So, i’ve noticed that a lot of mom’s on NB have asked the question “will my kid be teased in school for having this name?” other moms try to answer that question but, no offense, they don’t really know. and who knows better than kids themselves. So i decided to put this post up where you can ask me and my siblings ( the older ones so ages 16-6) what we think of the names you want for your kids and tell you what the teasing factor is, if we know anyone who is teased in school for their name and the first thing that pops into our minds over the name ect. This way you’ll receive an honest opinion on the name you want for your child and you can find out fast and easy what kids these days think about it! i’ll be sure to respond to all questions and posts and have my siblings do the same!
This is a great idea! I was subbing at a high school when I was pregnant with my first kiddo, and i got a lot of help from my students on some of my name choices. I would love to hear how the name [name]Peter[/name] fares these days. Too much teasing? Our favorite name right now is [name]Ian[/name], but I’m afraid it’s too popular. I’d also like to hear your take on nature names. I am considering [name]Cedar[/name], [name]Cypress[/name], [name]Hawk[/name] or [name]Raven[/name] for a middle name. What do y’all think?
Thanks, [name]Evelyn[/name]; I need to vent about this :). A lot of parents completely miss teasing. In my school, there’s a girl called [name]Isabelle[/name], and people say “she is a bell - she [name]Isabelle[/name]!” (In my country “bell” is a colloquial term for “penis”). So I don’t always get why people think [name]Belle[/name] or [name]Bell[/name] makes a good name. ><
Also, people sometimes hyphenate shorter names with “Mae” over here in England. Like “Isla-Mae”. I foresee the introduction to a rude person sounding like this:
Isla-Mae: “I’m Isla-Mae.”
Rude person: (laughs) “Isla may what?”
Isla-Mae (thinks they are asking for her surname) “Kilarney.”
Rude person: “Isla-Mae Kilarney? Uh-oh, look out! Isla may kill Arnie!”
I’m too curious now not to post!!!
[name]Lachlan[/name] (would probably just go by [name]Lachlan[/name])
[name]Evander[/name] (would go by [name]Anders[/name])
[name]Theron[/name]
[name]Corisande[/name] ([name]Cor[/name]-ih-sahnd)
[name]Odessa[/name] (Possibly go by [name]Dessa[/name]/Dessy)
[name]Valencia[/name]
[name]Althea[/name]
What about last name teasing? Obviously a last name isn’t something very negotiable, but do you see it often? and Initials, a lot of parents worry about initials? and what names spell backwards? (example [name]Naomi[/name] = I moan)
Definitely worry about initials. In [name]Art[/name] for example at school, you put your initials on your drawing or clay and it’s normally classmates that hand them out. And not just art, come to think of it;I was in Graphics when the girl with the initials STD got laughed at. I don’t think spelling names backwards matters as much.
I don’t think parents need to be worried too much about teasing, as long as it’s not something really obvious. I think most names are fine and we tend to over analyze it. I’m sure everyone’s names got played around with and it was harmless. I don’t think it becomes this life long thing that sticks with the kid. You really can’t avoid what kids will say, but they’ll find anything with a name if they want to.
I agree with this. I also say teach your kid to stick up for himself/herself. There are some initials you wouldn’t want, like the example of STD pp mentioned, and some names that do just seem to be a set-up for the kid but not really that many. People way over analyze those factors. If your child isn’t teased for their name, they will be teased for something else, PERIOD. If your child goes to school, they [name]WILL[/name] be teased about something. Whether it’s their name or for wearing glasses or for an embarrassing incident that will follow them throughout their school years or that their clothes are old or that their clothes are so last year’s fashion or whatever, KIDS TEASE MERCILESSLY. The only way to avoid that teasing is to home-school where there aren’t other kids to tease your child. Now I am a fan of home-schooling and I am not against private school, charter schools, anything except public school (public school I have a real issue with, I plan on being very involved with my children’s schooling no matter what type of schooling it is but especially if it’s public school) so don’t take that comment wrong. All I’m saying is the only way for your child to not be teased is to not have them around other children. Anyway, driving yourself crazy trying to think of every possible way a name could be manipulated negatively is foolishness in my opinion.
This however will be a very interesting post to see what the current teenagers think of the names people post. Though I am laughing at the usual teenage notion that us moms don’t remember our childhood and teenage years.
If kids want to tease another kid, they’ll find a reason. As parents we can help our kids a little by giving them less “out there” names that may invite additional teasing, but honestly, teasing is a part of childhood and we can’t prevent it 100%. Kids will be kids, and thus they will tease and mock and laugh at what is different, gross, weird, etc. If they don’t go for the name, they’ll go for something else.
