Do you classify or label people by their name?

[manicinsomniac]

And does it often turn out to be correct?

I have a shameful addiction to the baby names forum.

Recently I have noticed my oldest daughter's name getting rather a slamming. It has come up in the past and it has generally been agreed on as 'chavvy'. Recently is has been called 'truly awful' 'dreadful' and 'just no'.

Her name is Savannah. The names Susannah, Samantha, Sophia and Sylvia however, are almost always received positively. These names, especially the first two, are very similar. So what is it that makes Savannah 'truly awful'? I can only assume that people are basing their liking of the name on what they assume its owner or her parent/s to be like, rather than the actual sound of the name.

I've also seen that people 'hate' the names Charlize and Charmaine but really like Charlotte. That they think Jayden is an awful name but like Aiden and Hayden. Isabella and Annabella are lovely but Arabella is ridiculous.

Am I unreasonable to think that people pretend not to like names when the truth is that they just have a particular association with a name that they wouldn't want for their child? And, if so, do those associations bear out in real life? I'm getting worried that I've saddled my child with a name that will cause people to roll their eyes before they've even met her. Especially as comment about my other two daughters names tend to sum up as 'nice but dull' and 'nice but posh' as oppose to 'god-awful!'

Definitely leads me to think that it's not the sound of the name that is the problem.

Names give me a visual picture, some names make me think of people with that name, I really dislike Louise because I have never met a nice one (although I have known a Lou who was wonderful).

Place names make me think of the places rather than the person, with the odd exception eg Florence.

Savannah makes me think of Africa and grasslands and lions.

Made up names I think, 'not enough real names for you?'

Made up spellings eg Shevorn and Jay-sun- just why?

But your baby, your choice

Employers will employ adults for the job because they are right for a job its only a handful of snooty mumsnetters who say otherwise op im sure savannah will be fine, the baby name threads is bonkers some of the names they gasp at are just everyday normal names really and the ones that are loved are just as normal for them. My dds name is considered dull and bland and if anybody suggests it they like to slate it as dull but offer alternatives of the same name other dds name is an approved name both 90s names

I met a young locum Gp called Kylie last year and i remember kylies little kids and it was seen as a common name

I like Savannah - it has no odd connotations to me though I do associate it with the actress and Africa. Had forgotten the US deep South connection

I do judge names, particularly the made up names or weird variations on spelling just to make it more interesting and a bit too "try hard". I also find it a bit odd when people call their child a very eg: Italian name, when they have no family connection. Alessandro is a beautiful name imo but sounds a little weird when paired with Smith or Barnes for example. Even weirder [to my ears] if it was paired with Murphy or McCarthy.

Large employers, particularly those who have traditionally employed white well educated graduates from good backgrounds are now starting to adopt a process where CV's are anonymised for names and universities due to the unconscious bias they create. The data is fascinating. I wasn't born or brought up in the UK so I find it particularly interesting as I genuinely don't know [beyond Oxbridge] what the full list of Russell Group unis are, what the "good" schools are [again beyond those which are a household name] and to some extent, what's a reasonable set of A levels/GCSE's. As a result of this blindness which I think I've made some "interesting" hires particularly within the current company I work for.
All that said, if I got a CV for someone called Princess, it would genuinely make me wonder whether or not they would be credible to colleagues. They would also be highly unlikely to end up in Professional services without a name change.

I've never really liked Samantha - it sounds too lispy .

But I don't think it's illogical to like Susannah and not Savannah, if you like traditional names.

Likewise, I like Isobel and Annabel but not Isabella and Annabella, because I think the 'bel' sound makes them 'fancy' enough but that extra A is just too twiddly for my taste - and the same logic applies to Arabella.

But with plainer names, the A usually changes them from a bit naff and 70s into something more classical sounding - Marie/Maria, Julie/Julia, Ann/Anna, Suzanne/Susannah.

I think we all have our own logic, and I don't think it's just about associating names with people you've met: it's usually a combination of your own preference and priorities with, I have to say, a bit of snobbery thrown in in some cases!

I like Savannah but what does it matter what i think? You picked it because you liked it and it conjured the right feelings in your head for your daughter, end of. It's not weird and won't cause your dd problems. Why worry?

flame suit on I would have pre conceptions about someone by their first name. Sometimes I've been proved wrong, sometimes not. I say name your children what you like, but there will be people/employers in the future who will judge (that's life).

My sister in law has called her son, something I guess sounds "chavvy" and you just wouldn't be able to put QC in front of (who knows-prove me wrong, I hope he does). I know when my parents chose mine and my brothers names they made sure we could be plumber xyz or Dr xyz!

I think accent had a lot to do with how a name is perceived. Some names that sound nice with one accents may not with another.

When choosing DD's name I tried to imagine how it would sound if I had to call her name in the park or supermarket. It sounded fine, I have family from various places and countries and again I think her name sounds fine (maybe not as nice with my cousins husbands american accent)

I also know a woman from work who has a Southern English accent and when she says her sons name it sounds nice but the way it's pronounced with the local Glaswegian accent it doesn't sound like such a nice name.

I also think that as mentioned before names can remind you of people and it will influence your opinion of that name. I personally have never met a nice Kevin or Rachel so I would never choose those names but that's not to say they aren't nice enough names it themselves.

I think it's very hard not to pre-judge people based on their name although that judgement may not last long after you've actually met them. For example the mental pictures I conjure up thinking of a Philippa and a Chantelle are very different.

Personally I like classic or biblical types of names. i'm not keen on modern names, made up names or americanised names (like savannah, sorry!). But each to their own - it would be very boring if we were all the same.

