Names You Would Never Use

[AubernFable]

I am an absolute name nerd and love hearing other people’s preferences, but instead of being boring and asking for your favourite, I want to hear your least favourite baby names.

Disclaimer: I am not encouraging anyone to hate on anyone’s name choices—everyone has different tastes and it makes life interesting. I just want to hear the names that you personally dislike or would never use.

Some of my least favourites…

Boys

Hunter – also see Gunner or any other violence-based, American-sounding name (Nameberry Baby Name Trends 2025)
Kai – Jax and similar three-letter names
Kayden – Jayden, Brayden
Archie/Teddy – shortened names in general
George – just don’t like it

Girls

Luna – and Nova sound like pet names to me
Emma – Olivia and Amelia type names, just because I know so many DC with those names
Savannah – I don’t know why
Francesca – weird because it’s similar to names I love
Poppy, Rosie, Ruby – cute but I feel like they don’t suit adults
Angel – also see Honey or Princess (all real DC)

In general, I don’t like unique spellings or really modern names like Graeyson, Blakely, Azra, or Kyndall.

For me it's place names when there is no actual connection to it, India being the worst for this.

Anything more likely to end up on the wrong side of the bench.

But names are funny things. I am in my mid 60s and my middle name is now a hated and very frequently used filler. It was very very unusual when I was born and for decades had a certain charm.

My DC are grown up now. Their names are pretty classic but not often used 30 years ago. Both have since exploded.

Quinn. Because it sounds like quim.

Mine are more my association /interaction with people with certain names ( ex teacher married to a teacher so many names were off the table!)

Don't like ' family ' names, each baby is it's own self give them their own name.

'Yoo-neek' (love that PP) spellings to stand out.

Names are circular so young women having babies don't have connotations with Elsie, ivy etc where as my generation still remember old ladies with these names. I quite like some of them.

I do like some names being used for male or female, but notvif they're obviously one or the other ie james Paul

Prince Andrew

Names that are nouns e.g. River.

Hyphenated names. (I also don't like double barrelling surnames either).

Anyone who shares a name with people I don't like. I can cope if it's one person of that name, but if there's 2 or more that's it.

Or if there's a lot of people with that name. I know so many Rebeccas, Catherines, Victorias - all lovely names but there's just so many!

Jake, jack, ethan

anna, connie, libby

just very meh names to me

Names that sound like morgue: Morgan, Morgana, Maude
Names that rhyme with fester: Lester, Hester
Names that are medical conditions or sound like them: Melena, Candida, Regina, Labbia
Names which could be stripper names: Candy, Randy, Bambi, Precious, Destiny

This is why I chose the full version of my son's name even though we only really use the shortened version. So he would have options in the future.

@Stepfordian
Fully agree, the posts asking for an Irish or Scottish name and don't even know how to spell them!!
Same with the upsurge in Alba, at least it'll be easy to get something with their name on it!

Gosh all of my children’s names are on this thread 😂🫣

And mine 😂

I may as well join in then. Gill. Sarah. Katy. Nigel. Keith.

I have a completely irrational dislike of matchy names for siblings - any sort of matching, Sean and Shane or London and Paris.

Also names that are supposed to be nicknames, for instance Buster or Tuppence. Just don't put them on the birth certificate!

I’m a double barrelled first name and like it. What I really dislike is when people (mostly Drs, nurses, dentists etc) take it upon themselves to shorten it because they’re too lazy to just say the bloody name

Don't like: George, John, Jason, James, Peter, Mark, Jack, Ian - they seem to be names of middle aged, dull white men. Girls least favourite: Maggie, Kate, Jane, Gill, Karen - brrrr!

Gaynor, Gaylord, Gay

Anything double barreled- Bobby-Joe, Billie-Ray, Jodie-Mae, Billy-Bob, Docie-May, Sky-Blu, Honey-Bea.

What an unpleasant thread...

No to ...
hyphenated names
Jayden and names that rhyme with Jayden
Tiffany
Logan
Violet
Dirk
names that rhyme with our surname
names that make undesirable words from combined initials

And many others. My very favourite names list is short.

Some names I'd never use sound perfect in another family.
Thankfully we all have different opinions.

I probably wouldn’t use Adolf or Hermann, and maybe not Benito

Any name in the top 20 of popular names. So unoriginal.

I like unusual names- but not made up or weird spellings of traditional names. Not surnames used as first names eg Mackenzie bleurgh.. People that give their kids names with the same initials. Twins names with the same initial eg Poppy and Primrose, James and Jessica

As many I dislike anything -Aiden, deliberately misspelled to be younique, Nevaeh, shortened names as full names (dislike less but just prefer full name for bc etc). Made up names. Certain sounds I’ve realised I tend to dislike- Mason, Grayson, Jason, some surname names (cooper, Carter, Parker etc) but don’t mind Spencer, Elliott and some others. Also not a fan of names with oh sound on boys. Logan, Toby, Cody, Coby, Bodhi. Girls wise again shortened names and ones I find very bland/ cutesey and overused- grace, Evie, Millie, Maisie, Lily, Ella, Mia, Hannah, Sophie, Poppy, Lottie. Don’t seem to like colour names either like Ruby, Scarlett,
Violet etc. so not too fussy 😅

Gertrude. Sounds like a combo of regurgitate and rude. Can't imagine anyone thinking it's a beautiful name for a baby girl.

Pointless names like Bobby which suits no one and smacks of very little effort having gone into choosing it. Even worse if something like Lee is added as the middle name. Shudder.
Anything with May or Mae hyphenated onto the end. Stupid spellings just to be “different”. It needs to be remembered that fad names go with the child into adulthood and you are judged by a ridiculous name