Comments about names that you just don’t get

[jrt2022]

On mumsnet, I always see the same comments repeated about certain names, and while some I get, others I just can’t get my head around at all! For example:

On every thread asking about Lydia, someone mentioned ‘Lydia dustbin’. Lydia dustbin??? As in … lid of your dustbin, I assume but … WHY? Firstly - what about the lid of my dustbin? Also, loads of things have lids, so why only ‘lid of your dustbin’ in particular? Why not ‘lid of your jam jar’ or something. And even then - what about it? What is funny or interesting or bad about it? I just don’t get it.

There are loads of others but I don’t want to list them as I want to see what others think rather than just rant on about my own! So, any regularly thrown out comments to dismiss names that you think are weird/don’t make sense?

Since when has the sole purpose of a name been something which identifies you uniquely?

And really - how likely is it that a child is going to be one of 10 Steve Smiths in a class?

Since when has the sole purpose of a name been something which identifies you uniquely?

Since people decided to give names to things and to people in order to identify them.

And yes, I actually know 3 men called Steve Smith and another dozen Steves! So it can indeed get confusing..!

According to Wikipedia:

A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context.

I think it's fine to use a name from a different culture - as is often said on here, no one owns a name!

Re high court judge test - that just refers to choosing a name that won't cause your child to be negatively judged by snotty bastards before they've even met. I think it's a sensible to consider this.

Agree about being set on a nn and then desperately trying to scrabble around for a birth certificate name that has a very tenuous link - just pick what you want.

Also dislike having first and middle names together that are so overused, they do nothing to identify a person. I have the 70s version of this!

That all names are apparently ‘classic’ and ‘timeless’. They really aren’t.

This from Wikipedia might be better en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name

But honestly, the chances of their being 10 Steve Smith’s in one class is non existent. Just give your child a name you like and don’t worry about the uniqueness of a name - because chances are fashions will change and your unique name won’t be.

@SirChenjins , at the school i went to there were several duplicated names in the same year. Not the actual names but something like 13 Sarah Smiths, of which 2 were Sarah Jane Smith, and 5 David Williams, with 2 being David John Williams.
They were listed on the school register as Smith, Sarah Jane (Newton), Smith, Sarah Jane (Upton).

I like Rose but need a longer, formal one for the BC. What about Geraldine known as Rose? 🤔

Yes! I saw a recent one ‘Penelope nn Poppy’

Just call the kid poppy. It’s ridiculous and pretentious

Margaret known as Daisy completely foxes me as well - I know it’s an old fashioned thing but it’s not a natural leap is it?

13 Sarah Smiths in one year? How unusual.

You need to give your child a name that will be on keyrings and pencil cases. This will help them feel popular, and will make shopping for gifts easier for relatives. Don't worry about the spelling. Little Kiera won't mind that it says Keira.

Most of the Sarahs I know are Sarah Janes. Most of the Lauras are Laura Jane, all the Sallys I know are Sally Anne.

I looked up a list of high court judges and they had quite varied names. Obviously more middle aged trends due to age.

@SirChenjins , it wasn't actually Sarah Smith, but there were 13 Firstname Surnames in my year. Went to school in a fairly rural area where 5 surnames were very common. One seemed to be the surname of about a quarter of the school.

We can duplicated teacher names as well. Not the actual name but something like John Wilson (History) and John Wilson (Physics).

Smith wasn't all that common. Sarah was not particularly overused.

@SirChenjins , I said 'not the actual name' but some of the Sarah Smiths were instances like Sarah Rebecca Smith but known as Becky Smith and Sarah Helen Smith known as Helen, but yes, 13.

I'd give the name but someone might say, me too, and I've posted enough to be recognised

When I was expecting DS I didn't start a thread but I looked at the board often. There was a poster asking about Felix (the name I eventually chose) and there was a poster who every other comment was saying 'it's fine for a cat' 'yeah for a cat' 'miaow' etc.

It was so fucking nasty. There are plenty of men called Felix about - fair enough I find it to be a marmite name and that's fine - but she was relentless and I've seen lots of cat comments whenever it's mentioned. DS is 8 and we've never had a cat comment 🤷🏻‍♀️ he was a bit shocked when he first saw his name in the pet food aisle though.

The other thing I don't get is 'I want to call my DD Esmeralda but I want her nickname to be honeyboobookins'. Often nicknames that I struggle to make the connection and also I've always thought nicknames just happen naturally - normally through friends and school etc I don't get the forced nature of them. I'm

@MotherOfWhippets i don’t think it’s nasty, Felix will remind most people of cat food. Particularly if you’re old enough to remember the TV adverts. When you post on the names board you’re looking for honest opinions, and if reminds them of the cat food there’s not really a way of saying that nicely. My daughter’s name has been called chavvy/common on here 🤷🏼‍♀️ we’ve all got different opinions and that’s ok, not everyone has to love my kid’s name.

I didn't say it was nasty - I said the poster was nasty.

It's just a bit fucking childish.

You said ‘it was so fucking nasty’ in those exact words

Why was it childish?

And it misses the point that the lack of any kind of diversity in the judiciary is a terrible thing for society, not something to perpetuate!

Mostly, the comments that are presented as objective truth are ridiculous. Name choices are highly cultural and highly personal. I might hate a name, but it doesn’t make the name objectively awful.

actually, my own name is objectively awful. 🤣 But I’ve managed more than 40 years with it!

Why is someone repeatedly posting the same kind of negative comment I na single thread nasty and childish?? To post again and again the same type of comment because you think you're so funny or unique in your opinion?? You really can't work out what that's immature and actually quite horrid?

Felix really doesn’t remind me of cat food until someone says that. The first thing I think of are a couple of Felixes I’ve worked with.

Associations will also be quite variable and personal. There’s considerable variation within the UK - and you often see that on MN. For example, the whole ‘Calum is a naughty boy name’ thing just doesn’t hold true for many people in Scotland (where people know Calums of all ages).

Yet people love to make definitely statements as if there’s no variation at all.

No. If it reminds 98% of people of cats, I would want to know that it reminded 98% of people of cats. If it was just commented on once and other posters thought ‘Oh someone’s made the cat comment already’, the OP would probably assume that the comment was a one off and the name doesn’t remind most people of cats.

@SudocremOnEverything i think it’s a form of middle class angst. People assuming others will judge someone on a name as harshly as they do. They think a name genuinely gives their child a higher chance of getting a prestigious job.