What are some of the worst name trends that you’ve seen?
Boy’s names on girls. They’re not cute, cool, strong, or spunky - just really, really sexist.
I hate the -ayden trend. I heard of a kid on TV called Wayden. I know a [name_m]Kaden[/name_m] and several Haydens, Jaydens, and Aidans. Sick of the trend. And I agree, with @[name_f]Augusta[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. The boys names on girls is completely sexist and annoying.
Cre8tyv spellings
Augusta_lee I’m curious as to your logic as to why giving girls typically male names is sexist? Not trying to be argumentative, just curious, I actually quite like masculine names for girls.
The worst trend I see is parents adding the letter Y to names that do not require it: Why oh Y does this seem like a good idea to so many parents in the U.S.?
Does this happen in other counties? It seems to be an epidemic here: lot of extra letters, but Y seems to be the favorite.
By far, the worst example I have seen lately is a baby girl named Haydley Maeigh. Everything appears misspelled.
I also know a sibling set: Keyera, Kierstyn, and Braxtyn! The saddest to me is Kierstyn, pronounced [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f]. [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f] is lovely! Why spell it Kierstyn?
I know this is a horrible stereotype, but names like these make me think of low-income cheerleaders, not graduate school applicants. And yes, I realize that is an unfair, cruel bias.
This has been discussed many times on NB. The sparknotes version: We live in a culture in which men are favored over women and qualities associated with masculinity are considered superior to those associated with femininity. Girls are given traditionally male names because those names are associated with masculine qualities like strength, while traditionally female names are seen as weaker, frillier, and less interesting. Another common reason for girls getting male names is the passing-down of the mother’s “maiden” name, since she assumed her husband’s surname after marriage - another sexist tradition. Conversely, traditionally female names are rarely if ever given to boys, and once a name has “gone girl” it’s considered irreparably tainted and unusable for boys. Much as I love Nameberry, Pam and Linda are absolutely complicit in encouraging this appallingly sexist double-standard - they recommend Roscoe, Stanley, and even James for girls, while historically male names like Morgan that are now also used for girls are discouraged from being given to boys at all. If you look at the girls’ Top 100, there are so many male names. However, there isn’t a single traditionally female name in the boy’s Top 100 - in fact, I’d be shocked if you could find one in the entire Top 1,000.
And that’s why giving girls male names is sexist.
ETA: I’m not trying to pick on anyone or start a fight. There are many, many threads in the Nameberry archives outlining both sides of this debate. I don’t want to hijack this thread with the same old talking points.
Misspelling names for the sake of being “original” is definitely my least favorite. I can find something to appreciate in every other trend, just not this one. The virtue names craze? [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is in my top three. Boys names on girls? I think [name_u]Austen[/name_u] and [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] on little girls are adorable. Replacing O’s with Y’s (I SOMETIMES distinguish this from ‘misspelling’)? I actually prefer [name_u]Ashtyn[/name_u] to [name_u]Ashton[/name_u] when it is being used for a girl.
But the wacked-up, hard to distinguish spellings? Nothing. No jewels.
I HATE “[name_m]Mac[/name_m]” names…esp on girls. “[name_f]Michaela[/name_f]” is fine, but bastardize it by spelling it “[name_f]MacKayla[/name_f]” & I will thrash you with a wet noodle! [name_m]Add[/name_m] to that travesty all the poor little dolls with awful names like “McKenzee”, “MacKendrye” & my very ‘favorite’ – “McHayley”…there’s that “y” again!! (@ least a dozen of that lot in our Mother’s [name_u]Day[/name_u] Out school of <150kids!). Like someone said above…cheerleaders from the wrong side of the tracks. Ugh.
FYI: Pretty sure all the rest of the little girls at day school are named “Emma”, “Bella” or some variation thereof. I guess the truth is, I just dislike trends period. Was really trhilled to find 2 of my fave names didn’t even make the top 1000 in the last 30yrs!
Creative spellings: I’m an Aussie, and reading through the US top 1000 gave me a headache! There were so many creative spellings and too many unnecessary ‘Ys’! It’s made me want to give my future daughter a really easy name to spell: [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f] or [name_f]Mia[/name_f]. This way she’ll stand out in a refreshing way 
Girls given boys names: I’m a strong believer that girls should be given girls names, and boys given boys names. One of my best friends in high school was the youngest of 2 girls. She had a girly first name, and had her father’s masculine name as her middle. She absolutely hated it and was so embarrassed! These days that would be considered bang on trend though! I wonder if she appreciates carrying her father’s name today? I think it’s kind of special having a namesake like that as a middle.
Kr8tive spellings and made up names drive me crazy! A child’s name shouldn’t look like it’s parents failed elementary school English i.e. M’Keyelynn Rayn or Jaxxyn Iszobel. And then the nerve of these people to get snarky when you can’t pronounce their nonsensical name
Boy names on girls and “unisex” names only bother me because they’re so one-sided and sexist. If I met sibsets like [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] (b)/[name_m]Archer[/name_m] (g) or [name_f]Camille[/name_f] (b)/[name_u]Claude[/name_u] (g) then I’d applaud the parents for not being the norm. Most people are far too afraid to go there. More often than not the people who think a masculine name on a girl is chic wouldn’t dare give a boy a “feminine” name. The trend is basically saying that male= positive and female= negative, even for girls!
To be honest I hate most trends because they become ubiquitous and annoying.
