babynames | (no subject)

I do know of a lot of teens giving their kids off the wall or trendy names. But then i see adults doing that too.

I know a girl who was 18 and had twin girls. Named them Leah and Miah. (Miah is pronounced like Leah, but with an M instead). I was like "wow, stop acting 18..." LOL

The teen mothers I've known gave their kids what I would consider normal names.

Alexis, Gabriella, Ethan, Chance...

I think that's definitely the stereotype, and I'm sure it stems from somewhere.
My friend became a daddy in 11th grade, however, and he (and his "babymama") called his daughter Juliette Patricia which I thought was a pretty and classy name.

Wow. That's very nice.

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rockstargrrrlie.livejournal.com - 2008-08-23 01:32 (UTC) - Expand

This always kind of bugs me. Yeah, I think a lot of teenage mothers give their kids crappy names, and it's easy to say it's because they're young/immature/have no taste, etc. But then look at all the 30-year-old women naming their kids awful names. I honestly don't think it has anything to do with age.

A girl I know had her son when she was 17. She named him Evan Matthew. A woman I know had twins when she was 35. She named them Aydyn and Addysyn.

I'm not even really prepared to say that more teenagers probably give their kids bad names than older people. I just don't think it's true. I've seen too many supposed 'mature adults' give their kids godawful names to believe it.

Teen mothers/fathers I've known have used these names:
Hunter, Mason, Caleb, Julie, Madelyn, Chloe, Lucas, Keirsten, Keith

Not too bad, I'd say! I think that teen mothers aren't the only people who use trendy names. I mean, one of Jon and Kate's 8 is named Aidan and they're not teenagers :-P

It's actually Aaden. ::siiiiigh:: I adore them, but yeah.

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giveitfullheart.livejournal.com - 2008-08-23 00:45 (UTC) - Expand

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iluvhistory.livejournal.com - 2008-08-23 08:05 (UTC) - Expand

Of the actual teen parents I can remember - there was a Rowan and a Madelyn.

When I was a pregnant teen, I considered names like Halona Kaya (native american names) and Julienne. My daughter's adoptive parents named her Kaia Juliane (Norwegian) which interestingly enough was similar to names I'd considered, just spelled differently- and they were late 30's.

The only teen mom that I know named her daughter June Alice. I think the name trends have nothing to do with age.

I know a few... One named her daughter Sarah-Ann and the other named her daughter Ella.

Being unique is a big thing for a teenager, so I think they're more likely to misspell names or come up with awful abominations because somehow a lot of people think that if they give their child a unique name, the child will be unique, not knowing that uniqueness is something that comes from the person rather than their name.

The problem is teenagers are so impressionable that they end up naming their kids the same trendy names everyone else is using (Madison, Addison, etc) often with a different spelling to make it unique. I also think they're more likely to name kids after TV characters, actors and musicians. When Gilmore Girls came out, the name Rory for a girl became all the rage, and nowadays with Gossip Girl I hear a lot of teenagers saying "I think the name Blake/Leighton is SOOO cute for a girl and so unique!" Grey's Anatomy is to blame for the recent crop of Addisons and Izzies; Sex and the City with Aidan; Lindsay due to Lindsay Lohan, etc. Whereas someone older might name a child after a family member, I think younger people are more likely to name a child after whoever startlet has recently broken into the CW that week.

When I was a teenager I remember liking Stephanie, Tiffany and the like, and really crappy/hippie/nature names like Sky, Rain, River, etc, because I thought they were unique. As I grow older I realize that some day my child might want to grow up to be a lawyer, doctor, etc, and believe it or not, misspelt/ridiculous/made up names can hinder a person's professional career. I remember reading a study not to long ago about name discrimination and how some people are more likely to get certain jobs if they have a proper name. The gist of it was basically that if two girls apply to Harvard and they have the same qualifications/grades/etc, and one of them is named NeveahLeigh and the other one is named Eleanor, Eleanor will get into Harvard because she has a respectable name.

I've also come to see the beauty in old fashioned names. I've fallen in love with their history and meanings. I'm sorry, but I find the name Beatrice a MILLION times more beautiful than, say, Addison. Often I thank God I didn't have a baby when I was a teen. I probably would've chosen an awful name.

Of course I'm generalizing, and I've known plenty of teenagers who give their children lovely names and plenty of adults who give their children crappy names. I don't think it takes an adolescent to choose an awful name, but someone with an adolescent mind.

I don't think it takes an adolescent to choose an awful name, but someone with an adolescent mind.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

ETA: I can only think of one teen mom I actually know off the top of my head, and her little girl was Lucy. Which is on my own list, so yeah.

Edited 2008-08-22 23:47 (UTC)

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perfectcherry.livejournal.com - 2008-08-23 00:35 (UTC) - Expand

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sophie-louise89.livejournal.com - 2008-08-24 02:36 (UTC) - Expand

* They're just names, so depends on each one; some I like, others are not my thing. Same with any other age group/demographic of parents.
* No, the ones I've seen are across the board. So I've no preconceived ideas or opinions and it seems an inaccurate and unfair stereotype.
* Fiona Kate, Madison, William, Mason Graham, a few variants of Aiden, Jack, Chloe & Ethan, Bradley Paul & Caitlin, Isaiah & Aaron.
[combos are 'fn mn'; just happen to remember those].

