25 Questionable Baby Names That Made People Feel Angry With The Parent

I can tell you from experience, that having a unique name can make life slightly difficult. People often don’t know how to pronounce it or spell it and this can create an unnecessarily problematic chain reaction of events. For example, the spelling of my name on my birth certificate is different to my driver’s license and my bank account which can cause issues when travelling abroad or applying for a loan.  It’s great to have an unusual moniker, but it can also cause unwanted setbacks. But while an uncommon name is a mild headache, some parents take naming their child to unprecedented levels. So when someone online asked, “What baby name immediately makes you lose all respect for the parents and why?”, folks jumped in with the baby names that caused a feeling of dissonance within them. 

#1

Image source: Amber Rose, Evita Tomševica / unsplash (not the actual photo) Me an my mum ran into a girl, around 6 years old. She said, my name is a-b-c-d-e! My mum laughed and told her good job on the alphabet. The parents, one of which was defiantly drunk, said that’s her name. Abcde. I could help but turn around to hide my laughter. Poor girl. This was last year oh, and Kristen, only spelled Kris-10. Like at least spell it. I like the name, if you don’t spell it like that. Also, those kinds of names makes the programming system in my dads company not work for that client, so it makes life complicated. And, I have to assume, we kids aren’t the nicest, so there’s that.

#2

Image source: Amy Christa Ernano, E. W. Kemble / wikimedia (not the actual photo) I have an issue with parents who give their kids names they think are cute and clever, without considering the impact having such a name will have on their kids. Like “Chanda Lear”, for instance. My personal brush with this was a guy I worked with named Huckleberry Finn. Nice guy, and really cute, too, but not as amused by his name as his parents apparently were. He went by Huck, and literally wouldn't respond if you called him Huckleberry; one of the managers would page him on the walkie (we worked at Target) and liked to call him “Huckleberry”, but he would straight-up ignore her until she called him Huck. I asked him once if his parents were Mark Twain fans. He said, “no, they were just cruel.” Parents need to remember that their kids, not they, are the ones who have to go through life with the “clever” names they're given.

#3

Image source: Kirsten Carlson, Wesley Tingey / unsplash (not the actual photo) "I PROMISE, I AM NOT FABRICATING THIS ANSWER... My cousin was at a general check-up at her pediatrician’s office — she was 17 and was waiting her turn to be called back. A nurse with a clipboard stepped into the waiting room and, with a VERY guilty look on her face, said, 'I’m sorry. Is there a Sh*t Head?' Everyone sat up and looked around, shocked. A rather disgruntled mom stood up with her newborn in her arms and said, in an annoyed and condescending tone, 'It’s Sh-thed.' My cousin later asked and was told it was spelled S-H-I-T-H-E-D.

#4

Image source: Lady Jigglyhips, Esmihel Muhammed / pexels (not the actual photo) My friends named one of their kids 'Nissan Sentra' (wish I was joking here) and, for their youngest, they couldn't come up with a name that they both agreed on. They finally settled on (wait for it) 'TEMPO ARIE' pronounced 'Temporary.' The hope was the child would be able to choose her own name when she was old enough (hence the name "Temporary'). That was 18 years ago, and she's changed her name to something far more conventional.

#5

Image source: Brienne Zamora, Henrique Malaguti / unsplash (not the actual photo) Oh, lord. I consider myself a relatively nice person but for some reason, I cannot get over the fact that people name their kids the absolute stupidest nonsense. Princess. Madam. Mister. Diarrhea. Black. Apple. Sir. Lochabeth. Any version of Caedan, Rayden, Haedaaan, whatever. Once, a person named 'Shanie' told me angrily, 'It’s pronounced - SHAH-NAY.' I've met a 'Breaden' who goes by 'Brayden' and a 'Cayenne' who goes by 'Cheyenne.' For the love of all things good, please learn phonics. Are people just throwing darts at the alphabet when it comes to child naming? Unique is one thing, but stupidity is another. Irrespective of what you name your child, there will likely be another person named that, there are billions of people in the world. Culturally relevant and different is one thing, but stupidity, ignorance, and arrogance are another.

#6

Image source: Nicole Kos, Kelly Sikkema / unsplash (not the actual photo) My cousin is one of those parents who seems to think a name should have as many unnecessary letters stuffed into it as possible. She named her first child Jhaydynn because apparently 'Jaden' wasn’t enough letters. Then she named her second child 'Chelleseigh.' That’s already absolutely terrible, but the worst part is that she pronounces it 'Kelsey.' We all tried to tell her that everyone would assume it was pronounced 'Chelsea' but she insisted that since Christina is pronounced with a 'k' sound, Chelleseigh can be too. Needless to say, everyone who saw the name written down pronounced it 'Chelsea' and when she started school, she eventually stopped correcting people and just let them call her that. When she turned 18, she had her name legally changed to Chelsea because that’s what everyone called her anyway, and she wanted a normally spelled name.

