Posted on 04/29/2011 4:07:30 PM PDT by decimon
When it comes to names, everybody's got an opinion. But while figuring out what names people like is pretty simple -- the U.S. Social Security Administration keeps a list of the most popular baby names each year -- figuring out what people hate is trickier.
It turns out that in the case of names, love and hate aren't mutually exclusive. A new informal survey of the most disliked names in America finds that popularity often breeds backlash, as a quick track to baby-name fame seems to also trigger hate for that name. Among the most-hated "trendy" names are Jayden, Brayden, Madison and Addison.
The most commonly cited name that put people's teeth on edge was Nevaeh, or "heaven" spelled backward. That name didn't exist until the 1990s, but it took off in popularity in 2003, shooting from the 150th most common baby name in that year to the 31st most popular in 2007 (as of 2009, it stood at No. 34).
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The survey also turned up a few interesting trends. The first is that people hate gender-bending names, particularly when a masculine name becomes feminine, as with Madison (which tied for second-most-hated for boys with 16 separate mentions) and Addison (which tied for sixth with eight mentions). They also hate names they can't spell, including Kaitlyn, which got eight mentions and tied for sixth. (People say "Caitlin" is fine because it's traditional, Wattenberg said, though the original Irish pronunciation of that spelling would be closer to "Kathleen.")
...The most hated boys' names -- Jayden, Brayden, Aiden and Kayden -- all rhyme and all shot up from obscurity during the last decade. Among girls, a spate of "Mc"-names sparked annoyance: Mackenzie, McKenna and Makayla all made the top 10.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
My middle son (16) and his best friend (also 16) are both named John. No whimpy Jon. There are also a couple of younger kids at our church named John. And the newest baby at church is named Uriah.
LOL! My daughter knows people like that.
My daughter likes old fashioned names. Her kids are Maria, Rocky (okay not so old fashioned), Cynthia, Lenora and Roland.
We use biblical and ancestral names for our kids. My oldest is Nathanael. I feel sorry for him sometimes because no one spells it correctly. We had just settled on the name Nathaniel and the next Sunday at Mass was a reading with Nathanael. It felt right at the time. :0) The rest of them are boring and easy to spell. Still working on names for the next one.
If he was, he was likely Navy...
the infowarrior
My other Grandmother's family went through 8 or 10 generations of Abraham's came to an end with her nephew.
My Grandfathers family has had a William in every generation for at lest 500 years. My dear ex wanted to name our son Aaron Jason. I told her that he would grow up and hang around mens rooms, so I named him Craig William and my Grandson is CW2.
Elliott & Olivia in my house.
Ireland and England fought quite a bit.
Maybe the girls names were predestined.
God bless you and thank you.
RIP LCpl Linn.
Thanks, Allegra. You still over in the sandbox?
I know a young mom whose daughter Cassandra is called (KC) spelled Cassie. But if you call her Cass-ee you get reprimanded. Dimwit.
I am, but I shall be departing in the month that begins tomorrow. And am I ever ready! :-D
Buddy of mine married a Dorcas.
I named my dog "Twice".......He won't come if you call him once.
I named my oldest son after Belteshazzar but he goes by the Hebrew pronunciation - Daniel.
A member of this forum "Ironman73" but I don't know what Ironman73 is in Hebrew.
I just took a barack a few minutes ago.
"They really object to anything ordinary," Wattenberg said. "'Michael' or 'Matthew,' the boringness of those names infuriates them."
Yeah, well Michael is not crazy about your name either!
Our son is named for my father, who passed away not long before he was born. My father’s name was a family name on his mother’s side going back to the 18th century.
My son just passed it on to his son. :)
If your last name is Dover, just don’t name your kid Ben.
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