I would judge their parents rather than them, I like the idea of anonymised CV's.

The names for my children aren't unanimously popular even amongst our immediate family nothing pleases my mother they have classic but not common names (in the sense they are the only one in their class I mean), their names will suit them (I hope) as adults whether they be waitresses, bank clerks, postmen, authors, actors or lawyers. And most importantly when I shout them in the supermarket or park they know I am shouting at them and ignore me on purpose the little shits

I am struggling to guess whystannis' name

I wondered if it was Madison (80s film being Splash)

I was thinking Kim or Kimberley, but I can't think of an 80's film with the name now.

I like Savannah, not keen on the examples of Suzannah or Samantha as similar names.

Worked with someone who's wife used to ring up and say "Tell him it's Suzanne…that's Suzanne" because the first time she rang, when I was one hour into the job, I accidentally called her Susan. Every time she rang. For six years.

For what it's worth, I prefer Susan to Suzanne and that woman is probably the reason why. Susan sounds more classic and delicate, and it was in the Anne Tyler book. And nobody has ever said "Susan…Susan" to me on the phone.

We used to go to a play group with a Montanah and a Nevaeh, and I didn't like either of those names, although they have the 'h' at the end. Savannah is lovelier than either of those.

Whoever suggested Splash was correct I didn't meet another Madison until I was 15 and she was 2.

I'm from a forrinland and Savannah would be a bit unusual here, but not unheard of (we have plenty of Siennas, Sierras, Samaras etc so Savannah would fit in well!). We're a people who feel compelled to shorten any and every name so your DD would probs end up being 'Savvy', which may or may not be a good thing. You'll never please everyone so I wouldn't try if I were you, be happy with the name you picked and don't worry about what others think.

I wouldn't judge an individual but I may have a mental expectation when given a name of who I am likely to meet. I may judge the parents. However, I think Savannah is lovely name a I do not have the chavvy association with it that I do with some of the other names you mention.

I don't live in the UK, but find it amusing all the angst over names. Here, you get a list of approved names, and that's it, no made up, re-spelt names, just traditional, mostly religious, names, choose one, and get on with it!

I wonder whether a part of the strong reaction against diminutives, made up spellings etc is because (for those of us who are a bit on the older side) we think of them as being either little child names or affectations of teenagers and that therefore they are just a bit innappropriate for adults - we think perhaps that the person should have grown out of being 'Jimmy' and used their proper name of James on their CV, that Lily-Mae should be using Lily by now, or that Emeelee should have dropped the silly spelling and reverted back to Emily?

When I was a teenager lots of my friends adopted made up versions of their names for a few years, lots of adding double 'i's (with hearts ) etc. Also most people who'd used diminutives at school had dropped them by the time they went to university, or later when they got jobs. Some of course kept on being Kate/Becca etc and some did the opposite and adopted a short form but surely the name you choose to use does say at least a bit about you? It's one of the reasons I gave my children names with a few options, so that they could express themselves a bit if they wanted.

What makes me feel a bit sad is when you get threads where people discuss the names they would have given their DC if they were brave enough. But they went for something boring more traditional instead.

Why not give your DC an interesting name? Why call your DC the same name as millions of other people? I think it's a real shame.

Love Savannah, by the way. We had it on our shortlist.

Nooka I have a young relative who shortened her name and then added several I s in the middle it did look ridiculous.
She has now stopped adding the many i s.

Also knew someone called Emeelee and it did cause her problems.

Treadsoftly- my employer has been removing the first sheet of the application form( which contains the applicants name and gender) for years.

Oh and another thing I can't understand why would someone give a child a name with no intention of ever using it?

My friend's son is known by his middle name, because if my friend had used the two names she liked for him the other way round, his initials would have spelled an unfortunate word.

I do try hard not to judge but I struggle not to judge parents who use kre8tiv spellings of regular names because having had an unusual maiden name coupled with a first name which is usually spelled one of two ways, I know what a PITA it is to go through life spelling it out.

I have an odd thing though where I automatically "see" hair colour when I hear a name, and it isn't linked to people I've known with that name. And diminutives of a name won't necessarily have the same hair colour as the full version. So Katie is auburn, Kat is dark brown/almost black but Catherine is blonde.

Using someone's middle name causes Bethen lots of problems though, especially if the 2 names use different letters.

If your name is Catherine Olivia and your parents call you Olivia then all legal documents will be under Catherine. Problems with passports, banks ( cheques made out to O surname).

Just pick a name you like and stick to it!

If the initials spell out TWAT for example pick a different name!

Do these parents have no common sense?

We're we the only parents in the world who checked that our dcs initials were not going to encourage people to take the piss out of them?

Do parents not say the first name and surname together when choosing a name?

I do know a Paul Ness- pness . Who in their right mind would inflict that on anyone. And yes he does get the piss taken out of him and yes strangers do think that it is a joke and he cannot seriously have been called Paul with the surname Ness.

It doesn't seem to have caused my friend's son any major problems and he's a well-travelled 30-odd year old professional [shrug]

I also find it a bit odd when people call their child a very eg: Italian name, when they have no family connection. Alessandro is a beautiful name imo but sounds a little weird when paired with Smith or Barnes for example. Even weirder [to my ears] if it was paired with Murphy or McCarthy

How do you know great grandad wasn't Italian if you don't actually know anything else about the person you are judging? A person could be of mixed heritage, how do you know until you get to know them? Or would you just not bother to get to know them ( or employ/interview ) them on account of them having a silly sounding name?