I can’t stand [name_m]Bear[/name_m].
[name_m]Archie[/name_m], [name_u]Alfie[/name_u], [name_u]Freddie[/name_u], or [name_m]ALBIE[/name_m] on a birth certificate. No thank you.
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]. It’s a food. It’s the quirky hipster alternative to [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] call her [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], okay?
Made up or overly “southern” names. By this, I don’t mean historical or regionally specific names but but rather babies named after gun brands, names related to hunting, or over the “southern belle” girly names which typically are anything but. I think this mostly annoys me as it perpetuates an image of the south which is mostly inaccurate and always feels like the parents were trying too hard.
Nicknames as names: I get the argument that if you plan to call them by the nickname why not just put it on the birth certificate, but something about it seems incomplete too me. Also, nicknames are often cutsie and I like the option of the child being able to use a their full name later on if they choose.
Surnames as first names when you have no connection to them. In the past, when I saw a surname as a first name it was mostly a family name that was being passed along which I love. To me, a lot of family surnames have become less attractive as they become trendy which I find annoying for those who have personal connections to the name.
Unique spellings. They don’t make the name more “unique.” They just cause confusion and make people assume you don’t know how to spell.
Nicknames as legal names (although I can understand if they have become widely accepted ad givens at this point such as [name_m]Liam[/name_m])
Made up spellings especially if they don’t make phonetic sense
Specifically the names [name_m]Fletcher[/name_m] and [name_f]Greer[/name_f]
Let’s see:
Changing the spelling of a “boy” name because you are using it for a girl. I know someone with daughter Logynn and I don’t see why it needed to be altered just because it’s being worn by a girl. [name_u]Logan[/name_u] works just fine.
Sibling names that rhyme. Like they’re both nice names but I wouldn’t name my sons [name_u]Dorian[/name_u] and [name_u]Florian[/name_u] or siblings [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and [name_m]Nate[/name_m].
Siblings given basically the same name. You can get away with the same meaning sometimes if the names sound very different from each other, like [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f], but naming your kids something like [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] and [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] or [name_u]Michael[/name_u] and [name_f]Michelle[/name_f] feels like one kid has been cheated out of a name.
More than two middle names. Multiple middles can totally make sense; maybe there are two people you really want to honor or that second middle just brings the whole name together. But more than that just feels really excessive in most cases. This isn’t an ancient aristocracy, and the whole name is never going to fit on any documentation other than the birth certificate.
bougie/elitist feeling names like [name_u]Reign[/name_u], [name_u]Kingsley[/name_u], [name_m]Prince[/name_m], [name_m]Baron[/name_m], [name_m]Duke[/name_m], [name_f]Tiara[/name_f], [name_u]Royal[/name_u], [name_u]Fortune[/name_u], etc.
I can’t stand it when parents go way out there with the names. I’m all for unique/rare names, but those like Abcde and [name_m]Track[/name_m] don’t work well, especially since those names may attract bullies. There’s no need to go that extra length to make your kids THAT stand out from the others. It’s okay to give your kid a name that’s moderately common. Though I’m not a fan of names highly used myself.
This is really just a taste thing but I get so disappointed when people use names I think are boring, popular or too modern.
Examples:
Definitely animal names, like [name_m]Bear[/name_m] and [name_m]Wolf[/name_m], I just don’t get the appeal? It’s like naming a child Rabbit or Horse =/ I also foresee lifelong bullying and teasing with those kind of names. As nicknames they are okay, but for a real full name??
[name_m]Bear[/name_m] seems especially unfortunate to me because of its associations with large hairy gay men.
I realize in other cultures their word for [name_m]Bear[/name_m] or [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] is a totally acceptable name, but they don’t have tons of use in English. If you wanna call your son [name_m]Bear[/name_m], name him [name_m]Edward[/name_m]. (from ‘[name_u]Teddy[/name_u] [name_m]Bear[/name_m]’). Like [name_m]Bear[/name_m] Grylls!
My pet peeves:
Misspelled names that don’t follow English spelling rules.
I can deal with [name_f]Makayla[/name_f] or [name_m]Jak[/name_m]. But I saw recently mentions of children named Macalaugh and Jaqk, and I can’t deal with that. Especially Macalaugh, because I see how it could be pronounced [name_f]Makayla[/name_f], but there’s also about eight other ways you could pronounce it using English spelling rules.
