Good Names…. with bad, bad associations

What an amazing blog! I just love, love LOVE it, especially the part about your date named Elliott. He wanted to know how your mom aged before he asked you out again? Unbelievable! My jaw just dropped when I read that.
Okay, I will think of some nasty people who have wonderful names.
Beatrice – My aunt. She lived in Oklahoma, but she would come to visit us sometimes. She always wanted to comb my hair. Her idea of combing was to just yank as hard as she could threw my hair. I would be sobbing. She’d say, “Oh, that doesn’t hurt!” She always wanted to kiss me, too, and it was just awful. But I know that Beatrice is a beautiful name. I just can’t bear it.
Elizabeth – Oops, as you say, Jill, this name actually breaks the rule! No one has ever been as mean to me as my old high school friend Elizabeth nn Beth nn Boo. Compared to her, everyone else in the world is nice. So why is Elizabeth one of my favorite names ever? My daughter’s middle name is Elizabeth. And Boo’s middle name is Ann. I love Ann, too! Go figure! Recently Elizabeth said nasty things to me about my dead father and brother years after they were dead. That’s how truly horrible she is. And many years ago, Boo’s brother burglarized our house. His name is William. I love the name William, too! There must be something wrong with me!
Harriet – My mom’s friend. She sold bras and would bring a bunch of them over to our house so my mom could try them on. I was horrified! Then she wanted to give me a Vitamin E pill after I had surgery on my leg. I threw the pill behind my bookshelf when Harriet wasn’t looking.
Paulina – I love this name. But my husband had a friend in high school and college who was named Paul. Kent and Paul were roommates for a few months. Paul was very neat. He even ironed his underwear and socks. Now Kent says that he doesn’t like the name Paulina because it reminds him of Paul!
Violet – my aunt. She is a meanie. She liked my sister more than me and used to invite her to her family’s winter cabin to go sledding for the whole weekend. But often she wouldn’t invite me! I would sit at home all weekend and think about my sister sledding in the snow! Grrrr!

Thanks so much, Susan! I’m so glad you were able to use Elizabeth!

(And to anyone who’s made it this far, that’s not me or my parents in the photo.)

Pam, that photo is hysterical, and I’m still laughing….

This was so much fun to read. Thank you Jill That picture made my heart sink, it’s such a relief to know you weren’t the poor child in the big hair family. “The Claire”, genius!
I’ll have to come back with my own good name, bad associations list. Right now I can only think of ex-boyfriends. I’ll go shake the dust of my memory and see what I can come up with.

Mullets! Aaaargh! Hahahaha! Fun blog, as always, Jill!

How about… Lydia. I love that name, but it seems every time the name is used in fiction it is on a selfish, spoiled character, from Jane Austen to the movie “Sliding Doors”. I just couldn’t do that to a child, not with those associations.

Also Aidan: I’ve loved it for forever, and I dated a guy in Ireland named that. But I know my partner would veto it, due to the connotations. Good thing it got popular so I’m not tempted!

And speaking of exes… My partner’s ex, Laura. I never really liked Laura itself, but I love Lorelei, Alora, Aurelie, etc. Are they too close? I’m still on the fence.

Finally, Ada: My grandmother’s name, and I was seriously considering using it, until my dad told me she was named after a woman my great-grandfather had an affair with! Bad name juju.

What a fun blog! I think names that are publicly taboo such as Delilah can be removed when the little girl/boy are just fabulous little angels. However, negative connotations due to your own prejudices cannot and will not go away.

All things Alex and Jack won’t work- they were the devils spawn to me while in school

Justin- I love Justin! I had my big big big mentally insane crush on him. You have to have one, but why couldn’t he have been named buckwheat!?

Victoria, Jocelyn, Janae- they were evil

Tamera- my mothers name get misprounounced as ‘Tamera’ so many times I hate the name. I love Tamar.

For Lineli- they are not too close, your little girl will override any associations with Laura in your mind. Don’t worry.

I loved the name Todd, but then I dated a guy with the name for 2 years in high school and when we broke up, he told tons of people what I “looked like.” You know, down there! Unforgivable.

Elizabeth and any variants are out because that’s the name of my partner’s ex-fiance!

I really like Ian, but it’s the name of a mutual friend of me and my partner who is also an alcoholic. He’s great otherwise though, so I haven’t completely removed it from my list!

No to Paul, my ex-uncle who cheated on my aunt when she was pregnant.

I would say it’s guys who mostly ruin names for me, since most of the mean girls had ordinary names that I wouldn’t use anyways.

Disa: Ha! That’s definitely not me and my parents. That picture cracks me up! I can’t wait for your list!

Nephelity: Thanks!

Lineli: I didn’t realize that there’s a Lydia in Sliding Doors! Is it Gwyneth Paltrow who’s Lydia? I love the names you listed in your Laura paragraph, and I think they’re only too close if they bother you. I think they’re beautiful! Sorry about Ada! I think it’s a great name.

Bella: Thanks! I’m sorry about the names you can’t use. I’m still laughing about Buckwheat…. (Good point in the first paragraph!)

Stella: Are you serious! Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry he did that! I’m sorry about the names that have been ruined for you!

Thanks for sharing! I feel better knowing I’m not the only one with a list like mine! (And if I missed you in the comments, I’m really sorry. My computer hates me, and sometimes, people’s posts don’t show up.)

Take care!

