I think it’s a beautiful name, and I am neither [name_m]Christian[/name_m] nor anything anyone could ever construct as ‘white trash’. The idea of spelling words backwards to come up with a baby name is, if nothing else, something with a historical precedence ([name_m]Semaj[/name_m]), and in the case of the perhaps plain word [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] makes it an aesthetically beautiful baby name for people who like Ns and Vs and ‘ae’ – all of which are very popular. The ‘[name_f]HEAVEN[/name_f] SPELLED BACKWARDS IS HELL!!!’ criticism probably makes sense if someone’s naming their daughter [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] because of their faith, but the name [name_f]Lilith[/name_f] is also beautiful and increasingly popular, and it’s literally a demon’s name. The only reason this name is so widely hated seems to be because it’s a ‘white trash’ name, and that’s a self-perpetuating stereotype given that if people who don’t fit that stereotype refuse to call their daughters [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] only the ‘white trash’ will use it.
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f] is only the name of a demon in Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition, she was the first wife of [name_m]Adam[/name_m].
I find [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] tacky (using tacky for lack of a better word) is because it’s a word spelled backwards. I also don’t like it because a.) it’s always followed by its-heaven-spelled-backwards, b.) there are over a dozen spellings, c.) people have no agreed pronunciation, d.) it isn’t pronounced like it is spelled , e.) it’s a very trendy name that literally no one had heard of 20 years ago, f.) there is legitimately NO meaning to the name (other than “heaven spelled backwards”). There’s 7 reasons… I’m sure I could come up with more.
As a self described name nerd, I prefer names that have a long history of use and have been around for over 100 years. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]/Nevaya/[name_f]Neveah[/name_f]/Nevayah/etc. don’t fit that bill for me.
There’s one overarching reason. It was coined in 2000.
The basic truth is, it’s easy for people to trash a name if you believe nobody with that name is going to be reading your comments. At the time, Nevaehs wouldn’t have been much older than ten. Everyone felt they could safely scapegoat this name for all tryndeighness without upsetting anyone.
Obviously come 2015, that’s changed, the oldest of the Nevaehs are 15, and it’s increasingly common for kids to have easy access to the internet, so even the younger Nevaehs will now be reading the comments left. But by now it’s just basically the main example people give of a trendy name.
I’m not religious, but the idea that spelling [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] backwards means hell is absurd. Hell means hell. There’s no such rule in the English language that spelling something backwards reverses the meaning and it’s just sensationalist reaching.
I’m not [name_m]Christian[/name_m] and I think it’s a nice name. I think that some people are just unnecessarily judgemental about other people’s preferences a good deal of the time. I must admit I wouldn’t use it and I’m not really sure how it is supposed to be pronounced but I’d never assume that a kid, or the parents, were trashy (or anything else) for choosing that name. Give me a made-up name over one that’s deliberately misspelt any day
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f] in some religions is considered to be a powerful protector [name_f]Goddess[/name_f] also. It’s a legitimate name with lots of history and culture (not all positive of course) whereas [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is still new and “made up”.
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f] is a legitimate name. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is made up and just seems tacky for that reason. Then people try to spell it or say it differently. I mean, it’s [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] spelled backwards, spelling it wrong just shows you can’t spell it backwards… And pronunciation, well there is none since it’s a made up word, so it’s whatever floats your boat.
I wouldn’t think a kid was trashy or the parents were trashy for having it as a name, that’s a bit harsh or too judgmental, but I might assume the parents were either religious or trying too hard to be hip.
I feel it’s religious because [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] is a religious mythological place. I believe in reincarnation, there is no heaven in my belief system, so for me that’s intrinsically tied to other religions, thus making it a religious name.
I have to agree that I dont understand the stigmitization! To those who say its tacky I dont understand…though not a name id used, I think it sounds lovely. Tacky bc its made up? Idk theres a lot of tacky names imo and plenty of made up names that dont get the flack this name seemed to. So what that its heaven backwards I think thats actually pretty cool my name backwards is anad…pretty lame and def no meaning. Its pronounced exactly how it looks to “ne” (nuh) “vaeh” (vay uh). I cant imagine pronouncing it any other way as a native english speaker (though i guess it could be open to interpretation). I know a perfectly adorable [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] whose sassy and sweet. If you like ot use it. Let the haters hate. I really dont know why this name got so much flack out of literally nowhere.
I tend to dislike names that teachers (friends and family) have had a bad experience with in the past. From my generation, my teacher relatives had horrible Michaels. From my friends who have been teaching a couple of years, Nevaehs are the ones who cause problems (although they both lived in a similar area so it could be regional). However, I still prefer [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] to [name_f]Lilith[/name_f]. At least heaven is associated with a nice place, [name_f]Lilith[/name_f] being a miscarriage demon is not something I’d want to name my child after. In the end, we all have our opinions about different names and you shouldn’t let it concern you since there will never be a name that everyone can agree is perfect.
Ha, I pronounce it [name_m]Nuh[/name_m]-vay instinctively. Saying something is pronounced as it looks means nothing in [name_u]America[/name_u]. There are many names that are pronounced differently. [name_f]Anna[/name_f] could be [name_f]Ann[/name_f]-uh or [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-nuh. [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] could be Mad-uh-lyn, Mad-uh-line, or Mad-uh-leen.