Boys names on girls that will never be perceived as feminine.
I don’t buy for a second that most people on here truly dislike all boys names on girls. [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] is a boys name! But if you look at those names that have crossed over–or are still unisex–they’re, one, already sort of feminine sounding, and two, almost always names that were rare for boys. People bitch about [name_u]Avery[/name_u] getting stolen by girls, but you know when [name_u]Avery[/name_u] was most popular in the US for boys? 2017! The most recent year we have data for!
On the other hand, there are people naming their daughters [name_u]James[/name_u], also known as the most popular American male name in that past 100 years. Almost 4.8 million. More than there are people in [name_f]Louisiana[/name_f]. And of course it spent hundreds and hundreds of years being a popular male name in [name_f]England[/name_f]. You aren’t going to make that a girls name or even close to one. I am positive they will all be changing their name to [name_u]Jamie[/name_u] as soon as they turn 18. And I don’t think a feminine middle will help here. Partly because a lot of popular girl middles can also be used for boys, e.g. [name_u]Lynn[/name_u], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], but also because even if it’s [name_u]James[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], people are going to think ‘oh, that’s nice, they gave him his mother’s name as a middle! [name_m]How[/name_m] progressive!’
I also saw someone mention a female [name_m]Sheldyn[/name_m] recently. That’s bad.
It also frequently, with certain names, comes off as very trying too hard. Ooh good for you, I see that you read the same book every other American read in 7th grade by naming your son [name_m]Atticus[/name_m]!
Obvious nicknames as given names. [name_m]Liam[/name_m] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f] stand well on their own, but [name_m]Willy[/name_m] and [name_f]Rosie[/name_f] do not.
Overly popular names. Like [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_m]John[/name_m], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], [name_u]Michael[/name_u], etc
Too many repeating sounds in a combo. I like each given name to be unique.
Old people names with no modern appeal. Like [name_f]Prudence[/name_f], [name_f]Bertha[/name_f], [name_f]Gladys[/name_f], [name_f]Myrtle[/name_f], etc. or [name_m]Bernard[/name_m], [name_m]Clarence[/name_m], [name_m]Chester[/name_m], [name_m]Earl[/name_m], [name_m]Horace[/name_m], [name_m]Mortimer[/name_m], etc. Please, no one is cool enough for these names.
“[name_u]Unique[/name_u]” spellings of well known names. Like Jaysin, Allizabeth, Tiphanee, Merandah, etc.
Overly masculine names on girls. Like [name_u]Carter[/name_u], [name_u]Parker[/name_u], [name_u]Logan[/name_u], [name_u]Beau[/name_u], etc.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
I totally agree on the obvious nicknames thing. I think for a nickname to make a good full name, it needs to not obviously come from the original name. So [name_m]Kurt[/name_m], [name_f]Cindy[/name_f], [name_f]Megan[/name_f], and [name_m]Harry[/name_m] are fine because their origin is relatively opaque. It’s not just about childishness; I wouldn’t slap down, say, ‘[name_m]Tim[/name_m]’ on a birth certificate, because people would constantly be assuming it was short for [name_m]Timothy[/name_m] when it wasn’t.
I feel like you might change your mind on the old fashioned names if you met a young person name that. I went to high school with a [name_m]Bernard[/name_m] (born in 1998), and it totally suited him. [name_f]Bertha[/name_f] I wouldn’t use because it’s SO negatively perceived, though.
Oh yes, the literary names trend bugs me too. I’m really not much of a reader apart from fantasy/books about medieval times, and never got assigned To Kill A Mockingbird in high school, but the names [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] and [name_u]Scout[/name_u] bug me too for the same reason.
I know the top 10/20 names are up there for exactly this reason, but it really irks me when people choose all their childrens’ names from that pool, especially with girls for some reason. [name_f]Do[/name_f] they not remember being in school with three [name_m]Laurens[/name_m] and four Rachels? A friend of mine has had two girls over the past couple years and they are called [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and [name_f]Isla[/name_f]. I do like their names, but they are just SO expected I find it boring. With all the beautiful names out there why do people continue to keep picking the likes of [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] and [name_f]Ella[/name_f]. ([name_m]Just[/name_m] to clarify I think [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], etc. are all beautiful names, but I know multiple children with each and they just feel overused/saturated).