- ayden names are just a bit overused in my opinion
And I hate names that are just intentionally misspelled or with y’s where they shouldn’t be. Myckayla? [name_u]Jaidyn[/name_u]? ugh
Also from watching toddlers and tiaras (a secret love) I am SICK of [name_f]Hailee[/name_f]/[name_f]Kayley[/name_f]/[name_f]Haylee[/name_f]/Kaeleigh/[name_f]Haeley[/name_f]/Kaelee/[name_f]Hayleigh[/name_f]/[name_f]Kailee[/name_f] WHY CAN THERE NOT BE ONE SPELLING OF EACH?
I too hate boys names on girls. I hate when searching Nymbler, I type in a name like [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] and it asks me if I mean it for a boy or a girl. Who names their daughter [name_m]Ethan[/name_m]???
Sorry, I have rage about these things. Let’s call me passionate? 
- [name_u]Ayden[/name_u]/[name_u]Aiden[/name_u] names: While I don’t mind [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] and [name_u]Hayden[/name_u] so much, all of the rest annoy me. A lady in my ASL 3 class was so excited her grandson was born. I asked her what his name was and she said, “It’s [name_m]Zayden[/name_m]!” I was cringing on the inside. I hope I didn’t show it on my face. lol
Misspellings/replacing an “a” with a 'Y": A friend of mine had a son she named [name_u]Jordyn[/name_u] a couple years ago. I like the name [name_u]Jordan[/name_u], but why stick a freaking 'Y" in it? [name_m]Just[/name_m] spell it the normal way!
Masculine sounding names on girls: I HATE it when people give their girls names like [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_m]Beau[/name_m] and [name_u]James[/name_u]. Those girls are going to be called “he” for their whole life. Unisex names are fine, but names that are obviously male names are a no no for me.
The trend that annoys me the most is the whole -ley/lie/lee/leigh trend for girls. I don’t mind [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] or [name_f]Emily[/name_f] but I feel like people take it too far when it comes to names like [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f]/[name_f]Hailey[/name_f]/[name_u]Bailey[/name_u] and [name_u]Riley[/name_u]/[name_f]Kylie[/name_f]. They change spellings and add and take away consonants until you have Braiyleigh, Jaylei, McKailee, Haysley and [name_f]Bryleigh[/name_f], Ilee, Skyley. And there’s also [name_u]Paisley[/name_u], [name_u]Presley[/name_u], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u]/[name_u]Adley[/name_u], [name_u]Marley[/name_u]/[name_u]Harley[/name_u], [name_f]Miley[/name_f], [name_f]Kinsley[/name_f]/[name_f]Kinley[/name_f]/[name_f]Kenley[/name_f]/[name_f]Kensley[/name_f], [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]/[name_f]Tenley[/name_f], [name_u]Everly[/name_u] etc…and they can all be spelled any way you want. It seems like any word/surname, boy’s name or place name that ends in a -lee sound is fair game for a girl these days. I just want it to end.
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite -lee name is Iwantedtobecree8tivelee. XD
Oh I thought of another trend, mostly here in the UK
People add -may on the end of everything
If I see another [name_f]Ellie[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Lilly[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Tia[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Molly[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f] (yes, that’s a thing), [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]-[name_f]May[/name_f] or anything else I’m gonna scream.
‘[name_u]Unique[/name_u]’ spellings are also rife here… [name_f]Lillie[/name_f]-[name_f]Mai[/name_f]… just WHY
I personally love traditionally masculine names on girls. Although it may seem sexist (I understand why) I think stereotypes shouldn’t limit what you name your child. A specific example of something that really annoys me is when people who like the name [name_m]Adrian[/name_m] for a girl, think they can only name their daughter [name_m]Adrian[/name_m] with an e- [name_u]Adrien[/name_u] because it makes the “girl name” cut off. It drives me crazy…
There are trends I dislike, but the one I most loathe is intentional misspellings, especially when actual phonetics are ignored. Madysyn is not pronounced like [name_u]Madison[/name_u]. I think someone posted on here last year about a Peishens or something that was supposed to be [name_f]Patience[/name_f]. You don’t get to make your own orthography and then get mad when people don’t know how to pronounce it.
Seem I don’t mind some of these trends here. I quite like McKaila, but I have a friend with that name. I also like a lot of names with ys in them! Like Kaily, [name_f]Lya[/name_f], Lyli, [name_f]Lydie[/name_f], [name_m]Hadyn[/name_m], and Jaxyn, within reason. Of course, not names like Tylyayn and Kyaira, but lots of you are just being unreasonable in your opposition to ys where other vowels had been. I also love unisex names, not only because I think they’re adorable, but because I’m sensitive to the LGBT community, what with being a part of it, and so I want my child to not have a huge problem with their name if they have a non-standard gender identity. I love names like [name_u]River[/name_u], [name_u]Piper[/name_u], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u], [name_u]Eliot[/name_u], [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_u]Austen[/name_u], [name_f]July[/name_f], and [name_u]Calypso[/name_u] on boys and girls, and everything in between. A Name trend I dislike is giving your child and ugly old lady name just to be hipster, like [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], [name_f]Ethel[/name_f], [name_f]Mildred[/name_f], or [name_f]Myrtle[/name_f].
Yes, this. I agree with most of the annoying trends already mentioned but I find misspelt names irritate me beyond belief, especially when you go on to read the nonsensical reasoning behind it.
[name_m]How[/name_m] is it unreasonable to oppose putting random Ys in names when the letter Y doesn’t even make the same sound as the actual letter it replaces? There are correct ways of spelling names, just as there are correct ways to spell words; there’s a reason there are 5 vowels. Uvvawyze ynywyn cyd spyll fyngs whych yva wy thyy wyntyd ynd nythyng wyd myke synse.