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...

monumental that's very interesting. Does that mean the way others ascribe meaning to a name which is perceived by the bearer and affects their behaviour, or is it just the way the bearer perceives their name?
I like most of the names mentioned.Candida though- very pretty except for the association with thrush.

I have the same feelings about Jade (prostitueted, jaded) and also Scarlett. Yes, the name's got an extra 't', but the colour doesn't really have positive associations - scarlet woman, blushing scarlet, Scarlett the Harlot. And it also sounds as if it means 'a little scar'.

The other day, I realize someone born in 1990 would be 27/28

My sixth formers were all born in this millennium

Amazing that don't all have space names, really

A friend of mine has a relative called Adolf.

And he was born a good few years after ww2.

Wtf were his parents thinking?!

Candida is hilarious
As are the Melinas/Melenas out there which make me only think of melaena and that is not a nice thing to think of
I do like to think of name meanings - was put off naming DD Cecilia by negative meaning, but think it's pretty and when a friend named her child that I didn't think about the name's meaning, just that the child was very cute, so maybe guilty of overthinking for own DC

My birth name directly translated was "Mistress of War" - I quite liked the meaning tbf, and unless you know of a Baby Stalin, I think most names are free of negative connotations.

Having said that, my parents are both teachers - so picking a name was a right battle when my brother was born as between them they knew a naughty kid with most names.

A boy in DS's class shares the same name as a very well known serial killer - I do wonder what his parents were thinking. Even DS had heard of the name, but he had to explain to the boy in question where he'd heard the name before. Boy was unaware and said his parents had never heard of him either when he asked that night.

Re Amelia, if people are referring to tetra-amelia syndrome that's a bit of a stretch, no?

Most name-meaning sources list its meanings as including industrious, striving and defender. It also makes me think of the incredible Amelia Earhart.

The EgregiousPeach yes, lawyer called Mr. Judge, orthopaedic surgeon called Dr. Limb etc etc!! There's been lots of research because it is such an amusing & interesting phenomenon

The one I really don't understand is Delilah - it seems to be fashionable now but it has both negative biblical connotations and the Tom Jones song...

Melina is a Greek name derived from the word for honey. Can we not start with the “foreign names are hilarious” that inevitably happens on here. It’s unpleasant at best.

Egregious and MonumentalAlabaster (love that Othello username BTW), Popbitch are quite fond of nominative determinism and find some very funny ones. Recent ones include:

Selling admission tickets to the Skegness Aquarium... Paul Fish

Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Foxborough Wealth Management in New York... Gerard Stocks

Energy and sustainability manager at Tata Steel... Barry Rust.

E.g. Cain = association with a bad person. I guess many won’t see it, or choose to ignore it. I don’t really have a problem here. Salome is lovely, for example. Adolf would be a no go, though.

E.g. Amelia = same as a medical term. No no.

I wonder if you use names that are positive nouns - Hope, Grace etc - that the children grow to meet that description, because they’ll have had so much reinforcement in their lives. We often grow to meet our star signs, because we get told we must be adventurous/happy/etc. I suspect names would be an even stronger prompt for that?

I met a little girl called Jezebel a few years ago. Now as I understand it the biblical Jezebel is much maligned and misunderstood, but why would you saddle your child with that name?!

Now as I understand it the biblical Jezebel is much maligned and misunderstood, but why would you saddle your child with that name?!

Try turning that round:

Why would you saddle your child with that name?... Because as I understand it the biblical Jezebel is much maligned and misunderstood

Jezebel is a lovely name.

Just remembered being about 8 and asking my mum why so many judges mentioned on the news were named 'Justice' . I noticed it and thought it was some weird coincidence and wasn't it lucky they became judges instead of robbers or something

I bloody love the name Persephone but would t use it because of the meaning.

Well spotted RhiannonOHara!
My passion for WS constantly leaks out....

Smellfunny, you wrote;
There was an unfortunate boy in my school called Benedict Williams whose name was shortened to Bendy Willy

I know someone of that name who is now a (very success and happy) doctor, I wonder if its the same person? however its a great example that being teased about a name doesn't need to hold you back in life?

See, someone could name their daughter Rose and people would be all shocked as it’s like Rose West but really it’s a very common name so why make that connection?

TBH I dint think a lot of people have any clue about the meaning of the different names.
For me Tristan is firm a very well known book, the only place I’ve actually come across that name. I would have no issue using it or seeing somebody using it.

The reality is that things have changed a lot since biblical times, meanings have moved on. I really wouldn’t get hang up on that!

Some negative connotations are personal to the individual, but some have a wider national or cultural significance

Cain is the one that really baffles me.

Penis McBalls. Never been a fan of this one