Tacky = bad taste to be blunt, which in my opinion, applies to all made up names or names with creative spellings.
I kind of wonder about this particular point, too. Mind, I don’t have any love for [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] and would never use it, but I don’t think it’s really any worse than all the Braylees, Kinslees, and Paisleighs. ([name_m]Just[/name_m] spotted an Aalivyah, an Aariya, and a [name_f]Skylynn[/name_f] in birth announcements recently. Winced over all of them.) Although I can understand why many people wouldn’t like it (I include myself in that group) it does seem that everyone piles on [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] more than other equally trendy or invented ones floating around. Perhaps it makes an easier target because there was lots of talk about it when it was first invented?
A lot of literary names loved on here were invented: [name_f]Lucinda[/name_f], [name_f]Araminta[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], [name_f]Yvaine[/name_f], [name_f]Arrietty[/name_f], [name_f]Cosette[/name_f].
I think part of the reason that [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is “tacky” when compared to these other types of invented names is in how it was invented. Most of these other names were a spin off or nickname for another name, have some sort of original root to them, or are just pleasant sounds someone creatively came up with that mimicked the sounds of other names. There is some sort of creativity and aesthetics that went into them. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is literally just a word spelled backwards. Spelling a word backwards isn’t artistic or creative, it’s just spelling a word backwards. You can maybe get away with it if it’s subtle, but [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is anything but subtle, and that is also part of the problem. It’s not the sound of [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] that’s the problem (though personally I don’t find it very appealing), it’s the origin.
But don’t, say, [name_f]Skylee[/name_f], [name_f]Paisleigh[/name_f] and other names fall into the category of being spin-offs? Could [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] just be a spin-off of [name_f]Heaven[/name_f]? I’m not a fan of either name but it does seem there is something much much deeper that makes people call a name tacky than just origin. Ninel (”инель) was a name that was invented by spelling [name_m]Lenin[/name_m] backwards (”инел, then adding a ь to make it feminine) but I’ve never seen anyone jump all over that either.
I wouldn’t classify [name_f]Skylee[/name_f] and [name_f]Paisleigh[/name_f] as spin-offs, I’d classify them as misspellings and I think there is a very big difference. I’ve never heard of the name Ninel so I can’t really comment on it, but my instinct is that 1) spelling a word backwards is still kinda tacky and 2) Ninel is not considered as tacky as [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] because it is either more subtle or not as well known, which like I said in my first post is a large part of the problem. There is no getting around the fact [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] backwards. Everyone knows it and most people proudly proclaim it as if their decision was something original and creative which is a huge part of why the name is stigmatized. Similar to misspelled names like [name_f]Skylee[/name_f], [name_f]Paisleigh[/name_f], most people who choose the name think they are being, creative, artistic, and original and will proudly tell you that [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] is [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] spelled backwards because they are proud of the creativity of the name. The problem is the name isn’t actually very creative so these people who are incredibly proud of a not very creative name come across as not being very creative and intelligent themselves. They didn’t do something very creative and original, but they think they did, and that is why a certain stigma is often given to people who use this name. Is that true of everyone who uses this name? No, absolutely not! But it is true of enough people who used it and more importantly it’s true of how the name came to be in the first place.
You are 100% right.
Also, I’m 100% with @casilda’s comment!
And another thing, [name_f]Annabeth[/name_f] is a common nickname for people who has the name [name_f]Anna[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and has been around way longer than [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. Same goes with other names mentioned by some users in this thread. And another literally invented names, like [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f], have something that [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] lacks, and that it’s history. The oldest [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] in the world may be 15, right now? It came out of nowhere. It doesn’t have any cool origin or story and the whole “is [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] spelled backwards” is too heavy of a baggage to look away.
I can’t speak for others, but my own personal problems with it are as follows:
It’s a misspelling. Misspelling is not ever a clever or advisable thing to do when it comes to a child’s name, and it ultimately speaks very poorly of the parents’ IQ.
“It’s heaven spelled backwards!” - I see so many people so proudly proclaim this, as if I’m supposed to be impressed! I’m not impressed, to be honest. [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] in itself is a poor choice of name, in my personal opinion, but spelling it backwards (again, misspelling it), makes it a hundred times worse.
It sounds terrible. Some tend to say that it looks atrocious but it sounds pretty, and I couldn’t disagree more. [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] fits right in with stereotypically American ghetto names like La-a and Shanaynay. There is no elegance, beauty or refinment to it.
It’s not subtle. More recently made up names include the likes of [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] and [name_f]Wendy[/name_f] - names that you never would have guessed were made up if you hadn’t been told beforehand. On the flipside, you can tell just by looking at [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] that it isn’t right.
Overall, in my opinion it is an ugly, cheap, juvenile, unprofessional and utterly unsavoury name choice.
While I stand by what I said, I still Squidly what squidly to say, although at some point, [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f] was a completely new name, these all would have been totally new at some point.
@aldabellaxwulfe - The name La-a, or [name_m]Le[/name_m]-a isn’t real. It’s based on a racist urban legend, read more here.
