throughout secondary school, I think I’m quite within my right to. I have nothing against people from a poorer background (I’m from that stock myself), it’s the chav image I dislike.

I would certainly be surprised to meet an upper class [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f], just as much as I would be surprised to find [name_m]Archibald[/name_m] and [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] running around in knock-off Burberry and smoking behind the bike sheds of a crappy state comp. Some names are far more popular in certain circles and thus get associated with those people. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is strongly associated, imo, with chavs. Of course it doesn’t mean all Nevaehs are chavvy or low class or horrible people, it’s just the primary association. I think as long as we don’t act negatively on these assumptions (à la [name_f]Katie[/name_f] Hopkins), there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s very natural to create mental associations.

As for the ‘it’s no more legitimate than [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]’ thing, you could use the same argument for every name with Latin origins, or any name with a meaning at all really. Thing is, they are names with a family tree and logical name development in hundreds of languages over hundreds (sometimes thousands) of years, with tonnes of great namesakes along the way. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] does not have that. I do see what you’re getting at and, however much I dislike it, I do consider [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] a name, but I still don’t find it legit enough. The backwards spelling does have something to do with it- I notice the Romans didn’t decide to go with ‘Suicul’ because it looked ‘cool’. I think in my case, I find I just want a rich history behind a name. Maybe in a thousand years [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] will have some of that history.

13

To be honest [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] doesn’t bother me, I don’t really like made up names but each to their own. And looking at the stats (in the UK) more than 500 girls were given the name or a variation [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]-[name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]-[name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]-[name_f]Rose[/name_f] etc. (not that I like the double name thing either :slight_smile: ) But…were you waiting for the but?..what irks me is the 16 girls whose names are spelt [name_f]Neveah[/name_f] and then the other versions Nevayah/Nevaya. If these are genuine names that I don’t recognise, sorry, but to me they look like kr8tv3 spelling Urrrghhh!

14

I think it sounds quite nice, and I absolutely love a and e together (ae), so I think it looks okay (but still a bit wrong). I don’t think I’d use it seeing as so many people call it ‘tacky’, ‘trashy’ etc. Tbh when I first saw it I didn’t even realise it was heaven spelt backwards! Also, just out of interest, if someone from the ‘upper class’ or someone influential and well respected had invented and called their child [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f], would it still be classed as tacky? Why is the fact it’s a name associated with the ‘lower class’ such a bad thing? I could go on about this for a while, but I won’t, seeing as a lot of other posters have already made some valid points about class discrimination etc.

15

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the name [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. Nothing. In fact, in 2010, it was the third most popular name in [name_m]New[/name_m] Mexico, a state that is 75.6% white. So do NOT argue the race argument, or call it an abomination, or deem the name “too worthy” for a middle class family and/or child. There’s absolutely no merit to that argument.

I’m not exactly sure why people think they have the right to go ahead and blast a name just because they think it’s “trashy.” Perhaps someone out there thinks your own name is low-class. Does that make you feel better about yourself, because you’re ravaging the name of countless little girls?

Maybe some people have associations with the name [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. I, in fact, know a gorgeous little girl named [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] and her parents are both professors. Mind you, English professors. There is nothing low-class about them. The reason they chose [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is because the mother’s sister passed away a week before their daughter was born. They didn’t want to use her name, but they wanted to honor that one place they knew she was: in [name_f]Heaven[/name_f]. But some people don’t like the name [name_f]Heaven[/name_f]. Oh, well. There are other options cough cough like [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f].

And so it is. For many girls, it is. It’s their name. So please, stop with the horrible comments and unncessasary bashing, because I’ve seen SO much hate on poor little [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] because you don’t think it’s established doesn’t mean it’s not. It is. Face facts.

(P.S. Sorry for the vent, I’ve just been really upset surrounding this issue)

16

I would say [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is actually a real name because of how well used it is becoming. A lot of names are made up - sometimes as variations of other names or from places or words. To me they become ‘real names’ when they start being used as first-names by more than one or two people - that is definitely the case with [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f].
I personally don’t like [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] - I do think it has a pretty sound and the ‘heaven spelled backwards’ thing doesn’t bother me, what annoys me about it is that the spelling and pronunciation don’t match - it just seems like someone decided to spell [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] backwards and randomly picked the pronunciation neh-VAY-ah to go with it. Does that make sense? Anyway that’s the reason I don’t like it.
Unfortunately there will always be some names that are seen as ‘lower-class’ names but I think this varies a lot from area to area. I have no thoughts about this concerning [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] as I have never actually met anyone called [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] - it’s not a popular name here. Incidentally it seems to only be popular/trendy names that develop this ‘low-class’ image - I guess this is what has happened to [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] seeing as it has got very popular very quickly in some places.
I appologise if none of this makes sense!

