Riley..

Riley= the pumped up super soldier from buffy.

In each chavvy area there will be names that are so popular they sound chav to the people who live around them. It will differ from each area which is why people are debating on here what is and isn't chav.

othersideofchannel I don't think there are many people in the UK who can define what chav really is, so I feel sorry for those of you who are looking in and trying to work it out! If you look at some of the things it's supposed to stand for (eg Council House And Violent) you get more of an idea. It's a whole culture though, Vicky Pollard is a good caricature of what Chav is.

You can't not chose a name you like because someone know's a 'chavvy' child called that name. There will be a chav called pretty much all names you can think of somewhere! Look at the name Victoria = Vicky Pollard? Imo it's the person who is chavvy NOT the name. You'll raise your child to be exactly who they are regardless of their name.

LOL at your description of Chavvy

I'm not English and have never really understood what 'Chav' and 'Poncy' mean, but that explains it really well!!

Chavvy is different to popular IMO. Harry is not chavvy just very popular. My next door neighbour has four massive gold earrings in each ear, wears a massive gold doll pendant round her neck and has a massive sovereign ring on her thumb. Her 16 month old is called Riley and can barley walk in the huge massive Reebok classics he wears. This is chavvy.

The baby next door is called this and they are the most chavvy family I have ever come across. I don't like it one bit.

Jack, Charlie, Harry and Lewis can never be chavvy imo! They are so traditional (well Lewis has been around for about 50 years hasnt it?)
Actually, I like all the top ^10 boys names, they are so Thomas Hardy and traditional english.

So different from when I was a child and all the boys were called Ian, Andy or Dave or Steve

I have the most popular name for girls my age, it actually stayed in the charts for about 10 years, it's a surname (276). My partners name is never out the charts, it's a surname (2116).

Last years boys names:

Jack - 7,478
Thomas - 157,096
Oliver - 30,803
Joshua - 406
Harry - 2,187
Charlie - 21
Daniel - 8,390
William - 843
James - 82,997
Alfie - 0

The number next to the name is how many people in this country have that name as a surname, I haven't included variations (such as Williams or Charles) on that.

So when I said about ignore the surname comments, I was being very literal. Please give me an example of a name that isn't a surname. The gentry must have a monopoly over names if only Alfie in the top ten is free for us common folk!

I like it

Chavvy

I'm not keen. I gave ds1 a first name which is a common surname, mainly because it was the first name of a favourite uncle. I do slightly regret it and feel faintly embarassed when I introduce him to people because I do think it sounds chavvy. 'Blimey O' also came to mind for me.

Gregory, Ross and Duncan are all sur names.

BUT. Reilly is different. It's been taken up in America by people with only a hazy understanding of their own roots. That makes it seem a little downmarket imo.

I've read it myself on babycenter name boards (years ago). I'm calling my DD Riley because we're Irish/Scottish. Eh? Como?!

Very nicely put ladychambers

Very nicely put ladychambers

"Ignore the surname comments, a lot of names are both"

Yes but it used to be something the gentry first did a loong time ago. It is quite the opposite in modern times ie now, in my opinion.
e.g

Indistinguished! MN is making me snigger today.

Smashing.

Dreadful and indistinguished.
Lowbrow in any area. A very modern name (as a first name)will be the Wayne of the noughties.

I heard Robson Green recently talking about how the surnames-as-first-names thing is a tradition where he comes from.
Because being a miner was such a dangerous job the first born son in each family was given a surname as a first name as a way of keeping the family names going. Hence Robson - and I think his dad was Wilson. And there's a Golightly Green in his family too!

I think it's a lovely tradition.

One of my best friends DD's is called Reilly. Her Mum is Australian. I am sorry to say I don't really like it, it sounds like a character off Neighbours to me. Sorry!

I love it, it's my DSS's name and all we ever here out of Tink is "Riley" and "My Riley"!

I know they've had to be strict on the "Rye" thing though, so keep that in mind if you do go with it. It's not an easy one to find named things for either, we brought home a truck with Riley on it and he kept asking if we'd really bought it off the shelf and not had it made!

Ignore the surname comments, a lot of names are both as I pointed out once to an MNer who was rather vocal about her dislike of surnames as first names - her name is a surname!

Are there not enough proper names to choose from, without feeling the need to choose a surname from the telephone directory.
Awful I'm afraid.

For a boy or girl?

First thought is that it's a surname

Trendy with the "hyphenating kre8ive set" at the moment.
Very down market, sorry.

and I did think of the C word