Posted on 04/29/2011 4:07:30 PM PDT by decimon
When it comes to names, everybody's got an opinion. But while figuring out what names people like is pretty simple -- the U.S. Social Security Administration keeps a list of the most popular baby names each year -- figuring out what people hate is trickier.
It turns out that in the case of names, love and hate aren't mutually exclusive. A new informal survey of the most disliked names in America finds that popularity often breeds backlash, as a quick track to baby-name fame seems to also trigger hate for that name. Among the most-hated "trendy" names are Jayden, Brayden, Madison and Addison.
The most commonly cited name that put people's teeth on edge was Nevaeh, or "heaven" spelled backward. That name didn't exist until the 1990s, but it took off in popularity in 2003, shooting from the 150th most common baby name in that year to the 31st most popular in 2007 (as of 2009, it stood at No. 34).
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The survey also turned up a few interesting trends. The first is that people hate gender-bending names, particularly when a masculine name becomes feminine, as with Madison (which tied for second-most-hated for boys with 16 separate mentions) and Addison (which tied for sixth with eight mentions). They also hate names they can't spell, including Kaitlyn, which got eight mentions and tied for sixth. (People say "Caitlin" is fine because it's traditional, Wattenberg said, though the original Irish pronunciation of that spelling would be closer to "Kathleen.")
...The most hated boys' names -- Jayden, Brayden, Aiden and Kayden -- all rhyme and all shot up from obscurity during the last decade. Among girls, a spate of "Mc"-names sparked annoyance: Mackenzie, McKenna and Makayla all made the top 10.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
They came close, but Little Man's name is not on the "hated" list.
They also hate names they can't spell, including Kaitlyn, which got eight mentions and tied for sixth. (People say "Caitlin" is fine because it's traditional...
And the thackneys did OK on this list as well. ;-)
Ooops....I should have read further.
But that is the key element. People in the West have generally lost the ties to family (ancestors) that perpetuate names, or the idea that names have meaning.
So we are bombarded with a procession of meaningless names which are mere sound orchestration--and not even always that with good effect.
>> the West have generally lost the ties to family (ancestors) that perpetuate names, or the idea that names have meaning.
No worries here mate. We’re Old Testament.
My next Canine will be Nebuchadnezzar.
I’m screwed. My middle name is Wayne.
I had a great aunt named Etheleen.
Due to the English practice of giving the eldest son his mother's maiden name as a forename, it became a masculine forename.
Almost totally unknown as a female name before 1984 and 
(And she got it off a streetsign) it became the second most popular female name by 2001.
My son who is in HS right now, he is one of two Marks in his school (a student body of over 1800 kids...so out of approximately 900 boys there are only two with that Apostle’s name)m. We know this as one male teacher (named surpisingly Mark!) ran a search. He is in his late 40s, and for years has followed name trends. This bumper crop of two ‘Marks’ is the most (oddly) he has ever seen in his tenure. There have been multiple years when this teacher found NO Marks in the student population.
The teacher started his anecdotal name study, when he encountered an overwhelming amount of ‘Texas City’ named, male students (Austin, Tyler, Dallas).
For what is worth, my 22 year old son also has a biblical, Apostle’s name (Matthew) and (at same school/district) he was one of many “Matts.”
Hearing "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego" used to just crack us up as kids.
Bertha DeBlues
” Jayden, Brayden, Madison and Addison.”
Theys white peoples names.
Gotta hates whites. It’s the thang todays.
Specialy babies, dem white babies.
series.
I never would have thought to make fun of the name Gladys—except that it makes the person sound old.
I wonder how difficult it is to change one’s name? But the hassle of filling out every application and explaining one’s previous name probably dissuades a lot of people.
What about Tyrod?
Awesome!
Leedasha.
I kid you not!
“For Carlton? Siamese twins?”
Not twins, but half Siamese. :)
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