AIBU to think you should give your children proper names

[KeepHimJolene]

and not 'rap' names. a la Stormi Jenner.

Sometimes it can be bad, sometimes it can’t. I have one and love it. It’s the same with “proper” names.

I think a lot can come down to easiness to spell and area you live in. I think kids can bully any name if they want to but some are easy targets but not all different names are on this list just as more common names like William are.

Yes Katie.

This whole thread has just flown right over my head.

@ShutYoFace

Can I ask how its a bad thing? My 4 DC have unusual names and we have never come across any problems about from the odd judgemental snob who at least lets us know we dont want our children to associate with them.
Its a lot easier than being 1 of 4 Olivia's in a class surely?

If somebody has the brains and drive to become a Supreme Court judge or President it doesn't matter if their name is Archibald or Stormi. The current president has the name of an unpleasant bodily function ffs.

Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if one of Kim's ended up being a top lawyer or judge. They have the Kardashian genes, and I don't think Kim is half as stupid as she makes out.

What is a rap name what did you mean a rap name 😕 Stormi is not going to be mixing in our circles her name is no more unusual than Octavia or Emille where little Stormi is going to grow up which is the Kardashian/Jenner bubble.

There was also a 'GEM' doll called 'Storm' in the mid 80s which spawned a few copy cats. She had purple ringlets.

Also kids will bully other kids for absolutely any reason if they want to. My best friend had a perfectly 'normal' name and was still bullied relentlessly with different rhymes. I had an unusual name and was picked on with stupid rhymes... even though it didnt quite rhyme with anything!! I mean whats next to protect kids from bullying? Dye their hair a 'normal' colour? Make sure they wear contacts instead of glasses.... make sure all their clothing is up to date completely but not too trendy or out there.. dont want to invite comments now do we?
What a terrible lesson for your kids if you really loved a name but didnt give it to them because you were frightened that it was too unusual and theyd get picked on. Personally I think its much better to let kids celebrate what makes them unique. Maybe a couple of them will get picked on a bit but out in the adult world actually having unique ideas and being confident in yourself for who you are, is much more helpful for being successful than constantly trying to fit in.

Of course if you genuinely like traditional names and give your child one because you love that name thats fair enough. But it really grinds my gears to hear people berating unique names as though the parents using those names dont care about their kids or something!

Its a lot easier than being 1 of 4 Olivia's in a class surely?

No. There is no anonymity. People always know who you are, even before you meet them sometimes. If your name is Louise, no-one ever says to you, the minute you meet, "oh I know about you, I went to school with your brother, aren't you the one who XYZ ?" you stand out, in a way that many children/teens really don't want to. Teachers etc always remember you, even when you don't want them to. You're easier to find and track, and harder to forget. You constantly have to spell it and answer the same questions on where its from and why you have it.
All the things adults think are a good thing can be awful for a shy child who would love to be one of four Olivias in their class.

Now, I'm not saying no-one should use very unusual names, at all, but I am saying that adults who do rarely appreciate what can it actually mean to the person that has to live with it for life.

I think kids can bully any name if they want to but some are easy targets but not all different names are on this list just as more common names like William are.

Yes. I have a common bog standard “English” name and spent my school years being teased for it due to an unfortunate first name/surname combination.

If somebody has the brains and drive to become a Supreme Court judge or President it doesn't matter if their name is Archibald or Stormi

I think that's quite naive, given that neither brains or drive are the main ingredients in getting to be a supreme court judge or president.

The impact of names on employment prospects is overstated to a ridiculous degree on Mumsnet. My creative, well paid industry would be delighted to come across Stormi, whereas a James would strike them as dull.

I have concluded that a lot of Mumsnetters greatest ambition for their children is for them to become accountants in a firm in Tunbridge Wells.

