To think you can't judge a child by their name??

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Would you judge a child by their first name?

Katie Hopkins on this morning was saying how she judged the children her children play with by their names.

There's a YouTube video but can't link it

Slated for saying I generally find... But then have come across amazing and lovely?

An observation!

That's what I was going for when I named them, I think, Ali. Although both of them ended up having my "like this, but not" name. As in, all through my pregnancy I said things like "a name LIKE Sam, but NOT Sam" and then we ended up with that. Same with Margaret. :)

There are plenty of names I like but wouldn't choose because they're not "us." I have a good friend who is really hipster-ish and cool and has a Clover and a Phoenix. I'd never in a million years pick those but they really suit her vibe.

ILove for me it's Connor, but I still think it's a lovely name. Also Matthew. My brother is a Matthew and he's awful. :o

It was hilarious when she said she would judge people if their child had a "place name" and it turned out her daughter was called India

I think what was the most unpleasant thing about that hideous interview was not her assertion that names conjure up pre-conceptions about people, because come on, in all honesty, if you knew that a Hugo/Ignatius/Mungo or a Clementine/Henrietta/Hermione was coming to tea, would you really not have an idea about their likely background? For me, though, it was the sneering, snobby, judgey way she spoke about children in general.

Vile woman.

It's the hardest thing to chose a name anyway, without worrying about stigma and what other people might think. Latte, Diamanté and Kray aren't really for me, but if that floatsyour boat then go for it. Just be prepared to help your child deal with the stick they might get, and hopefully they will grow into it and become strong for it. A lot of people become 'like' their names. I got stick for wanting to call my boy Joe. Not Joseph, or Jonathan , but just Joe. We debated, we argued, we went with the plan B as we couldn't decide, but when he was born he was just a Joe, and it suits him perfectly. Although, to quote my father in-law, you can't have just Joe on a business card......oh well.

Surely the major problem with KH is that, regardless of her horrendous name snobbery, she doesn't want her kids mixing with those of a 'lower class'. Thats what is truly appalling!

I have taught many children that never do their homework and are always late for school, and have 'lower class' names that are some of the kindest, funniest most wonderful children. Ones that I would love my DC to be friends with.

Her children are missing out on their lives being enriched by lovely children because she is a horrid snob. Sad really.

I wouldn't want my DC going to her house on a playdate with attitudes like that.

This not doing your homework thing!!

I sometimes sign off my ds2's homework when he hasn't done it! shock horror! He has a respectable name though, so that cancels it all out I guess :-p

I did overhear my uncle saying that my daughter's name was terribly graaaaaaande for an unmarried mother. YUPP he said that. And.I.Heard. and tbh when I know that there are people out there who think like that, I'm glad that I have 'cheated' and fooled them (evil laugh) by giving my children respectable names.

All of you who make comments about what different names conjure up to you are judging them.

It does not mean you are judging them badly or well, just that a person's name is one of the things we all use to help us form an opinion about someone when we first meet them, along with a whole raft of other things.

For example, my grandmother was called Doris. If I came across another Doris I would expect that person to be a fairly elderly lady. That is a type of judgement.

Of course, using names as a basis to decide who your children should be friends with is completely wrong.

I wonder if KH is aware that half the kids in her DC's classes have parents who don't want them playing with Poppy, India and Max either. Not because of their names, (and I suspect they're lovely kids, to be fair)but because they have a hideously unpleasant mother.

Didn't she also once say she was embarrassed that her husband came from Essex and his accent was therefore common?

I fear Gravity's name will drag her down.

A week ago I would have maintained that I was not judgey at all - I couldn't care less if my daughter plays with Tyler or Connor or Chardonnay. But then I met a little girl called Lolita on Thursday. And I winced. And I judged her parents BIG TIME.

Dadonice
you are a genius!

There was a funny storyline in the Archers once in which a son told his mother he was bringing home a girlfriend called "Nisha". Cue lots of comedy anxiety about whether the young lady would be OK eating meat and 2 veg or require a curry. "Nisha" turned out to be Venetia, posher than posh. The mother's 180 degree attitude about - turn was Hopkinsesque. The son did it on purpose.

:D Dad

She's an idiot, doesn't like children named after geographical locations and calls her child India, doesn't like children named after flowers and names another one Poppy, her own children aren't even up to her own playdate standards

I dont get why its posh to be called India but naff to be Chelsea

The only difference is twenty years. India is not posh is it. It is aspirational. So, as KH says, no I wouldn't expect an India to be from an under privileged background but I'd expect the parents to be 'aspirational' sorry if that sounds like a dirty word.

attila I completely agree, taylor tyler chardonnay, who cares really but Lolita omg.

I think this kind of judging is an issue because there is a general correlation between certain names and social class, just due to local familiarity and popularity I suppose. There will always be exceptions but you often can tell someone's background from their name, making it really important that we don't add to any subconscious prejudice by outright and deliberate judgement.

I do think the correlation is very general though and the excceptions not uncommon.

I work in a pretty posh private school and, over the last few years, I have taught children called:

Chantelle, Anastasia, Arabella, Gavin, Riley, Hugo, Joshua, Oliver, Savannah, Darren, Lili-Mai, Tristan, India, Connor, Paris, Jasmine, Hayden, Jemima, Karissa, Albert, Frederick, Orlando, Florence, Declan, Jordan and many others at opposite ends of the judgement scale.

Similarly I worked in a state school in a very deprived and notorious area and taught children called:

Kelsey, Chelsea, Elizabeth, Damon, Declan, Olivia, Callum, Sebastian, Jamie-Lee and Rebecca.

Both those lists contain names automatically assumed to be 'posh' and names automatically assumed to be 'chav'

Lolita is a very, very common Spanish nickname. Means little Lola, (which in turn is a nickname for Dolores, a very, very common catholic name - which incidentally means pains).

I know families where the first girl is called Dolores, so you could have 3 Dolores living in the same house (grandmother, mother and daughter). It is quite likely that one or the other of the older ones will be nicknamed Lola and the youngest will be Lolita or Loli.

Kiwiinkits you have a good point with spelling. As a teacher I have seen some crackers Kamrun, sharlot (as in harlot with an s), benjarmin, shawn, loois.... You shouldn't judge but how can you not - not judge the child but the parents obv!

Loli is common. Lolita is something you'd hear said to a child more than you'd see typed or written. It's such a pet name. Dolores is dated, so the last time there were a lot of little girl lolitas would have been a while back?

Anyway, it's not really appropriate in an English speaking environment. granted in spain it just means little Loli, (sorrows) but the context and the perceptions are different to English speakers.

See, I (inwardly) smirked a bit when KH was talking, as I view India as a bit common.
Not that that's a view I would ever have voiced, had she not been being so horrid about others' name choices.

+1

I was thinking about this today if she had said 'I wouldn't allow my children to play with x,y or z because of the colour of their skin or because they have a disability' it would almost be unthinkable but because she is saying 'I won't let them play with them because of their name' she somehow thinks this is acceptable.

In my mind it is prejudice and sterotying on par with the above and just as sickening. It also makes me really sad that her kids will grow up with this sort of attitude and think thats o.kay.