To not understand why people call their baby...

[smellfunny]

Not to be goady, but I don't understand why people give their babies names with negative connotations or meanings. Examples from the top of my head being:

Cain (murdered his brother in Old Testament)
Hector (hector also being a synonym for bullying someone)
Tristan (this one is a bit contentious because it can either mean 'tumult' or correspond to 'sadness')

Is it just that people don't think about the meanings behind the names? Feel free to add more names to the list...

Bonus name: 'Claudia' coming from the Latin word for 'lame'. I gave this one a pass because it's so established and the connotation is generally unknown...

Naming your child a slang name for genitals is not the same as naming them after a literary character who tops themselves.

Oh dear... I'm expecting baby number 2 next week and if it's a girl, she will certainly be called Ophelia. I'm Head of English in a school, and her name choice is absolutely a literary reference (as is her sister's, albiet not a tragic heroine). Phonetically, I think it sounds absolutely beautiful which is what is important to me.
If I do have a daughter, who, in many years time comes home telling me other students are teasing her after studying Hamlet, I'd tell her she was lucky as there are a million other much worse things she could be called and to grow a thicker skin. Dear me, the things I hear children saying to each other in and around school are significantly worse than this. They will always find something to pick on!

I remember going to Primary school with a Siobhan and the teacher saying: 'No, in my class you will be Jane'. And Jane she was!
She would have renamed half the class now, the Trunchbull...
(1970's Kent)

Agree Battlax. Greek mythology is part of our culture and heritage, it's woven into our language and art. I haven't read the Iliad, but I know the stories.

@Battleax - I absolutely agree with you there - literature certainly shouldn't be elitist, I myself come from a modest background. But there are expressions of opinion here that certainly assume that people who name their children things like Ophelia are either a) stupid, b) thoughtless c) uneducated. I simply posit that yes -
some people probably don't know all the references to a name they have chosen. But also they might know it and not care or they might know it and have chosen it because of or regardless of the meaning/character reference. We then enter the argument about whether that is appropriate (is it ok to name a child after a fictional suicide victim, will it make life harder for them etc...)

But there are expressions of opinion here that certainly assume that people who name their children things like Ophelia are either a) stupid, b) thoughtless c) uneducated

Oh yes I'm with you there. Not on.

I'm just pushing back against the allegation that it's pretentious to know such things, or to attach significance to etymology, or to enjoy words, even. It's not remotely pretentious.

I think life can be hard enough- knowingly giving your child a name which has the potential to make it the tiniest bit harder is a dick move

I think you’re stretching here to justify a bit of snobbery. So says the parent of a tragic Shakespeare heroine

As it happens, I've just repeated my point to DH, about only names such as Lilith or Lucifer being seriously ill advised , and he doesn't know who either of them are. So I'm face-palming now He could at least a bit prove me wrong, damn him.

NOT prove me...

Do you understand the concept of a Spoonerism? Angelia Jolie and Brad Pitt called one of their children Shiloh...........

I've never noticed that before! I think she prefers to be called John. Luckily.

"I think you’re stretching here to justify a bit of snobbery"

I'm not you know-it's what I really think! If it was snobbery I would feel no need to justify it it's only the characters whose main association is with the tragic heroine or whatever. Juliet? Fine. Desdemona? Not fine. Opherlia? Marginal- but in my opinion not fine.

I don't look at name meanings 🤷‍♀️

@Battleax - oh no! Push away there - if it is pretentious then I am guilty! I love learning of etymology and how language changes and develops. As I have previously said, DS has a literary name and a very geeky one at that.

I'm just pushing back against the allegation that it's pretentious to know such things, or to attach significance to etymology, or to enjoy words, even. It's not remotely pretentious.

I should clarify from my perhaps poorly expressed first comment - I don't think it's pretentious to be interested in such things. What is pretentious is when you harangue other peoples choices by wearing your knowledge on your sleeve without necessarily knowing that other persons motivations for choosing that name. I don't think anyone should be ashamed of being well educated or interested in etymology or symbolism or Shakespeare or anything - but there is a whopping level of snobbery in parts of this thread that highlights the fact that a lot of people have knowledge for knowledge's sake.

Because people don’t know every connotation attached to a name. I love Hector but had no idea it meant bullying.

I think we're probably back-to-back pointing out guns in different directions fink.

To the middle way

"If you think Cain is problematic and I'm fairly indifferent, I know of a young boy called 'Kayne' (shudders)"

I know, it's such a shame that British Colonialism didn't manage to completely eradicate those sorts of names/people.

@Battleax 🥃 mines a whiskey! 🤓

Amelia (from Wikipedia)
Amelia is a female given name. It is an English-language variant of Amalia, derived from the Germanic word amal meaning 'work', and connoting industriousness and fertility. Diminutive forms include Amy, Emma, Milly and Mel. The name also exists in Spanish and other languages.

but there is a whopping level of snobbery in parts of this thread that highlights the fact that a lot of people have knowledge for knowledge's sake.

Or worse, that some people have knowledge so that they can judge/ look down others.

There's nothing wrong with knowledge for knowledge's sake, I feel I must state.

Knowledge for knowledge's sake is a fine thing.

People (kids) don't look that deeply to mock names, anything that rhymes with something (preferably rude) will do.

I remember "Chris Chris smells like piss", "Tina Weiner" Richard being shortened to dick.

And the poor bugger who had a full name with a couple of S sounds and a severe lisp getting called "Thamantha Thmith" for years.

But what you personally find normal in a name Bert may not make a difference. You could call your child the most innocuous name imaginable and there will certainly be people who dislike it or have preconceptions that make them mock it.