To think that Americans have weird first name preferences!

[Lycidas]

Why do so of their popular first names sound like surnames?

Chace
Trace
Brock
Blake
Penn
Tucker
McKenna

Etc

Of course there are the usual standard names too, but it’s odd that you just don’t see the above kinds of names in the UK.

I met an American chap at a US conference called Randy Dick a few years back. I know it’s short for Randall but still - what a name!!

It's always hilarious on these threads that people who've clearly never been to America - excepting perhaps a week at Disney World once - will say they don't like American names and then list names of celebrities.

May I point you towards the offspring of David Beckham, Jamie Oliver, Bob Geldof, Cheryl, etc. and then ask if those are indicative of British names? Shall we be judged by the Bears and Petal Blossom's among us?

Back in 1969 I met the first American family I came to know. Their daughter was Forest and I loved it. I don’t think unusual names are weird but you have to be careful it isn’t what my grandson calls a ‘teasing name’.
My son is Guy and spent his childhood wishing he was Neil or Stuart!

I'd say English names are even weirder. People calling their kids "Bear" and "Fox". And those are names for regular kids, not celebrity kids.
Ah yes, PP just reminded me of a "May Blossom" too or something along those lines.

Ordinary Americans have unusual names, too, though. I met a Chase recently on a South Pacific island doing Peace Corps work (it's like VSO). He was lovely but I was startled. We were up in a remote hill village and I had grown used to the only white face being in the mirror, except of course there were no mirrors!

@RuffleCrow i agree, it'd be weirder if Anerica didnt have its own traditions by now.

The British see it through their own lens only though. They don't consider that there are other lenses.

Saying that, not a fan of changing spellings just to be different but that happens everywhere now.

None of these beat the twins called Merlot and Chardonnay at my kids first school. The mum chose the names because (and I quote) "they are sophisticated names that show they are clever" a. you don't know how bright your kid will be and b. They are names no one will take seriously

Merlot and Brie would have been crackers though 🤣

@stucknoue
The poor things will need to be clever saddled with those names.

I used to go out with an American fellow whose name was Charles but he was known as Chet. I could never understand how you'd go from one to the other .

Ps my kids have Old Testament names, they work in any language too so if they end up working elsewhere there's no issues. They can call themselves whatever they want as a nickname but they have proper ones on their cv

Randy is short for randell I was joking with my American friend and it turns it it was her dads name

I would say many America surnames are unusual - possibly due to anglicising names which originated in a different language. Look at any movie credits. Melting pot.

Clearly you haven't spent time on the baby names board OP.

All sorts of ridiculous over there. Dumb spelling, made up names, hyphens. It's got the lot. I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer many of the ones on your list to the ones over there.

Why are Old Testament names ‘proper’. They are just a collection of letters made up with faux meanings attached, same as ‘Julie’ and ‘Chardonnay’ now but older.

Lewis can be a version of Louis. It isn’t necessarily a surname.

@NameChangedNoImagination should have specified that i guess but it might not always be conscious. I agree with you btw, why shouldnt black americans invent new names, why would they revere the past ?

Thanks all of those who have blasted my own American , red neck / hillbilly double barrelled first name ( fucking hate those insults , my family are a very upper middle class carer military medic family but it's despicable to mock people that way . Couldn't imagine anyone I'm related to throwing those cheap insults about because they aren't snobs )
Just because you have a double barrelled first name does not make you trash and I've never heard anyone think that.
Actually sounds lovely with our originally German family surname .
It's just two traditional names both in the us & uk , in honour of my birth heritage which is not American ( I'm adopted) and my adopted grandmother.
It's not weird at all but does sound very traditionally American.
My family are from the Midwest , not the "redneck south"
The sentiment is actually beautiful and it's nothing like the double barrelled girls names I hear in the UK ( usually end with mae etc )
Also my 2 DC both have family names . First DC has my dad, my grandfathers, great grandfathers, great great grandfathers first name & cherished great uncles names as 2 middle names.
Second has another family name, he's only the 3rd though which is also a surname ( I've seen it on loads of peoples nasty names lists on here , however I've no fucks to give as it means a lot to my family and I love it ) and he has other grandfathers name and great great uncles name as middle names as is traditional for us.

I think a lot of American names are quite odd and really ugly.

Charming

Surprised no one is having a go at Indian and Asian names.

Surprised no one is having a go at Indian and Asian names.

Or Irish names. They're always mocked on mumsnet as having 'weird' spellings. As if it is somehow baffling that a different language might spell things differently. Yet strangely people can get their heads around the German or French languages having different spellings and pronunciations.

I also thought there was a name like "Creg" in the US, but it seems that it just the way "Craig" is pronounced there? Like "Cregslist" for "Craigslist".

It's not having a go at an entire country to compare differences in what we each like though. Just interesting (to me anyway).

Even though I reserve the right to find Brianna a horrible clunky name, I accept others might find my name just as unappealing to their ear, no big deal.

I also thought there was a name like "Creg" in the US, but it seems that it just the way "Craig" is pronounced there? Like "Cregslist" for "Craigslist".

That's just accent presumably. I am from N Ireland and reading that sentence I have no concept of how Creg and Craig sound different because in my accent they are exactly the same. Even watching TV or whatever I have never noticed them sounding different.

My nephew is One of those names 🤷🏻‍♀️. Do people really question these though? What about Cameron, Harrison, David etc? Why single out the US for this OP? Bad form.

What a rude and nasty OP.

Yeah, sure, all the names that crop up from the English posters on the name threads are totally "normal".