Naming Pet Peeves?

General Name Discussion
21

This is really, really petty and absolutely ridiculous, but anyone calling their kid [name_u]James[/name_u]. For some reason, I’ve picked up a really strong aversion to it (sorry to any James lovers)

The only other thing is when siblings have really matchy names - I don’t mean themes or the same letter, I mean [name_m]Tommy[/name_m] and [name_m]Timmy[/name_m] etc.

22
  1. Most boy names on girls: I can put up with a few like [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] for example but I still like it on a boy as well.
  2. Not necessarily when siblings share initials but when it’s one after the other: I am find if the situation is five kids and two have the initials [name_m]AD[/name_m] but only if they are not right after one another. Break it up like [name_m]AD[/name_m], TJ, SE, [name_m]AD[/name_m], VR.
  3. When names sound too similar: “Meet my children [name_u]Hayden[/name_u], [name_u]Kayden[/name_u], [name_u]Ayden[/name_u] & [name_u]Brayden[/name_u]”
  4. When the alternate spelling is too hard to read: I’m okay with alternate spellings but once you get to the point where a name can not be properly read, for instance, “Mahddusyn”, I can’t do it.
  5. When the name is shared with more than one person in the family: I’m cool if the name is the same as like a second cousin who is only seen about once a year but I can’t stand when it’s the name of more than one family member and you have to start dipping into the whole “Big [name_m]Jim[/name_m], [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_m]Jim[/name_m], Cousin [name_m]Jim[/name_m], Uncle [name_m]Jim[/name_m]” thing.
23
  1. One-sided unisex names on girls. Before this summer, I would’ve said all boys names on girls, but then I fell in love with [name_u]Parker[/name_u] after a 9-year-old girl in my community who passed away from cancer in [name_u]July[/name_u]. She was so strong and spunky that whenever I thought of the name [name_u]Parker[/name_u], I thought of her and I loved it. Now, my pet peeve is people who use unisex names on girls but wouldn’t use unisex names for boys. I love [name_u]Parker[/name_u], [name_u]Schuyler[/name_u], and [name_u]Kit[/name_u] for girls but I also love [name_u]Finley[/name_u], [name_u]Quinn[/name_u], and [name_u]Emerson[/name_u] for boys.
  2. The middle name [name_u]James[/name_u] on a girl. Basically, until it becomes socially acceptable to use [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] as a boy’s middle name, I hate [name_u]James[/name_u] as a girl’s middle. It’s “cute” and “fresh” to use [name_u]James[/name_u] as a girl’s middle name but I guarantee you it would be seen as “prone-to-teasing” and “cruel” to use [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] as a boy’s middle name.
  3. Over-the-top word names. I love [name_u]Piper[/name_u] and [name_f]Nova[/name_f], I even like [name_u]Fable[/name_u] and [name_u]Story[/name_u], but no one is going to want to admit that their middle name is Aquamarine or Bumblebee or Cloudberry.
  4. Juniors. It’s narcissistic, in my opinion.
  5. When people call vintage names “timeless”. More of a criticism of name experts, but vintage names are not “timeless”. They are trendy. I love [name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f], [name_m]Leo[/name_m], and [name_u]August[/name_u] as much as the next guy, but they’re not timeless. They’re associated with the time period around 1918, which is why they’re trendy today. “Classic”, yes but “timeless”, no. In fifty years, they will seem just as dated as the names popular in 1968. [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_u]James[/name_u], and [name_m]John[/name_m] are timeless. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], and [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] are vintage.
24

Incorrect. Gender and sex are different, your sex is assigned to you at birth. Gender is a social construct. Completely irrelevant to the thread but offensive of you to state.

Anyway. OT. Not a lot of things name-related bother me. Overly-creative spellings of names (e.g. Madehllynne) is my biggest pet peeve.

25

Actually saying that sex is what you are “assigned at birth” is not completely accurate (and that sex is the biological/physical aspects would be more so) - there are intersex people who may look on the outside like one sex at birth (and are “assigned” to said gender) but may have internal organs and/or chromosomes that point to the other sex. (In that case if they get “reassigned” they are changing from their socially assigned gender to their true sex - a case where unlike typical transgender people they are changing to their “biological sex” rather than from it.)

