Help!! My husband and I had finally settled on the name [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m]. I’m usually quite thorough in searching the Internet for negative connotations or associations for names, but didn’t bother to with this name because it seemed quite generic. Well I just googled it and I found out that Dr [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] is a famous pedophile known for abusing children! It’s the first thing that comes up when I search the name in Google. Dozens of articles about him and the awful things he did. A whole Wikipedia article dedicated to it.
Should this automatically rule out the name? I am devastated because it took us so long to settle on this name and we love it. What would you do?!
If I were you I would ask friends and relatives about it-
Have they heard of someone named [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m]?
If more than one of them says yes and they know who he is then dont use it
If they dont, then I think [name_m]George[/name_m] is a common enough name to use without people thinking you named him after that guy
Best of luck and do let us know what happened after bringing this up to your friends!
I usually say ignore negative associations. However, this is both first and last name to share with a pedophile. I would certainly consider other names. [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] is fantastic. Suggestions:
I’ve never heard of him but if that’s what comes up straight away on Google, then yes I think I’d reconsider. As bad associations go, it’s a pretty terrible one.
Such a shame as [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] is a lovely combo. I like them the other way round too though: [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] [name_m]George[/name_m].
Or how about another classic, regal name? [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], [name_m]Charles[/name_m], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m]…?
Thank you all for the honest feedback. I am simply devastated. We have scoured hundreds of names, and this is the only one we’ve liked. All the other regal names come with automatic nicknames that I hate and that I don’t want to fight. The only other one I like is [name_m]Henry[/name_m], but [name_m]Henry[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] is a tongue twister. I’m so mad and sad right now.
Ask around. Many may not know who he was/is. I think, truly, if you want your sons name to be [name_m]George[/name_m], go for it. It isn’t my style and I’m not 100% a fan of bad name associations. But, truly, he is yours and yours only.
I’m not sure I’m clear on this part, and it makes a big difference: is [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] your surname as well, or is a second middle name for [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m]? If it is your surname, then I think it’s too negative an association, too close - an exact match - of the first and last names, and I’m bummed for you! If [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] is a second middle name, I say keep [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Thomas[/name_m], either omitting the second middle or replacing it with something similar: [name_m]Richard[/name_m], [name_m]Rupert[/name_m], [name_m]Redford[/name_m], etc.
If you do choose to find another first name, please try not to worry too much about the built-in nicknames for other handsome, classic names you love. We have very little control over what our children will want to be called when they’re older or what they’ll be called at school/by friends/in adulthood. For what it’s worth, we chose a name we loved even though it has a common nickname we dislike. We’ve had no trouble at all with anyone stubbornly calling our son by that nickname; if it comes up, we just gently say that we call him by his full name (or another nickname, whichever is more appropriate), and that’s the end of that. It’s not as insurmountable a problem in reality as it seems to be when coming up with names before the baby’s born!
I can’t tell you what to do, but I love [name_m]George[/name_m], and had never heard of the man you mean. If your love of the name is strong, go for it. [name_m]George[/name_m] isn’t unusual, and your son will be a positive association.
