To be surprised by the names of the “posh kids” at DDs school

[marilee]

Hi all, my DD just started primary 1. The catchment area for her new school is super mixed with all the nicest houses in the town but also 2 council areas so a real mix. We live in a council flat, I can’t say I’ve rubbed shoulders with the more middle class half of the town and I grew up in a firmly working class area so this is the first time in my life I’m properly mixing with this group (I know that’s awful but it’s just how life has been for me so far).

I don’t know why but I was expecting all the posh kids to have more extravagant names but almost every single one of them is just a very basic name (James, Harry, Anna, Clara, Emily, Emma etc.). While the names I’d normally have associated as being more “posh” are actually the names of the kids from my area (Rafferty, Arabella, Florence, Theodore).

AIBU to be shocked by this? Is this normal or a little regional quirk?

Why are you even labelling names as “basic”
or “posh”?

Please don’t pass this mindset down to your children.

Why would you expect anything of anyone? You are the judgemental one not them, why do you put people in a box like that? Is it projecting issues you have yourself?

Its social aspirations - happens in every generation I’m pretty sure.

That’s how it goes OP. Aspirational names are passed down the classes.

Clara is firmly working class nowadays.

All the names you’ve listed sound posh to me 🤷🏻‍♀️

And for some reason I don’t think you’re working class or live in a council flat.

The latter names you’ve mentioned are firmly posh, whatever the hell that means.

It‘s clearly a brilliant thing that your children are mixing with kids from other classes though, maybe this will reflect well on their education. Are your kids named working class names then?

I have found this:

• The genuinely posh people don't go for overly fancy names but traditional older names (eg James - lovely name btw)
• The nouveau riche/upwardly mobile go for names that are OTT posh (eg Atticus, Hugo)
• More working class tend to go for names that were normal posh but then have gone out of fashion (Arabella is a perfect eg)

I think some names we are given as children, can be loaded with meaning, expectation and even fantasy by our parents

Also names follow music,fashion, films, celebs etc and soon sink without trace.
They are also a way, for so called posth people to reinvent themselves and their children

I live in a bit of an arty, farty area full.of would me media types, wokes and the upwardly mobile..Very cash strapped but really prentious and they only buy cheese from the Deli or Cheese Monger.

We also have many original local residents, everyday people who have been here for years.

I include.myself in this last group.

So we have a bit of fun and assign mythological names to a family we know. The Queen is Persphone or Percyfone and her husband Dionysus or Den.

Two kids names Harmonia an Icarus.
Or Mona and Russ.

We are still.working on names for their cat and dog.

A name is a name is a name.

But try and give a child a name people can easily pronounce. Makes life easy for everyone.

Fucking RAFFERTY???

wow.

I will never understand the English obsession with names and class. So glad I moved away and am free of that nonsense. “working class names” FFS

Yes it’s an interesting phenomenon. I have been surprised when royals have chosen Sienna or Archie rather than James or Jane. But anyone on these baby name threads will recognise the dislike of frilly names because of the class signals they send.
All the names you’ve listed are ‘acceptable’ on mumsnet except Rafferty.

Worth reading Freakonomics. The book has a thing on this. Names get passed down the social classes and recycled in America, too.

I expect she’s more than capable of parenting her children without your advice.

The posher the simpler, generally speaking.

Rafferty is not a posh name any more than Jacob’s a posh name!

Society proves that every day

I can’t imagine any Royal princes or princesses being called Rafferty, Arabella, Florence, Theodore.

George, Harry, James sure.

It's Irish. It could be a family name. Hector was my FILs name, if we'd have had a boy, I'd have used it. Both of our families have Celtic roots.
Generations ago, Christian bible names were used, other names became classic and stuck with, within the middle classes. If you named your child after your Aunt/Uncle, you'd get a dropsy.

There’s a Sienna, so what’s wrong with Florence?

This is explained well in Freakonomics. It’s an interesting read.

Well Sienna isn’t a princess. But out of that list Florence is probably the most possible for a princess. But an outlier princess, not an heir to the throne princess. 😁. And maybe Theodore for an outlier prince. But definitely not Rafferty or Arabella.

It is only good of the working class families are not rough, in a lot of cases they most definitely are, which causes bullying problems.

Why don't you just start a thread saying you'd like to have a bitch about the tragic thick working class trying to be aspirational but getting it wrong as usual? It's so obvious that's what this thread is.

Like fuck are you "surprised".

We call everyone Dave.

Didn’t know this. Been meaning to read this for ages