#7

Image source: Arkaneh Urairat, Steve Nomax / unsplash (not the actual photo) If you are a mother who just gave birth to twins, would you fall off the bed knowing that your husband wants to name your twins: CORONA and COVID ?…Some mother may put her foot down, “Over my dead body.” While others may be ecstatic and jubilant. Yes, I am talking about the latter. An Indian couple in India’s central state of Chhattisgarh has named their newborn twins Corona and Covid amid the coronavirus pandemic. The twins, a boy and a girl, were born at a government hospital in the state capital Raipur on March 27, two days after the lockdown came into force disrupting daily lives… In the interview:- The parents who insist they are hoping to 'ease the anxiety and fear associated with these words'… Can you beat that?

#8

Image source: Lea Adler , Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) There’s a lot of controversial baby names out there. Nevaeh (which I personally don’t have a problem with), any color name, any food name, Katelyn/Caitlin/Catelyn/any other variant of this overused name, etc. But there’s one that stands out. Abcde (pronounced absidy). When I first heard of the name, I was just so disappointed. It’s a name that (no offense) seems like something a young white mother would name their kid in an attempt to be quirky.

#9

Image source: Mathew HeathVanHorn, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) I once met a woman who had a very cute little girl in a stroller. I complimented the woman on such a pretty child and asked for her name. Mother: “Her name is See-ann.” Me: “What an interesting name. How do you spell that?” Mother: replied, “ S E A N” Me: “Isn’t that Sean?” Mother: “AUUUUGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!! Why do people keep saying that!? So many ignorant people in this world!!!!!!” And she storms off in a huff.

#10

Image source: Greg Aydt, Vincent van Zalinge / unsplash (not the actual photo) As a teacher, I regularly see names that make me cringe, though not necessarily ready to commit violence. I once had a girl named Bo-peep. Her sister Bambi was in my class the following year. I also had a girl whose first name was Rice — and her middle name was Aroni. Yes, like the 'San Francisco treat!' Another young lady was named Summer, which sounded great — until I saw her middle name was Eve. Yep, like the disposable feminine hygiene products. One girl was named Marriott — born nine months to the day after her parents' wedding because 'that's where she was made' (a direct quote from her dad).

#11

Image source: Jack Brownlee , Greta Schölderle Möller / unsplash (not the actual photo) Obviously inappropriate names. Once upon a time, it was acceptable to name your child ‘Gay’, or ‘D**k’. In this day and age though, things like that are totally inappropriate. Initials that spell out other words. If you want to name your child ‘Betty Emily Aimes’, go ahead. Don’t name your child something like ‘ F red A ntonio R ichard T urner’, or ‘ P oppy O phelia O livia P earson’. Yoo-neeque (Pronounced unique) Names I’ve actually met several people with regular names spelled in awful ways. I know a girl named ‘La-a’, pronounced ‘LaDasha’. I know another girl called ‘JLove’; and another girl with the incredibly unfortunate name ‘Airplane’. Yes, her name is actually ‘Airplane’. Names that are spelled strangely. If you want to name your child ‘Christina’ but don’t like how common that spelling is, don’t make up some strange new way to spell the name. ‘Kry$$teenuh’ is not going to earn that child any popularity points. Common names. There are enough names out there that you don’t need to call your child “Bob” or “Jim”. Even things like ‘John’ and ‘Harry’ are super common. Your child will constantly be turning around when someone says ‘John’, because fifteen other kids in his class are coincidentally named ‘John’ as well. Celebrity names. If you call your child ‘Donald Trump’, they’re going to be made fun of their entire life. No doubt about it. Don’t call your child ‘Ted Bundy’, either. Names that are the same as/close to their siblings’ names. I know a girl who is named ‘Maria’ who has fourteen sisters named ‘Maria’ as well. She never knows what ‘Maria’ her parents are talking to/about. If you name one child ‘Emily’, don’t call the other child ‘Emilee’. Really, all it takes to name a child is a tiny bit of common sense. Shine Bright, Jackson

