Any names you don’t like ( either through association or just because)

BlueSapphire I was the same when teaching.

My most troublesome pupils were Elvis and Troy!

The name Donna,iv`e known two women with this name and they were only happy when making others lives a misery.
Apologies to those nice Donna`s out there.

What a negative thread!
A person is not defined by their name and any associations with the name will not be those of another person.
We have had threads in the past about GPS horrified at the choice of name for a new baby. I hope they kept their reservations to themselves.
Apart from the (dare I say) ridiculous names based on a misunderstanding of a word (and no, Chlamydia is NOT a lovely name , why do you think Roald Dahl chose Verruca Salt?) or obvious villains of history - Adolf Hitler ffortescue-Smythe for instance would be a no-no - look at the person not the name and if a name reminds you of somebody you didn’t like, to paraphrase a well-known saying, don’t judge a book by its title.

What I find most disturbing is the teachers who looked at the register and formed a low opinion of a child just by their given name! Might explain quite a lot. I accept that sometimes there will be personality clashes between teachers and pupils, but honestly, prejudging a child on what their parent named them is dreadful and totally unprofessional!

A bit like assuming that the wee boy with the ginger hair, freckles and sticky out ears is bound to be trouble and putting him in the front row!
(That would be my GS’s card marked)

Awwwww Mawbe - I love him already ?

Unfortunately - a person is defined by their name, that’s why so many celebrities change theirs.

I don’t think you can help but make judgments about people by their names, you might turn out to be wrong, but judging by the teachers comments on here, they’re very often right.

blonducot you have totally misunderstood there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying you can’t stand a name that’s totally normal but when posters say I can’t stand anyone with the name of a,b or c because all ——- are horrible
Nsna8 YOU are talking about the name not the person but unfortunately some posters on here have been making it very personal, and unkind if you read through them
Well just because Mumsnet is cruel and unforgiving do we have to be the same kardinsky
bluesaffire The thought that teachers could be so limited in their compassion as to judge children by the name they have been given absolutely horrifies me

Kandinsky

Unfortunately - a person is defined by their name, that’s why so many celebrities change theirs.

I simply do not agree
If that is the case, the omission lies with the person doing the defining.
Celebrities change their names to stand out from us lesser mortals -and some of them choose some pretty daft names. Alvin Stardust, Gary Glitter?
And then foist equally daft names on their children - Zowie Bowie, Peaches Geldof, Apple Martin (Paltrow) - but I’m not judging!

crazyH

Awwwww Mawbe - I love him already ?

Thank you - I do too!

sara I totally disagree.. how can you make a judgement about a person or child because of their name ? ? That is such a strange and shallow way to view people

Blondiescot

I don't think there's anything to be get offended about here - just because someone doesn't like YOUR name or that of your son, daughter, grandchild etc, doesn't mean they wouldn't like you personally! It's just a name - they're not talking about the actual person. Jeez...let's all hop aboard the easily offended bus!

But they are pre-judging people by their names!! They are assuming that all people with a certain name are horrible just because they knew a couple of people with those particular names years ago!

Narrow-minded and judgemental.

If people weren’t defined by their names they’d certainly be more women call Myra.

Kandinsky

If people weren’t defined by their names they’d certainly be more women call Myra.

What’s wrong with Myra?

Nothing, if you want to name your daughter after a serial killer.

My own name now it has become a popular meme and a derogatory slang word for woman of a certain age, personality and background.

I still think there's nothing to get "offended" about. There are far worse things to get upset over. It's only a name after all...it doesn't define you.

Kandinsky

If people weren’t defined by their names they’d certainly be more women call Myra.

There are still plenty of Ians around though. And Ronnie and Reggie are in the top 100 list of boys’ names.

Exactly it’s only a name so how can anyone be judged by only a name blondie
Katie Hopkins did this a few years ago and wrote about a list of kids names she knew would be troublesome and chavvy and I can just imagine her being that judgemental, small minded and cruel I never considered in a million years that teachers would do exactly the same are most teachers really on the same level as Katie Hopkins? ..... my word I hope not

Bluebelle
I’m not saying it’s fair, it’s just human nature.
I bet you’ve heard someone’s name and had a preconceived idea about them.

Ian is extremely popular with literally millions of them, just like Peters and Freds.
Not stand out names at all.
Myra is fairly unusual so will always be associated with the moors murderer.
I doubt there’s many Adolfs in Germany.

My family had a heated discussion about two names. The only difference being one letter in the spelling of them. Both were pronounced similarly.
Which pointed out to us how preconcieved our ideas were.
In Germany it is against the law to register a child under the name Adolf Hitler.
Registry offices have the right to veto certain names, by law.
I think that underlines the fact that at least in Germany they accept that a book will be judged by its cover.
If you listen to any comedian eluding to certain class divides they will often resort to the shorthand of children's names.
Which insta tly paints a picture of a 'type' in the audience mind.

I'm not saying I agree or like the fact, but it looks as though the name one chooses does reflect on the child (for good or ill), and the parent of course.

Just came back to say the teacher register thing was light hearted in intent. It had an element of truth in it but never in a million years would I have treated any child differently because of their name !

There have been past posts where people say they do not like the name chosen for their grandchild, it does not mean they dislike the child or the parents choosing it.

The permanently offended often spoil a light hearted thread.