In the Nameberry forums, name nerds and expectant parents share amongst themselves and one another the names they love. But in the back of everyone’s mind, there are a couple of names that just annoy the $#!+ out of them. So here’s a new question: What are your LEAST favorite names, and why?
DISCLAIMER: this is intended to be a civil discussion criticizing certain names. It is NOT intended to attack or victimize those who bear the names in question or bestow said names upon their children.
Example:
I don’t like the name [name_f]Paige[/name_f] because it is very unfeminine and boring. The one syllable, with a hard “j”-sound ending, sounds clumsy and doesn’t have much of a personality.
I dislike the names [name_f]Cadence[/name_f] and [name_f]Camille[/name_f] - though I have no good reason for it at all. They just really really don’t appeal to me. I also don’t like [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], I’m not keen on the sound and I know so many.
For me, there are two things that make me truly dislike a name: people I haven’t had good experiences with who run the name for me (like [name_f]Maeve[/name_f], [name_f]Francesca[/name_f], [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], and [name_m]Sean[/name_m]), and sounds or sound combos that I find displeasing (like -th names for girls, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f], [name_u]Meredith[/name_u], etc. and -son names for boys, [name_m]Jackson[/name_m], [name_u]Mason[/name_u], [name_m]Bryson[/name_m], etc.).
I dislike [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], [name_f]Adelina[/name_f], [name_f]Abigail[/name_f], [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_f]Belle[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_f]Natalie[/name_f], [name_u]June[/name_u]/[name_f]Juno[/name_f], [name_f]Perdita[/name_f], [name_m]Lucius[/name_m], [name_m]Gage[/name_m], [name_u]Parker[/name_u], [name_m]Reuben[/name_m], [name_m]Caspar[/name_m], [name_m]Vincent[/name_m] and a bunch of other names for various reasons. [name_f]Judy[/name_f], [name_u]Alex[/name_u], [name_u]Connie[/name_u], [name_m]Ludwig[/name_m], [name_f]Milena[/name_f], [name_f]Christina[/name_f]/[name_f]Christine[/name_f]/[name_u]Chris[/name_u]/[name_f]Chrissie[/name_f], [name_f]Bianca[/name_f] and some other names have been ruined for me.
I dislike very traditional names, I find them a bit boring and I like names that are a bit more interesting and unusual. So names like [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_m]Christopher[/name_m], [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_u]Kieran[/name_u] I wouldn’t use. And [name_f]Danielle[/name_f]/[name_f]Daniella[/name_f], [name_f]Kayleigh[/name_f], [name_f]Georgia[/name_f] and [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] along with some others have been born by people who I have not got along with.
This will probably sound really petty, but I LOATHE the name [name_f]Artemisia[/name_f]. I think it’s overly flowery and unnecessarily extravagant, especially when [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] is a lovely (if out there) name that is already the feminine form! Why add the extra syllables? I just don’t get it.
I hate the names [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] and I’m sick of all the [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]/[name_f]Emilia[/name_f]/ [name_f]Emily[/name_f]/ [name_f]Emma[/name_f] variations.
I also dislike overly flouncy embellished names.
These English town names seem so fusty and out-of-place on human beings: [name_u]Paxton[/name_u], [name_m]Halston[/name_m], [name_u]Leighton[/name_u], [name_u]Brighton[/name_u], [name_u]Ashton[/name_u]… etc. etc.
I dislike [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] - it’s just really unattractive to me and sounds like soya milk. I’m not a fan of [name_u]Hunter[/name_u] either, as it just sounds violent. [name_u]London[/name_u] is another name I’m not keen on - the sound or images it evokes just aren’t inspiring to me.
Hate [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] … I don’t know why, probably because every [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m]/ Lachie I’ve ever met was a terror of a child.
[name_m]Jaxson[/name_m]/ [name_m]Jaxon[/name_m] along with [name_m]Braxton[/name_m] ([name_m]Braxton[/name_m] hicks?) are not my cup of tea either.
