One of the benefits of having a kid is you get to name them. That way, you can honor your grandad, pay your respects to the artist who has inspired you, or... show the world you're a bit weird.
A month ago, Reddit user Hasden2007 asked other users on the platform, "What is the worst name you could give a child?" Turns out, there's no shortage of those.
So far, the post has received over 4.7K replies. From Strawberry Rain to Chastity, here are some of the most upvoted ones.
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My coworker named her baby "Strawberry Rain", which would be a great name if she had given birth to a bottle of shampoo
I know a family with 4 kids: Prince, Princess, Precious, and Becca. The Becca at the end kills me lol
I have heard of many bad names, but Sex Fruit is probably the worst I have seen.
Princess. A girl in my high school was legally named princess but she went by her middle name. There was also a girl who’s name was Sunny Day and she was the emo kid
With a name like Sunny Day, you're doomed to be the emo kid.
Mystic Pigeon? She was a client at my office.
Apparently it’s a real surname and her parents were hippies so named her “Mystic”. Like who’s ever going to take her seriously??
How about not giving your child a name? There was a kid I went to high school with whose legal first name was "Unnamed Baby Boy". I don't know the story behind that though.
My mum once worked at a school and there was a kid called "Thank God".
That kid must be like "I don't thank God for giving me this name"
theres a british chef, jamie oliver, who named his children the following:
poppy honey rosie
petal blossom rainbow
buddy bear maurice
daisy boo pamela
river rocket blue dallas someone call childline
I worked in Nigeria for a while and had a co-worker called Thank God Limejuice. It wasn’t a windup. That was his actual name
Some amazing names in Nigeria and they totally make them work and sound cool. Just think of the ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan..
When I worked at chick-fil-a way back in the day, I was taking this girl's order and it time time to ask for her name, she was being very hesitant. So I was just waiting for a reply until her mom says "Sorry she's shy!!" looks me in the eyes with a smile and tells me "Her name is Thankful!" ....poor child
North West
I'm waiting for her to put out a perfume called "North" just to hear the commercial, "North by Northwest"
Peter File
Pridges Pancakes. He changed it to Richard Johnson.
But Olympic skier Anna Banana kept her name.
I actually went to school with a guy named Richard Rash. To make it worse his mother was a teacher there
A friend of a friend was named ‘Forsheeza Jolly Goodfellow’ before she had it changed. Can’t even imagine having to deal with that at school
That's something you'd suggest as a joke, but following through is just cruel.
I read a story once about triplets that were named Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Please dont do that
Abcde (pronounce ab-city)
That was the poor girl who caused an incident at an airport, because the employees could not believe this was her actual name. They laughed at the name and the mother shamed them for laughing at her poor child, when in truth in was her fault for giving her child a ridiculous name like that.
Blanket
Seen it all. Met a woman named Anal. Pronounced "Ah-nuhl". I had a friend named Cleopatra. And had a relative named Sextus but he just was called "Uncle Sex". Even heard of one called Merlin!
Went to school with a girl named Candace Barbara Machine. Candy Bar Machine!
Satan.
Well, unless of course you want them to be a lawyer when they grow up, in which case it might to a good marketing ploy.
Some girl I knew named her daughter Tru Love, I still can’t get over that bizarre combination
Chastity
Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Here in Germany, there a rules for giving your child a name. Most importantly, the name must not be ridiculous, because that causes emotional damages. So when you go to the registry office, they can forbid you to use certain names. Those people saved a lot of children from a very bad childhood!
Sometimes I think: why are there so many regulations in my country? And than I see this and see: because.
Netherlands too. Our registry officers can also veto any name they deem inappropriate, or when they are certain the child will be bullied over it. Also when the initials spell out inappropriate things like wc, soa (our abbreviation of std) and whatnot
Same in Sweden, you cannot name your kids something that might cause them to be teased, or cause them discomfort. Also there is a time limit and if the parents havent decided by then, the government gives the child a name. Because everyone deserves a name
Thanks, was about to write the same. We went as far as to forbid "Robin" as a girls name for a while. Luckily, that was removed but it still confuses the hell out of most people. "Your boy, Robin..." "It's a her" "What?" "Yeah, it's a her, Robin can be either" I even had to make them change the "blue" chalk writing upon her birth into "pink" (I hate gender colours, but they used them so...go figure).
