Genuinely problematic names

[AuntDympna]

Starting this thread for names which are genuinely problematic.
The purpose is, a quick reference for people to check is the name they are thinking of on the list, and also as a reference for justifiable reasons to advise against using a name.
To be included, there needs to already be a thread on the name, where the case against it was made clearly.

Nah, I think most people would have to suppress a completely involuntary shock reaction at that name. If they then went on to bully him about it, that’s different. But I don’t think anyone would be above a natural surprise reaction on being introduced that they’ll then try to politely mask. And unfortunately he’ll get that everywhere and sense that happening. No it’s not his fault.

Abigail, meaning lady's maid. They say it's archaic but it's used in Jane Eyre

Oh yeah that contemporary novel Jane Eyre. And of course since there are so many lady's maids around still, that would be really embarrassing rather than a little piece of historical trivia.

You might not personally like the reference but it is absurd to say that it's problematic. People are just as likely to know the actual Hebrew meaning 'father's joy', which is quite nice. What's even wrong with being a lady's maid anyway?

Hayley. What is even the correct spelling?

Of course he wasn’t bullied. And before you start sneering at “little englanders” - this was at my office. In Germany itself.

Of course it’s shocking/jarring/whatever you want to call it.

The man himself was of course very nice and extremely knowledgeable about his specialism - but still I just couldn’t quite bring myself to embrace his name.

@Dontcallmejacqui I didn’t know about Amelia, but I do know someone called Athelia and was told it meant born with no nipples!

I think naming storms and hurricanes after humans makes some names potentially problematic. It's a stupid idea imo and inevitably connects innocent people with tragedy.

See Katrina as one example.

I thought Ava was problematic (Eva Braun) as well as Jude ( the obscure, and other unfortunate connotations); and that neither would catch on. How wrong I was.

@AuntDympna

The name Amelia doesn't mean limbless. It's a name that happens to be spelt the same as another word. Amelia sounds like friend "ami", honey "miel".

Diseases like Addison's are literally named after people, not the other way around. (Some people say diseases shouldn't be named after people anyway.)

Pretending that Wayne Kerr, or Joby sound rude is silly, you have to change the vowel. It's like reversing the letters. It's bullying to do that.

A name which is associated with a terrible event, which younger parents might not know about, could be upsetting. The Enola thread had a lengthy discussion about people not even knowing what happened at Hiroshima.

Separating out the seriously awkward names is absolutely the point of this thread, because people say you can't call your child Aloysius" or "Seven" or "Mildred" bc those are pretentious or tryhard or old ladyish, all of which pale into insignificance next to Enola. This thread is about figuring out what is a real problem, and what is just personal taste.

Op, amelia is the correct medical term and means 'absence of limbs.' I also cannot understand how people do not hear the godawful 'mealy' sound in it. Mealy is a revolting word with negative connotations. The name is basically 'a-mealy-a'.

@CatsArePeople

Hayley. What is even the correct spelling?

Er, Hayley? Well done, you got it right.

@AlphabetAerobics was that aimed at me? I was agreeing with you.

Why is Randy unacceptable in the UK?

@creamcakescreamcakes

Why is Randy unacceptable in the UK?

Because he wants to cream all over your cakes.

Sorry 😂 Randy means horny.