#12

Image source: Kelsey Whiteman, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) When I was around 6 or 7…my dad took me to the doctors. It was a normal day like any other, but I noticed a girl sitting across from me. She looked about my age and had the biggest smile on her face. I then heard the nurse call her name… Precious… Butts? Yes… that was her name. Precious Butts. I was so shocked when I heard that and I tried so hard not to laugh. A couple years later, my dad and I went to Home Depot to pick up paint and who were we checked out by… none other than Princess, Precious Butts’s SISTER, It was great lol

#13

Image source: Hope Switon , Tamara Govedarovic / unsplash (not the actual photo) “Actually, it's pronounced…” Actually, it's probably not. Any name where they made up a pronunciation out of nothing. I'm not talking about names from different countries or cultures, I can respect that. But names where they just decided that “the B is silent” when there's no phonological rule in their language for Bs to be silent. Or where they just in other ways decided to make up their own rules and have the rest of the world follow it. La-a. That would be pronounced La ah, right? Oh no no. I've heard some say it should be pronounced LaDasha. Because it's a dash, you know. But by that same logic, it could be LaHyphena or LaMinusAh. And actually, LaDasha is the only thing it wouldn't be pronounced as, because it's not a dash, it's a hyphen. A dash is longer (—). X Æ A-12. Okay, in Denmark where I'm from, we use the Æ, and I could pronounce the letters Ek-say-ah. That's kinda pretty. But Elon Musk (who created this name) said it was supposed to be X Ash Archangel. I'm sorry, what? Æ is supposed to be Ash, because it's elvish spelling. As a Danish person, I'm kinda offended that you use a made up language's pronunciation over ours. And a-12 is “pronounced like archangel”? No it's not. It may be short for archangel. But it's not pronounced like it.

#14

Image source: Dan Bradbury , Nathan Dumlao / unsplash (not the actual photo) Any extremely unconventional name that attempts to force an unwitting child to endure humiliation to make their parents feel creative. Fun fact: no amount of misplaced creativity will make little Apple or LaTreena or Cloud or Kal-El someone cool or smart or respectable one day. That will take the thing you won’t do: amazing parenting.

#15

Image source: Bob Wilson, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) There was a high school girl working at my local grocery store. I did a double-take at her name tag but decided to give it a shot. I said it as it was spelled: 'Thank you Serria.' She said, 'Why does everyone call me that? My name is Sierra, just spelled differently.' Honestly, if you are going for a different spelling, what's wrong with Ciara or Cierra? Why would her parents do this to her? I think she is going to be annoyed for the rest of her life.

#16

Image source: Annalise Cameron, Suad Kamardeen / unsplash (not the actual photo) “Ghetto” or “hood" names. As a black woman, I find it extremely repulsive when people in the black community give their children names like “daquan,” “shaniquah," “unique," “Antwon," etc. My name is Elizabeth, and my children are Elise, Joseph, and Walter. I have, what some may call, a “white" name, but I wouldn't say so. “Names are a symbol of class,” my mother used to say, and I can't exactly say she was wrong. In my opinion, naming your child with a “ghetto" name is the same as white rednecks naming their child Cletus or Boomer. When you give your child a low class name, they may be fine with it if they stay fine with being low class, but names like “Laqisha" will quite possibly cause problems with landing jobs and being taken seriously. Have you ever met a doctor named Laqisha?

#17

Image source: Bianca Davis, Toa Heftiba / unsplash (not the actual photo) A friend of a friend had a baby named Yvonne. I LOVE that name (it is my daughter’s middle name) but this poor child wasn’t going to be called Eee-Von or Eh-von. She was going to be called Why-von-eee - spelt Y.V.O.N.N.E. **insert eye roll emoji** Another thing that immediately makes me lose respect for parents and make all kinds of assumptions about their intelligence etc is the appearance around a child’s neck of those God-awful, pseudoscientific amber necklaces.

#18

Image source: YaNayNay, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) I used to be a school bus driver. One day, doing an unfamiliar route, I stopped at my next kid's house to pick them up for school. I did a double-take at the girl's name on my clipboard. Her first name read: BikiniWanna! I'm like, 'Who on earth would name their child that?!'

#19

Image source: Stuart Stevenson , Jelleke Vanooteghem / unsplash (not the actual photo) I have spent years in government work, as a probation and parole officer, as a DSS investigator, and as an educator. The names I have seen are: 'Female' (pronounced Fe-maul-e). 'Debris.' Yes, like trash. Twins named 'C*caine' and 'M*rijuana.' (Feel free to look them up in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. This may come as a shock, but they were convicted on drug charges). Twins 'Orangejello' and 'Lemonjello' (pronounced Or-ang-elo and Lem-on-jelo). 'UrMajesty,' 'UrHighnessV*gina (pronounced Fa-gi-nuh),' Abcde (pronounced Ab-suh-day).