Same thing in Sweden, it's a boys name.
Robin, Kelly, Rory, Alex/Alix, can all be male or female. And don’t forget Vivian, Leslie, Evelyn, and Marion were all male names in the UK. Marion Morrison was John Wayne’s real name! The writer Evelyn Waugh married a woman named Evelyn.
Oh.. I didn't know that Marion was a boy's name. My real name is Marion. 😆
I think Maria is only allowed as a second name for a boy? They kept that in because it's a fairly common family tradition.
I think there are rules in most countries
Similar in Czech republic. You can use only the name from official name list or to prove that the name exists as standard in foreign language. Many parents use unusual names last time and there are children with very eccentric names, but its still human and our governement protect them from any parental brain seizure.
Also in Spain. But our very common names from virgins often sound weird to foreigners: there are a lot of woman called path, pillar, snow, thanks, dove, love,... bot also pain, lonelyness, chastity, conception, etc.
Virgins? Like... Virgin Mary? Are those all Spanish names? They sound so english.
Yes, this is a good idea. You'd think parents wouldn't have to be refused from naming their own children but some people are either cruel or very very stupid..
Same thing in Brazil
We have that in Sweden too.
Also in Italy.
They let "Fanta" slip by 'em, that I was told. (or maybe that's not so bad?) All I know is, do not name children after things that aren't okay by other kids. Or childhood is a nightmare!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
But there ist still a german actor who named his kids "Wilson Gonzalez", "Jimi Blue", "Cheyenne" and "Rocco"
Still better than "Sex Fruit" and "Abcde". :D
The 1st names are still used names & with the exception of Jimi, used in their usual spellings. Much rather be Jimi & say i was named after Hendrix than be Apple & say i was named after fruit &/or bad drugs! Lol!
My test for baby names was always to put titles in front of them, like Doctor, Judge, Ambassador, Senator, President. (Yeah, very ambitious about offspring.) If the name fits and doesn’t clash with such respected titles, it went on the list. If it sounded ridiculous, it was tossed out right away.
Same here. I've always referred to this as the "Chief Justice" test. So many people give their kid names that are cutesy as a small child, but they're only children for a small part of their lives. Then they're a 40 year old district manager named Princess.
But on the other hand, as all these babies with cutesy names grow up, it'll seem completely normal, I'd think.
if I'm ever in the position to name anybody, I'm going to recall second grade, and all the terrible jokes people made about other people's names. if I can come up with a nasty little joke about it, its not gonna fly. on the other hand, the reverse is true, if people ask me for ideas. This way, they won't ever ask a second time.
I did the opposite when I was chosing a name for my doughter... I tried to figure out what nicknames the other kids could come up with and the ones with the less de harmfull ones stayed ;)
I wanted to call my daughter Daisy, but her dad said it would sound silly when she was a High Court Judge...
Yes, the resume test. Imagine what a name will look like on the person’s resume 30 years from now. Would an employer take that person seriously?
me who's dead name and preferred name neither imo really match :')
My country doesn't allow names that ridicule the person, BUT being a spanish speaking country, the amount of poorly spelled foreign names is astonishing. Sad thing is one of the worse things this country excells at is being snobbish, so if you have a name that's considered ridiculous or "low class", you're instantly discriminated against. Thankfully that's changing with newer generations, but it's still a thing. Also, there's a big difference between being original and creative, and not being able to understand your kid might be scarred for life if you choose a name that will get them bullied and ridiculed. On a side note: who TF names their kid SEX FRUIT? It's wrong on SO many levels!
We have this in Germany too. If you name your child Kevin or Chantalle, everyone will think they come from a trashy family and that they are stupid.