I have a story of the opposite. When the love of a name overcomes all obstacles!!

As many of you know, my daughter is Lilianna nn Lily. And trust me, that name had a lot weighing against it! First, Lily is really popular. That is a con, but not a huge deal to me. On the other hand, Lily has a really bad association. When I was a freshman in high school, just struggling to find my place, I sat with a group of friends at lunch. A couple of the girls at the table started to talk about a girl named Lily that they knew and how annoying she was. They would do it everyday and I started to really feel bad for Lily because they were talking some serious smack! Anyway, a couple weeks after this started I went to my locker and out fell a note. The note was written fairly anonymously but said it was by a majority of the girls at the table. They said that they hoped I would remain at the table because they really liked me, but that I should know something. They said that a few of the girls had been talking about me under the code name “Lily”. Basically my “supposed” friends had been talking smack about me, in front of me!! Many of you would think that that name should have been forever wiped from my list, and if it weren’t for my love of Lilianna and Lily, it probably would have. But I loved the name and my daughter is definitely a Lily.

Some of the pros that balanced out the bad associations for me are the following: My mother is Susan which means Lily and her mother is Anne. So, Lilianna honors both women. I also had a great-aunt Lilian that I never met, but that my grandpa loved very much. Also, my husband’s name is Ian and if you take the last “na” off the name as we have spelled it you will see: Lil’ Ian. Too cute in my opinion! So, I just couldn’t pass on this name even if it bears a connection to mean high school girls!!

Loved the blog! Luckily I only have one ruined name.

An ex boyfriend cheated on me with a Natalie. I was furious for the obvious reasons but also because Natalie was one of my favorite names for a future daughter (up until then I figured he would father said daughter) and now I could no longer hear the name without wanting to vomit. I still hold a grudge to this day about that, and it’s been almost 5 years!

Natasha, Melissa and Beth- awful girls from childhood.
Kristen, Lauren and Kim are girls that were not nice in college, but i know so many other great Kristens Laurens and Kims that it makes up for it.
Colby- my first boyfriend’s name (he was a clown) which is too bad since i LOVE that name. Another boyfriend’s name was Matthew, except I’m not crazy about that name anyway.
And a jerk named Colin ruined Colin for me too, which is also unfortunate since I love that name. Same with Tyler.
And as much as I hate to admit this, I love the name Bristol- but I would obviously never EVER name a child that and subject her to lifetime of Bristol Palin references!

Um, fantastic photo. And I looove this blog entry Jill! I can totally relate. I also have the reverse problem: I think I love certain names because they remind me of a cute boy, a favorite relative, etc. It’s hard to say what I would think of these names without the positive association.

I knew a woman named Josefina who was just so unbelievably phony, written about her several times on the forums; long story omitted, I feel that Josephine is out.

Had a horrible experience years ago with a Dr. Delphin, so the beautiful name Delphine will always remind me of that.

I don’t love the name Paula, but childhood nemesis, the whole category of Paul names is out. Paulina is cuter, but seriously, cannot do.

I loved the story of Andrew, Jill. Even when corrected, he went and insisted he was using the right word! Weirdo. I don’t remember the names of any bad dates. I went out with this really, really, really cheap guy, I gave him 2 chances, and I struggle to remember what his name was. Neil? Neal. He didn’t even spell it right. He’d ask to meet at a pretty nice restaurant, order a drink (or even just catch me in the parking lot before going inside!), and then take me to dinner at a van that sold snacks or some place with a drive-thru. How are you supposed to excuse yourself to the ladies’ room with a date like that? Luckily, I don’t love the name. Some of my actual steady boyfriends have had great names and despite how they were, I would still consider using their names without either the least resentment or sentimental longing. Ian, David, Alex, etc. Nothing stirs in me over those names, I think they are still safe choices.

Love the nickname “Ria” and hubby thinks it would be a great compromise for my favorite name– Gloria. Unfortunately, Ria is also the name of his best friend from highschool who had a crush on him for years and tried to break up our wedding a few years ago and has been clinging on for dear life ever since. I still might be able to use it, if not for the fear that she would take it as a compliment to herself. Which she totally would. Urg.

There are heaps of names I have bad associations with haha.

Firstly, someone who has been horrible to me for years, but is friends with some of my old school friends, Rachel. Completely put off because not only is she horrible but she also sleeps around a lot. I could never name my child Rachel because of that!

My exes. Gregory is a nice name, but also the name of my ex. Who I’m still kinda friends with. So that would be waaay too weird.

Lachlan. I went on two dates with this guy. The first, he took me to a duck pond and wouldn’t talk to me, just insisted on this weird silence. Then he was like “Can I kiss you?” I didn’t know what to say haha, I was just like “Um.. Okay.” So he went in for it and completely missed. And when he did get my lips he was awful, like kissing a sponge. I had to dry my mouth off afterwards :/ Second date (I gave him another chance) he took me to the movies. After the film I asked him what he thought of it. He replied, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t watch any of the movie. I was just staring at your face the whole time because you’re beautiful.” I’m sorry, but that only works in the movies. In real life thats just considered CREEPY. Haha.

Dh’s exes:

Emily. I like this name, especially variants of it like Emilia etc. But dh can’t stand it. He and I were friends when he was with Emily and I heard all about how she used to hit him (he’s a big man but he’d never hit a woman, even if she hit him first) and she also cheated on him several times! So that name is out.

