Kyle...

[MoFoe1]

Opinions please

TheonlyoneIknow I ended up getting so narked on a thread where people were -bitching about-- discussing one of my dc's names that I ended up hiding it. It's not worth the aggro. Don't get upset.

Ahem. My Kyle is 26 and just gorgeous. He was bullied at school and has borne his illness with bravery and dignity, he is handsome and loyal and adores his little sisters.
Not always a bad name.

Oh and it certainly doesn't upset me when people say stuff about his name either, he is who he is, name or not.

Theonlyone, chin up. This thread is not about your wonderful boy. I think the important thing to remember about baby names is that when you ask for an opinion, you are asking for an opinion about the name alone. You have to stop yourself from hearing it as an opinion on your child, particularly when you're not the one who asked the question in the first place. Names do not make a child, we all know this. Every child transcends their name. But, people ask for opinions because they want to know how a name might be received. Some people are bolder in their opinions than others and I know when I've asked about names on here in the past, I've wanted complete honesty because you don't get it in real life. I've heard all sorts of things said about my dc's names on here and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I like their names and I am happy with my choices.

We tend to form opinions and make assumptions and comparisons based on previous experiences. This is a useful skill to have. It's not a skill you can switch off and in the same way that we see faces in burnt toast and elephants in cloud formations, we see patterns in name trends where we live. I might reasonably make assumptions what a sibset named Elfijn, Peace and Honeysuckle is like, I might feel I can make an educated guess about certain aspects of their lives might be like. I may be similarly inclined to think of a sibset comprised of Ptolemy, Assumpta and Cressida as coming from a certain socioeconomic background. In much the same way, I think people would group together Chantal, Chardonnay and Braedon for example, through experience of them commonly occurring together and moreover, most often in groups sharing similar traits.

I think it's normal to have a gut reaction to names It's a foolish person who decides something about a child based on their name and treats them any differently because of it. But the gut reaction to a name, you can't help.

Now I'm just a middle England, boring MNer with children with boring names and lives but fwiw, I don't have any visceral reaction to the name Kyle and think it's perfectly fine. Not my kind of name but that's just a matter of preference. I think at a push, in England it suffers from its association with K names which aren't particularly well received by some people. I think I'd expect a Kyle to perhaps be Scottish. Beyond that, I have no basis for reference.

it wouldnt be one id choose myself but its a strong name and i like it. it makes me think of a dashing american with british heritage (the chap in desperate housewives and twin peaks!) and a shame there are so many negative comments.

i always find it funny when people (esp teachers) say "all the boys called kyle are naughty"; or perhaps just all little boys are naughty!

as for chavvy i disagree. and even if in some areas it does have that connotation presumably you would have to exhibit other chavvy behaviours to earn that title?!

well said showy. i do think theres a line though, between expressing a strong opinion, and being a bit rude. im sure iv probably crossed it myself and whilst its undoubtedly easier to be honest here than in real life we should all try not to make comments that might be hurtful (im not saying anyone has here btw). lots of pregnant emotional types on baby names......

My husband's lovely nephew is a Kyle, but despite his fabulousness, I've never much liked it as a name, somehow. I think it's very dated for me, to around the time of his birth, when I think it was very popular. It just seemed that around then ('my' Kyle is 27), there were a lot of Kyles and Adams, and they always had sisters called Chloe...

Just to add, two out of three of my DCs have names that are routinely berated on MN! I just don't get all precious about it!

we have lots of Kyles round here it is very popular.

We are not in Scotland, and I am sure that in Scotland it has a different feel, as it is a strong Scottish name.

Unfortunately around here it is very much as Santaslittelmonkeybutler said. The families who have kids called Kyle would mostly be the sort that Jeremy Kyle has on his show.

And I agree with onesleep, they are closely related to Jayden, Kayden, Hayden. Their sisters are Keira and Kayley.

On the other hand, I always think that in the end the child makes the name their own.

I'm really sorry that you were upset by this, Theonly...I can only echo Showy's sentiments.

What occurs to me is that certain beautiful, strong and traditional names that have stood the test of time, over centuries perhaps, have sometimes been hijacked by less 'nice' people for other reasons - that they are easy to spell and shout say, being the obvious one.

