An odious woman!

There are many, many parents who have aspirations for their offspring but this is something more.

I think aspirations are a good thing - we all want what is best for our children, but this woman's idea of "what is best" is merely a reinforcement of her own snobbishness and outdated class consciousness. Just because children are called Tarquin or Araminta does not ensure that their upbringing or parents' values are our own does it? Terribly posh parents might take exception to "India" "Poppy" or "Max" becasue they are not called ffortescue-Ponsonby-Smyth!
Yes the cliches exist - Wayne and Wanetta Slob and Tim Nice-But-Dim but anyone with half a brain has to be able to see beyond that. And as for saying that mothers screech "Whine (Wayne) " across the playground that is frankly ridiculous, in my teaching career there were just as many naughty middle class kids as working class kids - if one could tell the difference. She has clearly never seen that hilaroous YOutube clip of "Fenton" in Richmond Park. (OK a dog, but a very middle class dog )

The S.O. just told me about this and I had to snigger a bit when he said she'd mentioned the name Chardonnay as I said I'd probably have to agree with her . I'd better read the whole article I think. I don't watch The Apprentice so I don't know who she is.

I know when we were going through baby names for the grandchildren we were put off by certain names belonging to people that we didn't like. Had a phase of liking the name Kai and then Wayne Rooney called his son Kai, [although I still love the name]. The thing is, a name is more than just a name...it encapsulates the hopes and aspirations of the parents and possibly shapes you as a person. I was chatting to a girl at work about films [I'm her film guru ] and she mentioned lots of young actors and actresses that I'd never heard of, but I pointed out they had to be stars with names like theirs.

They may have changed their names when they decided to become actors, of course, Tegan - like John Wayne did!

True, Ana What macho redblooded US film star wants to be called Marion? He might be taken for a female tennis player. (One who could probably whup him, I daresay!)

Still reckon I'd've made my mark on the world if mum had called me Heliotrope .

Yes, Tegan - an indelible stain.

Remember Johnny Cash and 'A boy named Sue'?
I am afraid some research, (I can't remember the provenance) found that teachers often pre-judge children on the strength of their names, and expect the Chantelles and Waynes and any child with a mis-spelt name to be trouble!
I think the name Sharon is biblical and I love the sound of it - what a pity it has been ridiculed.
Nine of my ten grandchildren have 'classic' names and I have learnt to like the tenth - Holly- which was chosen by my young son-in-law!

There was some interesting research into the names of children who ended up in trouble - oddly enough, Cecil and Marmaduke were up among the problem names - perhaps they were bullied or perhaps they had the kind of parents who would give such names to their boys.
Apparently, after the Emilys and Amys even older names are back in fashion - Mabel and Edith and Sybil were mentioned - even Agatha.

My sister is Canadian and some of the names in her family might raise a snooty eyebrow in the UK - there's a Sharon, a Kevin, a Trevor, an Eric and a Terry. Is she bovvered? of course not! The perception of names can vary from country to country - look at some of the US politicians for instance. Is Newt a name or a description of an inebriated politician??

Jingle, I don't mind your calling me a daft old trout, but could you tell me exactly how you come to that conclusion?

AKA ,

Greatnan - you are not seriously expecting J08 to give an explanation?

No. I never expect anything. Jingle knows the rules about personal insults. I had to smile, though, because her comment made me think of that advert where the little girl tells the man on the phone 'You are a silly man'. I could just hear Jingle saying it!

Aka, it was kind of you to explain to Nonu what the thread is about! Did you think she couldn't work it out for herself?

I do remember years ago that Sharon was one of those names that weren't posh. Then the Times did me thing about who got firsts at uni. The top name was of course Sharon. Kevin's was also not posh but the French thought it was chic.

This is fun - a glass of wine, sitting on the balcony under a shade, with the TV turned towards me so I can post in between rallies!

Thank you Greatnan

Oh dear - I just found this thread and watched part of that video. I found it unbelievable! Of course some kids' names are nicer than others, but judging a child on their name???!!! What an awful woman - pity her poor kids.

It seems snobbery is alive and well, unless this is some sort of spoof. She really did seem to believe what she was saying though.

I gave my own lads normal names, but they played with all kinds of kids when they were growing up: let's see, there was Kurt, Jordie, Phee, Vu, Ashley, Josh....as well as your standard Michael and Paul etc. I never gave their friends' names a second thought.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Hopkins - you really could not make this up.

I love the name 'Kevin' it reminds me of great people.....I also like....Dave! Purple is my favourite colour.....dunnno!

Nothing odd about Josh. Remember the one that, according to the song, fought the battle of Jericho, back in biblical times? Ashley is probably from a surname, like Shirley. Jordie is probably an "updated" spelling of Geordie. Kurt is a perfectly respectable surname in Turkey and sometimes used as an abbreviation for the surname Curtis. And so on.

My favourite name is DancesWithWolves (Dan for short) . Good film too.

My mama was still a practising Catholic when both my sister and I were born. We were both baptised and both times (1945 and 1950), the priest objected to our names on the grounds that there were no saints with those names. My ma pointed out that "there is a first time for everything". Our second names, however, are perfectly saintly.

When I chose absentdaughter's name, my mother was horrified because "that's a name for old women", who, of course, must have been babies once. Not that it matters because she hated it and changed it legally once she became an adult.

Regarding saints - I remember reading about an English couple living in France who wanted their baby christening Peggy. The priest wouldn't have it as there's no St. Peggy. I have no idea why they didn't opt for the original name that Peggy comes from - Margaret. Anyway, in the end the priest compromised with 'Pere Guy'.

I had to have a saint's name for my middle name too. Then another saint's name when I was confirmed.
I looked at the Wikipedia entries for Hopkins - she is even worse than I thought.