I imagine this is where the difference between being a namenerd and a normal non-name-aware person comes in. If you truly don’t ‘see’ names you wouldn’t notice how popular they are? I suppose if you don’t take notice of things like birth announcements, top 100 name lists, names of the offspring of your closest friends and family etc. I can maybe see it… (desperately trying to pretend I understand, but really, I just don’t :D).
And also like many before me:
Ok… and I’m done. Thank you for allowing this vent space 
I agree with much of the other things posted here although they don’t all bother me to the same degree. These are my 2 biggest pet peeves though.
Intentionally choosing a first name you’ll never use with the idea of only calling them by their middle name. It seems overly complicated and confusing for the poor child.
Someone else mentioned using -son names for girls that literally mean “son of ____.”
I have a couple of peeves, the biggest of which are:
Animal names (like [name_m]Bear[/name_m] and [name_m]Wolfe[/name_m])
Surnames as first names
Cutesie nicknames as full legal names
Unnecessary 'y’s for creative/uniqueness (like [name_f]Madisyn[/name_f])
Excessive Mythological/Historical names (things like [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] and [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] are nice but [name_m]Apollo[/name_m] and [name_f]Cleopatra[/name_f] are ridiculous)
Names that haven’t been unfashionable long enough to come back (so [name_f]Margot[/name_f] is cute and a surprise but [name_f]Karen[/name_f] is still stuck in the 70s).
And honestly, very weird/unusual names which is probably an unpopular opinion around here. My name is has been in the top 100 in my country since I was born (hovering around 60) and yet I sometimes find myself uncomfortable with how uncommon it is.
I don’t have many.
Mispellings. I wish more people would stick with the original spelligns of names. And I KNOW I’m guilty of this with my sons names Dashel but it’s the only way my husband would let us use the name as he thought [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m] was too complicated. I wish I’d stood my ground, now, but it is what it is. It’s more ‘trendy’ mispellings I hate, with extra unnecessary letters.
Names that are too close to siblings. I knew a girl called [name_u]Jean[/name_u] at high school whose sister was called [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and I couldn’t comprehend why their parents would choose two names that sound so similar.
Cutesy names as full names. Something like [name_f]Birdie[/name_f], [name_f]Poesy[/name_f], [name_f]Bitsy[/name_f], [name_f]Honey[/name_f] etc as nicknames are fine but I hate seeing them as full names. I can’t imagine hiring someone called [name_f]Birdie[/name_f]. [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] NN [name_f]Birdie[/name_f] is perfect.
Mmmm. I’m definitely guilty of a few of these, lol.
I just hate y’s. [name_u]Madison[/name_u] is not my style but it’s fine enough. [name_f]Madisyn[/name_f] is awful, though. [name_f]Emersyn[/name_f]. [name_f]Addisyn[/name_f]. Adding a Y does not make it more feminine.
Also adding [name_u]Lynn[/name_u]'s and ley’s onto shorter names/words to make them into a name. A friend of mine recently became a godmother to a baby girl called Wrenlynn. They only call her [name_u]Wren[/name_u]. The -[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] is just ridiculous and a waste of letters.
Preach it! So true. People think we’re crazy at first when we announce our baby names but eventually people don’t think twice about them and consider them normal. Plus, people kind of expect it from us now that our baby definitely won’t be another [name_f]Ava[/name_f] or [name_u]Aiden[/name_u].
Word names
Food names
Kre8tively spelled names
Names that just plain sound annoying
[name_f]Season[/name_f] names
Animal names
I probably forgot some, but oh well.
This is the only one that gets me. I just can’t understand how someone would knowingly give their child a name that would offend an entire group/race/religion/etc. of people.
I don’t have a huge problem with [name_m]Dashiell[/name_m], because at least where I’m from this is not a common name and many people would pronounce it [name_u]Dash[/name_u]-ee-ell. Same with spelling [name_m]Geoffrey[/name_m] and [name_f]Gillian[/name_f] as [name_m]Jeffrey[/name_m] and [name_f]Jillian[/name_f]. It’s different than re-spelling a name that has an intuitive pronunciation.