Outgrowing names

[Happydoingitjusttheonce]

In dentist waiting room yesterday and dental nurse calls "Alfie". A near 6ft 16 year old with a tracksuit and key wig rises from his seat. He probably made a cute Alfie when he was a toddler. Do kids outgrow cutesy names?

A poster up thread with a master's degree was worried that her name might effect her chances of getting a job - possibly, but poor grammar would affect her chances more.

Sorry, English is my third language. Dont think I'm doing so badly considering

Haha, my first ever biscuit.

I thought auto correct might get the blame.

A poster up thread with a master's degree was worried that her name might effect her chances of getting a job - possibly, but poor grammar would affect her chances more.
I think you should look at your own word choices.

You are correct - I omitted [sic].

There was a newspaper article about a young girl who has made a lot of money out of a website advising Chinese people, who wish to give their DC an English name (all the rage apparently), on what English names would be suitable for their child so that they can avoid inappropriate meanings. She is the DD of the actress Lisa Maxwell IIRC. Good for her. Her name, incidentally, is Beau. O the irony!

I find it hard to believe any parents who could afford to send their daughter to Cheltenham would dream of calling her Chardonnay-Blue.

Well obviously. But my point was, if you're rich you can call your kids whatever you like, they'll be fine. For the rest of the population though, people do judge and I don't know a parent would want to put a potential barrier in the way of their child's future success.

OP just because people will do things it doesn't make it ok. As already pointed out, some people are racist and sexist so should everyone give their kids English and male/unisex names as to not hold them back?

You can also go by any name you want even if it's not official, so 'Beth' can put Elizabeth on her CV if she's particularly bothered about being employable to judgemental snobs. It's no hassle at all.

Calling your kid pixie or bunny is completely different of course but I really am failing to see the problem with Alfie, Teddy, Beth etc. They are all perfectly normal names and I know several Alfie's in their early twenties. It is snobbery especially as you've decided Charlie is ok .

And as no one can tell if you have French roots just by looking at your name on a CV/speaking to you briefly then presumably the name Chantal shouldn't hold you back either?

Re: the tradition of Mother's maiden name as first son's name - my late uncle's name was Bentley. Certainly no judgement against it, but for those who can't see past the end of their nose, who knows what prejudices would pop up. He was born in 1969, so it wasn't like an attempted to join the cutesy name brigade.

My DD's name is Brigid - my son is Reginald (was called Reggie, now that he is 19, he prefers Reg).

We live in Canada, so all I hear about their names is how unusual they are, and how "yooneek" the spelling of Brigid is. Nope, not unique - traditional, and don't get me started on proper pronunciation. We don't fight the pronunciation, she is known as Bri-jid.

I hope they aren't set up for a life of unemployment based on narrow-minded HR "specialists".

It's all about context - a Chardonnay-Blue from Cheltenham Ladies College

But that's exactly the point - it's highly unlikley that Chardonnay-Blue would be at that school in the first place.

We live in a solidly middle class area in Scotland. My kids are at school with children with very standard names. The most "cutesy" or out-there name I've come across is Keegan. Most of the kids have very normal names with a good smattering of Scottish names thrown in - Isla, Katie, Sophie, Alexandra, Olivia, Sarah, Hannah or Jamie, Rory, Euan, Michael, Fraser, Gregor, Oliver etc etc.

It is not discriminatory to say that some names are more popular with people who live in poorer areas and have lower levels of education. It's fact.

And if you're recruiting someone to represent your company you have to consider their name. I'd rather have Sarah, Fiona or Amelia on the reception desk than Destyny-Blu, Chardonnay or Princess-Pinky.

My mother's first name is the name of the capital city of a very small part of France, which used to be a country of its own. My middle name is that country. She has only driven through France on the way to Brugge, no other connection. The name SCREAMS 1970s, which is when i was born. As does my first name. My surname is Irish. Would you employ me? Or would my CV get binned after a watercooler giggle?

