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?

Poor and lower class don't mean the same thing.

Both but outside of the internet is it actually common for people to have an opinion on a regular name like destiny? Chantelle and Chelsea are also on those lists and the ones I know have never had any bad experiences because of their names

This is strange. You can imagine being the person who is nasty to someone purely because of their name but you can't imagine the other person reacting to that nastiness? I'm not sure you are in a good position to talk about other people's parenting. Did yours not teach you to not be nasty?

@Manfredine , I don't understand why you started a thread.

Destiny isn't a regular name. I remember being told that a baby was called Destiny and my opinion was along the lines of 'Bloody hell, that's dreadful'.
I probably said something like 'That's a bit different, how lovely!'.

Chelsea and Chantelle sound like names of women who'd be in their late 20s now.

because on the internet a lot is made about parents avoiding chavvy names and preferring posh ones like Persephone or Herbert.

But in my experience and many on here have said the same we were picked on for having posh names and the kids with chavvy names were fine.

Seeing destiny described as chavvy did have me second guessing myself still

I used to have to put up with endless jibes about being a 'blonde bimbo' because I had fair hair so that made me an airhead apparently, and also numerous caustic 'Essex girl' nastiness and 'jokes' about being a slag as well. Horrible. Why are people such bastards?

Because you don’t sound very clued in to class codes. I’m from close to the bottom of the WC and went to one of the traditionally grandest Oxford colleges, stuffed full of umpteenth-generation Old Etonians, so got a lot of exposure to upper MC and UC people. They overwhelmingly had trad names indistinguishable from the MC — Martha, James, Freddie, George, Lucy etc., and that included people whose families more or less owned Kent and the heirs to dukedoms.

You also don’t sound particularly MC.

You knowing some heirs of dukedoms named George and Freddie doesn’t change the fact I have a stereotypically ridiculously posh name which I was ribbed for throughout school.

My main question was has anyone actually been teased or affected by having a chavvy but correctly spelled and non hyphenated name?

Righto.

@Manfredine , the answer is probably 'Yes'.

Do you want to give your child the sort of name that people will think of as a 'stripper/drag artist name'?

Genuine question OP, if someone did come on this thread and say "Yes, me, my name is Chantelle and kids at school made my life hell about it", would that actually change your mind?

yes

Bless, you really don’t have a clue, do you. I conclude you are on a wind-up, OP. Good luck with Baby Destiny.

@Catterbat , a lower class person might be someone with money but not much in the way of education or taste. They might earn a lot but behave in a lower class way.

I’m on the windup because I didn’t let you try and tell me my name isn’t stereotypically posh when I’ve been told otherwise my entire life? 🙄

I have a stereotypically ridiculously posh name which I was ribbed for throughout school.
My name stood out but I didn't get teased about it because I knew how to nip it in the bud.
I expect people thought the name a bit stuffy.

It wasn't me who chose the name. Would I have preferred a more conventional name like Emma, Helen or Laura? Yes, definitely.

"My main question was has anyone actually been teased or affected by having a chavvy but correctly spelled and non hyphenated name?"

One can't help wondering whether anyone is going to provide some examples of these so-called chavvy names. Because I don't get it.

@Manfredine What are these chavvy names that you're thinking of, OP?

She said, a number of time — names like Destiny, Danielle, Chantelle.

Now you’re just being ridiculous.

“The lower class in the UK, often referred to as the working class or the "precariat" (approx. 15% of the population), is defined by
severe financial insecurity, paycheck-to-paycheck living, and high dependence on state benefits. This group typically holds unskilled, manual, or service jobs (cleaners, care workers), has limited savings, and faces high poverty rates, particularly in former industrial areas.”

Is that it?

Danielle has been around a long time. Why is that considered chavvy all of a sudden?

No argument with that, but i think it's an incomplete definition as most people use culture-based class stereotypes too. Glyndebourne is upper class. Not having a clue which cutlery to use at an incredibly formal dinner signals possible working class background. No-one i grew up with knew anything about art or classical music. Every single person i then met at uni seemed to know who Mozart and Jackson Pollock were. "Cultural capital" that I didn't know that I didn't have, if you see what i mean. And people make assumptions as to whether you've got it or not. Often based on accent and home town. And yes, also based on your name.

I was nearly called Danielle and am pleased not to have been, I have always seen it as not a great name but possibly due to Essex pronunciation.
I occasionally say to people "I narrowly escaped being called Danielle" and they used to say something like "ooh, narrow escape" or "you don't seem like a Danielle" but recently they are more likely to say "oh that's a pretty name". So I conclude Danielle is no longer "that kind" of name.

I am actually intrigued as to what OP's name could be, Tarquin is obviously THE posh name for boys, but I can't really think what would be for girls. Cressida?

I actually quite like Destiny but it is definitely class coded. Anyone who says names are not is lying to themselves, even those on this thread who say that are perfectly able to pick the names they think "other people" might think of as chavvy. I was recently at a private school for a sports event and the names of the children on the walls were along the lines of Tallulah-Mae and Aimee-Lily, so its not about money. It is a about class though.

Destiny is chavvy and a stripper name. Big no.

Personally no. But I have seen it happen more times than I want to say. At school (when I was in England) certain names were overwhelmingly top or bottom sets. In training at more than one workplace, we were told that when names were removed from applications, it did make a difference, and people with more "judged" names were less likely to be hired or promoted if the manager was able to read the name. At soft-plays/pubs, actually anywhere, when people are telling stories about a kid who is likely to be posh-or the opposite- they often pick stereotypical names,

There is research that shows that people with names that sound made-up or 'chavvy' are less likely to get their CVs progressed to interview stage than people with recognisable/traditional names.
There's also been a huge rise in AI use for filtering candidates, and unfortunately AI tends to amplify inequalities rather than remove them...
So until they sort both of those messes out, it would probably be safer to give your kids traditional names if you have aspirations for them.