I’m really sorry that you are in this situation! Unfortunately, I have to agree that the negative association is too much. I think at some point, everyone googles their name and it would be unfortunate for your child to have that association. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t get discouraged. All it will take is the perfect name to drive [name_m]George[/name_m] from your mind! I can tell that you like regal or classic boys names, but I’m a little unclear on your feelings about nicknames. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you simply want a name that gives you various nickname options, instead of sticking you with one? In that case I would suggest, [name_m]Edward[/name_m] with nickname potential of [name_m]Ed[/name_m], [name_m]Eddie[/name_m], or [name_m]Ned[/name_m], or [name_m]Theodore[/name_m], which gives you options of [name_u]Theo[/name_u], [name_u]Teddy[/name_u], or Ted (I love [name_u]Teddy[/name_u]!). Or is it your wish to avoid a nickname entirely? In that case, I have several suggestions. First of all, use the name you like. I knew a boy named [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] and nobody ever called him [name_m]Jon[/name_m] until we got into high school and he started introducing himself by that nickname at times. [name_m]Even[/name_m] then, the nickname never took the place of his given name. In my experience, people tend to call you what you call yourself. A little [name_m]William[/name_m], for instance, won’t be [name_m]Will[/name_m] if he and his parents never call him that. Secondly, you could choose a name that is already an offshoot or nickname of something else. For instance, going straight to [name_m]Jon[/name_m] instead of [name_m]Jonathan[/name_m], [name_m]Ned[/name_m] rather than [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_u]Theo[/name_u] instead of [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]. You can’t nickname a nickname! Third option, pick a name that (like [name_m]George[/name_m]) has no automatic nickname. Yes, despite your best efforts, [name_m]William[/name_m] may end up going by [name_m]Will[/name_m] at times, or [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] reduced to [name_m]Fred[/name_m], but [name_u]James[/name_u] seems no more likely to me to be called [name_u]Jamie[/name_u] than [name_m]George[/name_m] is to be called [name_u]Georgie[/name_u], or [name_m]Henry[/name_m] called [name_m]Hank[/name_m]. While certain names do have automatic nicknames and others don’t, almost every name has some nickname potential. Yet, I know [name_m]Phillips[/name_m] that are never called [name_u]Phil[/name_u], Andrews that are never called [name_u]Andy[/name_u] or [name_u]Drew[/name_u] or anything else. So I guess my point is that while its fine to avoid automatic nicknames, avoiding names with any nickname potential is only going to box you in because almost every name has it! And honestly, sometimes as you grow, you end up loving the many nicknames that different people give you! But in my experience, people will call you the name you call yourself. So pick the name you like and I’m sure people will respect you enough to use it. Best of luck!
Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. Yes, I don’t like the classic names that come with standard nicknames. The problem is I really detest the nicknames of many classics - like [name_m]Tom[/name_m], [name_m]Jim[/name_m], [name_m]Rich[/name_m], [name_m]Will[/name_m] etc. I know I can fight to keep it whole, but not sure I want to do all that work. For example I just know my husband’s family would call [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] “[name_m]Tom[/name_m]” or “[name_m]Tommy[/name_m]” against my wishes. I just would prefer to find a name that didn’t automatically bring a nickname to mind. Up until now, my two favorites have been [name_m]George[/name_m] and [name_m]Henry[/name_m]. But now we have this negative association with [name_m]George[/name_m], and [name_m]Henry[/name_m] sounds bad with [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] (right?). I’m now worried this baby will never be named…
[name_m]Henry[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] is useable and strong and stunning.
I just googled [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m]. I have to agree that in the internet age something so notorious is probably going to need to be deal breaker. At least it would be for me. I’m so sorry that such an evil and disgusting person is spoiling an otherwise perfect name.
But on the bright side [name_f]IMO[/name_f] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] is even better than [name_m]George[/name_m]!
Congrats on your boy!
I understand from your other post that you are zeroing in on [name_m]Henry[/name_m] as the alternative to [name_m]George[/name_m], but I wanted to toss [name_m]Paul[/name_m] in as another possibility. Its as classic and simple as [name_m]George[/name_m] with no obvious nicknames. And [name_m]Paul[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] sounds great. [name_m]Just[/name_m] an idea.
I love [name_m]Henry[/name_m] as an alternative choice! It doesn’t seem like a tongue-twister to me? It just sounds more memorable, somehow.
Because it’s an exact match (first and last) I have to agree with others that [name_m]George[/name_m] would be unusable to me.
That is the worst, but I think there are other good options out there. I think [name_m]Henry[/name_m] works fine with [name_m]Reardon[/name_m]. I also think [name_u]James[/name_u] could work–I don’t think it’s as susceptible to nicknames as [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] or [name_m]David[/name_m] since [name_m]Jim[/name_m] is a bigger step from the original. I know several Jameses who never went by [name_m]Jim[/name_m]/[name_m]Jimmy[/name_m]. I’ll also suggest [name_m]Charles[/name_m], if you can stand [name_u]Charlie[/name_u].
I wouldn’t use it. It’s a dealbreaker for me. I found myself googling my own names various times, and I would not like to find an association like that. There are gorgeous classic regal names that are just as beautiful as [name_m]George[/name_m]. I love the suggestion of [name_u]James[/name_u], for example. And I think [name_m]Henry[/name_m] [name_m]Reardon[/name_m] flows well. Good luck!
I think the name is lovely - very handsome, and don’t know of said person. I don’t think you need to worry. People don’t meet a new baby, then go home and google the name to see if it had odd connections, I doubt many would know.