Has anyone ever actually been bullied for having a chavvy name?

[Manfredine]

Nothing outlandish or double barreled but a name that nonetheless comes up in all the chav name lists. A lot is made online about names being chavvy but has having such a name ever actually affected anyone irl?

example being Chantelle not princess-Rosie-Leigh

AIBU to think it’s more about the parents and worrying about how they’ll be perceived for choosing a certain name?

I don’t think they’d be bullied in school, I’d be more wary of when they are adults and the perception in job applications, uni etc where people are more likely to make assumptions.

My dh changed his name after university because he was starting a quite serious career and his name was silly. I wouldn’t say he was bullied as such, but he could tell that some people were surprised when he introduced himself and he said he felt a bit daft. He felt it was holding him back.

Teenagers don’t used the word ‘chav’ anymore.

Really? I’m only early twenties and it was definitely used when I was in high school. I didn’t think I was getting old that quick 😔

what do they use then?

There isn’t really a replacement but ‘roadman’ is probably closest. That’s based on behaviour and style rather than names though.

I assume you’re a teacher? Have you heard anyone teasing over chavvy/roadman or whatever names?

I teach secondary and never hear it!

My name is chavvy and the shirt version is also pretty chavvy 80s special. Not Sharon/shaz but along those lines.
Never been an issue- I dint like it but it’s never been used against me

Nobody is suggesting that all peope with names some regard as 'chavvy' are prevented from achieving great things. It's just... why put a minor possible obstacle in your child's way when it can be so easily avoided?

@1000StrawberryLollies , I agree with you.

@Illegally18 , no, it just seems quite ordinary, a bit dated maybe in the way that Michelle or Danielle are.

There’s a whole chapter in the book Freakonomics about bias against names. There’s statistical evidence for it. American based though.

@1000StrawberryLollies

nobody wants to make their child a walking sterotype being from a stereotypically chavvy family with a chavvy name would you say it’s different from being from a non chavvy family and having a chavvy name?

No, to be honest there was a lot of older students terrorising freshers going on. A lot of people puking, it was pandemonium. From what my niece tells me they don’t really do it to the same extent, now it’s more in good spirits and they can get into really serious trouble if caught. It was very stupid and I would never have gotten that drunk normally but everyone wanted to look cool and fun. The whole thing was jarring because I didn’t realise I had a chavy name or an accent, I knew I was poor but I didn’t think it was a bad thing. They asked me stuff like “oh do you live in a council house?” and at first I didn’t realise that it was mocking I thought it was curiosity so I answered.

I’ve never understood why people get in thousands of pounds of debt to study and then waste time getting drunk every day (not talking about you, talking about the older ones that picked on you)

Personally, I would avoid anything outlandish or trend driven. I would chose something plain and traditional, like James or Julia. At the end of the day it is your child that has to live with the name you have given them.

Surely it's going to depend on what social class the child grows up in? Chantelle or Destiny is going to stand out far more as a class marker suggesting working-class origins in some contexts compared to others.

Chantelle and destiny are outlandish??And they were aspirational, at the time they were being assigned.

Middle class.

Surely having a chavvy name doesn’t matter if no other aspect of their life is sterotypically “chavvy”. I was made fun of for having a posh name I’m not posh but do have an aloof personality been told I’m probably on the spectrum so I probably seemed “posh”

Well, you can never tell when even a very normal name might become the subject of a bullying campaign.

But what social context did you grow up in, then? Who thought you had a 'posh' name? Working-class people? Middle-class people?

And if your child will grow up in a middle-class environment, why would you give them a name that suggests working-class origins?

I grew up middle class, anyone working or middle class felt free to have a pop at my name being posh lol.

To me destiny is a nice name I had no idea it was considered chavvy till I looked it up. I didn’t know names had to reflect what class you were in. In all honesty I kind of wish my parents had given me a more “chavvy” name maybe I wouldn’t have had the piss taken out of me so much

I have one of the world's most boring, mainstream names. Half of my school had the same name (I was at an all girls' school, not confounding statistics). I was bullied at school for - sounding 'posh' (just didn't have a local accent), not wearing 'approved brand' clothing, having close friends (which apparently made me a 'lesbian'), not having a boyfriend, not smoking, having a stupid hairstyle (hold my hands up to this one, thanks Mum), having a big nose, not being able to do maths, liking horses, family not owning a car...

You get the picture. My name never entered into it. If kids see a kid that they think will be bullied, they will pick on anything. My only saving graces were that I had a great group of friends and I was clever. But school life would not have been demonstrably worse if I had been called Ameigh-Leigh.

I think you need to think about the name on an adult when you name your baby. There are a few names I come across and I think “I wonder how this will sound on your job application or Teams meeting invite”.

No. But I’d definitely bully a person who feels so comfortable using the word chav/chavvy.
Names obviously impact a person. My name is a nice mc name, although I am proudly working class.