NAME SHAME
Teachers share the kids’ names which are instant red flags… and the ones they KNOW are going to be trouble
IF YOU worry your child will be teased or judged by their name, then listen up.
And for all mums and dads out there - prepare to be insulted.
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Mummy blogger has spoken to teachers to get their opinions and stories about kids' names and has revealed the ones you might want to avoid if you don’t want your child's teacher to judge.
SJ Strum is mum to Freddie, Finn & Evelina.
She lives in Surrey with her Swedish husband and she vlogs about motherhood and baby names.
Whether it’s overly common names or names that instantly make a teacher think a child is naughty - if you are looking to name your baby, you might want to take notes.
Here are the top mistakes teachers think parents make when picking baby names and the ones that set them back in the classroom.
SJ Strum said: “Do teachers really judge kids for their names? Yes!”
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Common names with unique spellings
Fair enough if you don't want to give your child a common name, but if you try and make it different by mixing up the spelling, it's highly likely that you're just going to get everyone confused.
SJ said: “The number one thing which came up time and time again, the absolutely biggest pet peeve, bug bear, that teachers have when it comes to kids in their classroom is common name with unique spellings.
“It just came up so many times. It’s just something that is confusing for the teacher and really confusing for the kid as well.
“Emma-Leigh as a double barreled for Emily really was a tough one and Jaxsyn spelt like this.
“Imagin with this spelling and there was even a Fee-Bee.
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“It really was the thing that came up the most for teachers.
“Funnily enough when it came to unique names I thought this would be something that teachers don’t like but teachers said they really like unique names, as long as they are not weird.
“But unique names that are spelt easily and correctly to say are absolutely fine. They liked names like Sage, Joanie, Scout.
“Unique names outside of the top 50 but not odd and weird were a thumbs up.
The ‘naughty kid’ names
You probably think that your child is an angel, but teachers admitted that when they see certain names on the register, they will instantly know which ones are going to be naughty.
SJ continued: “A lot of teachers were like ‘yep, there are names that are red-flags’.
“There were some that stuck out and came up again and again.
“Jake, Max, Jack and the biggest one for boys was anything ending in den - so Hayden, Jayden, apparently always naughty, always disruptive, not listening.
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“So if that is on your list, you might want to take into consideration what teachers are saying.
“When it came to girls it was quite interesting, apparently Islas and Jessicas are really chatty names.
“Apparently Martha is high-maintenance. Alexandra can be a bit of a bully apparently.
“So there are names that people judge. It is very common. We’ve all got associations with names that make us think of them in a certain way.
“There is a bit of a judgement going on so maybe check your name with your teachers before you go for it.”
Overused names
You might want to give your child a classic, timeless name, but there are certain names that teachers said they always have multiple in their class, which becomes annoying not only for them but the children too.
SJ added: “There are so many overused names.
“Common names that came up - there were lots of Charlies, Liles, Ellas, Alfies.
“One teacher had ten Sophias, four Laylas.
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“Every year there is a Theo and an Oscar apparently.
“They also said that double barrelling a common name is common but the majority of children only go by their first name of the double-barrell.
“So if you’re going to double barrel maybe don’t go for a Rose or May because those are also overly used.”
Weird names
Naming a child can take a lot of time and deliberation, so you might be annoyed to know that teachers could find your child’s name weird - but it happens.
SJ explained: “I would love to be a teacher just to hear the weirdest names.
“The funniest, weirdest names teachers said were twins called Denim and Suede.
“Matching names like Jason Mason and Stephen Stephens.
“Chel’C spelt like this, Jack Daniels and DKNY.”
So apologies if your child has any of the above names, but it turns out teachers aren’t a fan!
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Meanwhile, I work in NICU – these are the most bizarre baby names I’ve heard in the delivery suite.
I picked my daughter’s name when I was pregnant and spent loads on monogrammed clothes, but I hated it and changed it when she was 5 months