Awful but loved

Guilty pleasure names: I love these names, but they seem silly, outdated, have horrible connotations, or otherwise don't seem appropriate for the first name slot.
  1. Butterfly
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Description:

      Fluttery and flighty. But there are a couple of names that mean butterfly you might consider, such as Yara and Farasha.
  2. Christmas
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Description:

      Christmas is a day name long and quietly used as a name for babies born at Christmas. Prettier and more modern than Noel or Noelle.
  3. Cinderella
    • Origin:

      French
    • Meaning:

      "little ash-girl"
    • Description:

      One familiar name never used for real people, for obvious reasons. Read more about Cinderella and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.
  4. Columbine
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "dove"
    • Description:

      A beautiful flower name deriving from the Latin word for dove. Sadly, in America this name is now forever linked with a tragic terrorist attack on a Colorado high school.
  5. Hershel
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "deer"
    • Description:

      Gentle meaning and bona fide Hebrew history, but feels old-mannish, like Herman and Menashe.
  6. Honey
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      A term of endearment turned cute British celebrity baby name, used by actress Kate Winslet, chef Jamie Oliver, and TV presenter Fearne Cotton, among others. Honey was given to only 40 girls in the US in 2017, but it's relatively popular across the pond, where it ranks in the current Top 500 baby names for girls.
  7. Jinx
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "spell, curse, bringer of bad luck"
    • Description:

      Jinx, a James Bond heroine name has an ominous meaning but kinetic energy. In the film "Die Another Day," the actual first name of the character played by Halle Berry is Giacinta. It could therefore be a playful nickname to Ginevra, Jessica, Genevieve, Gianna, Josephine, or Georgina, or a bold choice for those wanting some sparky and witchy.
  8. Kermit
    • Origin:

      Irish, variant of Diarmaid/Dermot
    • Meaning:

      "without injunction, without envy"
    • Description:

      Kermit was a Top 500 name until the 1960s, not coincidentally the decade in which Kermit the Frog made it a one-person (well, one-frog) name.
  9. Mystery
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Pretty sound, provocative meaning, but a little over-the-top.
  10. Sesame
    • Origin:

      Food name and word name
    • Description:

      Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in 2021. In kids' minds, this might be overly associated with Sesame Street.
  11. Shadow
    • Silence
      • Origin:

        Word name
      • Description:

        The Puritans used it as a virtue name -- but today it would just be considered weird: silence is no longer golden.
    • Snowdrop
      • Valentine
        • Origin:

          Latin
        • Meaning:

          "strength, health"
        • Description:

          Valentine is an attractive Shakespearean name with romantic associations, but those very ties to the saint and the sentimental holiday have sent it into a decline, one which we think may be about to turn around.
      • Vanilla