Name classism doesn’t exist in 2026

[Kyttiol]

Name classism gets mentioned a lot on here but I don’t think there’s such thing in the big 2026 with the internet anyone can google and name their kid whatever they want. My eldest I had at 16 while living in a homeless shelter has a so called posh name and my youngest I had as a grown woman in her twenties married to a man with a middle class job has a name that’s been called chavvy on here.
Hugo is also apparently the epitome of posh but I know a literal crackhead named her son Hugo (he was taken away at birth though)

People always quote freakonomics which was written in 2005 before mass internet use and certainly before the internet was used to discuss baby names! Surely that’s outdated

Nope, judging people (or more accurately, their patents) by their names is still going strong.

Common doesn't necessarily mean popular.

It means lower class, as in 'the common people'.

If it is Chantal then that is the acceptable French name without chav connotations but Chantelle....all I hear in my head is chanterelle like the mushrooms or as I once heard screamed at a train station in a pronounced South London accent 'Chantelle, if you don't stop effin' crying, I'm gonna effin' leave you 'ere'

I'm not sure I agree. I can't hear the name Neveah without uber cringing.

lol There is a live post about how awful it is when people spell names is silly ways! It is totally still a thing. I have two primary school age kids and there are a few that attract an eye roll from some of the parents of the Mylo, Margot and Theos.

I totally agree! I wonder if many teachers are familiar with the Rosenthal Effect.

Names filter down not up so you’ll have WC kids called Hugo, Charlotte etc but never a MC Kayden or Nevaeh.

The UC can give their kids more out-there names as they’re socially secure enough to not give a fig, but it’ll never be Jaxon or Demi-Lee.

You can't assume anything just because of a name

I disagree. You very much can, and 95% of the time that assumption will be correct. Sure there's the odd case where it won't stack up (that you seem to be fixated on) but that doesn't make the general situation untrue.

Common is as common does surely? I was born in what my sister and I affectionately call The Gap In The Devils Derrière. However we both have naice classic names that have featured on this thread.

I didn’t name my child who has never had as much as a demerit at school but according to this thread can look forward to a lifetime of having their CV binned in horror and people hiding their teaspoons if they ever come calling (despite the fact they’re from a nice, well heeled family well into the top 0.5%)

As far as I’m concerned common is nothing to do with your name and everything to do with how you behave and your attitude towards others. If people are daft enough to judge by a name says far more about them and their values.

In my experience people who used the word common in the 80s or 90s would use the word chavvy in from the 00s onwards in the same sentence.

I love Brodie. I don't consider that a 'chav' name. It's after the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? For a girl? So I'd pick Brodie over John.
But I'd never be an employer so it matters not a lot!

I'm not convinced 'John' is a great name for a girl.

"Hi, I'm Nevaeh....it's heaven spelt backwards".

"Um, yeah I'm called Esra".

Who said anything about John being a great name for a girl?

DH grew up middle class and went to private school but SIL is very much what would you describe as “chav”. She gave her child a name that should by rights be two names separated by a hyphen or space at least yet it’s just one name. It looks ridiculous on paper. She has shacked up with a guy who has children with someone else and their names are Paw Patrol characters.

Really hoping it's Skye and Chase rather than Rubble and Chickaletta...

"let's call her Ashtray"
"Nah Wayne, that's a boys name "

Harry Enfield

I find many teachers are uniquely judgemental and unpleasant about names.

I work in a young adult mental health service so we see kids from about 17 to 24. We are based in London. We have the whole gamut of names. Obviously international ones, but also the ones here deemed posh or working class or ‘chavvy’. I have not heard one negative comment about a young person based on their name. Not from a nurse, doctor, support worker, peer coach, housing worker, psychologist or admin etc.

These young people can have v challenging behaviour. But we simply do not judge patients like this or speak about them this way. Esp about their names; that kind of comment would be wholly unwelcome in our team. Teachers judging kids on their names is unacceptable.

Yep. It’s appalling.

I think posh/chavvy (using same words as OP) are different things to different people. I wouldn’t think Hugo was posh. It sounds like the parents who named the child are trying to sound posh.

However names like Aiden/Jayden/Kayden/Jake/Jason are more stereotypically chavvy.

I think you are wrong though OP. Names are still ‘classed’.

I don’t think she was trying to be posh I just think she liked the name.
I think Hugo is considered the epitomy of a posh name on mumsnet whilst still being a regular name. Surprisingly enough so is Henry which I thought was just a normal name but there’s a whole “hooray Henry” thing

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/baby_names/5164137-hugo-or-oscar-really-struggling

lol the only two Masons I know are extremely well behaved Chinese kids.

You are absolutely deluded if you think that names do not very much remain class markers in the UK.

Nope. Of course there are exceptions to the rule..

A teacher friend of mine had two siblings in their class called Merlot and Chardonnay. Guess what.. have a guess if they were posh...

It really isn’t outdated

only a few days ago there was a thread about names and a number of posters mentioned adding ie and double barrelled names are chavvy