My daughters have beautiful and kind of modern like names: [name]Sadie[/name], [name]Harper[/name], [name]Jessie[/name] && [name]Natalie[/name]. [name]Baby[/name] [name]Kingston[/name], [name]Felix[/name] or somethin else on the way into our home!!!
[name]Ella[/name]
Age 29, 30 in [name]July[/name] 2012
Mommy to 4 beautiful girls, soon to be mommy of a handsome son!
Loves the color purple!!!!
Soon to be Auntie to some sweet kiddies!!!!
XOX
There’s actually a website that is great for info about teasing potential: parentsconnect.com. They have a survey you can take about your name, and one of the questions is about bullying/teasing. Search for the name, then click on the “Considering this name?” tab to view the survey results. This way you can hear from people with that name about what they’ve been teased over. Of course, [name]EVERY[/name] name has some teasing potential, I have yet to find one on that site where no one has been teased, but it can help you avoid ones that are really bad.
What about a set of siblings called [name]Romeo[/name] and [name]Juliet[/name] be teased? Because my boy, [name]Romeo[/name] is three years old, and I’m expecting a baby girl. I also want to name the girl [name]Juliet[/name].
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][/SIZE][/FONT][name]Happy[/name] mama to:
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4][name]Romeo[/name] [name]John[/name][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]Expecting:[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]A [name]Baby[/name] Girl![/SIZE][/FONT]
In Australia [name]Lachlan[/name] is so common. I know 3 Lachy’s.
[name]Tiago[/name]- Too close to [name]Tiger[/name]
[name]Eamon[/name]- It charts over here and with [name]Eamon[/name] [name]Sullivan[/name].
[name]Isobel[/name]- No teasing involved
[name]Sophie[/name]- No
[name]Miranda[/name]-No teasing there
[name]Elspeth[/name]-[name]Just[/name] spelling (my mum gets [name]Elsbeth[/name]) and pronunciation (Elsabeth)
In my experience more kids get teased about their last names than first ones. Also with initials it is something to take into consideration but shouldn’t be a deciding against a name. I have asked my friends what they think about my favorite names and they hated most of them. [name]One[/name] of my friends that heard that I liked [name]August[/name] and [name]Hazel[/name] was almost horrified. "Why would you want to name your kids after a month or nuts!? This coming from the person who wants to name all their kids after countries. I think that kids will find any fault in a name but as they become used to it the name won’t seem as foreign. The book Chrysanthemum is a good example or a comfort for kids who are teased because of their name.
I would say that yes, a sib set of [name]Romeo[/name] and [name]Juliet[/name] would 100% definitely be teased. Shakespearian drama has been around for hundreds of years, and the most popular love story of all time doesn’t show any signs of going out of public thought any time soon.
Unless you want your children to be bullied and for people to think you aren’t educated, I’d avoid.
As a fellow teen, I just want to say it really depends on the kids. There are a few really stand out African-American names in my schools, but the only names anyone ever makes fun of:
[name]Peter[/name] is a fine name! There are actually 3 boys in my sister [name]Bella[/name]'s class with the name [name]Peter[/name]! i [name]LOVE[/name] the name [name]Ian[/name] as well! My friends name is Gidian and they call him [name]Ian[/name]. maybe you could try that. I like the middle name [name]Raven[/name], but only for a middle name. We kids aren’t too young to remember That So [name]Raven[/name] and whenever i hear that name, that’s what i think of. I’m not as crazy about the names [name]Cedar[/name] and [name]Cypress[/name], but i think [name]Hawk[/name] could be cool! Thanks for asking!
i agree with ya there! i know SO many Ellie-May’s Elisabeth-May’s Annie-May’s and even once i met a girl named Tristyn-May ( and i thought Tristan was a boy name…) i think the '-May- is overused. but May makes a beautiful middle name!
IN all honesty, when i look at the name Lachlan, i’m not even sure how to say it… is it like Lock-lynn? cuz there’s a kid at school named Locklynn… Evander is a really cool name! and i would stick with having them just go by Evander. that’s really cool! and Theron would prolly get picked on…sorry.
Corisande is a cool name, but hard to read and pronounce. i feel like she would forever be having to spell and repeat her name to people. Odessa and Althea i feel would have too many associations with Odysseus ( from the Odyssey) and Athena ( the greek goddess) and Valencia is a bit hard to pronounce and read. If someone has an odd last name ( like a kid in my class whose last name is Beltcher and ones last name is Frattie) they will be teased. but for the most part no. a kid in my class is named Marcus Peach and everyone loves him and calls him Peachy. Initials are horrible ( ever hear of the kids named Samuel Ethan Xander?) and backwards spellings are nothing to worry about! Thanks for posting!