Also in Italy and often the clash between the foreign name and the italian surname sounds so ridiculous! :D
Seabeast: Germanys names were always relatively traditional. About 30 years ago people started to give foreign names without having foreign ties or ancestry. Especially english names. Kevin was popular because of the very popular movie Home Alone. But only "lower class" people did this (apparently). You see, Germans did not usually name their children after TV characters or actors. That's frowned upon. It is seen as stupid. So, "naturally" people who do this are stupid, therefor the kids are stupid too (this can get as far as teachers and bosses being prejudiced against German people with that name). An US American Kevin in Germany would be ok tough. There is even a word and a wiki page about it. Kevinismus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevinism
What's wrong with Kevin? It's an old name and perfectly good.
In a not English speakers country is what Vicky Zar explained. Only very low cultural level families use them, because they copy them from trash tv series. There were Kevin and now young boys are called Izan (that's Ethan)....
There's nothing wrong with Kevin if you are an anglo-saxon family, but for example if you are italian it sounds so "wanna be posh" that is ridiculous. By the way, it works both ways: just above someone ridicules the name "Rocco", which is quite common in Southern Italy and has nothing wrong... But, from what they say, for an anglo-saxon ear it sounds terrible.
Schakkeline!
Where are you from, Vicky? Hahaha nevermind I just realized you said you were from Germany. My bad!
Here in Italy at a certain point italian famiies tought it was cool giving babies english names (just because movies on tv) so we had a few kevins too. Immigration also brought in a wave of english names to kids born in Italy (of which the thing our proud shitty opposition wing politics bragged about was they were not italians, but don’t worry they just brag about everything)
I agree... In Argentina we say "el Brayan" o "el yoni" when this happens
In Chile we have the infamous mash-up "Brayatan" 🤦🏼♀️
In Belgium that is the case for people whose names end in"y" for women and "i" for men. Cindy, Mandy, Joeri... No idea why and luckily it is not that big of a thing. But it does exist. It seems like a weird thing to look down on.
Here in Germany, there a rules for giving your child a name. Most importantly, the name must not be ridiculous, because that causes emotional damages. So when you go to the registry office, they can forbid you to use certain names. Those people saved a lot of children from a very bad childhood!
Sometimes I think: why are there so many regulations in my country? And than I see this and see: because.
Netherlands too. Our registry officers can also veto any name they deem inappropriate, or when they are certain the child will be bullied over it. Also when the initials spell out inappropriate things like wc, soa (our abbreviation of std) and whatnot
Same in Sweden, you cannot name your kids something that might cause them to be teased, or cause them discomfort. Also there is a time limit and if the parents havent decided by then, the government gives the child a name. Because everyone deserves a name
Thanks, was about to write the same. We went as far as to forbid "Robin" as a girls name for a while. Luckily, that was removed but it still confuses the hell out of most people. "Your boy, Robin..." "It's a her" "What?" "Yeah, it's a her, Robin can be either" I even had to make them change the "blue" chalk writing upon her birth into "pink" (I hate gender colours, but they used them so...go figure).
Same thing in Sweden, it's a boys name.
Robin, Kelly, Rory, Alex/Alix, can all be male or female. And don’t forget Vivian, Leslie, Evelyn, and Marion were all male names in the UK. Marion Morrison was John Wayne’s real name! The writer Evelyn Waugh married a woman named Evelyn.
Oh.. I didn't know that Marion was a boy's name. My real name is Marion. 😆
I think Maria is only allowed as a second name for a boy? They kept that in because it's a fairly common family tradition.
I think there are rules in most countries
Similar in Czech republic. You can use only the name from official name list or to prove that the name exists as standard in foreign language. Many parents use unusual names last time and there are children with very eccentric names, but its still human and our governement protect them from any parental brain seizure.
Also in Spain. But our very common names from virgins often sound weird to foreigners: there are a lot of woman called path, pillar, snow, thanks, dove, love,... bot also pain, lonelyness, chastity, conception, etc.
Virgins? Like... Virgin Mary? Are those all Spanish names? They sound so english.
Yes, this is a good idea. You'd think parents wouldn't have to be refused from naming their own children but some people are either cruel or very very stupid..
Same thing in Brazil
We have that in Sweden too.
Also in Italy.
