I’ve heard a lot on how people say names as common as [name]John[/name] and [name]William[/name] can get teased just as much as an [name]Apollo[/name] or a [name]Persephone[/name].
I was wondering how true this was and am curious as to what names were teased when you were growing up or what kids you know are getting teased or if your kid is even teased.
I am also curious because I would like to avoid names that have potential for teasing. I do worry about the name [name]Luna[/name], but it seems to be trending so I’m assuming the kids she’ll end up going to school with won’t find it too out there… It’s my favorite name and I’d hate to give it up, but I don’t want to set my child up to be a social outcast…
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The names I know of that got teased were:
[name]Jordan[/name] (on a girl) - I knew a girl with this name and she was teased for having a boy’s name and even left class crying. I also have a cousin who avoided teasing by quickly using her middle name, [name]Paige[/name].
[name]Atticus[/name] - My fiance’s friend was teased all his life for this name just because it was uncommon in the area they lived, so it stood out.
[name]Sabrina[/name] - my name, it was unusual at the time, and when I was a teenager it was worse due to the show Teenage Witch. Tons of people with “normal” names were teased, the ones I knew with unusual ones not too much. A woman I know named [name]Season[/name] said she got teased but most people I know who were and had a unusual name love them now.
Like what normal names? I’m just curious, because when I grew up, it was always the weird ones Mainly because the people in my class all had “normal” names. Names that were popular at the time like [name]Sarah[/name], [name]Katie[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Cody[/name], [name]Eric[/name], [name]Brandon[/name]…
I remember there was an [name]Emmalee[/name] and some claimed her name was spelled wrong, but others just said it was interesting. She was pretty popular so she didn’t get much teasing…
I really think that the child or person will be the deciding factor of who is made fun of and who isn’t. A lot of cases people were given nicknames sometimes they were related to their givien names sometimes not… I grew up in the 90s/00s and graduated highschool in 2007 and names of people I remember being made fun of are:
Someone I know recently named their son [name]Corbin[/name] and although I like the name, for me it’s tainted because of the person I knew in highschool.
[name]Worth[/name] - was called “worthless”
[name]Eaton[/name] - was overweight and teased because he had “eat” in his name (kids would say “Eat on, and on and on”)
[name]Luna[/name]- lunatic (she was kind of crazy, she’d get into fights over anything)
[name]Jimmy[/name]- singing “jimmy jimmy coco puff, jimmy jimmy rye” (from the movie Big)
[name]Brian[/name]- brain/brainiac (he wore glasses and got A’s)
I know an old man who only wants to be called [name]Jack[/name], never [name]John[/name]. When he was little he was tormented with “[name]Johnny[/name] come lately” (basically calling him slow or dumb) , “the john” (toilet), “Dear [name]John[/name]” (a break-up letter), “[name]John[/name] [name]Doe[/name]” (no name/identity)
I was called “[name]Alison[/name] Wonderland” and, after a hair-dying snafu that left me looking like Morticia Addams, “[name]Alison[/name] Crowley” (as in satanist Aleister Crowley), but that was the worst I ever got. I remember a [name]Bart[/name] back in elementary school who was called “Fart” constantly, usually accompianied by plenty of armpit farts. He was good at sports and tough as nails, and he just laughed it off. At the other end of the spectrum, I knew a [name]Lacy[/name] in high school who was called “[name]Lay[/name] Me,” and it really made her depressed.
That’s all the name teasing I personally remember, but I do know a couple who gave their son [name]Amos[/name] a legal name change because he couldn’t take any more “anus” teasing (bullying, really :mad: ). That name change was all he had asked for his birthdays and Christmases for a couple years before they finally gave in. Apparently, he was having a really hard time.
Sadly, as much as I love [name]Luna[/name], I am worried about that too, but more so with Looney [name]Luna[/name] because of the [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] books. I don’t know how popular it will be when we have kids so they might even know about [name]Luna[/name] Lovegood… but Lunatic might be avoidable as long as she’s a normal/sweet girl, which I hope for…
That’s all the name teasing I personally remember, but I do know a couple who gave their son Amos a legal name change because he couldn’t take any more “anus” teasing (bullying, really ). That name change was all he had asked for his birthdays and Christmases for a couple years before they finally gave in. Apparently, he was having a really hard time
Oh wow, that is horrible! At least his parents were nice enough change it for him. If my kid was having a hard time, even if I loved the name, I would give in because I don’t want her or him to be teased.
I can’t remember anyone being teased for their name in school aside from one poor kid whose initials were P.P. Yeah. Interestingly, his first name was [name]Pierre[/name], and it never raised any eyebrows. Then again, I went to a very diverse school in a big city, so the name pool was enormous. I don’t know how kids in rural areas where everyone has names in the top 10 would fare as far as unusual monikers go. Fortunately my kids will be city kids, or at least college town kids, so the rather offbeat names I favor ([name]Esme[/name], [name]Roscoe[/name], [name]Sylvie[/name], [name]Thaddeus[/name]) will probably be a non-issue.
