For example, some people don’t like “K” sounds because they think it sounds too harsh, some people don’t like names ending in an “a” because they think most of them sound too frilly, etc.
I don’t think I have any sounds I don’t like in names. I don’t like every name in the world, but I don’t think I have a particular sound that bothers me.
Not ever name ending in “a,” of course (I have a little handful on my list), but… many.
It’s funny you mention K - I don’t like a K initial, I think the only K name I like is [name_f]Kate[/name_f]. I defs lean towards vowels for initials, particularly E closely followed by I and O, but some consonants I have very few if any options on my list. I really don’t like a V initial either, and up until recently I had no D options on my list but I’ve come to love a small handful. J is another initial I’m funny with, I don’t like many J names at all. Where I’m from K and J became synonymous with chavvy options (think the likes of [name_u]Kaidyn[/name_u], [name_u]Jayden[/name_u] and all variant yoonique spellings), with sometimes whole families being named with the same initial (The Kardashians have a lot to answer for). So I think this association is where my aversion comes from.
Most names with an ‘een’ sound at the end (Doreen, [name_f]Charlene[/name_f], [name_f]Maureen[/name_f], [name_f]Pauline[/name_f], [name_f]Noreen[/name_f], [name_f]Arlene[/name_f], etc).
I’ll make an exception for [name_f]Maxine[/name_f] and [name_f]Corinne[/name_f] though.
Hmm, I don’t think there are any sounds I super dislike , but I don’t think I love ‘ienne’ sound?
This is for all names, not just girl names, but I generally dislike names that lean too heavily on A and O, especially if they also have an R. Names like [name_f]Orla[/name_f], [name_u]Arlo[/name_u], [name_f]Norah[/name_f], and [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] just don’t work for me. I don’t know why.
I tend not to care for girl names with a “see” sound at the end: [name_f]Nancy[/name_f], [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], [name_f]Dulcie[/name_f], [name_f]Macy[/name_f], [name_f]Darcie[/name_f], Betsy… I think they just strike me as a bit too twee. There are bound to be exceptions though!
i’m definitely not a fan of “sh” (e.g. shannon, charlotte), and while i don’t mind “zh”, i wouldn’t choose it. on names like anastasia and sebastian, i’ll always pronounce them all the way through to avoid those sounds (i.e. an-uh-stay-zee-uh instead of an-uh-stay-zhuh, and suh-bas-tee-un instead of suh-bas-chun). i think this is because growing up i had a minor speech impediment that made “ch”, “j”, and “sh” sounds difficult to say, and while they’re easier now i still don’t like how they feel, in my mouth. funnily though, “sh” is the easiest of the sounds to say but my least favourite to hear in names.
i also don’t really go for the eurofem trend of any combination of vowels plus m,l, or n is a name (e.g. alina, mila, amelia, lena). my secondary school had five emmas, three emilys, two emilias, four amelias, three millies, and two mias, (out of only 180 girls) so i find it difficult to find these names distinctive and not just a bundle of sound-alikes. even so, there are a couple of names like this that i’m fond of - i really love emmeline, and (though it’s a completely different category etymologically) melinoe is on my list too.
I’m not keen on a “ra” sound at the end of names. There are so many pretty names ending in “ra” (Laura, [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Keira[/name_f] etc) but I don’t think I could commit to one as a first name.
[name_f]My[/name_f] name is an “een”/“ine” name - I wish it were [name_f]Delphine[/name_f] or [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] etc. I can see how it this syllable is a mixed bag in the [name_f]English[/name_f] speaking context. It can sound a bit screechy and rough.
“Pee” endings usually aren’t my favorite, especially with the “'ello” sound before it in [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. I also have a hard time with names that are too soft/don’t have enough emphasis near the end (or in general). I desperately want to love [name_f]Alice[/name_f] but the end is so quiet I always feel like I’m fading out before I actually finish saying the name so I never feel like I’m pronuncing it properly even though I am, and sometimes names with too many gentle sounds like Ls can feel too fluffy and insubstantial to me if there isn’t a sharper sound thrown in somewhere to ground it.
“pee” endings and whatever makes [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] [name_f]Samantha[/name_f], I just don’t like the name with the sound, but I don’t know which sound it is.
I don’t like ash sounds in names. Also not a big fan of names with ienne.
i totally agree about Samantha!! there’s something about her that i just can’t get on board with!
I dislike the B and D initials in girl names. The only b and d names I like for girls are [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], [name_f]Bianca[/name_f], and [name_f]Della[/name_f].
I’m not usually a fan of names that end in “ille” like [name_f]Lucille[/name_f] or [name_u]Camille[/name_u]
This is such an interesting question! I tend not to be a fan of ‘th’ sounds for either boys or girls names because it just sounds like lisping - the only exception I can think of is [name_f]Katharine[/name_f]. I’m also not a fan of names beginning with D, I couldn’t begin to tell you why (apart from Dorothy). Oh, and I don’t like the ‘Di’ sound at the beginning of [name_f]Diana[/name_f]
This is such an interesting and fun question! I agree with several berries about sounds they don’t like. There are always exceptions, but I’m not the biggest fan of names that start with b for girls. (Bridget is the exception to this, mostly because I met one who was so sweet that I fell in love with the name. I would not say I loved it in the way that I do now, I thought it was a pretty name though.) I like some b names for girls, and think they work beautifully for other people, I just haven’t found many that I love enough to use myself.
Most k names-with the exception of [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and [name_f]Kaia[/name_f]. Hear me out on this one. It’s not other names starting with k that I dislike. It’s the fact that I think I pronounce them harshly. There is really nothing wrong with them, and again, they work beautifully for other people. They are just not for me!
Thank you, this was fun!
I tend to not like names that end with “een” sound (exceptions being [name_f]Pomeline[/name_f] and Delphine)
I also never seem to find any names starting with “K” or “T” that I like for girls. I think this also leads to my dislike of [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] as it has the hard C sound and prominent T sound at the end
I don’t like it when the “i” makes the “eye” sound. That’s why I prefer [name_u]Maria[/name_u] to [name_f]Mariah[/name_f] and [name_f]Elise[/name_f] to [name_f]Eliza[/name_f].
Speaking of [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], I also don’t like harsh Z sounds. Because of this, I tend to pronounce [name_f]Lisette[/name_f] and [name_f]Cosette[/name_f] with softer S sounds.
Another sound would be “ass” (as in [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], [name_u]Aster[/name_u], [name_u]Aspen[/name_u], etc.)
For me its names that emphasize the ‘errr’ sound like Bertha, Gertrude, and Myrtle