They let "Fanta" slip by 'em, that I was told. (or maybe that's not so bad?) All I know is, do not name children after things that aren't okay by other kids. Or childhood is a nightmare!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
But there ist still a german actor who named his kids "Wilson Gonzalez", "Jimi Blue", "Cheyenne" and "Rocco"
Still better than "Sex Fruit" and "Abcde". :D
The 1st names are still used names & with the exception of Jimi, used in their usual spellings. Much rather be Jimi & say i was named after Hendrix than be Apple & say i was named after fruit &/or bad drugs! Lol!
My test for baby names was always to put titles in front of them, like Doctor, Judge, Ambassador, Senator, President. (Yeah, very ambitious about offspring.) If the name fits and doesn’t clash with such respected titles, it went on the list. If it sounded ridiculous, it was tossed out right away.
Same here. I've always referred to this as the "Chief Justice" test. So many people give their kid names that are cutesy as a small child, but they're only children for a small part of their lives. Then they're a 40 year old district manager named Princess.
But on the other hand, as all these babies with cutesy names grow up, it'll seem completely normal, I'd think.
if I'm ever in the position to name anybody, I'm going to recall second grade, and all the terrible jokes people made about other people's names. if I can come up with a nasty little joke about it, its not gonna fly. on the other hand, the reverse is true, if people ask me for ideas. This way, they won't ever ask a second time.
I did the opposite when I was chosing a name for my doughter... I tried to figure out what nicknames the other kids could come up with and the ones with the less de harmfull ones stayed ;)
I wanted to call my daughter Daisy, but her dad said it would sound silly when she was a High Court Judge...
Yes, the resume test. Imagine what a name will look like on the person’s resume 30 years from now. Would an employer take that person seriously?
me who's dead name and preferred name neither imo really match :')
My country doesn't allow names that ridicule the person, BUT being a spanish speaking country, the amount of poorly spelled foreign names is astonishing. Sad thing is one of the worse things this country excells at is being snobbish, so if you have a name that's considered ridiculous or "low class", you're instantly discriminated against. Thankfully that's changing with newer generations, but it's still a thing. Also, there's a big difference between being original and creative, and not being able to understand your kid might be scarred for life if you choose a name that will get them bullied and ridiculed. On a side note: who TF names their kid SEX FRUIT? It's wrong on SO many levels!
We have this in Germany too. If you name your child Kevin or Chantalle, everyone will think they come from a trashy family and that they are stupid.
Also in Italy and often the clash between the foreign name and the italian surname sounds so ridiculous! :D
Seabeast: Germanys names were always relatively traditional. About 30 years ago people started to give foreign names without having foreign ties or ancestry. Especially english names. Kevin was popular because of the very popular movie Home Alone. But only "lower class" people did this (apparently). You see, Germans did not usually name their children after TV characters or actors. That's frowned upon. It is seen as stupid. So, "naturally" people who do this are stupid, therefor the kids are stupid too (this can get as far as teachers and bosses being prejudiced against German people with that name). An US American Kevin in Germany would be ok tough. There is even a word and a wiki page about it. Kevinismus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevinism
What's wrong with Kevin? It's an old name and perfectly good.
In a not English speakers country is what Vicky Zar explained. Only very low cultural level families use them, because they copy them from trash tv series. There were Kevin and now young boys are called Izan (that's Ethan)....
There's nothing wrong with Kevin if you are an anglo-saxon family, but for example if you are italian it sounds so "wanna be posh" that is ridiculous. By the way, it works both ways: just above someone ridicules the name "Rocco", which is quite common in Southern Italy and has nothing wrong... But, from what they say, for an anglo-saxon ear it sounds terrible.
Schakkeline!
Where are you from, Vicky? Hahaha nevermind I just realized you said you were from Germany. My bad!
Here in Italy at a certain point italian famiies tought it was cool giving babies english names (just because movies on tv) so we had a few kevins too. Immigration also brought in a wave of english names to kids born in Italy (of which the thing our proud shitty opposition wing politics bragged about was they were not italians, but don’t worry they just brag about everything)
I agree... In Argentina we say "el Brayan" o "el yoni" when this happens
In Chile we have the infamous mash-up "Brayatan" 🤦🏼♀️
In Belgium that is the case for people whose names end in"y" for women and "i" for men. Cindy, Mandy, Joeri... No idea why and luckily it is not that big of a thing. But it does exist. It seems like a weird thing to look down on.