Picking a Name That Encourages Teasing

Remember that one unfortunate boy in school who had the name everyone made fun of? Maybe it was more than one. Maybe it was you! But we all know names are easy to make fun of, and none of us want to give our child one that plays right into those little schoolchildren hands. Here are some things to think about when picking a name that will not encourage over-much teasing.

Why me?

1. What are the common nicknames of the name you are thinking of? Richard, for example, is commonly shortened to Dick. A very unfortunate thing with the slang from this day and age. Richard itself is a perfectly reasonable name, of course. But its nickname is something to be aware of. To find out if a name has any bad common nicknames, click here and type the name in. It will list any common nicknames worth avoiding.

2. How does the first name blend with the last name? Your child will probably not thank you to become one of those unfortunates with the name Stan Still, Anna Sassin, Ima Pig, Jo King or Daisy Picking. (True story)

3. How hard will it be for him or her to learn their own name? Or to learn how to spell it? You may want to give your child a very unique flowery name but try to avoid making it too difficult for people to understand. There are some pretty complicated names out there, and many of them inspire impatience more than admiration. If a child is always having to correct everyone on how to say her name, that is an easy way to inspire teasing and deliberate miss-speaking of her name on the playground.

Hee hee hee!

4. If it is very near in pronunciation to a bad word or embarrassing word, you may be sure all the little classmates will pick up on that the first day. There are a few names that are slang bad words also (going back to number 1) such as Woody, Colin, Gaylord, Cherry, or Fanny. Yes, some people still insist on naming their children names that mean dirty or embarrassing things in today's society. We hope they did it on accident with no idea and that they visit this page next time!

That is not to say that all unique names should be avoided! There are many little used names that may be perfect for your child. Or you could make up your own like many people like to do. Just be sure to be thinking of the list above when you do!