Baby Name Pet Peeves

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-16-2005
Baby Name Pet Peeves
35
Fri, 09-16-2005 - 11:45pm

Hey all! I'm new here and not expecting anytime soon but always have been fascinated with baby names.

Thought it would be interestiing to see what everyone's biggest pet peeve(s) for baby names are!

Mine:

Girls with boys names...I just can't jump on the whole 'Ryan' 'Cameron' 'Riley" thing.

Close second to common names with crazy spellings (ie: Erica spelled Erykah) and siblings (especially twins) with too similar names-my husband has twin cousins who are 'Trevor' and 'Travis'

Love to see your thoughts!

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Sat, 09-17-2005 - 9:45am
I'd have to say that my pet peeves are the same as yours! I ESPECIALLY dislike the girls-w/-boys'-names concept, especially since I have 4 boys & it becomes harder & harder to find a name that won't go over to the girls.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-16-2005
Sun, 09-18-2005 - 11:37am
Okay, I'm with you on both of those. Similar to the kre8tiv spellings, I don't like when extra letters are added (Carlee, Britnee, Ashlee, etc) or substituted (Jordyn, Abygail, Mackenzye, etc). I don't particularly care for place names (Paris, London, Brooklyn, etc). I also don't like names that require punctuation.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-18-2005
Sun, 09-18-2005 - 9:18pm

one fo my pet peeves with baby names is "name association" like a friend who stabbed you in the back so you hate that name.

and fyi...my name is Arica...the most beautiful way to spell it. :) (pronounced Erica)

have a good day! lol

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-01-2005
Sun, 09-18-2005 - 10:03pm

I also hate names with punctuation it just doesn't make any sense. Girls with boy names really don't bother me that much some do but some don't.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-01-2003
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 12:23pm

I didn't read thru the other responses, so I'm sorry if any of these are repeats

these are not exactly in order of how much of a pet peeve it is, just what order I thought of them in

when the letters run together (last letter of one name, first letter of the next name are the same) ie- Ryan Nicholas (first & middle run togehter) or Ryan Norton (first & last run together) or Ryan Caleb Barrett (middle and last run together) to me this is a big no-no and should be considered when choosing names

when the flow is just really bad - although obviously there are no set rules - some people think a flow is good and others think it's bad - on the same name. but I don't like a one-syllable first name with a one-syllable middle or a one-syllable last. to me, those have NO flow.

I am one who does not like alliteration at all - first & middle or first & last name starting with the same letter. ie - Madison Miller - or Madison Michelle Smith - or even middle & last with the same letter - Madison Danielle Davis. although sometimes I would concede on middle & last if it's an attempt at honoring a family member

I am probably one of the few who does like twin/triple names to start with the same letter. If I had ever had twins or triplets I probably would've done it - if you get up as far as quadruplets then I don't think you should because the higher number multiple births tend to have single identity issues as it is.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2004
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 3:57pm

I hate names with punctuation as well.


I hate family names - like granfather, son, grandson, all named Joe.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-22-2005
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 6:21pm

I agree wholeheartedly with you.

Current baby naming standards are just not my style at all. I am amazed at some of the stuff I see on this board (but it certainly is interesting!)

The concept of giving kids last names for first names started as a preppy thing, where old established waspy families didn't want to "lose" a family name, so they gave it to their children as first or middle names. I don't mind that so much, because at least it has some personal meaning. But if there are no Spencers, Tylers, Taylors, McKenzies, Coopers, etc. in your family, it makes no sense to me at all.

The purposeful misspelling of names drives me crazy too. Adding "y" all over the place, making up spellings. The kids are going to have to spell their names their entire lives. There are tons of children in DD's school named Caitlin (the original Gaelic spelling), Kaitlyn, Katelynn, Kaitlin, Catelyn, etc. I can't keep them straight.

Also, the sound-alike names, where people think they are being creative, but they sound the same when you yell them out on the playground... Hailey, Haley, Bailey, Kaylee, Kayleigh, Kylee, Riley, Keely, Kayleigh. And then Jackson, Jacan, Jaden, Jake, Jack. Jock.

And the boys to girls name... I now know as many girl Aidans as boy Aidans, and also Cameron, Loren, etc.

And the family with similar names with the same first letter... we have friends with parents Don and Dana and kids Derek and Delaney, and parents Mike, Michelle, Morgan, Max, Mason and Madison.

My biggest pet peeve name is Madison. It was not used as a name for either gender until 1984, when the Tom Hanks movie "Splash" came out. When Darryl Hannah (a mermaid) selects her name from a street sign in Manhattan. Tom Hanks says its not a real name. That year the name goes from not being on the top 1000 to being in the 200s, and then it made its way up to the top 10. I have actually heard people call it an "old fashioned" or "traditional" name.

It felt good to get those gripes off my chest. Of course, people can name their kids anything they want, I just feel sorry for the kids when they grow up, or when they are the 5th kid with the same name in their 1st grade class.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-03-2003
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 6:35pm
My biggest pet peeve is names that are very unusual suddenly becoming acceptable because some random celebrity chooses the name. Like Ava all of a sudden getting huge because of Reese Witherspoon and Heather Locklear. Other examples for girls are Emerson (Terri Hatcher), Finley (Angie Harmon) and for boys, of course, there is Jaden (can't even name all the celebs), etc. (Let's hope it doesn't happen to the names Apple and Banjo!) I bet Maddox is catching on because of Angelina Jolie. And one of my co-workers just had a Coco (as in Courtney Cox's daughter). Why is it so many people are only comfortable choosing a name if it has a famous person's stamp of approval?
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-22-2005
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 7:32pm

Whenever I hear Coco I think of the gorilla named Koko that became famous for speaking sign language. Do they still show that video in school? If so, I really feel sorry for your coworker's child!

Of course there is also Coco Chanel, but that was a nickname, not her real name. Her real name was Gabrielle (I like that name!)

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-09-2004
Tue, 09-20-2005 - 10:35pm

The thing that bugs me the most is people latching on to the celebrity bandwagon.


I never heard the name Ava until Reese Witherspoon had her daughter. I never heard Ella until the baby on ER was named that. The next big boy name will be Preston (Britney Spears) and the next big girls names will be Apple (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Coco (Courtney Cox).


lol







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