17

I think you’re the only one using any sort of race argument (by the way, according to the 2010 Census, New Mexico is 68.4% white). Also, Nevaeh was the fourth most popular name in New Mexico in 2012, it ranked third in 2007 and 2008.

Also, anyone can consider any name to be an abomination. Just because you don’t agree with their opinion doesn’t make it wrong.

I’m not exactly sure why people think they have the right to go ahead and blast a name just because they think it’s “trashy.” Perhaps someone out there thinks your own name is low-class. Does that make you feel better about yourself, because you’re ravaging the name of countless little girls?

This is a name board… people are definitely entitled to their own opinion about a name, whether it’s a favorable view or not. Some people might think my name is trashy or low class. So what? They’re entitled to their opinion. They might have reasons for their opinion and I’m fine with that. If people are really offended about what someone else thinks of their name or one they love, they need to grow some thicker skin. “I hate your name.” Okay… well do you mind sharing WHY you hate my name? (Sort of using an example above…)“I was bullied by chavvy girls with the name and they’re the only association I have with the name.” Well… that’s where you get your unfavorable view of my name. I’m sorry they bullied you but maybe I can change your mind about the name!

Maybe some people have associations with the name [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. I, in fact, know a gorgeous little girl named [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] and her parents are both professors.

Okay, but that doesn’t mean people don’t have negative associations with the name as well!

[name_m]Just[/name_m] because you don’t think it’s established doesn’t mean it’s not. It is. Face facts.

There is a whole group of name nerds, onomasts, who don’t consider it to be a well established name. These people tend to be the experts on names. It’s a name that hasn’t really even been around for 15 years. When it’s been around for decades, it will be considered established. 10-20 years does not established make. Sorry.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the name. All I see is “Nevaeh-it’s-heaven-spelled-backwards”. It’s not even phonetically correct. I consider it to be a low class name as the only people I’ve ever heard use the name are low class, so that’s the association I have with the name. I would be really surprised to see Nevaeh used on a middle class girl as the common trend in the middle class is -ley names (Henley, Tinley, Kenley, Kensley, etc.).

18

I get what you’re saying. Unfortunately, the way baby naming trends tend to be influenced by socioeconomic status makes some people feel they have a license to say ugly, horrible, classist things about baby names. Anytime a name is described as “trashy” I cringe. Really? Trashy? In 2014?

19

I don’t even find the sound of [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] pretty. Sorry.

20

I agree so much with your basic premise. I cannot stand when people use the word “trashy” and I think even more innocuous conversations - talking about which baby names sound “professional” - is problematic because people’s assumptions about what is and isn’t professional is rooted in socioeconomics, race, and even gender bias (a man named [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] or [name_m]Bill[/name_m] can lead a company, but a woman named [name_f]Katie[/name_f] or [name_f]Sally[/name_f] can’t? - that sort of thing).

I’ve also found that the more I get into names, the more I can appreciate the thought and care that most parents put into their baby names. Instead of getting more name-snobby, I find myself less and less so. I try to frame names I’m not into as just plain old not my style, not “trashy” or “low-class.”

So… [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. Nope, not my style. Part of it is the sound - nasally. Part of it is that I always have to think extra hard about how it’s spelled and pronounced - it feels really non-intuitive to me. Part of it is that, while I’m okay with word names - I’d name a kid [name_f]Verity[/name_f] or [name_f]Amity[/name_f] or [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] or [name_f]Violet[/name_f], after all - a word name spelled backwards is just unnecessary to me. And sure, part of why [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] isn’t my style is image. I don’t mean socioeconomics, I mean that I like a name where I can point to a historical figure, a writer or artist, a character, or even a thing that it evokes to me. I don’t get that from [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. Other people do, and that’s fine for them. And part of it, I hate to say, is probably projection. The name you chose sends a message to your child and to the world, and the message that [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] sends, the image it evokes, just isn’t what I’m going for. I don’t think that’s a “class” thing because there are other solidly middle-class names ([name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]) that I feel exactly the same way about - they just don’t sound like the way I see my child or myself.