Beth. This girl claimed that her name was Elizabeth Bethany Lastname. She was a complete liar and manipulator and so the name Beth is completely and utterly out for us.

Laura. After one of our best friends (W) took his own life (back when we were in high school), this girl (who had previously dated our friend), spread rumours that dh had told her that it was her fault and that she should go die etc etc, turning so many people against him. Because she was feeling bad about W, she decided to make my husband feel bad. And he did. He had never said those things but everyone thought he had, so treated him like crap. He’s much happier now though, now that he realises people like that don’t matter.

Laura’s friends whose names are also out: Brittany (not that I like the name that much), Alexandra, Yvette.

Wooow this is long. Sorry.

Patrick…love the name but, it is the name of my goofy 1st cousin and my ex-boyfriend from high school.

Kyle & Kylie… Love these two names. They are 2 of my former kindergarten students who threw chairs, chalk, & tormented their classmates by pinching, hitting, stealing their snacks, and rubbing hand sanitizer in their eyes. PLUS, my brother named one of his twin daughters Kiley. The different spelling gives me hope that my niece will be a sweetie, not a meanie.

Jonathan… a perfectly good name. Again, a former kindergarten student of mine who used my long dress to blow his nose on during storytime.

Ethan… DH loves this name and put it on his list when we were naming our son. I quickly vetoed this one…. another former kindergartner…. who liked to touch the teacher’s boobies. NO!

HA! I loved this Jill!

I don’t think too many names are off limits for me…. most people who were mean to me, or who provided other negative associations had really common names I wouldn’t use anyway.
The one that pops into my head is any Chris-based girls names (Krista, Kristine, Christina, etc.). I never liked the names anyway, but then everyone I have known was either mean or *ahem* loose? One exception is my MIL Kristi, who is wonderful! Makes it tricky to find a way to honor her though!

The one I really regret is Silas — an ex of mine. Gorgeous, Biblical, nature name! We’re still friendly but I wouldn’t feel right using it. Kind of a moot point since DH doesn’t like it anyway!

Movies, starbabies and pop culture in general have ruined many more names for me than people have!

Let’s see…
My exes, Eric and Jeremey…and some horrible school mates named Jill (sorry!) and a couple of evil roommates named Kelcey and Audra.
That’s it for me.

Well I have a few –

Noah – I have known four Noah’s and only 1 of them was good.
Noah #1 – This is Good Noah. It was in grade 1 and he was very shy and sweet. I guess I had a little crush on him at the age of 6.
Noah #2 – This is bad Noah. I was recently looking through my grade 3 scholl photo when I saw two Noah’s. This one was a snotty, toothless sort of child only a mother could love. Sorry, Noah #2.
Noah #3 – This one is also from my grade 3 class. (Oh the joys of grade 3!) Well you see Noah #3 had a bit of a weight problem, and his ears were very… floppily chunky. Each time I sat beside him on the carpet I was dying to touch his ears! I would make any excuse just to flop his ear! I only realized his name was Noah the other day looking at that class photo.
Noah #4 – This Noah I vaguely knew, but he went to my school for 3 years, and I saw his… interesting haircut everyday. He moved now, though.

Great topic, Jill!

I teach… Talk about some bad name association. LOL. In the end DH and I picked names that neither of us had ever met a person with that name before. Just seemed easier. And theonly way to do it without one of us going “No, I knew a blank once and they…..”

I love all the blogs on Nameberry, but this is definitely my favorite! I simply adore your writing style, Jill!

Why must such wonderful names be ruined? I love the name Claire, and fortunately never had your experience.
As for names ruined to me:

Drake – a lot of people seem to like this name, but since the second grade I’ve known a total jerk named Drake. Not only is he rude, but annoying and obnoxious. And lucky for me, he sits behind me all this week for state testing. Fun. Although I do know a really cool Drake, the former one has ruined it for me.

Lydia – another one from grade school. I always felt kind of bad for her because she was a little strange and would sing to herself in class, but I could never bestow that name, or its memory, onto my daughter.

Lauren – she was my best friend in 7th and part of 8th grade, and she made me a mean girl. It was a weird time for me, and finally I woke up and realized just how horrible she was (after she talked crap about my family). Never will I use this name.

But, I must say, I’ve realized that my favorite names usually aren’t names of people I know, whether they have bad connotations or not.
Wonderful blog, Jill!

K: I’m so sorry to hear what those girls did to you. That broke my heart! I’m giving you a retroactive hug. (((hug))))
I’m so glad you were still able to use a Lily name, and I love Liliana so much!

Amy Sue: I’m so sorry about the name you lost (I won’t mention it), and I’m even sorrier for what happened. I hope you’re able to find a name you loved as much as that one.

Carlie: Like you said, I’ve noticed that if a name has a balance of positive and negative associations, everything is evened out and the name is still viable. I’m hoping that if I’m able to find some more positive associations for some of the names above, they’ll be good to go again.

Olive: That picture makes me laugh every time I look at it! I’m so glad you liked the blog, Olive! And I agree with what you said about positive associations, because I love Olive now!

Karen: I’m laughing so hard…I bet we went out with the same guy, because he sounds like a few I dated. He took you out to eat at van? Oh, Karen…I can sadly relate all too well!