OH WAIT! I just remembered a girl at college whose name was [name]Justice[/name]. She never got teased for it to her face, but there was definitely eyerolling going on behind her back. Of course, she was a pretty obnoxious character. Oh, and there was another kid named Torrent! Again, nobody said anything to his face, but it was kind of the clincher whenever people were complaining about him (another obnoxious character, I’m afraid) – “And on top of all that, his name is TORRENT!”
Really, I think more name-judging goes on among adults than on the playground.
Nobody in my school ever gave each other trouble over their first names, although some were pretty odd. For some reason, people did pick on each other’s last names. My brother had friends with the last names Buttrey and [name]Maxey[/name] who got the nicknames “Butt” and “[name]Maxi[/name] Pad”. Interestingly enough, neither seemed to mind it.
My name is [name]Jenni[/name] ([name]Jennifer[/name]) and I got some random teasing… people asking about [name]Jenny[/name] [name]Craig[/name], [name]Jenni[/name]-o turkey, and the “jenn-ayy” from [name]Forrest[/name] Gump (I still get that a lot!). Nothing too bad though.
My friend [name]Amanda[/name] used to get the “a man, duh” a lot. Annoying but nothing too terrible.
I think if something rhymes with something else, it’ll probably be said at some point. I’m thinking like “[name]Anna[/name]/[name]Hannah[/name] [name]Banana[/name]”. Again, nothing too bad, just annoying. I honestly can’t think of anyone who got really teased about their name, but maybe I’m forgetting.
My names [name]Israel[/name] (I’m a girl) and Used to get teased a lot when I was younger because its known most as a boys name. I also once had a substitute teacher who thought I was switching names with a boy in my class named [name]Taylor[/name].
I agree with what someone said earlier about it depending on the person who wears the name. If a kid seems susceptible to bullying, people will most likely make fun of the name no matter how common or uncommon it is. Sadly… Growing up there were some “cool” kids who had unusual names and everyone seemed to worship them. Then there were other kids who didn’t get positive attention for their names because they weren’t in the popular crowd. I just wish kids weren’t so mean. My name is [name]Anna[/name] and I never took teasing personally, but people called me Anacona and [name]Anna[/name] [name]Banana[/name]; and my name is pretty common! It think it’s true that kids with common names get teased just as much. It just might be easier to remember the nicknames for the uncommon names since they stick out more. It seems like diverse names are becoming more of a trend so it may be different now than when I was growing up.
I keep trying to teach my children to be proud of their names so that if anyone ever does make fun of them in the future, it won’t affect them as much.
Kids can and will find a way to tease ANY name. My name is [name]Amy[/name] and one kid in my neighborhood used to say that it was a boy name (um, no, it’s not. at all.) and that I must be a boy. And in 1st or 2nd grade when we first started learning to read everyone in my class was convinced my name should really be pronounced like the words a and my instead of like [name]Aimee[/name], so they called me that for a while. But after a while they moved on.
I went to a small private school and honestly don’t remember anyone being made fun of for their name.
I agree that it has more to do with the kid than with the name. If you’re beautiful and thin and outgoing and so is your partner you might be able to be a bit more creative.
If you/your family/your partners family has a tendency toward some issue don’t name your kid something that would naturally follow:
Height - sky, tall, high, up, low, tiny, small
Overweight - any food, anything with eat or ate or chew
Acne - [name]Poppy[/name], any Z name, anything to do with red ([name]Scarlett[/name], [name]Redman[/name])
Hairiness - [name]Harry[/name]!
etc. you get the idea
There’s another baby name website parentsconnect.com that has a name survey. People with a particular name can answer questions about their name, including what they were teased with. [name]EVERY[/name] name I have ever looked up on that site has someone who was teased about their name. Of course, some are worse than others, but I highly recommend checking that site out before you choose a name to give you a heads up on what to expect.
I agree. I grew up going to school with more kids who had “weird” names than normal ones, as did my sisters. That was just normal for our area, and due to the small private school setting, it was more of a family atmosphere rather a normal school one.
I remember someone once telling me in second grade, “Oh, [name]Ashley[/name] [name]Richards[/name], you’re rich! Get it?” lol. I think that’s about as bad as it got. Of course, I was horrified at the time, I don’t know why as such a little kid I didn’t want people to think me a rich girl.
I am horrified that once this girl on my bus and I teased my brother “[name]Robert[/name] is a dumb girl”–[name]Robert[/name]'s his mn. Although I’m not sure that really qualifies as name teasing, lol.
Mainly because the people in my class all had “normal” names. Names that were popular at the time like [name]Sarah[/name], [name]Katie[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Cody[/name], [name]Eric[/name], [name]Brandon[/name]…
Growing up there were some “cool” kids who had unusual names and everyone seemed to worship them. Then there were other kids who didn’t get positive attention for their names because they weren’t in the popular crowd. I just wish kids weren’t so mean. My name is [name]Anna[/name] and I never took teasing personally, but people called me Anacona and [name]Anna[/name] [name]Banana[/name]; and my name is pretty common! It think it’s true that kids with common names get teased just as much. It just might be easier to remember the nicknames for the uncommon names since they stick out more. It seems like diverse names are becoming more of a trend so it may be different now than when I was growing up.