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...

m with you on that one OP.
I was quite shocked when yrs ago a baby was born on the 6th of June 2006 and his Parents named him Damien. [SHOCK]

Haha my middle daughter was born 06.06.06 too

You see Vladimir makes me think about Putin so that would be a very big no-no for me!!

Most names (in use in English) have a single etymology

Do they? I wouldn't say so. You look at a name in three different books and name sites and you often get 3 different supposed meanings.

My son is called Tristan. He brings lots of happiness to our life's

Blatherskite, but if you’re an English speaker you either just like the sound of Pippa or know it’s a derivative of Phillipa (lover of horses). I had no idea it meant anything in a language I don’t speak.

Here's Tristan. No "sadness" in that little face. Currently avoiding sleep and spilling milk on my bed.

that face... he so knows what he's doing
I loved the name Tristan but sounds to much like my last name 😥

I think of Tristan in All Creatures before the Wagnerian one (though Tristan’s parents were supposed to be opera fans, hence Siegfried).

Not Nice Thread.

I've known loads of Cains but also know an Abel! Is that worse? He's got a sister...

Little Tristan looks a bundle of joy, the cats.

Tbh i never really looked into the meaning. I just fell in love with the name after watching stardust. I think it suits him.

Esra... it spells arse backwards

Esra... it spells arse backwards

Tbh i never really looked into the meaning. I just fell in love with the name after watching stardust. I think it suits him.

He's a sweetie. I never really looked into the meaning of his name I just fell in love with it after watching stardust.

Ooops sorry for multiple posts didn't think it worked

I think some of this is about the growth in baby name books and sites, some of which are very poor quality and really just put random rubbish by each name rather than doing any research on origins. Plus some sites/books make up the names too.

I have to laugh about the previous post saying Cain is a better name than Abel because he had descendants. Abel didn't get to have children because Cain killed him! All myths and stories of course, but with an unusual name and a story everyone knows that is the reference for most people surely. I do think it's slightly odd to look at your beautiful baby and think I'll name you after a very famous murderer/ brother killer. Not really in the same category as Tristan which comes from an Arthurian legend few people will know well which has quite obscure etymology relating to sad (in Latin) or riot (Celt). My ds has the name of an Old English king, I think it might be cool to have the last Pictish king in your heritage somehow.

My dd is Cordelia and everyone thinks it’s a Shakespearean reference but it’s not to me, it’s a reference to Cordelia Fitzgerald, which is what Anne Shirley wanted to be called and that was/is my favourite book. Failing that it’s tge Brideshead reference, which amuses me but is v unpc. Categorically not a Shakesperean reference ... and I am sad enough to correct anyone who suggests it!
Had thought about Portia, though when I was feeling Shakespearean, but then read of a child called Porsha Mercedes so.....

I very nearly unwittingly gave DS1 an (almost literally!) shit name.
I'm glad a friend pointed it out to me.
He was going to be Billy Reuben!..

It’s western thing to like a name and find out about it’s meaning later on
In the east ( especially historically) chose a name depending on its meaning whether the name is ‘liked’ is less important than to us

nooka My ds has the name of an Old English king

Do you find people mispell Cnut often?

I love the name judas - Jude for short. And I havnt ruled out using it

Zeelove - do you not like Judah?