Or that they sound aspirational, etc etc

and then they become trendy and a certain type of person will want to follow trends in the fear that they might not be quite normal enough otherwise. And want to fit in.

Thus you get a great name being totally ruined. It's also partly wanting to be different, the K thing, I think - among those with little or no imagination - so going from another one syllable 'common' name such as Carl, to spelling that with a K and then Kyle was a bit different, and still really easy to spell and so on and it just appealed to that sort of person.

It doesn't mean it's a crap name. It just means it's been taken over by horrible - or maybe just not very educated - people. And that certainly doesn't mean that intelligent people don't have sons called Kyle as well, or that the children of those who used it from a fashion perspective are not also lovely children.

It's merely associations that people are commenting on.
I hope that helps a bit but it probably doesn't - my efforts at analysis aren't often very successful!

bit like Burberry, I suppose. Hijacked.

Thank you for all your opinions...divided indeed!!

I will never understand why folk post on Baby Names.

You asked for opinions (from a bunch of strangers) - you got 'em.

We are in South Norfolk and almost every other boy in dds class is called kyle or Tyler (slight exaggeration but not much!) So for me it's a no no.

santa do bog off with your snidey little 'precious' comment.

I'm not sure why some people think that baby names is the place for their prejudiced opinions.

My opinion of Kyle is that, mine.

FWIW, DD1s name is also considered chavvy, and I've been told to my face that I must have picked that because I was a teenage mum.

DD2s name - why have you chose an old lady name? Who do you think you are?

If you're trying to please others OP, you really can't. You never will. I love both our daughters names, they suit them beautifully, I really couldn't care less what others think.

Ignore them Theonlyone, I think Kyle is a lovely name. I don't see why people have to be so bloody rude about a name, if you don't like it that's fine but you don't have to be offensive about it

That was my point too southern, yes like or dislike a name that's fine, but some of the comments were downright mean and said AFTER I had said I had a DS with that name, that's what really got on my wick.

Kyle isn't very common where we are, which is a small village in rural Scotland. I don't even know who Jeremy Kyle is.

Thanks for the kind posts above BTW!

Do other countries that the same snobbery associated with names that Britain seems to have (or is it just MN?!)

OP, have you scored the name off your list now?!

Not at all...it's definitely still in my 'maybe' list..it's one of the few names me and dh can agree on!..I asked for people's opinions and that's what I got...

There were only two names DP and I could agree on and Kyle was one of them, even still we didn't register his birth until the absolute last minute as couldn't make our mind up! DD was much easier and we 100% knew her name as soon as she was born!

to whoever posted about other countries and name snobbery; i dont think other countries have this to the same extent; my husband is american and from what iv seen names dont have the same class connotations. nor does it seem do they use all the aspirationally upper class names that middle england are so fond of. we seem to have a lot of people that are overly keen to make statements with a name: "im posh as fuck dont you know" or "im terribly unique and bohemian". i do hope the poor offspring of these statement namers have the personality to carve out their own identity, however twatty their name [and their parents...]. sometimes just best not to comment on a thread that makes you think "what a pretentious dickhead"; once i have that thought i tend to find my capacity for unbiased advice much diminished!

I'm Scottish and wouldn't have thought of it as a strong Scottish name at all. I'm sorry (and don't want to cause offence) but I agree with the posters here that whenever I hear the name is usually being shouted by a certain type of family. Sorry.

My DS has a couple of friends called Kyle, really nice lads

A lot of the Kyle's I know are quite, erm, naughty.

Then there's my son, Kyle. Obviously he's a complete angel. And he is. At school he's an absolute delight, never been in trouble. He's a lovely smiley boy. He's very loud at home though.

Onesleeptillwembley I have a Jayden too! Bingo!! Two chavvy names in one family. Good job I gave my other 3 nice old fashioned biblical names. I must have suddenly turned middle class somewhere between 2002 and 2004! I wonder when it happened?

Theonlyoneiknow Don't get upset! I laugh at people's assumptions about names on here. And for all the stuff about teachers judging, I know plenty of teachers and they never judge on just a name. I also like to play bingo, from when they word chavvy is used to when someone mentions the names Jayden or Kyle!