Teachers Share the Baby Names They Avoided
Parents-to-be often have a long list of reasons for excluding certain names when choosing a name for their child. One common concern is avoiding names that are already taken by relatives, such as cousins. Others steer clear of names linked to negative memories, like those of a childhood bully or a difficult friend.
However, teachers face a unique challenge when it comes to naming their children. With years of experience in classrooms, they have seen countless students with similar names and understand how baby name trends can influence class dynamics. For example, no one wants their child to share a name with five classmates, which could lead to confusion or even embarrassment.
To explore this topic further, we asked teachers from our Muara Digital Team Facebook communities about the names they ruled out when choosing a name for their own children. Here’s what they shared:
- Jami Nicholette, from Pennsylvania, recalled a year when she had multiple students named Larissa, Clarissa, Marissa, and Carissa in the same class. She found it challenging to keep their names straight and ended up using last names instead.
- Jacque Terese mentioned that while the student was fine, the parent was so mean that she couldn’t bear to see the child’s name anymore.
- Leanne Kotlarz, a teacher in Chicago, said she avoided the name Aiden because she had two of them every year for over five years. They were always rowdy and had trouble sitting still.
- Joy E Taylor Anderson from Utah avoids any boy’s name with an “x” that isn’t traditionally spelled with one, like Jaxon or Braxton.
- Suzanne H. Martin from Utah decided against any boy’s name starting with “J” after having ten male students in a resource class with names like Jacob, Jason, and Jordan.
Other teachers shared additional insights:
- Jeanne Szwan noted that the name Storm was self-explanatory, likely due to its association with chaos or intensity.
- Kelly Boren from Utah shared that names like Charity, Chastity, and Harmony were always problematic, as they tended to be “hell on wheels.”
- Lea Whitfield from the 1980s remembered only one Jason that she could stand, but many others were difficult.
- Erin Tarver avoided names in the Aiden and -iley families, including Riley and Kiley, among others.
- Rachel Clark said she never wanted to use any form of Jackson, as it was too common.
- Lea Whitfield also mentioned that many girls had names like Katie, Kayly, Keely, Kelly, Kylie, Kelsy, or Kelty, all looking similar and causing confusion.
- Jennifer Henderson Murray noted that variants of Aiden, Jaiden, and Kaiden were often “handfuls,” referring to children who were difficult to manage.
- Margaret Connolly said she avoided the name Tyler because every single Tyler she had was a “handful.”
- Heather Schultz recalled that the name Darius was problematic because the student swore frequently.
- Brenda Eisenhardt from New Jersey preferred not to use names that could be initials, like AJ or JR.
- Adrienne Anderson shared that the name Bettie became annoying when a parent repeated it 50 times in a minute because the child wasn’t listening.
- Kelley Peloton Mindrup from Texas shared her experience with a student named Jared, who caused major behavior issues. Despite her efforts, the child’s personality eventually led to success, and she felt proud of his achievements.
- Kendra Votava chose unusual names for her younger children because of her work in preschools, noting that kids named Angel rarely behave well.
- Logan Nielsen from Utah avoided the name Braxton after several students with that name caused problems.
- Elaine Giambruno loved the name Adelina but changed her mind because of the popularity of names like Addie and Maddie at the time.
- Trina David Pace described a student named Trent, who was charismatic but had an edge of malice. His energy made her feel aged, but she admired his potential.
- Allison Reynolds vetoed names that could be initials, like AJ or JR.
- Jessica Cleveland recalled a preschool class with multiple students named Aiden, Aidan, Brayden, Braeden, Caeden, Jayden, Kayden, Hayden, and Zaiden, making it hard to distinguish them.
- Nicole DiCarlo avoided names like Angel, Sunshine, and Rainbow, which seemed too cliché.
- Victoria Bull from Colorado shared that both she and her wife are teachers, and they took great care in choosing a name for their son that had never been used in their school. They settled on Ellis, which they found perfect.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity, style, and length.