But why is it the parents decision to make the kids stand out? As a child I was horribly shy and would have preferred to blend into the local scenery however would always be nominated by the nearest adult to discuss my interesting name. People will stand out if they want to stand out. My mum has the name Joan and she hated it because she thought it was boring but nobody who knows her would ever call her boring. Passports, applications, and a million other things have caused me hassle for people copying my name down wrong. Teachers mispronouncing my name also drew great embarrassment and I learned not to bother correcting them: if they asked I would just say "close enough." Stormi is not what I would consider a particularly unusual name as it is still easy to spell and pronounce - she just needs to say stormi with an i instead of a y and people will know. I have to spell my name out every time a few times over to make sure it's correct. If I wasn't in the situation I'm in with legal documents I would have changed it the minute I turned 16.

he impact of names on employment prospects is overstated to a ridiculous degree on Mumsnet. My creative, well paid industry would be delighted to come across Stormi, whereas a James would strike them as dull

actually you just kind of proved the untruth of your first statement with the second. Your creative well paid industry shouldn't give a shit if the talent is called Stormi or James, unless the names of the employees really do matter.

most people misunderstand the point anyway. It's not generally the name that matters at all, its what it implies about the socioeconomic and educational levels of the family. People aren't so much judging the name Octavia as any better than Chardonnay as a name, they are judging that Octavia probably has richer and better educated parents than Chradonnay does. And they are fairly likely to be correct.

Octavia probably has richer and better educated parents than Chradonnay does. And they are fairly likely to be correct.

But plenty of posh people give their kids unusual names. Plenty of highly educated people give their kids unusual names.

I think that's quite naive, given that neither brains or drive are the main ingredients in getting to be a supreme court judge or president

But if you get two children with the same social background it's not going to matter what they're called.

One Supreme Court justice (in US, where Stormi is) is the son of a factory manager, one is the son of a farm worker and maid whose ancestors were slaves, one is the daughter of Jewish immigrants who left school at 15 because her parents couldn't afford to send her to college. Another is the daughter of poor Puerto Rican immigrants whose father died when she was 9 and was brought up by a single mother who worked as a telephone operator and an auxiliary nurse.

How do you think they got where they are except for brains and drive.

I doubt Condeleeza would have passed Mumsnet muster either.

Storm is a great name. Stormi not so much !

Here's the Tatler baby name list. Definitely no Olivias!

www.tatler.com/article/posh-baby-names-2017

Girls

Alfreda
Blanche
Czar-Czar
Debonaire
Estonia
Figgy
Gethsemane
Hum
Idabelle
Jori
Koala
Lark
Monaveen
Nancy
Opal
Power
Queenie
Rara
Scar
Tansy
Una
Vervain
Wendy
Xanthe
Yellow
Zenia

Boys

Aubyn
Barclay
Cassar
David
Euripides
Fenston
Gustav
Hickman
Innsbruck
John
Kenneth
Ludlow
Mao
Npeter (the 'N' is silent)
Ormerod
Prince
Quail
Ra
Stourton
Titus
Uxorious
Victory
Wigbert
Xman
Yak
Zebedee

Ah, it’s not Mumsnet without some class war and underhanded sniding at other people and cultures. Still waiting to hear what exactly a ‘rap name’ is, beyond what actual rappers rename themselves. All these kids who will be bullied over their names, well we can certainly see where the bullies get their attitude problems from.

Sadly, our society is still class ridden, whereas I believe the US is considerably less so.

This racist malarkey - is it because you think that the parents are racists? Or that the children are/will be racist?

I don't get how a name can be racist?

actually you just kind of proved the untruth of your first statement with the second. Your creative well paid industry shouldn't give a shit if the talent is called Stormi or James, unless the names of the employees really do matter.

I'm not saying my company has it right in its hiring policies, I don't think it does. It has it's head up its arse most of the time. Simply that it can easily work both ways and the MN wisdom that a Catherine is irreproachably employable whereas a Kylie Mae is not is false.

It's not generally the name that matters at all, its what it implies about the socioeconomic and educational levels of the family.

The upper middle classes and aristocracy are actually the worst for giving their kids ridiculous names, as that Tatler list clearly shows. And I think it's becoming harder and harder to distinguish between 'rich' ridiculous names and 'poor' ridiculous names. At which point other signifiers come into play like schools/hobbies/etc.

People can name their children whatever they want. This thread is riddled with classism

Who are you to judge 'normal' sure there was a time when your name was 'unusual' individual preference and choice. None of your business.

sallyarmy1, I think the poster was saying the op was being rather racist in calling Stormi a ‘rap name’ with some distain in their tone and alluding that it’s not a ‘proper name’ (whatever the fuck that is).