Incidentally my maternal grandmother was a teenage mother back in the day; and used pretty much the ultimate trendy name of the decade [Susan Ann]. But that's no real reflection on Nan. My older & 'classier' paternal grandparents used uber trendy/mainstream names too.

The only teen mum I know named her daughter Lucy. I don't think age does have much impact; when I was younger my favourite names were always Isobel, Danielle and Camille. Not that out there.

my best friend just had a baby 1 month ago and named him Aidan. she is 27.

I know two teen Moms, both had girls. Their names were Ava and Westerly.

I met a little boy the other day, 4.5 years old, whose mom was eighteen when he was born. His name is Gage Phoenix. When i first heard the name, I didn't know how old his mom was, but I immediately assumed she had been a teenage mom. I don't know if that makes me an ass, it was just my automatic assumption.

I love the name Phoenix:\

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alexandria-skye.livejournal.com - 2008-08-23 04:40 (UTC) - Expand

I believe a majority of teenagers have TERRIBLE name tastes. Some unfortunately never grow out of that. I used to have bad taste, but my names now are much better and not trashy like they used to be.

The teen moms I know have named their children Jayden [girl], Aiden, James Donald nn Jamie, Aiden, Seth, Christian, Dalyvea, Hailee, Caleb and Kadyn.

I'm not going to generalize. I know a few young mothers who have given their children really nice names, as well as mothers over 25 who have given their kids annoyingly trendy names. It has less to do with the age of the parent and more about their personal preferences.

As many have said, I think you can name a child a terrible name as a teen, or as a parent in your thirties, twenties, or forties.
Sometimes I judge too and think that the Jydyenes, Ayttisens, and Nyviehs of the world have been named by teens, but, just as often they've been named by twenty-thirty somethings. I think it really depends.
Kids I know that have teen moms/dads:
Callum Andrew (nice)
Tiffany
Stephanie
Andrew Kenneth

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11? Jesus christ that's intense.

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emtotherescuee.livejournal.com - 2008-08-23 16:10 (UTC) - Expand

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crossingthesea.livejournal.com - 2008-08-25 17:01 (UTC) - Expand

This stereotype pisses me off, once being a teenage mother. A LOT of people name their kids stupid shit, but no one thinks to say something about it when the parents are 30-ish. Ironically, all the people I know using ridiculously popular and trendy names (usually misspelled) are over 35.

I almost think it's *worse* if the parents are older and they give their children terrible names ... in the case of teenagers, we may explain it away by just attributing it to the poor judgment that you would expect of a teenager, but someone who's older should really know better.

I was actually interested in the same thing and haunted several teen mum's websites hunting for names. Many of them were indeed ooing and awwing over their little Jaydens, but others had choosen perfectly normal names--like mothers in any other demographic.

I definitely agree that one's taste in names relates more to maturity level than names. I'm eighteen and if I had a child (would never happen) I would name a boy Flynn Ambrose or Leon Warren and a girl Vivienne Harper. Nothing trashy/"uneek" there. But I've always been very precocious. ;-)

Actually some of the crappiest names have come from mothers in their very early 20s. Which is almost teenager, but not really.

I'm going to agree with with the above poster: "I don't think it takes an adolescent to choose an awful name, but someone with an adolescent mind."
I see a lot more "trendy" names than stupid ones.

Here are the current crop of baby names given by teen moms from my town:
Marley (x3), Marley-Ella, Axel, Tatum, Elijah (x2), Tallulah, Adrienne, Max, Ryder, Chad, Isabella (x2).

And the slightly older early 20-s crowd:
Piper, Germaine, Tucker, Jaxon, Sarah, Alexzander, Aaliya, Faith.

With the exception of all the Marleys, I think the 20 year olds did a lot worse!

I was a teen mom at 19 and named my baby Leo Nicolas.

Two of my friends who had babies in high school named their sons Harrison Lee and Bradley David. Another who has had a boy since high school named him Kyler James. A girl I know my age had her baby at 19, too, and named her Ryanne Lauren. Others I know of who were in their 20s were Tucker and Jaxon, Eliza and Maren.

In my opinion it all just depends on the person and their taste. Age isn't always the main factor.

I don't know any teenage mothers, but I think plenty of middle aged people give their kids horrendous names too.

LOL it's a bad stereotype. We aren't THAT bad.

I was a teen mother (age 18) and I named my daughter Rahel Megan. Rahel (pronounced Ray-el) isn't a common name but it's not spelt creat8vly or screwed up xD

I also know a girl who had a baby as a teen and she named him Benjamin. My cousin had a baby at 18 and named him Ryan.

One of the women at my Plunket group's kid's name was Aidan. I groaned when I heard it. She's 25. One of my best friends named her daughter Jessica, which is so common. But she gets called Jess.

I don't think age has to do with it. The most immature and obnoxious teenager I've ever met, my step cousin, had her baby last year at 16. She named him Aaron.