'Chavvy' name.

Rafferty is an Irish surname, so certainly not posh.

I know 2 boys called Caleb and one of them is actually called Caleb James. He's best friends with my DC and is such a lovely sweet child with beautiful manners and absolutely not a bit 'chavvy' comes from a lovely, hard working and caring family, his name was chosen for the Biblical connections.
The other Caleb I wouldn't know as well but comes from a nice family and I believe his name was also chosen for the Biblical connections.
Where I am (in Northern Ireland) Caleb would be seen as not too common but a very normal name.

gosh I'm SE and knos a few Calebs, all. solidly MC or UMC. I had no idea it had gone over to the dark side. What is it about the letter K? Does any boys name beginning with K now automatically get the chav connotation? When I was at school I knew a nice Kyle and always thought it a good name for a boy. Of course now you'd be a pariah (unless you were a chav, whatever one of those is these days and didn't give a fuck I suppose) - thanks to old Jezza Kyle I suppose and his clientele.

Anyway, I digress. I think Caleb James is a really nice boys name and round here, London SE, it wouldn't have any negative connotations I don't think. I find Rafferty a little effete and fey, for some reason, but I don't think it has particular connotations, I just don't like it. I only know one.

I think Caleb is a gorgeous name.

But feel free to ignore me as I have a Logan which is a bonafide chav name apparently. if you ignore the fact that he was named over 16 years ago when hardly any other bugger had heard of it

As long as you call him Cay-leb, not Car-leb as friends of mine have done!

The only Caleb I know is the son of the local Baptist minister so I would associate it with religion too.

(and also the beautiful KOL frontman you've already mentioned)

I have a Rafferty and love it. Never considered what others thought about the name, so am quite amused to hear of the vast array of reactions to the name.

I know a couple of people could Caleb in this area. Don't dislike it or think it has any of the connotations you mention in your OP but would definitely pick Rafferty over Caleb.

Not to OP. I think it's so so so rude (even not snobby) to call sone names "chavvy".

Just... Why to categorise names so badly? Posh, "chavvy", boring, dated, etc.

If that's a real name that's a real name.
People sometimes are so rude here (in this part of MN)

Caleb is just a normal name to me. I only know one, and he's very middle-class. Both parents university-educated professionals, etc.

I'm not a fan of Rafferty. Too posh! Lol.

I don't think either are especially chavvy or posh. However I would say Rafferty is really a last name and is quite "of the moment" - so personally I think Caleb is a better choice as it is more classic and will age better in the long run. I think it is a more tasteful name.

Cardiff do you hoik your pants at Mohammed or Ali? Or is it just Jesus that annoys you? How about Emmanuel?

I am not Cardiff, but I would think it very odd for anyone who was not Muslim to name a child Mohammed, and I think many Muslims would find it odd too, and for anyone not Spanish to choose Jesus, etc.

It is hard to find a really good analogy to some random person choosing 'Cohen' as a name for their non Jewish child.

The point is that a cohen (kohen) is a hereditary position in Judaism; the cohens (kohanim) were and remain a lineage whose function was/is priestly, though there are many Cohens who are not priests. In Judaic tradition, they are the descendants of Aharon (Aaron).

This tradition has been borne out by genetic testing.

Love Rafferty! I don't see Caleb as 'chavvy' but to me it's a bit of a meh name, I could take it or leave it, Rafferty James gets my vote.

Rafferty just sounds like an Irish name to me

It's just a surname here in Ireland.

"My friend is actually a very intelligent person, she just likes a name that you don't. She probably has far better social graces than someone who insults strangers on the internet in order to get some kind of excitement on their Friday night too."

Have you not been insulting, with your referencing to "chavy names"?

Oh I love Caleb! Rafferty is new to me but very cute. I am currently caravanning though so maybe my opinion isn't worth much

Re Cohen, I thought that was a no no but I could be wrong. Like you can't name someone Cohen, they have to be a Cohen? Again, though, I'm in a caravan....

It's amusing to me as an Irish person to see the name described as 'too posh, too try hard, too poncey, too celeb and now chavvy.'

It's a kind of a comedy Irish surname.
It always reminds me of a children's rhyme from long ago my childhood in Dublin, which I dimly recall featured the name Rafferty, though it could have been Flaherty - anyway, 'seven old ladies were stuck in a lavatory' was one of the lines..

If you wanted to be original or even literary, would you consider Raftery? Anthony Raftery (Antoine Ó Raifteirí) was a foremost Irish poet of the late 1700s. The name sounds much more dignified, imo.

Raphael is lovely too.

I think Caleb sounds really clunky, and the Calebs I know are a weird mixture of urban hipsters' children and the offspring of 'spare the rod and spoil the child' parents.

I agree that using Cohen is a huge NO NO. It is a term that has enormous significance in Judaism. It is not merely a name even though it is used as a surname. 'Culturally naive pillock' is a perfect way to describe someone who would do this. Not all words are up for grabs to name children with.

Rafferty

Nope

I've got a friend with a Rafferty who lives in the north. He's the only Rafferty I know.

Prefer Caleb to Rafferty but here's a twist I picture a Caleb with dark hair and a Rafferty who is blonde or red-head.

Because in the north I have never heard of anyone being called Rafferty. In which part of the UK are all these kids called Rafferty?

Caravaners? What's that mean?

I should confess that as well as a Caleb I also have a Jayden. And I still don't think I'm a "chav" I just chose names I loved.

Cardiff do you hoik your pants at Mohammed or Ali? Or is it just Jesus that annoys you? How about Emmanuel?

I never thought of caleb as chavy but thats mumsnet for you. Someone mentioned levi the other day and that got slated. I must have chavy tastes as their two if my faves