Mumsnet lists top 10 worst baby names - is your name on the list?

Mumsnet users have debated the worst baby names, and some of them surprised us.

In a popular thread, one Mumsnet user asked others which name they would never give to a child and why.

And the mums did not mince their words.

Here are just ten of the names they listed, and why:

1. Mia - because it’s an acronym for “missing in action”
2. Cameron - it could also be a surname
3. Claudia - it means “lame” in Latin
4. Alexa - because of Amazon
5. Lana - spell it backwards…
6. Fanny - “for obvious reasons”
7. Flora - it makes one mum “think of bacteria”
8. Luna - because “it’s a pet name”
9. Graham - sounds like “grey ham”
10. Mercedes - as it’s a car brand

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Some said that some names have been ruined for them as they know someone with that name who has a mean streak. Such names include Sophie, Francesca, and Shauna.

One wrote: “Any names that are too strongly and negatively connected to another person or an event or memory. I'd always just be making comparisons in my mind.”

Anything ending in “den”, such as Jayden, Kayden, and Hayden makes another mum’s “teeth itch”, while another said they’d steer clear of “overused” names such as Jack, Sam, Oliver, Olivia, Isabelle, and Amelia.

“Fanny, for obvious reasons”, another commenter quipped.

Others expressed that they dislike anything double-barrelled that ends with May or Mai.

Old-fashioned names got a mention too. One mum wrote: “Mabel, Ethel or Alice....still incredibly frumpy sounding to me despite their recent popularity.”

Those who try and spell the child’s name in an, er, unique way also got a look in.

“I don’t like when people give their child a “unique” spelling, and I don’t like surnames as first names. So, Jackson is bad enough but Jaxon is even worse,” another said.

Some names linked to history were also mentioned.

“Oliver. It makes me think of Oliver Cromwell and that makes me think of Puritans and banning Christmas,” another said.

Adolf also made the list.

Not everyone said they had names that were permanently off their list of potential monikers however.

One mum said: “The only name I would absolutely rule out is my own name, because that would be weird. I'd consider anything else.”

On a more positive note, another commenter asked if there are any names they love but would never give to a child because they’re too “OTT or hard to pull off”.

The mum who posed the question said she loves the names Ottilie, Aurelia, and Tabitha, but would never “saddle a kid with them”. Another responded to say they love the name Ophelia, and joked that they are a “pretentious t***” for their love of Shakespearean names.

Some said they would avoid popular names. If you’re in that camp, check out our list of the top baby names in 2021 so you know which ones to rule out.

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