Parents Pick Horrible Baby Names And Then Regret It, Study Says

A new study suggests that parents are regularly worried that they have saddled their children with a name that will haunt them throughout their lives.

The team at Netmums conducted a baby names survey with 6,000 mothers and fathers and found that one in 10 parents privately fear that they have given their child an embarrassing name. Many of those parents said the impulsively chose their child’s name as a result of a “trendy” fashion statement.

The study also found that one in 20 parents were “forced” to give their child a different name because someone had “stolen” their original idea for a name.

The survey also found that “extreme retro” is big in naming children right now. For example, Mabel, Ethel, and Stanley are all making comebacks. Also topping the Netnums baby names lists are Alfie and Grace.

Parents in the survey also suggested that popular names from the 1960s like Beryl could soon be used by an increasing number of parents.

Also used by many parents are double-barreled first name such as Taylor-Rose. The double barreled names are specifically being picked for females and are being used to replace middle names.

Not only are parents regretting the names they give to their children; they are also following a trend of getting tattoo’s with those names or naming all of their children with the same first letter.

When asked what influenced the naming of their child, 25 percent of parents said they used fashion trends. One in seven parents said they chose an unusual name just because it was not “dull.”

In hoping to make their child stand out, three in 10 parents said they chose an unusual spelling for their child’s name.

Overall 12 percent of everyone polled admitted that they regretted the name they gave to their child. A total of 25 percent of people polled said their children’s names had been publicly criticized by strangers.

Some of those regretted names may have been chosen because they would make a child seem intelligent such as Finley and Esme while others such as Oliver and Isla were chosen because they sounded like “future leaders.”

The moral of the survey? Don’t name your kids after fashion trends or try to spell their name is some crazy way.