Why the hate for modern “made up” style names

[sarahbiggs1]

This is a very unpopular opinion especially on this sub but i kind of like the new “made up names” like Everleigh, paisley, braylee etc When people say stuff like it won’t suit an adult it dosent really make any sense because names that are now considered old women names like Linda,Sandra, Nancy were once probably looked at as child only names . I don’t think people realise that the names of the 2020s won’t be weird to their generation, there will be lots of high paid working people with these names and it won’t be looked at as odd for an adult to introduce themselves as “Kinsley” because by that time it will probably be an adults only name. Although it’s true that names like olivia or lily are more timeless because they have been around a long time it dosent mean the current trendy names will be looked on as bad because at the end of the day a lot of people in that generation will have those names.

I don't hate all modern names but hate Paisley because it makes me think of the place. It's not a particularly nice place.

It's just personal preference. Thankfully we all have different tastes, as life would be boring if we were all called the same names!

Everleigh sounds like an insurance company.

Well, they’re just meaningless syllables. Actual names have meanings. Also Braylee just sounds ridiculous, and why would you name your child after a town in Renfrewshire?

Because they’re shit! It’s not difficult.

Add an 's' and I think it is..!

I know it's wrong but I think people make a pre-judgement on those types of names. Completely irrational but if I was picking a lawyer or financial adviser, I'd probably gravitate towards a Olivia or Kate over Kayleigh-Ann or Chantelle.

Appreciate we're all different. My kids have quite traditional names that people probably think are really dull.

I also have a friend whose mum made up his name. He was so fed up of having to spell and explain it that he's called his kids John and Edward (but not Jedward),

And why do they all sound the same?! 🤦‍♀️
Sorry but people don’t like them because they sound terrible!

Come on they aren't nice. Neveah, Cayden, brilie, skyla, they all sound awful. I feel like Katie Hopkins saying it but I can't really disagree.

Each to their own. I don’t particularly like them but would respect someone’s choice unless it was name that was likely to bring distress to the child further down the line.

Because most of them are gopping, or are just kr8tiv spellings of what would otherwise be nice enough names

And yes, Nancy is fairly recent (coined from nns from Anne) and was seen as a bit of an upstart in its day. But it’s only a very few upstart names that go on to be durable - look at the Horrid Histories sketch about brand new names of the Victorian era, one of which stood the test of time.

People make judgements, like it or not, on these kinds of names.

Why? Social conditioning.

It's because they really are very bad. I've seen an Oaklyn, Kaydynce and Bourbyn recently. Soooo bad. I mean look at this post I saw online recently 😭

I guess traditional names have some kind of historical context or meaning that give them a bit more gravity.

There is also I imagine a strong correlation between having makey uppy hyphenated phonetically spelt Love Island-esque name and being a fuckwit.

People make ‘first impression’ judgements on lots of things, name being the most important one if initial contact is not F2F - there’s a huge body of psychological studies that bear that out. (And, interestingly, also shows that those who claim loudest that they don’t /wouldn’t judge are typically those who make the most judgemental actions)

(The people who tend to have least judgemental actions are those who allow themselves to think ‘gosh that’s a terrible name/first impression, now how do I look deeper’ rather than those who kid themselves that they don’t notice)

See also Sutton on American boys.

And Harlow!

Particularly bad when taking inspiration from the spelling of Margot…

All of those names are not particularly uncommon in America. I definitely knew of paisleys and brayleighs in the late 2000s in high school.

“There is also I imagine a strong correlation between having makey uppy hyphenated phonetically spelt Love Island-esque name and being a fuckwit.”

This is what most people think but are too afraid to say. Made up names - especially the ones with random ‘y’s in the middle or funky spellings just look dumb to most of the literate thinking population.

Because it can sometimes make you look like you can’t spell, and that can mean people might think you are either poorly educated or a bit dim, and neither of those are great. Linda, Sandra and Nancy are all shorter versions of established names. That’s not to say names cannot be invented: eg, Shakespeare invented Olivia and Jessica, and JM Barrie invented Wendy.

Braylee is hideous.

These are all teen mom US style trailer trash names.

I don't hate them, some of them sound nice but it is a different way to get a new name. The others, although may have been 'childrens names' at some point are derived from other traditional names like how Sandra is from Alexander and Nancy came from Ann, but are distinct names in their own right.

Names that are 'made up' or are just repurposed surnames, misspellings or mismatches don't usually have the links that make them seem like 'proper' names.

And they might become thought of as more standard names as the bearers grow up but there are really not many children called Braylee in this country and there are so so many new made up variations with similar sounds. Like Rylee, Kaylee, Brynlee, Brinlee, Brylee, Caylee, Kalilee, Lylee, Kylee, Preslee, Kinslee, Kaislee, Marlee, Rynlee, Mckinlee.
All of which can be spelled with a 'leigh' or a 'ly' or a 'ley' ending.

There are just so many similar names that the 'individuality' of them is lost and they become one big slew of similar american sounding names.

With more traditional names, there wont be many alternative names that fully rhyme and sound similar.

Shakespeare invented Olivia

I thought it was already a name but made more popular by him?