For girls just kind of sick of [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabel[/name_f]
Boys
[name_m]Adolf[/name_m]- Hitler and Eichmann
[name_m]Heinrich[/name_m]- Himmler
[name_m]Rudolph[/name_m]- The reindeer, and [name_m]Rudolph[/name_m] Hess
[name_m]Ethelbert[/name_m]- I know it was my paternal great-great-great-grandfather’s name, but still…
[name_m]Kurt[/name_m]- Too harsh-sounding
[name_m]Byron[/name_m]- My dad’s former friend, who is a…well, it’s another word for donkey.
[name_m]Herbert[/name_m]- Too stuffy
[name_m]Hubert[/name_m]- [name_m]Just[/name_m]…no
[name_m]Mortimer[/name_m]- “[name_m]Mort[/name_m]” means “death”, so that’s a big turn off for me.
[name_m]Donald[/name_m]- Obvious
Girls
[name_f]Agnes[/name_f]- The meaning may be nice, but it sounds too harsh.
[name_f]Bertha[/name_f]- No.
[name_f]Clotilde[/name_f]- I just don’t like how it looks
[name_f]Delores[/name_f]- Means “sorrow”. That’s another turn off.
[name_f]Ethel[/name_f]- Sounds like a poisonous gas to me.
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]- Glee. Plus, it’s boring.
[name_f]Paige[/name_f]- Boring
[name_u]Piper[/name_u]- The Pied [name_u]Piper[/name_u]
[name_f]Lacy[/name_f]/[name_f]Lacey[/name_f]- Mean girl I went to school with.
[name_f]Maria[/name_f]- Boring
[name_f]Ursula[/name_f]- I just don’t like how it sounds.
[name_f]Drusilla[/name_f]- The evil stepsister from the animated Disney [name_f]Cinderella[/name_f] movie.
[name_f]Gertrude[/name_f]- Too stuffy for me.
[name_f]Sandra[/name_f]- My paternal great-aunt’s name. She’s one of the most selfish people I have ever known.
[name_f]Phyllis[/name_f]- Not my cup of tea.
[name_f]Neveah[/name_f]- Sorry, but it’s not that great of a name.
I hate [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] because of a horrible girl, I now no longer go to school because of her. I’m only 15.
Other names;
[name_u]James[/name_u] - I think its overused and overrated. As a mn I think it’s even more overused.
[name_m]Nigel[/name_m], [name_f]Ethel[/name_f], [name_f]Gladis[/name_f], most outdated names - I just don’t like.
[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] names like [name_f]Kaelynn[/name_f], [name_f]Jaelynn[/name_f] and the rest of them. I dont mind [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] and [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] because they seem less made up.
[name_m]Arthur[/name_m] - I don’t know why.
[name_f]Camilla[/name_f] - All [name_f]Camilla[/name_f] I know are unpleasant, also sounds too flouncy and overtly feminine
[name_m]Jackson[/name_m] - I love last-name names but for some reason, just not on board with [name_m]Jackson[/name_m]… I guess it reminds me of [name_u]Michael[/name_u] [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] a bit too much
➙ [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] ➙ this name seems too clunky to me.
➙ [name_f]Gracelyn[/name_f] ➙ [name_f]Grace[/name_f] sounds so much better than [name_f]Gracelyn[/name_f], why ruin such a pretty name?
I agree with you on both but especially [name_f]Gracelyn[/name_f]! To be fair I dont like any -[name_u]Lyn[/name_u] or -[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] names but [name_f]Grace[/name_f] is so beautiful! Why ruin it with [name_u]Lyn[/name_u]!
I haven’t been able to get on board with the vintage boys names- [name_m]Hugo[/name_m], [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Walter[/name_m] etc. The vintage girls names have been growing on me, I’m not sure why I’m just not a fan of the boy versions.
I completely agree about the “th” names. I’m not particularly fond of the name [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] for that reason. I’m not a particular fan of surnames as first names in general, and “-son” names are no exception, but I think they’re worse for girls than for boys.