Working class names

[alessandrae83]

So on my last threads some people said that some of the names sounded middle class and should only be used if that was the case. So what are working class names? What are nice working class names? Is this actually even a thing? Does it really matter?

Sorry forgot to name my own WC children;
Eden
Sylvie
Reuben
Delilah
Raphael.
HTH

Any name which rises too quickly in popularity can be considered not posh.

More WC children I know;
Ava
Jake
Thomas
Carly
Louis
Ebony
Anna
Charlotte
Jensen
Lenny
Callum
Lewis
Joseph
Orla
Millie
Petra
Domimic
Declan
Sadie
James
Padraig
Keiran
Shea
Charlie
Michael

Sienna
Rio
Lillie
Poppy
Hugo

There aren’t any working class names. Only chavvy or respectable names. You don’t have to use a chavvy name just because you’re working class. Classic Biblical names are always a good choice because they’re so generic and used by everyone.

Most WC people don't name their children 'chavvy' names because most people are WC.
We are the largest demographic so we have the largest variety of given names.
Stay away from try hard Ptolemy, Tarquin, Candida, Arabella et al and you will not call any attention to yourself or your DC

I read somewhere once that the way to tell if a name is "posh" or not is to try it with Queen or King. If it just doesn't cut it as a plausible monarch then it's not posh.

Really interesting thread.
Those who say ‘working class don’t have working class names’ probably aren’t hearing the strong class association of the names. This country is obsessed with class & with names, far more than most other countries.

I’d like to see the class links broken personally as I think it’s very unfair for children to have such prominent labelling & evidence shows they get treated differently & offered fewer opportunities all through their lives. Not right at all!

The sorts of names that sound very much as though the background is not middle class - Tyler / Connor / Jayden / Maddison / McKenzie / anything hyphenated / anything with odd spellings / anything that’s not a name Archie / Alfie etc

I think a lot of names do have very strong class associations but others span the categories. For example I think an Emma could be of any background.

So if you want a class-less name then there are lots - but why shouldn’t you use Evangeline or Juliet? Yes they do sound very firmly middle/upper class but that’s unlikely to cause them any disadvantage in life is it? Sadly it’s the other way round for children in reality. I’d love to see the barriers broken down - maybe Meghan and Harry are leading the way!

@crushedvelvetcouch
Are these genuinely your kids? Coolest list ever !
Eden
Sylvie
Reuben
Delilah
Raphael

"Any name which rises too quickly in popularity can be considered not posh."

Don't think this is true. If you look at the telegraph birth announcements, the most popular names on there are very similar to the most popular names in the country in general. A lot of them are names which have risen in popularity very quickly - Florence, Kit, Scarlett, Archie, etc.

I'd say there are names which are popular across all classes - classic names and biblical names, for example. More recently as well, are names which used to be nicknames for classic names (you know, like Elsie, Daisy, Teddy, Eliza, etc - all of these used to be nicknames but are now popular among all classes.)

I've worked in public and private schools in the UK as well as abroad and haven't seen much difference in names except that there are some you wouldn't often find in private schools - names which are looked down on by people who consider themselves 'middle class' or above. Anything hyphenated, for example. Anything made up. Any of the names that rhyme with Aiden (Jayden, Hayden, Kayden etc). Lexi, Shannon, Demi, etc are some other examples.

If I were going to generalise, I'd say that from my teaching experience I've found that a lot of the more adventurously named children are from either working class or very posh families, and middle classes seem to stick with more traditional names.

Eden
Sylvie
Reuben
Delilah
Raphael

These are lovely names! Although funnily enough, if askes, id have automatically said you were quite middle class from this list!

I love the name Evangeline, but I don't think posh because she was the scullery maid in nanny mcphee!

You can use any name you want! Though I was nearly Sarah but my great grandmother (my mums nan) through such a strop because it was a downstairs name and they had worked their socks off from being in service to having a "proper trade" so were better than that! She did start working at 12 as a housemaid so I can understand! She died when I was little but I do remember her

I'm WC and I looked to my family history to find my dc's names. I chose one from my great grandad, and one from dp's family. They also happened to be characters off Peaky Blinders, proper working class show

I don't think either Juliet or Evangeline are posh at all. I've known all sorts of people called Juliet. Evangeline is one of the Eve/Eva/Evie/Evelyn type names, which are too popular to be "posh".

I have literally no idea why people would think it would be pretentious to use these particular names!

A few Irish names listed - Aidan, Conor, Orla. Liam always comes up on these threads too. All classless names in Ireland, the equivalent of James or Emma.

There's no such thing as a working class name. Even in the days where you went down the mine aged 14 typical names were John/Edward/Charles etc...pretty much the same as Royalty.

I would have said giving your child just the shortened version of a name was working class, but that seem to be a thing even in Royal circles now.

I would have said names which have come across the Atlantic were less middle class, such as Debra/Summa /Kaycee/ Jaxon etc and names taken from American TV and films - also names which suddenly became very popular seem to then be shunned by middle class but still used by working class, such as Chloe.

Parents choose names based on their tastes. And these tastes are affected by their education, experience, which countries they've lived in, where they work etc etc. None of this had to do with 'class'. Imo.

And parents who like Tyler, Chardonnay, Alfie or Macie-Billie just like those names. That doesn't mean they're any 'class'.

And just because parents call their kids Sebastian, Quentin, Juliet or Antonia also doesn't mean that they're 'middle' class. They simply like the names.

I think we're reading too much into people's name preferences!

Anything male and Irish, according to Mumsnet. I always find it so strange to see Conor on these lists, because too me, it's the sort of respectable establishment name a judge would have.

Tiramisu whether we like it or not people will always make associations with names though.

Our community dentists could always predict exactly which kids, in any school they visited, would have tooth decay needing treatment, without examining them. They just looked at the names in their form register.

So sadly, yes, names do seem to have a class bias. And they go in fashions too. In our area there was a brief fad for wc names spelled backwards, particularly Nevaeh for heaven.
Obviously you should name your DC whatever you like, but people will make subconscious judgments on it throughout their lives, rating them on a spectrum from chavvy to pretentious.
Britain is still a very class split society - just look at the high proportion of ex public school pupils in top jobs. The old grammar schools, which gave bright wc kids a chance to compete, have largely gone.

Anything hyphenated
Surnames as first names
Kai, Jayden etc. You'll never meet a middle class Kai or Jayden.

I don't know if I'd say 'working class' but there are definitely some names that I'd make subconscious judgements on... usually the yoonique ones like jaydn or Nevaeh. Evangeline would be another too (sorry op!)

one of the very split names seems to be Isla, horribly over used but I wouldn't always assume wc - unless it's Isla-Sofia/Mae/Rae.

Names are very personal though and what one person associates with that chavvy family who named 8 kids after perfumes (I admire the commitment) someone else might love. I'm finding it now thinking of names for dc2.

You'll never meet a middle class Kai or Jayden.

I know a middle class Kai. He's half German.