I mentioned the “prosthetic” versus “aesthetic” issue very gently, because I was so confused! When I said, “Oh! You mean aesthetically! Thank you so much!” he claimed that “prosthetically” meant “pretty.” And I agree about the longterm boyfriends…many of those names survived for me, too.

Alyssa: I’m sorry about Ria. Darn! Could you go with something like Rhea? Or what about Aurelia, nn Ria? Would she still think the baby was named in her honor? I hope you find something you love!

Keiley: I’m so sorry about your friend. Even though you’ve had to rule out a lot of names, I think you found AMAZING names for your babies! (And I’m writing this assuming that this Keiley is the same Keiley who posts on Nameberry’s threads. If I have the wrong Keiley, I apologize!)

Courtney: Were Kyle and Kylie siblings? Either way, I can totally see how “Kyle” names aren’t an option for you. Isn’t amazing how bad associations can ruin a name?

Dovie: I’m glad you liked it! Thanks! I’m glad that Rowan and Cirdan weren’t ruined for you! I think they’re amazing!

Stephanie: I’m glad your list is so short! That’s great!

Bouncy: You crack me up! I will make sure to never, ever suggest Noah to you from now on.

Alicia: I’m glad you and your husband were able to find names you loved! That’s great!

Sally: Awe, thank you SO much! You’re such a sweetheart!

Rachel: I hope your testing is going well! I hope your list is able to stay as short as it is!

Thanks for sharing, everyone!

Kyle & Kylie are not siblings. Kylie is a kindergarten graduate of 2002 & Kyle is a kindergarten graduate of 2005.

I have a couple– one being Rosemary. I can see myself genuinely liking the name, but it always reminds me of a woman I knew when I went to Catholic church as a little kid. She was a huge, fat Italian lady, who was always very rude and loudmouthed and had an equally rude teenage son. Her shrill, booming voice and “I run this place” demeanor terrified me as a young child when I had her as a Sunday school teacher. So yeah, no Rosemary for me.

My dad also always tells me how he hates the name Roxanne because it reminded him of this really ugly girl he knew in elementary school, lol.

Christina – Sister to Rhonda. All the girls from this family were mean bullies. They liked to pick fights with everyone. When I saw them coming my stomach would feel sick.
Rhonda – See above.
Corrine – I’m omitting the way this girl actually spelled her name because I’ve never met any one who spelled it like she did. It was pronounced just like Corrine. I was 13, she was 21. Why we were allowed to hang out together, I’ll never know. She was one of the biggest compulsive liars I’ve ever met. She lied about EVERYTHING.
Marianne – There are actually two girls who have ruined this name for me. One was a dim witted stoner from high school who was probably only functioning on one brain cell. The other is my husbands ex-girlfriend. When my husband and I had been together for a few months she bought him a t-shirt and concert tickets for his birthday (gee I wounder who she thought he’d take. Her???) I made him give them back.
Alice – I use to despise this name because of one person. I knew a girl named Alice whose hair looked like it had cut using a blow torch. Her teeth looked rotten, her breath smelled and she smoked like a broke chimney. She flirted with every guy she met, end it didn’t stop at flirting.
Enough time has passed that I actually love the name Alice now.
Carmen – Also spelled a different way but I’ll play it safe. She was completely full of herself and her finger nails looked like Lee Press-On Nails except hers were real.
Bryce – An ex-boyfriend who only had his looks going for him. We lived together for a short time. During this time he was using my car to go work, which I later found out he was fired from. The truth, he was actually using my car to see another girl. He even caused some damage to my car, a 1964 Rambler ( I miss that car). To top it all off he made a move on our other room-mates friend while I was asleep. I don’t think I’ll ever shake this bad association.
Steven – Ah, Steven, said I love you and then took it back the next week. Good thing I don’t like the name Steven anyway.

I know there should be more but I can’t think of any. I guess my memory needs some more dusting.

I LOVED this blog, and it’s so true. So many names have been ruined for me for so many reasons. And while most of them were ruined solely because of popularity or bad dating experiences, others were ruined for more unique reasons.

Luca- I went through a phase where I took a lot of pride in suggesting “the winning” name to expecting couples. Unfortunately, most of them took my advice. Also unfortunately, I always used my OWN favorite names. Luca was one.

Eleanor- I’ve also known people who I LOVE with names I LOVE who HATE their names. My grandmother’s name is Eleanor. It’s such a strong elegant name, just like her. It just so happens, however, that she lives in the most po-dunk area of the United States, and everyone there pronounces her name Ell-ner (insert drawl). She, along with everyone in my family, thinks the name is hideous because of its unfortunate mispronunciation.

Misha- Barton. Enough said.

Felix- I used it on a goldfish-one I was quite attached to- and no longer see it fit to name a child.

I have a different experience…. I was the bad connotation for Meredith. We used to have a babysitter that would stay with us when my parents would go out of town. By the time she was in college and was mostly there to watch my much younger siblings, I was in highschool and decided to torment her. She was also there to prevent me from causing any big trouble, which I completely disregarded and had parties and snuck beer and boys in the basement anyway. I think I really sent her over the edge after one weekend, and she finally stopped watching us and my parents didn’t want her anymore because she wasn’t a good babysitter and she hated me. Then, weirdly, several years later, my parents got either a birth announcement or a Christmas card and she named her first child Meredith. It was bizarre, and I was actually mad because I couldn’t stand her and felt like she didn’t have permission to use my name.

Courtney: On the bright side, there was a break in between!

