If you already have your heart set on a name for your baby, you may want to stop reading now. If you couldn't care less what anyone else thinks and won't break into tears at the sight of seeing your future child's name on the 10 Most Hated Baby Name list, then proceed. I warn you, however, that it can be brutal to see one's choice sitting there after all the painstaking debate and devotion that go into choosing just the right name.
The list comes from Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby. She conducted an "informal" study and came up with the list. In general she found people hate "gender-bending" names in which a masculine name becomes feminine -- like Addison or Madison.
As well, people despise trendy names ... though obviously not everyone does or they wouldn't be trendy, right? Also on the list of hate are names that are difficult to spell (Kaitlyn) and those that are similar versions of other names (Jayden, Brayden, and Kayden).
Here's the full list (with notes from Live Science) ... brace yourself:
Girls
- Nevaeh ("heaven" spelled backward and one of the most divisive names around, according to Wattenberg)
- Destiny (people dislike names that confer a virtue onto a child, Wattenberg said -- and many associated this name with exotic dancers)
- Madison
- Mackenzie
- McKenna
- Addison (an example of a masculine named turned feminine, which many people dislike, Wattenberg said)
- Gertrude (people said this name is "ugly")
- Kaitlyn (for its "made-up" spelling)
- Makayla
- Bertha (author's note: duh!)
Boys
- Jayden
- Brayden
- Aiden
- Kaden (these rhyming names struck many as overdone, Wattenberg reported)
- Hunter (too much like a last name or "too violent")
- Hayden
- Bentley (people dislike brand-name names, Wattenberg found, calling them "trashy")
- Tristan
- Michael (too boring, according to some)
- Jackson
I'm surprised to see some of them there -- especially Michael, and Kaitlyn doesn't seem that strangely spelled to me. But some of them, yeah ... "Bentley," really?
Still, if you love a name, it's your baby, and you get to decide. Don't let the haters color your opinion of a name you love ... just know that your child may be among those who hate it too.
What do you think of the baby names on this most hated list? Are your children's names on it? Do you care?
Image via Julien Haler/Flickr
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Comments 491
Naming your child is a very personal choice. Wether it's simple, unique, traditional, popular...it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. My husband and I named our son Ethan Michael and we love it and it suits him well.
The only time I really honestly felt bad for someone's name was when I was checking out at the grocery store and my clerks name was Candida. Umm..did anyone else get a little itchy??
One name DH & I arguedabout was the name Arden. I wanted it for a boy and predominently in the past Arden was a boy's name. DH however only sees it as a girl's name thanks to Mad TV's Arden Myrin.
I thought i was actually pretty for either gender but he would NOT use the name for a boy because it was too feminine for him.
Jaylen however is predominantly a BOY's name and we used that for our girl. Only because when I first came across the name it was in the GIRLS section!
My Daughter's name is Addison. I got the name from Grey's Anatomy. Loved it right away. Still do.
I agree with all of the Aiden, Hayden's, etc.. those are used way too much, however, I think they're nice names.. Really hate Bentley.. it's pretentious. Don't care for Tristan either.. Michael is a nice name, but, again, it's way over used.. all of the other names I like.
Now the girls names, other than Bertha, Gertrude, and Destiny, I like all of them. There is definitely a frustration factor with the spellings, but that can be true of almost any name.
I tend to be traditional and old fashioned with names.. love names like Emmaline and Adeline, etc.. and all of my kids' names are fairly common... Matthew Evan, Ryan Wayne, Allison Marie, and Abigail Nadine.. all of their middle names are family names.
So my 7 year old is going to grow up to be an exotic dancer because her name is Destiny?...Well at least I'll save on the whole college education thing................
We have one of each of the rhyming boy names in our family. I'm not a huge fan of them. Neither of my chosen names made the list. not that I would care.
As far as the other names, I agree with #1 for the girls. Not a fan. But if someone likes those names, they should name their child what they want!
I've got a Hunter, I love it :)
I wonder if it's just that particular spelling of Kaitlyn or all. My daughter's name is Caitlin which is the original Irish spelling. My son's middle name is Aiden, which (no shit) came to me in a dream.