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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not understand why people call their baby...

570 replies

smellfunny · 15/01/2018 08:20

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...

OP posts:
knowsmorethansnow · 15/01/2018 08:36

We know a child called Arson

Original poster
smellfunny · 15/01/2018 08:37

LoniceraJaponica

OP I think you are overthinking it

Yes, definitely I am! I was reminiscing over old school friends and then decided to consult the Mumsnet jury to see if I was the only one who was curious about these name choices. Evidently I'm the odd one!

OP posts:
Original poster
smellfunny · 15/01/2018 08:38

sausagerollsrock

One of my friends though that Chlamydia would make a pretty girl's name Grin

OP posts:
LoniceraJaponica · 15/01/2018 08:39

"Baffles me that it's so popular."

Because most people don't know or don't care. I didn't I know a few Amelias and none of them are illnesses or serial killers Hmm.

Joseph is a very popular name in spite of it being the same name of a 20th century mass murderer.

ChristmasAddict · 15/01/2018 08:40

Meaning of a name is important to me but it's not to everyone and most of the 'negative' names have become mainstream, just look at Amelia!

sausagerollsrock · 15/01/2018 08:41

smellfunny

Mydia could be a funky nickname I suppose Grin

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 15/01/2018 08:42

Candida is the one that puzzles me. Why would you call your daughter after a yeast infection?

KayaG · 15/01/2018 08:45

The only one that would bother me is Cain.

Whenever I hear it I think of the chap who killed his brother.

juneau · 15/01/2018 08:45

Amelia = no arms or legs

Yeah, I agree OP. When choosing a name for your DC I cannot understand why people don't look up the meaning and perhaps have second thoughts.

Wincher · 15/01/2018 08:47

I was at an event at the weekend where a register was being taken of about 50 7-9 year olds, and I could swear one of the names they read out was Jezebel. Yes it's a pretty name, but really??

CappuccinoCake · 15/01/2018 08:47

When I first heard a "Lockyer" I had just given birth and for ages couldn't work out why she'd call a baby "lochia!" I'm now used to it.

I've met a homeschooling alternative pagan mum who told me her daughter was called "malice" but didn't know her well enough to check if it was another case of me misunderstanding.

SumAndSubstance · 15/01/2018 08:49

I was mostly interested to know why people would choose names that have an intrinsically negative connotation. Either through their original meaning or origin.

But the original association of Hector is Hector, eldest son of Priam of Troy. It's only much later on that it became a verb in English.

I do know what you're saying though. Cain has always mystified me and, while I've never met one, I've seen some love for Salome on the baby names board.

Original poster
smellfunny · 15/01/2018 08:51

SumAndSubstance

Whoops! I guess I left 'current synonyms' off the list. Thank you for correcting me Smile

OP posts:
WellThatsATurnipForTheBooks · 15/01/2018 08:52

Like someone else mentioned, the only one I'm confused by people using is Candida

yoyotogogo · 15/01/2018 08:53

Lolita Confused

yoyotogogo · 15/01/2018 08:55

Met a little girl recently called Helvetica... that confused me too

tillytown · 15/01/2018 08:55

Amelia isn't only a disease, it's also the name of the Victorian mass murderer who killed over 200 babies.

bfgdreamtree · 15/01/2018 08:56

but I don't understand why people give their babies names with negative connotations or meanings

Because what meaning was given to a name by someone elses religion thousands of years ago means nothing to them? And why should it? Names don't really mean anything at all.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 15/01/2018 08:57

Well I reckon you could find a negative connotation to most names if you looked hard enough, but I do kind of agree with you nonetheless.

Really obvious negatives wouldn't have been my choice though.

Notreallyarsed · 15/01/2018 08:59

Hector doesn’t have those connotations for me (Scottish) but then I wouldn’t name my child Hector either.

SumAndSubstance · 15/01/2018 09:01

smellfunny, you're welcome - I'm a classicist so I feel obliged to stand up for poor old Hector whose name has been sullied Wink.
I do think there's a difference though between names that are inherently associated with something i.e. a bad meaning (I give you Cecil, meaning blind) or a specific person with a bad association (like Cain) and a name which some people associate with another bearer of the name, like Joseph mentioned above as a mass killer. In the latter case, I think particularly if it's a common name, it's perfectly okay to stick with the original meaning. Why should a mass killer trump, for example, Mary's husband Joseph or any of the other millions of Joseph there have been since?

Basecamp21 · 15/01/2018 09:01

Because most people think the meaning of names is pretty silly!! Bit like astrology or birthstones - a bit of fun but not something to be taken seriously or have any impact.

I very much doubt that any name is connotation free - most names could be associated with murders or other horrific incidents.

I think when it is a word that is currently used in common language- it is slightly different - so Amelia meaning lame is irrelevant but Candida......

HoofWankingSpangleCunt · 15/01/2018 09:02

tiptop you nentioned my dd's name in your post Grin
As others have said, not all connotations are interpreted the same way. My DD's name is considered by many to have a negative meaning but that negative meaning came into play as a result of a combination of particular belief systems, in my case a patriarchal religion. Instead of a woman being punished for being subordinate to a man and consequently banished and literally demonised, I celebrate the name of a mythological creation and applaud her for sticking to her principles. My DD has seemingly suffered no ill effects from her name as she is Head Girl and has been accepted onto an Oxbridge course this Autumn.
A not very stealth boast there but it is relevant as it shows that really anything only has meaning when we ascribe it one.

BarbarianMum · 15/01/2018 09:02

Ive just googled Amelia and come up with 4 different meanings, none of which means lame or "no arms and legs".

EggysMom · 15/01/2018 09:07

Wonder if Bendy Willy is still called that now he's grown up? Could be an unfortunate nickname to carry through adult life ...