Ernestine: I love Rosemary, but can sadly relate to beautiful names being tarnished by bad associations.

Disa: Thanks for sharing! Happily, you were able to find beautiful names for your daughters.

Someday: Thanks! I cried a bit inside when I read about ell-ner, because I love the name Eleanor so much!!! LOVE! I can relate to your Felix issues, too, because I have the same problem with goldfish names. I had a beloved goldfish named Samuel when I was little, and while I can still use it as a middle, I think I’d feel funny using it as a first name.

Meredith: I think your name is beautiful, and I enjoyed reading about your experience.

Thanks, everyone!

I really like the name Cecil, but my stepson’s biological mother’s last name is cecil and her sister’s name is cecily(Yes, cecily cecil). Two good names down the drain.

I have a few of my own, although for the most part a name isn’t necessarily ruined for me because of a specific person, but because it just sounds like a specific person I wouldn’t like and who wouldn’t like me (Sarah is one example).

But Linda is pretty much destroyed for me because of a girl in high school who managed not only to replace me as my then-best friend’s friend, but to turn her completely against me. I just can’t see or hear that name without associating it with her. The names Matt and Jim should have suffered by association with two other high-school tormentors, but I managed to get around those: I had a terrible crush for years on a guy whose surname was Mattson (we’re still friends!), and usually I associate Jim with Captain Kirk, due to my fiancé’s “Star Trek” madness. Leon, however, wasn’t saved from its similar association. Aw well, I didn’t like it anyway.

Patrick and Ruth were the names of a bratty, somewhat spoiled pair of siblings we knew. Our parents were friends, but none of us kids was close enough in age to make our get-togethers much fun. It didn’t ruin Patrick for me, but Ruth was out for good (another one I didn’t care for even before I knew someone who bore the name).

David probably should have been ruined as well because of a neighborhood bully when I was a kid, but I’ve known so many Davids since then that I rarely think of the bully anymore. Funny how we associate names like that!

Names I would like if it weren’t for the bad associations I have with them:

Rachel – the name of one of the rudest and meanest girls I ever knew while growing up. Later, another Rachel became my biggest rival in College. We were both freshmen music majors/theater minors, yet somehow she always ended up getting the better part in whatever we tried out against each other for. (It wasn’t for better talent, it was because her father contributed financially to the school.)

Ruth – When I was a teenager I liked to volunteer in the childrens programs at our church. Ruth was the name of the woman I worked with who couldn’t stand me or anything I did. She actually called me “a pebble in her shoe” to my face and in front of the pastor. (She couldn’t come up with an actual reason for why she didn’t like me, she just didn’t.)

Mary – the name of my husband’s ex. To put it nicely, she was a tramp and a cheater.

James – the name of my brother-in-law who let his addiction to drugs destroy his family. (I would have to add the name Sue, his mother and the person who enhances and enables his self-destruction.)

No offense to all the Rachels, Ruths, Marys, James’, and Sues out there!

For me, any exes, rude or mean people, friends, family members, or children of friends or family members are out of the question! This usually doesn’t cause an issue, since I don’t like the majority of those names anyway, but…

A brother and a sister have taken two names I adore for their children! I’m born and raised in the infamous NYC borough of Brooklyn, and I was oh-so-adamant about naming a daughter Brooklyn — until I met my oldest brother’s bright-eyed, brilliant redheaded daughter… BROOKLYN. Thanks a lot, bro…

After that incident I thought “Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, right?”. I was sure it couldn’t happen again, until my one of my younger sisters (who I am very deeply attached to) decided she was absolutely 100% sure she was going to name her firstborn son AVERY. I wanted so badly to say “I saw it first!” but I just couldn’t! She was completely taken with the name, and who was I to deny her it? So I’m hoping maybe she’ll discard it by the time she gets to bear her first son, but at this rate, it doesn’t look likely!

Would love to hear other stories, if anyone else has had a similar experience with their siblings!

I have worked in the school system and around children for a decade so there are tons of names that have been ‘ruined’ by snotty, rude, destructive or other such behavior so I won’t post them all, but here are a few that are totally forever ruined:

Tate: A boy who was only 6 but weighed as much as I did (125) and would become violent by throwing stuff at me (chairs, staplers and hole punches) and push me around until he was finally expelled.

Jaelynn: This girl was only 3 but from the moment she walked into the daycare I worked for it was like she thought she owned it. She would scream really shrilly if someone dared to touch a toy she even thought about playing with and she would go to the snack cart and take bites of random bits of fruit and then put it back so that we couldn’t use it for anyone.

Ethan and Gavin: A set of identical twin boys who mischievously used to switch clothes so I could never tell who was who, I finally started looking at socks!

There are many names that I don’t even realize have been ‘tainted’ by association, but then I will see it and my mind automatically shoots back to a certain time in my life or an exact instance.

Great post!

Christina – The girls down the street that teased me because I couldn’t tie my shoes when I was 4. Also the evil girl from anatomy class that was just horrible to everyone, and thought she was God.

Ashley – There are so many of them, where could I even start. How about Ashley who was a total witch from high school journalism. Tried to beat me up sophomore year.

Natalie – I love this name, but I still picture this skinny poser from high school that looked drugged out all the time.

Becca – EW EW EW. I have never known a Becca that I liked.

Wen (Wendel) – My mom’s ex husband.. Enough said.