When i was young my cutesy names were: Sparrow, Eric and Esmeralda (i cried during the 'Esmeralda gave me water' scene in the Hunchback of Notre Dame). Not a diminutive of my first name, which doesn't really shorten without sounding shit.

I think it is thoroughly shameful to discard CVs due to the name on top. Positively cunty.

And my name is common - in more ways than one. When I started at a new (girls') school, I was one of 17 with my name in my year. Of course, it is a name with several spellings, so I still have to correct that.

Never heard of a famous or overly successful person with my name, either - although there is a song I like with it in.

There certainly is, Jolene.

I disagree with frivolous, actually. In fact I get the Thatcher connotation, however, both dp's mother and grandmother were called Maggie and were staunch Labour supporters.

And that's definitely 'Maggie' and not 'Margaret' I double checked after reading this thread!

I have this thought about little girls called molly, Millie and Maisie too

Really? To me they are very old fashioned names! I know lots of very elderly women with these names.

Elfin nice try. Right era, way wrong song.

Mine is by Elvis Costello.

Beth? Good god, it's as classic as it comes. You may as well have a problem with people called Claire or Louise.

OP By the way, Aimee IS a 'proper' name. It means 'loved' in French.

Clearly your company doesn't place much emphasis on employing highly-educated, 'quality' candidates after all .

This is an interesting thread. I don't think it's possible to be entirely without prejudice against certain names. I've certainly heard teacher friends groan that their class has an X/Y/Z in it, meaning that they are likely to be disruptive (and their parents are likely to be hard work).

I do see the OP's point but it is a pity because it punishes people for the deeds of their parents. I suppose that the implication is that if Billy-Boo's parents weren't sensible enough to realise that the name might not suit their child once they hit their thirties, the child may not be all that sensible either.

I know of a guy whose parents called him Damien (he was born shortly after the Omen came out). He calls himself John.

Someone upthread mentioned school as a social marker.

School/college/university is also covered by the name blind recruitment process that my employer uses.

I wonder how Klay Rooney will get on. Terrible name but private school.
Good luck to the wee soul.

@PoppyPopcorn

It is not discriminatory to say that some names are more popular with people who live in poorer areas and have lower levels of education. It's fact.

This x 1000. ^

And if you're recruiting someone to represent your company you have to consider their name. I'd rather have Sarah, Fiona or Amelia on the reception desk than Destyny-Blu, Chardonnay or Princess-Pinky.

PMSL, Destyny-Blu!!! 😂

As has been said, people will judge people based on their Christian names. As bad as it is, it's what people do.

Same with where they come from. My niece was picked for a part time job working at a major law firm for her uni placement. My sister lives in a rural village in Cambridgeshire, and my niece's name is Elizabeth.

She was told a week or so in, that several other people applied, but she was picked over them because of her name and where she was from. Eg, Elizabeth who lived in a cottage in an upper-middle class village in Cambridgeshire, was a preferred option to Chardonnay or Britneigh-Leigh who lived in a flat in the middle of Wolverhampton.

Employers, and, as someone said on the previous page also universities, will judge people on their Christian name.

I wonder if anyone knows a Chelseigh or a Tyler or a Britnee or a Tilly-Mae who goes to Kings College London, or Cambridge, or Oxford? I bet no-one does. (Although I am sure a few people on mumsnet will claim to know a few!)

I just really wish people will think it through before they name their child, and realise that they have it for life. AND, it will affect them for life.

When teachers say they suspect that kids with certain names are going to be the troublesome and disruptive ones, (and they usually are,) they are not being 'prejudiced,' they are telling it like it is.

I would class Cameron as a boy's name by the way, but a girl can pull it off. Girls can pull off traditional boy's names much better than boys call pull off traditional girls names!!! Imagine a boy called Helen Or Emily? Or Destynee-Blue or Ashleeeighhhe-Mae! 😄