What's your definition of a name that's "cheap"?

[elisabeth rae]

Kala_way, I actually know a Krystyna myself I was horrified until I found out it's a traditional Polish spelling used in her family.

To me, any name spelled deliberately wrong and any name with an apostrophe comes off as cheap.

[strawberry shortcake]

I think its a regional thing. For example, Gemma gets a lot of love here because it sounds "regal" but I honestly can't think of a chavvier, more down market name.

Other names that come to mind are Chantelle, Chelsey, Savannah, Vanessa, Kelsey, Edel, Leona, Demi, Nicola, Kelly, Zoe, Terri, Courtney...I could go on.

[kala_way]

Kala_way, I actually know a Krystyna myself I was horrified until I found out it's a traditional Polish spelling used in her family.

To me, any name spelled deliberately wrong and any name with an apostrophe comes off as cheap.

Really? I've never heard that! Well, I don't believe this family was Polish at all, I think she's Brazillian....but anyway, I think she just likes y's, lol

[hayley88]

I remember reading in Freakonomics that names "filter" from middle class parents to people from a lower socioeconomic background.
So 20/30 years ago names like Amber and Jade were considered unusual and attractive,after filtering down they seem to have less positive connotations.
Personally I rather like both names,Amber more so than Jade.
In the uk names such as Olivia,Mia,Ava,Freya and Ruby are filtering through at a rate of knots.
So in 10/15 years time they may well be considered "chav".
Virtue names as previously mentioned strike me as chav, as do names such as Lexi-May,Jamie-Leigh,Tiffany,Courtney. Oh and of course shockingly misspelt names are right up there.

[amberdaydream]

Thanks so much, everyone. I can see how names that are names of expensive items (Bentley, Lexus, Tiffany, Chanel, etc) would be trashy. But it's kind of baffling to me that gem names like Amber, Jade, Crystal, Diamond, Emerald, etc. are considered chavvy while Ruby and Beryl aren't. I mean, they're still all gem names.

I can kind of see how the OTT ones can be cheap: Diamond or Crystal aren't exactly trashy to me, I just don't really view them as names because a person is the last thing that springs to mind when I hear them. However, if I had to imagine someone called Diamond, then that person would be kind of strippery. Is that what the PPs mean when they say you can just tell if a name's trashy?

We've covered Bentley, Hennessey, Bentley, Evian (<-- lol) and Armani, but how many boy names fall into this category? Using the criterion I've see on this thread, maybe Zaedyn or something?

[moiselles]

I hate names that sound like strippers -- Destiny, Angel, Nevaeh, Misty, Crystal, Jade.

I dislike Britney, Amber, Tiffany, Shea, Heather (my own name), or anything from the 80s.

I also hate when people give their children names after expensive cars like Bentley, Mercedes, Portia, Lexus. If you can't afford to drive one of those, you shouldn't name your child after them.

I met a guy whose middle name was actually "Christian Dior". He said his mom loved fashion when she was younger. I think his first name was Anthony.

My husband and I think some of the "new age" names sound lower-class, like Madison, Addison, Jayson, Greyson, Brayden, Hayden. We can't stand them!!!

[ashthedreamer]

I agree with some of the others--I don't really know how to define it, I just know it when I see it. I know my perception is different from a lot of others', but that doesn't stop me from still having that reaction.

For me, it's a lot of the ones mentioned, plus a lot of made-up names, and Dante. I don't know why. It has the whole literary thing going on, and so many people love it, and I would think I would associate it with culture, but in my area, it's just dripping with downmarket vibes (maybe because I see it spelled Dontae more often than not). It's a fine name for someone else, but I would never suggest it, and I am not sure I could ever see it in a positive light. It's just... downmarket.

[flick]

I hate names that sound like strippers -- Destiny, Angel, Nevaeh, Misty, Crystal, Jade.

I dislike Britney, Amber, Tiffany, Shea, Heather (my own name), or anything from the 80s.

I also hate when people give their children names after expensive cars like Bentley, Mercedes, Portia, Lexus. If you can't afford to drive one of those, you shouldn't name your child after them.

I met a guy whose middle name was actually "Christian Dior". He said his mom loved fashion when she was younger. I think his first name was Anthony.

My husband and I think some of the "new age" names sound lower-class, like Madison, Addison, Jayson, Greyson, Brayden, Hayden. We can't stand them!!!

The car thing makes me roll my eyes, too. We're car people and we would never do that (ok, HE might, but I wouldn't let him, lol). Their not even the "good" companies that are used is what get's me. I mean, we are Porsche fans, but in general....the only one's that are used are the cars people buy as a status symbol. Lexus? No one who knows about cars would love Lexus enough to name their child that.

I saw a birth announcement in my local paper a couple months back for a little Porsha Carrera.....just like the car, first and middle name, it was horrifying.

[jeska]

Mmmm, interesting. Very hard to define, actually!

Overall, I think names that scream 'My little girl is a pink sugary expensive frilly fluffy princess-wincess' sound cheap. Extra points for silly spelling. Like...Pryncess, Sugar, Chontelle/Cherie/Chanel (actually, most names starting with a soft-Ch), Precious, Krystle, Dior, Tiffany, Angel, etc.

On the next rung down, on the heinous scale, are the names that are just a bit tacky. I'd put things like Madison, McKenna, Bree, Kayla in that category, but that's obviously very subjective.

[essjay]

Overly princessy names on girls, especially with bad spellings, just sound so tacky. In fact, anything with a bad spelling just cheapens it for me. Legit regional variations aren't so bad, like the Polish Krystyna mentioned earlier, but a Khristeenah is just awful and tacky, even though I think the name Christina is gorgeous and classy.