Jeremiah – He was the definition of white trash. hardly passed home schooling and failed his electrician test multiple times (still hadn’t passed last I knew.) Also my sister’s ex Boy Friend.

Matt – eh, he thought he ruled the world and made a habit of belittling everyone he could.

There are so many names that are messed up for me because of other people. I can’t remember them all.

When I was a girl, I was in ballet class. When I started my first ever lesson there was the only other red head (my hair is now naturally brown) in the school in my class. She was an only child and her name was Vianne. I asked her mom who she was named after (I just figured since I was named after family, everyone else was too. And I was 5) and her mom (who I came to learn, many years later, was named Anne) said that they had made up the special name for their special daughter. Vianne was a holy terror and it jsut turned me off.

I also got turned off of the perfectly good James and Charlie. (I love Roald Dahl, but hated how both characters were portrayed.)

The name John is never going to happen for me. At first I thought it was a classic that was never going down. Then along came “Big John”. We knew eachother in third grade, and he insisted on us calling him “Big John.” So we did. We didn’t meet again until freshman year of high school. He had turned into a bit of a… hick. No prob, as long as he’s happy.
Then he started to ask if I was one of “Those Mexicans” because there’s a slight population of Lationo’s here. I told him no. Then he asked if I was black. I again told him no.
“Just plain old caucasion” I stated. He thought that was great. He then proceded to tell some racist jokes using the N-Word. Which was apparently okay because I was white like him. After a few more jokes, a few dumb things said about the teacher, and I was not only done with him, but his name as well. I hope that if I ever meet anymore John’s they’re better people, and they can maybe rub off the bad association his name has.

I could never name a child with an ex’s name, not that they did anything wrong. So no Daniel, Paul, Richard, Grant, Sean or Jordono. Husband’s ex’s names Rachel and Kylie.

My husband has had a bad experience with a person with the name Jackie and so doesn’t like any form of it including a fav of mine Jacqueline.

Ohh I have quite a few names that have been ruined for me from associations:

Laura – My Ex-best friend, used to look up to her sooo much but she turned into a real manipulative and poisonous girl and turned on me because I made friends with other ppl. Laura’s a no go.

Olivia – My Ex- boyfriends sister. Olivia was my favourite girls name for a future daughter right from when I was a small child. After being around my ex’s sister (she’s arrogant, spoilt and vain) its completely ruined my perception of an Olivia.

Kim – Bully from school. I cant think about Kim without thinking of her.

Kaitlyn – Another bully. Apart from one Kaitlyn (of various spellings) there has only ever been one nice so thats out.

Amber – Arrogant and downright rude, a friend of my brothers she’s like a bulldog chewing a wasp. *shudders* Rottweiler actually methinks.

Rebecca – I’ve known Rebeccas both good and bad but my brothers ex who was a complete and utter ‘bike’ to every boy with a pulse has completely made me associate the name with her.

Jack – An ex who I am pretty sure is gay. Unresponsive, egotistical and would rather have a relationship with a games console. Need I say more.

Sophie – Numerous vain and promiscuous girls named Sophie have ruined this for me.

Joanne – An incredibly dopey girl with an IQ of 1 and no common sense whatsoever has put a downer on this name.

I could go on and on but lets just say I have a lot of bad associations with names unfortunately

I used to love love love the name Daniella but this awful girl in my wellness class in high school, named Daniella, tried to beat me up -_- needless to say, Daniella will never be used.

Patricia is a family name but alas, i know a girl who is absolutely VILE named Patricia called Tricia.

I have a few…
Sailor– An absolutely HORRID girl from elementary school…:(
Marshall– Not that I would have used this anyway but he’s a complete jerk!
Macey– A girl that just pushes all my buttons!!
Ariel– A girl who has no filter whatsoever. She’ll say what she wants even if it’s offensive or terribly hurtful
Savannah– Had a childhood friend named Savannah…She teased me on the playground

Two boy names from my list have been scratched off because of places my boyfriend has worked!
Grant’s Antique Mall
Oliver T’s Market

Nice blog! I can totally relate:

Natalia: There was this girl in elementary school who was older then me and she was totally evil!! She was a huge bully and I just hated her so much but I loved her name

Just found this blog, totally funny. Terrific idea. I have a few….
Sundberg — I know this is a last name. But my father’s boss was named Sundberg and one weekend we had to entertain his three kids. I went up to the oldest (a girl) and asked her what she wanted to do. She said, “WE are the Sundbergs. WE don’t talk to people like you.” Sundberg has become synonymous with idiotically snobby people in our family ever since.

Lydia — does everyone have a Lydia story? I met Lydia in second grade. She had lots of Dr Seuss books — which I had never read before — and she loved horses. We were friends until she poured milk and chocolate pudding onto her beets at lunch and ate them. Sorry, Lydias.

Mary — Mary was the meanest girl at school. For some bizarre reason, she invited me and a couple of my friends to her house for a sleepover in 5th grade. Her mother screamed at her the whole night and she cried and threw a tantrum. Even at ten I felt sorry for her, but she ruined a nice name.

Jon-Herbert — my mother’s cousin. A perfectly nice man, I guess, but my mother has always called him Jon-Herbert the Norwegian nerd. Can’t hear anything else when I hear the name Herbert.

Howard — my first serious boyfriend. Yuck.

Peggy — my first stepmother. She was as mean as a copperhead. We called her Piggy Peggy and she deserved it. Still deserves it.

