Curious…

[Saffy118]

A lot of people on here talk about children might get bullied for this name and that name. Do any of you have actual experience of your child or children’s friends being bullied because of their name. I mean current experience not from 1963.

My experience is that my children go to school with children with all sorts of names. It’s a private school and there are names like Binky, Pinky, Mungo, Hugo, Pixie as well as your more traditional names yet I know of nobody who is bullied because of their name.

I myself went to school many years ago and again can’t remember anyone ever being bullied because of their name.

I don't think I have, no.

I have however known an "adult" bullying another adult over their name. They were saying how much his parents must have hated him, it's a dog name, etc (the short version of the name is commonly used for dogs but it is also a very common human name!). It was very bizarre.

I only opened the thread to see if someone was going to call their baby Curious

Me too….

No it - thankfully - doesn't seem to be a thing. My kids and their friends have all sorts of names from traditional to Unique and including a lot of names for different cultures and countries. Nothing is really seen as unusual I don't think.

Not bullied but have heard comments about a 'stripper name'. I think it's worth thinking about obvious jokes as they would get boring for someone, but really if kids are going to be bullied/bully then it will happen regardless of names

Yes. As a child and as an adult. My name is fairly unusual, or was when I was at school. It's not an English name and that might be why an adult colleague was bullyig me.

I got bullied for my middle name in senior school

Not bullying as such but teasing/ banter. Like there was a Kelly who often got called Smelly Kelly and similar examples. This was at school . I can't remember any having a really unusual name and getting teased because of it.

Worked in primary schools 2013-2018 and yes children did get bullied for their names sometimes sadly. It's not just a thing someone has made up.

My dc have odd ish names. Never had any issue. Did raise an eyebrow tonight at parents evening.. New boy called Basil!!

I have never experienced anyone during school/growing up getting bullied for their name.

I also think that because it’s more common for children to be given unusual names now, children aren’t phased by it and it won’t lead to as much teasing.

My daughter has an uncommon name and I actually found that the people who made fun of it were the older generation (MIL, FIL and grandparents) and they got quite nasty! Every child she has met has not made fun of her name, that’s just her name to them.

I was, it was in secondary school mostly.

I have a very uncommon first name. I didn't get teased for it as such, just people being surprised that it was my name. It is very old fashioned and wasn't even common when it was at its supposed 'heyday'.
When I was younger, if I was on a night out, I would make up a name so that I wouldn't be remembered. It is so uncommon that people will say 'oh I've never met anyone with your name' or 'I've only met 1 other....'
It's not even an unusual name lol!

I went to school in the 1990's. I have a very old-fashioned name (it was popular around 1890-1905), and I was never teased or bullied about it.

I can remember a few kids at my school who were sometimes teased about their names because the names rhymed with dirty words. But those kids were otherwise pretty popular and had friends, as far as I remember.

I agree with you, OP, that you get used to the names of the people around you.
I went to school with a boy that had a pretty common name, but with an unusual pronunciation. I had never met anyone else with that name before, and did not know anyone else with that name, so until I was like 13 or so, I thought the unusual pronunciation was the common one.

I went to school with a boy called Jodie (when Jodie was a massively popular girls name) and he got bullied.

There was also a boy with a 'posh' name that got bullied.

But it was a rough school and everyone got bullied for something so it wasn't really ever about their names. Jodie also got teased for being fat.

I would imagine it's the same now.

Yes I got bullied in secondary school about my name. I grew up in the 80's and went to school with lots of Karen's, Sharon's and Amanda's. Boys loads of Steven's, Mark, David etc. My name is pretty old fashioned and unusual.

My name is often mentioned on here as being classic, I absolutely hate it though. I grew up with so many horrible comments about it, it’s only stopped in the last few years and I’m mid 30s.

Some children who go/went to school with my children get bullied about their names. It’s names I’ve seen on here, on the more unusual side. Kids can be cruel and it’s true they’ll often find something to bully about, but some parents hand it to them on a plate with some names.

And me! I was thinking how unusual and yet quite endearing to call a child Curious.

I got bullied about my name but I got bullied full stop and actually I found the name bullying the lesser of several evils.

I have worked in secondary schools for ages and the most I've ever heard is kids commenting a name is unusual and that was never for the Rainbows or Floridas, but for the kids with what used to be very traditional names, such as John and Michael. Never heard any bullying though. Children today are very used to unusual names.

I've taught in many schools over the last 25 years. The only time I've encountered children being picked on for their name was in a predominantly white, predominantly middle class school. When the school is very diverse in a diverse area, noone has raised an eyebrow about names at all.

I got comments about my surname, think Pratt (an example). I made sure I married someone with a good surname and changed mine straight away, because I hated mine so much. If a child is going to be bullied, if their name is also something that can be used against them, it will be. The problem is you don’t know what your child will be like when you name them. So if it’s in any way problematic, I wouldn’t do it.
If it’s your surname that’s the issue, that’s a tough one. I have a friend who won’t marry because her DPs surname is awful, she’s given her kids her last name. I completely get it, even though she has no need to take his name now, this way the wider family don’t question why the kids have her name.

Middle name oranj?

(Iykyk!)