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Original poster

To think that Americans have weird first name preferences!

366 replies

Lycidas · 01/12/2019 22:10

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.

OP posts:
dontalltalkatonce · 02/12/2019 10:49

I hate surnames as first names envy

Then don't use a name you hate for your children Hmm

ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 02/12/2019 10:50

Family surnames as first names has long been a normal Scottish thing. My great uncle had a ‘surname’ name like that, born 1900.

And alongside your ‘usual’ boys names I was at school with Innes, Manson, Forbes, Sinclair and Cameron. All named in the 70s

Yes, I could add Fraser, Campbell and Findlay to the list, also all 70s born, my partner has his mother's maiden name as a middle name, as did my dad. I also know a woman called Innes, her mother's maiden name (she's in her 60s) which is not so common in Scotland but seems quite prevalent in the US.

It doesn't really occur to me that this is unusual for other cultures, particularly for boys' names.

SerenDippitty · 02/12/2019 10:51

Alison, a name I like, was a surname originally.

dontalltalkatonce · 02/12/2019 10:56

Alison, a name I like, was a surname originally.

Yep. May also have been a place name, too. Just like Douglas(s) was once a female name. Kimberly, Ashley, Marian, Shirley, Beverley and Hilary were male names.

quickkimchi · 02/12/2019 10:59

Maybe MNers know a lot of people from Utah - ? www.utahbabynamer.com/index.php/about/
That site seems to swerve the matter entirely but American Mormons tend to give their kids unusual/unique names: slate.com/human-interest/2018/05/leave-ryker-and-questin-and-anbre-alone-it-makes-perfect-sense-that-mormons-give-their-kids-unusual-names.html

deplorabelle · 02/12/2019 11:07

Since a few posters have mentioned Old Testament names as the last word in classic name choices, I would recommend looking up the names of Job's daughters and reading about the meanings behind them (clue: youngest daughter's name basically means "eyeshadow")

Vagndidit · 02/12/2019 11:09

Those pesky Americans and their "odd" naming choices. I mean, honestly. Hmm Is it open season again on us poor Yanks?

You'll find names on their top ten list to be pretty similar to UK trends: Olivia, Ava, Isabella, Sophia, etc for girls and William, James, Oliver, etc for boys.

Would you be so quick to judge if the "odd" names were more like Mohammed or Jose or Rahul? Didn't think so.

Dixiechickonhols · 02/12/2019 11:13

Girls with surnames or traditionally male names eg Quinn I noticed a lot at DisneyWorld last month. Seemed to go hand in hand with the girls wearing very girly outfits and big bows not a bringing up as no gender thing.

FishCanFly · 02/12/2019 11:15

Brian and Colin are also really popular names for children over there still, as is John. Imagine a baby John or Brian nowadays in the UK, they’d be so out of place.
I remember I used to like Kevin very much. Kevins are usually cool dudes in American films. Here not so much Confused

vincentsleftear · 02/12/2019 11:16

An American at my university in the 80s went by the unfortunate name of Randy Pratt...he got used to the the slightly hysterical choking noises made by people when he introduced himself!

astralweaks · 02/12/2019 11:22

John is a lovely name.

SenecaFalls · 02/12/2019 11:22

I'm American and my son has a surname as first name.

Lucky for us that I have a Scottish surname that works well as a first name. It's a very common practice among people of Scottish descent in the US.

But even better when you can have a form of your father's surname as first name. My personal favorite is from Scotland: Sir Gregor MacGregor of MacGregor, Chief of Clan Gregor.

lyralalala · 02/12/2019 11:24

I think the only difference is that Americans took nicknames like Randy and Hank and turned them into registered first names quicker than elsewhere

Nicknames like that were always used when families used strict naming patterns - when all 4 sisters have a son named Randolph after their father you end up with ‘wee Randolp’, Randy, Ran etc

UnfamousPoster · 02/12/2019 11:42

Worst one I know isn't even a surname based thing - they've gone with a "theme". They are a US family on social media who do great videos of their travels, which is how I found them, and have followed them since because of their videos, but I'm seriously considering unfollowing them for their name choices.

Their children are all named after their love of cruises so they have Sailor (girl), Crew (boy) and Ocean (boy)...

UnfamousPoster · 02/12/2019 11:42

That's not to say that there aren't some dire name choices going on in this country too though!

Stooshie8 · 02/12/2019 11:44

Would you be so quick to judge if the "odd" names were more like Mohammed..

That is def not odd here in the uk - it is the top boys name! (if you include the various spellings)

astralweaks · 02/12/2019 11:48

🙂

SerenDippitty · 02/12/2019 11:53

John is a lovely name.

Yes and so is David, and James, Mark, Andrew.

My name would be dismissed as dated and dull but I love it, it has so many historical and literary associations.

SerenDippitty · 02/12/2019 11:56

Their children are all named after their love of cruises so they have Sailor (girl), Crew (boy) and Ocean (boy)...

They could have named the girl Oriana!

Singlebutmarried · 02/12/2019 12:17

Wow loads of names

I just popped on here to say that there’s a car dealership chain called

Dick Lovett.

Why?

ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 02/12/2019 12:24

Singlebutmarried if you think Dick Lovett is bad I know a woman whose parents thought it would be a fine and dandy idea to name her Iona Dick. She's married now and unsurprisingly has taken her husband's surname.

Wejustdontknow · 02/12/2019 12:56

I have a Tyler and a Logan who are both English and know locally of a few jensen’s and Blake’s
I really like surnames as first names and would have loved to have called ds’s cooper, Hudson or Jackson but dh isn’t so keen. I am done having children now but my favourite name if I was to have any more was Addison for either a boy or girl

Kokeshi123 · 02/12/2019 13:43

Alison started as a pet form of Alice/Alys. Americans seem to be using it as a surname-type-name (hence the popular spelling Allison) but that is not its origin.

There is an Alice known occasionally as Alison in Chaucer, I seem to remember.

dontalltalkatonce · 02/12/2019 14:45

Alison started as a pet form of Alice/Alys. Americans seem to be using it as a surname-type-name (hence the popular spelling Allison) but that is not its origin.

'Americans' were using it as a girl's forename in the 70s quite commonly, nothing to do with a surname-type-name. It's also not at all uncommon in Scotland as a girl's forename.

SerenDippitty · 02/12/2019 14:53

Singlebutmarried if you think Dick Lovett is bad I know a woman whose parents thought it would be a fine and dandy idea to name her Iona Dick. She's married now and unsurprisingly has taken her husband's surname.

Wouldn’t have been a problem if they’d pronounced it the Welsh way, I.e Yonna rather than Eyeowna.

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