Eleanor — I love this name, also sp Elinor. A great editor I knew was Elinor. Many family members named Eleanor, including Auntie Eleanor whom everyone used to threaten us with — as in be good or we’ll get Auntie Eleanor to visit. I still love the name, though.

Last one — my best friend’s aunt was a nun named Sister Ursula. (Later on she became Mother David.) As Sister Ursula she once said something hysterically funny to Annie and me, and the name has been coloured by that ever since….(don’t want to repeat it as some might find it offensive. To be fair to Sister Ursula, we were 12 and quite snarky at the time.)

Thanks for posting! I feel like this post was tailor-made for me. Here goes a list of my own:

Victoria, Vanessa – I’ve lumped these 2 together because they were both the names of some “mean girl” types from my past who mercilessly picked on me. Victoria was one in high school who said downright cruel things about my [perceived] sexuality. (I mostly had a problem with how she said it, not as much what she said)

Adam(s) – I have one good association with this name, but a really bad one that cancels out the first one. The “bad Adam” was the most arrogant, shallow and self-absorbed guy (ha!) I have ever met. His idea of the perfect woman is a mindless piece of plastic, and because I was not that, he wouldn’t even give me the time of day. I also recall an Adams in high school who went out of his way to bully me to hysterical tears. I look back now and realize he was just so horribly insecure with himself and I just so happened to be the nearest target at the time.

Samantha – I’ve known a lot of bratty Samanthas throughout grade school, but the one that really did me in was one that a guy friend (who I REALLY liked at the time!) was dating, and she was just so manipulative and controlling to him. After they broke up, she said cruel (and untrue) things about him over MySpace. (publicly!) I felt so sorry for him.

Araceli – BF’s ex. From what I’ve heard about her, she seems like a home-wrecker.

Carol (especially when paired with Ann) – My dad’s second wife was named Carol-Ann. She was very controlling, loud and boorish; she was always there when my brother and I wanted to visit my dad. What really ruined this name for me was when she cheated on my dad. They divorced immediately after he found out.

Char, Lorenzo – I lump these together because an ex of mine legally changed his name to Char Lorenzo. (his real name was Billy) He was very controlling to me and seemed to live in a world of my own. (that, and he attempted sexual assault on me) I was only 16 at the time, but he was so insistent that when I turned 18, we would get married. He then proceeded to tell me what our kids’ names would be, what they would look like, and what their personalities would be like. In addition to this, he also told me I would be a “good housewife” and what I would wear and do to him every night. (yikes!) This guy wasn’t planning out his life, he was writing a (poorly written) novel. Billy isn’t a bad association as that is the name of my cat. (who now lives with my brother)

awesome blog !
my list would be…

Denise: I used to like this name when I was younger because I saw Denise Richards and thought she was soo beautiful..Now I HATE this name. When I was in High School, this girl Denise was my “best friend” for a while but then she suddenly decided to backstab me, talk negatively about me, called me nasty names, and claimed that I was the reason why she had a “miscarriage” (I say it like that because she wasn’t even pregnant to begin with.)

Jackie: This one time I was sitting with a new group of girlfriends at lunch and she’s never seen me before so she decided to grab me by the head so she can see who I was.

Petra: This girl in high school who was always there before me whenever there was a new guy that I liked.

Tatiana: This really loud annoying girl in High School.

Alexander: This name grew on me when I was dating an Alexander and it sucks because we ended up having a very unhealthy friendship after we broke up.

Carlos: Cheated on me

Jon: Best friend of my best friend’s boyfriend. They tried to hook us both together but he ended up being a little sick in the head always threating everyone and talked negatively with his friend Carlos.

Brandon: I REALLLYYY like this name. Maybe one day I’ll like it again. The first Brandon I knew completely lead me on and the second one happened to also be friends with Jon and Carlos.

Richard: Broke my heart. Nuff said. lol

Andrew: Compulsive liar.

Francisco: Extremely jealous guy. He used to forbid guys to talk to me and would threaten them. I honestly thought I did something wrong since nobody would talk to me.

Frantz: Thought he was a “player” and thought he could “play me”

Other names I wouldn’t use are names of exes and guys I dated briefly includes: Thomas/Tom,Hector,Julian,Justin,Ricardo/Ricky,and Everette (which is a shame because I really love this name)

Wow, my list is a whole lot longer than I thought.

I enjoyed this blog and the posts! I can think of one name off the top of my head that I absolutely love but I don’t know if I will ever be able to use it.

Aurelia. So beautiful, but…
I play an online video game, and in this game, I met a guy who went by Ara. Long story short, he was insane. Literally. Like, if he was making up the stuff he told me, he was still insane for doing that. He quit the game for a long time, and when he came back, he started playing with me and my friends. Then one night, he said, “I could find you, you know. It wouldn’t be that hard.” Well, that was when I kicked him off my friends’ list for good. He scared me, a lot! I was pretty happy with Aurelia being on my list until I thought of him…it’s not that close, really, especially since Ara was a nn of a much longer name, but at the same time, I would be worried people would call her Ara.

Other names I can’t ever use (thankfully they’re not really on my list!):
Alexander, Frederic, John, and Matthew (exes)
Lauren (brother’s ex who ripped out his heart, that tart)
Melissa (every Melissa I’ve known has been a frenemy)
Vivienne (one of my great-grandmothers was Vivian, and she was a very mean and hateful person–and it’s too bad, b/c this name IS on my list!)
And basically every name of students and former students who have made an impression, good or bad! (which makes my list veeery small!)