#20

Image source: Dennis D, Jonathan Borba / unsplash (not the actual photo) When my wife was giving birth to our first child, it was in an OB room with another woman who was giving birth as well. I haven’t seen that in years, but it was definitely a thing in 1992. Anyway, the girl in the next bed next to us named her baby 'V*gina.' Yup, you read it correctly. Her family argued and pleaded with her not to for over an hour. Her stance was that it was the most beautiful word she could think of, and she would NOT be swayed. Obviously, we aren’t 100% sure what happened, but when we were finally moved to a single room, she was still standing her ground, and they definitely had paperwork being filled out around them. So, to our knowledge, that baby’s name is, in fact, V*gina.

#21

Image source: Spaghetti Hoop, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) My friend recently gave birth and heard from the nurses that someone gave birth to twins who they named 'Sausage' and 'Peanut' ???.

#22

Image source: Silke Force People ask me ALL the time where I got my name. I was born in North Central Germany. My name, Silke is pronounced more like Zilkeh. When I was born, my parents were planning to emigrate and wanted me to have a name that reflected my heritage instead of one that blends. When I was in grade school and high school,, some tried to pronounce it correctly. Others turned it into a joke. When I reached university, one professor, teaching a class of three hundred gave it the old college try. It came out as Silky. And that stuck. By that time, I could take it with better humour and have lived with it since. It did get a bit funnier when I got married and had my family name changed to Force. Most of the jokes quickly got old after that. No, I have never danced on tables, or performed as a stripper. Yes, the Force is with you. No, I'd rather not be called Cotton, and I would so much prefer not to be Felt. I am not related to the Selkies of the British Isles, and therefore am not entitled to drown my lovers in the morning. Though I can always make an exception. But there was one team that came up with the absolute best reaction. The CBC crew of a lovely interviewer had a silent bet going that Silkie Force was a pseudonym because I was calling in a freelance report from a Middle Eastern country. They thought it would be a fabulous name for a James Bond bad girl. My parents meant no ill when they gave me a non-Canadian but traditional name. My parents deserve respect for doing the best they could. They didn't know that it would lead to mockery. I am not so sure that I can respect the parents of Sterling Silver, Jack Pine, Mike Hunt or Gayle Force, simply because they're setting their children up for a lifetime of being teased.

#23

Image source: Meaghan Louise, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) Anything that’s named after a medical condition or a medication. I’ve met a baby named Salexa. Sounds pretty right? However, Celexa is an SSRI used to treat anxiety disorders and clinical depression. The worst one I can ever recall hearing was this poor little boy named Harry-D*ck. No joke. The kid’s name was hyphenated to honor both of his grandpas (good intentions), but holy macadandy doodle, that is NOT a good name combination for a little boy to have all through his life. I’m sorry. He is going to be so badly teased.

#24

Image source: Becky Wilder, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo) A lady in my hometown gave birth to a little girl and named her: F E M A L E. Pronounced 'Femahly.'

#25

x Image source: Michael , CDC / unsplash (not the actual photo) People ask me ALL the time where I got my name. I was born in North Central Germany. My name, Silke is pronounced more like Zilkeh. When I was born, my parents were planning to emigrate and wanted me to have a name that reflected my heritage instead of one that blends. When I was in grade school and high school,, some tried to pronounce it correctly. Others turned it into a joke. When I reached university, one professor, teaching a class of three hundred gave it the old college try. It came out as Silky. And that stuck. By that time, I could take it with better humour and have lived with it since. It did get a bit funnier when I got married and had my family name changed to Force. Most of the jokes quickly got old after that. No, I have never danced on tables, or performed as a stripper. Yes, the Force is with you. No, I'd rather not be called Cotton, and I would so much prefer not to be Felt. I am not related to the Selkies of the British Isles, and therefore am not entitled to drown my lovers in the morning. Though I can always make an exception. But there was one team that came up with the absolute best reaction. The CBC crew of a lovely interviewer had a silent bet going that Silkie Force was a pseudonym because I was calling in a freelance report from a Middle Eastern country. They thought it would be a fabulous name for a James Bond bad girl. My parents meant no ill when they gave me a non-Canadian but traditional name. My parents deserve respect for doing the best they could. They didn't know that it would lead to mockery. I am not so sure that I can respect the parents of Sterling Silver, Jack Pine, Mike Hunt or Gayle Force, simply because they're setting their children up for a lifetime of being teased.