26

I’m really not a fan of super match sib-sets. I recently came across twins named [name_f]Hanna[/name_f] and [name_f]Anni[/name_f].
Seriously! Those are NOT two different names! They’re just variations of the same name.
I also came across a girl called [name_f]Carla[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]. Same problem. Why would you give your child two variations of the same name?
Or what about [name_f]Lilly[/name_f] [name_f]Susanna[/name_f]? Sure, it sounds nice,but [name_f]Susanna[/name_f] literally means [name_f]Lily[/name_f]!
To me, all those combinations just sound like someone’s parents didn’t bother to actually research the names they gave their children.

27

[name_m]Just[/name_m] thought I’d add - my name is [name_u]Haley[/name_u], and I am a grown working woman, who has successfully filled out job applications, college applications, received an honours diploma, etc. and I know several Kenzies, Kylies, Rylees, Baileys, and Cassies who have done the same. “Cutesy childish names” aren’t all that difficult to wear.

28

I hate boy names ending in -in, for example [name_m]Kevin[/name_m], [name_m]Alvin[/name_m] or [name_m]Marvin[/name_m]. Names like these always make me picture unintelligent boys.
I hate surname names ending in -er used as first names or obvious surnames used as first names in general. For example I hate [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], [name_m]Baker[/name_m], [name_u]Hunter[/name_u], Kicker ect.
I hate plain nine-to-five names (especially for girls) like [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f], [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], [name_f]Jessica[/name_f], [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_f]Lena[/name_f], [name_f]Laura[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Pia[/name_f] ect.
I hate old-fashioned names that sound very dated like Regula, [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], [name_m]Andreas[/name_m], [name_m]Matthias[/name_m], [name_u]Marion[/name_u], [name_f]Esther[/name_f], [name_f]Elsbeth[/name_f], [name_f]Verena[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Irene[/name_f], [name_f]Alma[/name_f], [name_u]Alva[/name_u], [name_f]Inga[/name_f], [name_f]Selma[/name_f], [name_f]Maria[/name_f] ect
and I also often dislike the feminizations of male names like [name_f]Pauline[/name_f], [name_f]Wilhelmina[/name_f], [name_f]Antonia[/name_f] ect.

29

1 Overly common names [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], [name_u]Jayden[/name_u], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] etc ( I really can’t stand this.)
2 Old person names like [name_f]Ruth[/name_f].
3 [name_f]Virtue[/name_f] names like [name_f]Faith[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. It doesn’t suit a lot of people and I’m sick of it.
4 Weird spellings like Giorrdynne ([name_u]Jordan[/name_u]) Alicksanndrah ([name_f]Alexandra[/name_f]) Jaxxyn ([name_m]Jackson[/name_m]) Kayrulyne ([name_f]Caroline[/name_f]) Nahdullye ([name_f]Natalie[/name_f]) Eydreeyannah ([name_f]Adriana[/name_f]) none of these are people I know.
5 “Classics” like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] it’s starting to get old
6 Matching sibling names like [name_u]Taylor[/name_u] and [name_u]Tyler[/name_u], [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] and [name_f]Alexandria[/name_f], [name_u]Michael[/name_u] and [name_f]Michelle[/name_f]
7 Overly religious names like [name_u]Eden[/name_u]. I wouldn’t want people to think about the bible when they here my name.

30

I totally agree with you! Personally, I love nicknames so I’m always struggling to come up with a “full name” to go along with it. I love [name_f]Ellie[/name_f], but I want my daughter to be able to choose if she wants to go by that her whole life or not - one day she might go on to be a doctor, judge, or CEO and she may not want her childhood nickname on her desk plate. Or she will. I just want her to have the choice.

I’m not a fan of overly trendy or “yoonique” names. Same reason, really - just don’t think they’ll age well.

My husband wanted (for a hot minute) all of our kids’ names to start with the same initial, but I nixed that. It’s a pet peeve as well.

31

I don’t really have pet peeves associated to names in general, but I do get annoyed by people who viciously hate word names. It’s fine if you don’t like them or wouldn’t use them, but to outright say “[name_u]Fable[/name_u]/[name_u]Winter[/name_u]/[name_m]Bear[/name_m] are bad names! You should use names like [name_f]Lily[/name_f]/[name_f]Rose[/name_f]/[name_u]Chase[/name_u]/[name_f]Pearl[/name_f] instead!” It just makes me roll my eyes at the irony.

In the beginning all names were simply words we assigned to people and just like languages, names can evolve as well.

[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: I do absolutely hate when people name their kids stupid names for publicity. It’s atrocious to name kids things like Facebook, Optimus Prime, Pikachu, etc.