This makes me think of the episode of How I Met Your Mother when Marshall and Lily are talking about baby names, lol.

Frisco — what an absolutely fantastic name. And the name of an incredibly hot guy that I was having a fling with at the same time I met my husband. Sigh.

Simone — for some mysterious reason my husband has nixed this beautiful name, mumbling something under his breath about having known a Simone in colege. Hmmmm.

Ingrid — too close to my husband’s ex-wife Inga. I could maybe get past thus, but with Sigrid as an alternative there’s no need to!

…and just to clarify, I would use any of these names if my husband was cool with it.

This blog made me realize there really are no names that I have a personal association with that is so strongly neative as to preclude me from using it. I’m lucky all the jerks in my life have had generic names, so chances are I know some very nice individuals with the same name who rehabiliate it!

the name Sarah Jean. She went by both names and unfortunately anything -ah Jean sounds too similar and makes me cringe. Double bummer since Jean is DH’s gma’s name.

This isn’t a personal association, but… I love the sound of Caliban. A pity it has such awful origins!

Oh, I can think of a few names I can never, ever use.
Michelle – the name of my ex-aunt, who out of the blue divorced my poor uncle. My family never really liked her. Too pushy and wanting to be the center of the attention.
Hannah – some know-it-all prat from art school who destroyed my artwork in critiques.
Jennifer nn Jenny – All of my bullies in elementary school were Jennys. Brats the lot of them. Side note: My brother’s girlfriend is Jennifer, who thankfully goes by Jen.
John – Name of some blonde twerp who was a complete jerk to me in high school. In fact, most of the Johns I’ve known are/were completely putzes. Jonathan I can stand. John is a no-no.
Matthew – Which is a shame because I love this name. But there was this meathead in high school who called me Flowers. Oy.
Randall nn Randy – Guy from Middle School who’d always ask me if I was gay. And tease me about it. Not that this was a good name to begin with, but still.

Oh, I have a few!

Mason – Former fiance.
Steven – My ex-stepdad, who was an alcoholic and verbally abused my mom.
George – A real prince of a guy who decided it was his mission in life to break up my relationship with my husband (he didn’t succeed).
Brittany – The name of every bitchy girl from my high school (not that I would’ve considered the name to begin with).

When I was a kid, maybe 6 or so, I was the new kid in school. It was near the holidays and most of the kids had been together for at least 2 months. My teacher had asked a girl named Lucy to help me in the classroom. The girl was a SERIOUS diva. She wouldn’t do anything unless it pleased her, she was obnoxious, and totally and forever turned off of the name. Then in 10th grade, there was a death in my family, and my science teacher let me slide on a group project. Kira, this ditzy blonde, was in my group and was livid that I was let off the project and complained to her mom (who was the head of the PTA) who went to the school board, who said that my teacher was justified. Kira, Kiara, and the like are just names I can’t work.

PLEASE READ VERY INTERESTING, BUT SAD!!!! I USED TO love the name Katie but a girl with that name molested me and bullied me in 6th grade. The name Katherine is ok, but I don’t want the risk of other kids starting to call my (currently nonexistent) child Katie, because i shudder and relive HORRIBLE memories every time says that name.

*someone says

Love the name Emma, unfortunately the man has a gross ex named Emily so all Em names are out.

Nicole- a mean girl who punched me in the face… not fun.

Tina-a large girl who sat on me.

Josie-in 7th grade, she stole my crush!

Rebecca- 5 of them in my grade. 3/5 nice, 2/5 annoying.

Connie- Friend’s mom that kicked me out of her house in the rain.

Rachel- 6 in my grade, all very strange.

It’s a shame but even if you meet others that you like with a name that you hold a bad opinion of it still holds strong. Mine are:

Paula-The biggest tramp in school
Penny-Her nickname
Patricia (Pat)-Her best friend and the runner up for her title.
Herman-The only one I ever met was a complete jerk.
Joanne-The girl who ate paste in kindergarten. Let’s just say it didn’t stay down and I was too close when it didn’t.

Clara ~ The name of a really nasty woman I knew as a child, she was extremly rude and cruel.

Nicole (Nikki) ~ My cousins wife who is a psychologist. She seems to think she knows everything and is extremely arrogant: she introduces herself as “Dr’ to random strangers.

Chris and Brenda ~ The names of two relatives who have never gotten along with me.

Kristin ~ My boyfriend’s ex.

Olivier ~ The name of a guy who spread melicious rumors about me, all of which were untrue. You couldn’t pay me use this one.

Alexandra (Alex) ~ A frenemy from middle school. I’m reconsidering this one though, as I recently met a phenomenal woman named Alexandra.

Lauren ~ A nasty girl from elementary school.

Genevieve ~ My grandmother’s name. We have never been close and she is actually quite manipulative.

Simone ~ A promiscuous and manipulative girl I knew a while back.

Heidi ~ A former friend of mine who was extremely clingy (I think she had developed a crush on me). She was also one of the most spoiled people that I’ve ever met.

Alexis and Jessie ~ Two former frenemies, we’ve since made up, but I still couldn’t bring myself to use either one.

Emma and Isabella ~ Love them, but their popularity has ruined both for me.

Victoria ~ Beckham, need I say more?