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The Most Hated Baby Names in America
Live Science ^ | April 28, 2011 | Stephanie Pappas

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 ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: babies; babynames; names
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To: Jonty30

My middle son (16) and his best friend (also 16) are both named John. No whimpy Jon. There are also a couple of younger kids at our church named John. And the newest baby at church is named Uriah.


141 posted on 04/30/2011 8:38:29 AM PDT by Vor Lady ( Comedy =Tragedy + Time)
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To: Shimmer1

LOL! My daughter knows people like that.


142 posted on 04/30/2011 8:40:09 AM PDT by Vor Lady ( Comedy =Tragedy + Time)
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To: workerbee

My daughter likes old fashioned names. Her kids are Maria, Rocky (okay not so old fashioned), Cynthia, Lenora and Roland.


143 posted on 04/30/2011 8:43:53 AM PDT by Vor Lady ( Comedy =Tragedy + Time)
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To: grey_whiskers

We use biblical and ancestral names for our kids. My oldest is Nathanael. I feel sorry for him sometimes because no one spells it correctly. We had just settled on the name Nathaniel and the next Sunday at Mass was a reading with Nathanael. It felt right at the time. :0) The rest of them are boring and easy to spell. Still working on names for the next one.


144 posted on 04/30/2011 9:33:45 AM PDT by samiam1972 ("It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."-Mother Teresa)
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To: Husker24
I take it “LaTrina’s” dad wasn’t in the military...lol.

If he was, he was likely Navy...

the infowarrior

145 posted on 04/30/2011 9:44:42 AM PDT by infowarrior
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146 posted on 04/30/2011 9:51:35 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: hellbender
My Grandmother wanted to name my Mother Hildegarde. When she was getting dunked the priest, a frog, refused the name and substituted Josephine.

My other Grandmother's family went through 8 or 10 generations of Abraham's came to an end with her nephew.

My Grandfathers family has had a William in every generation for at lest 500 years. My dear ex wanted to name our son Aaron Jason. I told her that he would grow up and hang around mens rooms, so I named him Craig William and my Grandson is CW2.

147 posted on 04/30/2011 9:59:39 AM PDT by Little Bill (Sorry)
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To: Ouderkirk

Elliott & Olivia in my house.


148 posted on 04/30/2011 10:15:49 AM PDT by Gman (Anglican Priest)
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To: Allegra; TheMom
Caitlin is the original Irish Spelling.

Ireland and England fought quite a bit.

Maybe the girls names were predestined.

149 posted on 04/30/2011 10:38:10 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer (biblein90days.org))
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To: USMCPOP
I just saw your tagline and clicked on your homepage.

God bless you and thank you.

RIP LCpl Linn.

150 posted on 04/30/2011 10:51:45 AM PDT by Allegra (Hey! Stop looking at my tagline like that.)
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To: Allegra

Thanks, Allegra. You still over in the sandbox?


151 posted on 04/30/2011 11:38:32 AM PDT by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
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To: linn37

I know a young mom whose daughter Cassandra is called (KC) spelled Cassie. But if you call her Cass-ee you get reprimanded. Dimwit.


152 posted on 04/30/2011 11:38:35 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.)
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To: USMCPOP
You still over in the sandbox?

I am, but I shall be departing in the month that begins tomorrow. And am I ever ready! :-D

153 posted on 04/30/2011 11:48:19 AM PDT by Allegra (Hey! Stop looking at my tagline like that.)
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To: DryFly

Buddy of mine married a Dorcas.


154 posted on 04/30/2011 12:02:05 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: sappy
Identical twins. Juan and Amal. But if you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Amal.

I named my dog "Twice".......He won't come if you call him once.

155 posted on 04/30/2011 2:29:27 PM PDT by Graybeard58 (Trump - Romney, without the Mormon baggage.)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis; ironman73
Is Beltashazar still ok too?

I named my oldest son after Belteshazzar but he goes by the Hebrew pronunciation - Daniel.

A member of this forum "Ironman73" but I don't know what Ironman73 is in Hebrew.

156 posted on 04/30/2011 2:36:12 PM PDT by Graybeard58 (Trump - Romney, without the Mormon baggage.)
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To: LibLieSlayer
We've been baracked!

I just took a barack a few minutes ago.

157 posted on 04/30/2011 2:39:19 PM PDT by Graybeard58 (Trump - Romney, without the Mormon baggage.)
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To: decimon
At the other end of the spectrum are people who hate ordinary names. This group is in the minority, but they pushed "Michael" into the top 10 most disliked names for boys.

"They really object to anything ordinary," Wattenberg said. "'Michael' or 'Matthew,' the boringness of those names infuriates them."

Yeah, well Michael is not crazy about your name either!


158 posted on 04/30/2011 2:49:08 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter (Posting from deep behind the Maple Curtain)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Our son is named for my father, who passed away not long before he was born. My father’s name was a family name on his mother’s side going back to the 18th century.
My son just passed it on to his son. :)


159 posted on 04/30/2011 2:51:41 PM PDT by kalee (The offences we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we engrave in marble. J Huett 1658)
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To: decimon

If your last name is Dover, just don’t name your kid Ben.


160 posted on 04/30/2011 3:00:05 PM PDT by Ronald_Magnus
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