Apparently my sons have ‘naughty boy’ names…

[Perplexed0522]

A friend made a light hearted comment (supposedly) about my two children’s names last week and I am convinced she’s a MN member seeing as she used to the term ‘naughty boy name’.

My husband has got Scottish roots and before we TTC the plan was always that we would honour his history. He used to live in Scotland but moved to England to settle down with me and as all his family are still in Scotland we felt Scottish names would be a nod to them.

We had a son first and called him Arran (pronounced Arun) after one of the Isles and we joked that if our second child was a girl we would call her Skye.

Second child turned out to be another gorgeous boy so we called him Lewis, after one of the other Scottish Isles.

My friend is pregnant which is why we were taking about names and that’s when she said (with a giggle) that it was really brave of me to give both my sons names that are associated with being naughty. She laughed it off but it really hurt.

I’ve since come on here (we have been thinking about TTC number 3) and I have seen Lewis be labelled as a ‘naughty boy’s name ☹️

I know a child’s name doesn’t define them but I feel so guilty that I may have given both my boys a name that has negative associations ☹️

Has anyone else been in a similar boat and how did you move on from it?

That's an American article so maybe it's not bollocks there.

Quite... This is what I'm saying (that the name doesn't determine someone's character, but someone's character can lead you to have negative associations with a name).

Not sure if you're agreeing or arguing with me here 😅

I don't mean that it's true American children with those names are naughty just that those might be the names that are judged/sneered at the most in the USA.

Eleanor is on the American naughty list there whereas in the UK it's a very mumsnetty type name.

Anyway, your friend is nasty, op. I don't think I'd bother with her anymore.

This ☝️

Please start a thread as a lot of people need to get educated.

@FreyaStorm

There’s literally no point. These people don’t want to be educated. All you’ll get (all you ever get) is a bunch of coy comments if ‘I’m just saying every Jayden I’VE ever met was naughty. Of course it’s not a judgement, just all the ones I’ve ever met, it’s just MY experience.’

I once saw a teacher on one of these threads talking about how her and her TA have a ‘good giggle’ over the lists while they judge children on their incoming classes based on their name. I was definitely judging, but not little kids called Jackson and Nevaeh. I was judging grown adults who sneer and smirk at others. Normal people don’t need to make others small to make themselves seem bigger.

@Calphurnia88 I think I agree with you - it's not the name itself (a collection of letters) that determines someone's character. Rather it's our association between a name and that person's character. If we meet enough 'naughty' people called X, we start to associate the name X with someone naughty.

And going a step further, perhaps certain types of people prefer certain names. And if those parents have a certain parenting style, perhaps there IS a correlation between names and character/behaviour?

I don't see them as naughty boy names.

I realised early on that two of my boys have naughty big names. Sadly they were aptly named!

Apparently my little boy has a naughty name, I've seen it mentioned on these types of threads a few times. His name is Callum and I love it. As it happens, he has autism and is the sweetest, gentlest little boy who LOVES to follow the rules. He has meltdowns at times when he can't cope, but they are very different from being naughty.

Those are both beautiful names, I don’t know any other Arrans but all the Lewis’ I know, young and old, are lovely, successful and not in the least bit naughty. It’s a very strange comment for your friend to have made and I would have asked her what she meant by it and given her a very quizzical look that would have made her feel pretty silly.

I've known a Lewis who was head boy of his school and a Lewis who climbed bookshelves and swore at teachers.

I've known an Aaron who almost got expelled twice and an Aaron who looked and behaved like a little angel at almost all times.

All four were at private schools too so not a class thing. Children are children

OP, Arran and Lewis are lovely names that reflect your boys' heritage. Your friend is very bad mannered.

I detest the idea that there are 'naughty boy names' and I challenge it on here whenever I can be bothered. It's like trying to hold back the tide, though. It really does piss me off as it's so bloody ignorant. It's nearly always names of Irish or Scottish origin too.

I also have a son who has what some on here describe as a naughty boy name. The name also reflects his heritage, Irish in our case. I had to hide a thread about it a while back as it was making me so annoyed.

I feel the same - it’s basically like trying to cup water in your hands pointing out to people that they are being blinkered by their own tragic prejudices.

Connor? Naughty boy. Cian? Naughty boy. Calum? Naughty boy. Liam? Chavvy. Aaliyah? Stripper. Leila? Porn star. What do all these names have in common? Hmm… not traditional English would be the kicker really. It’s embarrassing and makes the posters (who I imagine are trying to look ever so classy) so small minded and silly.

Lewis not remotely naughty in Wales.
I hadn't heard Arran as a person's
name before, so no negative association in that respect and I think it's nice.
Your friend clearly has different cultural antennae to me. She has also been tactless and rude.

Should add that the naughty boy name thing is clearly a snooty and unpleasant take in any case.

I was told some years ago by a colleague that her teacher friend said all boys called Sebastian were without exception, naughty.

Flyte I suppose possibly. Saint, perhaps not so much.

It's all such nonsense OP, they are fine names and ignore anyone saying otherwise.

@CPL593H , Sebastian became very popular after the F1 driver became successful, so will have appealed to that sort of parent.

Arran and Lewis are brilliant names!

What is 'that sort of parent'? 🤔

This.

They aren’t on my list of naughty names.

@Calphurnia88 , The sort of parent who would name their child after a celebrity. Not necessarily deliberately, but without considering why the name has become on their radar.

I don't follow formula 1 but could easily see myself naming a child Sebastian. It's a regular sort of name after all.

Mind you, I did sort of raise my eyebrows at a colleague who named her child after a game of Thrones character when that was all over the tv. It's a pretty name though.

The only Lewis is know in real life is a barrister, so definitely not a naughty boy. I have an uncle Aaron (social worker), and a colleague Aron (senior NHS manager).

There is a Nevaeh in DS’s class, lovely little girl. Beautifully well-behaved and polite.

@SummerLobelia , Sebastian was fairly steady in popularity but became a lot more popular in the last decade. I have never met one at school, uni or in the workplace.
I only know of young Jensons.
Lando is the one to become popular next.

Max and Lewis have remained fairly steady but have got more popular around the time the F1 drivers became successful

Roman, Ezra and Arlo are names that have become very popular very quickly, and there are probably some famous celebrities with those names that have shot to prominence fairly recently.

@DuchessOfSausage I've heard of Roman Kemp - DJ and son of Martin & Shirley (Spandau Ballet). Or maybe Abramovich if they were Chelsea fans back in the day, not so much now!

Ezra - George Ezra maybe?

Arlo - no idea sorry! 😂 except Arlo in the Little Dinosaur movie