155+ Names That Mean Trouble

Rugged, rustic Wrangler evokes cowboy charm, bootcut denim, and SUVs.

As Huxley and Huck become more popular and accepted, so does Hux, either as a full name or a diminutive.

Diablo Cody, self-named (she's really Brook Busey) screenwriter of Juno, singlehandedly helped popularize not just her heroine's name and her own but all o-ending names for girls. You don't need us to tell you that it takes a brave parent, in every way, to name a baby Diablo. Diablo is one of the Spanish baby names that diverges furthest from the well-paved camino.

Whiskey was the name of the badass girlfriend character in Glass Onion, played by Madelyn Cline. Naming your child after any kind of alcoholic drink is not recommended.

A sober and detached choice for a son.

Obscure Old Testament name -- he was the son of Naomi and the husband of Ruth -- that's become even more obscure over the past century, perhaps due to its unappealing meaning.

A star system in Sagittarius, so one of the most appropriate names for December babies.

A new, rising word name for boys that has the advantage of sharing sounds with more common names like Bryson and Braydon. And the disadvantage of getting confused with them.

Khaos debuted in 2008, two years after Chaos appeared on the charts. These days, it tends to be more popular than the original.

Brenner is an occupational surname for both a charcoal burner and a distiller of spirits. One of the least used of occupational surnames, it has that 'er' ending that definitely adds to its stylishness; a possible successor to Brendan. 

Grit became a buzzword in the 2010s, thanks to both the 2010 film True Grit and psychologist Angela Duckworth's 2016 book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance. The book, based on Duckworth's research, attributes success to grittiness. Clearly, the message stuck with parents, as Grit debuted as a name for boys in 2021.

Though we usually think a name's image in contemporary culture supersedes its ancient meaning, this is a case where the definition could undermine a child's self-esteem.

Notorious debuted on the charts for boys in 1995, at the height of The Notorious B.I.G.'s career.

It doesn't matter if Savage is a surname on your family tree — it's a highly controversial choice for a first name with connections to racism and colonialism. Despite this, over a dozen sets of parents named their sons Savage in a recent year.

This aggressive baby boy name has been sitting at the bottom of the charts since 2008.

Azubah is one of those unique baby names from the Bible that is both uncommon and usable, especially given that trendy letter Z in the middle. Azubah's sad meaning may be a strike against it. There were two figures named Azubah in the Bible, one the wife of Caleb and the other the mother of Jehoshaphat (as in Jumping).

Used as a first name for a handful of girls every year, Joplin could be seen as a distant cousin of other -lin names, like Caitlin, Brooklyn and Braelynn. We think it works even better as a musical middle name possibility for fans of Janis... or Scott. Both great connections — albeit very different from one another.

An interesting figure from Greek mythology -- an Amazon queen who fought for Troy in the Trojan War -- but no figure could be interesting enough to make that five-syllable mouthful usable today. Stick with Penelope or, if that's too popular for your taste, try Thessaly.

A rare Biblical name, perhaps due to its slightly gloomy meaning, Chilion was one of Naomi's two sons, referred to alongside his brother Mahlon (meaning "sickly"), the husband of Ruth. He was married to Oprah.

One of the latest in a suite of rowdy boy names, including Chaos, Wrecker, Lawless, and Rowdy itself.