The people who are railing against your honest admission are omitting the fact that every college acceptance committee and job recruiter will be doing the exact same thing, with far less inhibitions to treat everyone the same regardless of how ridiculous their name is.

My hippie parents bestowed a very unusual name on me in the 70s; it wasn't until the mid-90s that I started to like it. And now that everything is tracked on the Internet, I'm starting to hate it again. There is definitely something to be said for having a pretty, but not noteworthy name.

Oh well. The two of you can go together down to the concern police station and file a complaint. They can fire me from my very low paying substitute teaching job and replace me with a fresh eyed non-judgmental person who has no idea about naming trends and has not been around a wide range of demographics. Then, after…

Yes, but that is when you assume something about one individual in isolation. If I get a roster of 20 kids and 15 of the names are Hispanic, then the chances that they are a bunch of Asian Jews who just happen to have Hispanic names is just astronomical. It has never happened- not even once- in all the schools I've…

Not judging them, judging their parents based upon choices of names for them.

Subtle, but significant, difference.

Ah take your concern to the concern police. It’s a totally normal human observation that when you see a roster full of Madisons and Evans and Gavins, you are likely (not always but likely) going to get a middle class group of kids, usually white. When you get a roster full of Antonios and Matiases and Joses, you are…

But the kids are the ones who pay the price. This is why I worried about my kids’ names - people who judge them might be assholes, but they’re assholes in positions of authority. It sucks. I just reread the resume-ethnic-name study and am depressed.

No, but you should consider the implications of the name for the child. They have to live in the world outside of your ego.

Like 95% of people are totally unaware of their unconscious/implicit biases. Naming your kid something stupid is fucking up her life.

That depends. Do you want your baby to survive childhood and be able to get into school or get a job? Then the fucking name matters.

When you name your kids, it’s about you for maybe 5 years. Then, for the remainder of your kid’s life, your kid Kaj is stuck with being called Guy and Sky, and having to say 4 times a day “Kaj: K as in Kangaroo, A as in Adam, J as Josh, which are all names I’d rather have.” At some point no one is going to think about…

But your kid will bear the burden of unfair assumptions made about him or her. Studies repeatedly show this. Maybe less narcissism, more compassion for your kid’s future?

I think the point is that the name is not just about you, but also your child. I think it does warrant considering the different ways a child will feel about their name and what any name might mean in their future. Not every story turns out like Chrysanthemum.

Granite is bad, but Cougar is like next level. Girl or boy? Because if it’s a girl, that’s a middle aged crisis waiting to happen.

It's weird that you are being so hostile about this. It sounds like we agree entirely. And we weren't talking about YOU but about names in general. Plenty of people DO name their kids embarrassing things (and some name them offensive things though that is way less common).

My cousin named her son Kale a decade ago.....my grandfather couldn't remember the name she picked, so called him Kohlrabi for the first few months. It amused me that my cousin picked a food name, because her name was Brie

You don't need anyone's opinion to name your kid for sure. Certainly not some random person on a message board. None of that changes the fact that your kid will have to walk around in life with the name you give them, for better or for worse. And there is no reason to be insulting.

And btw, I’m not full of shit about this. Anything, when it comes to individuals, is not going to live up to stereotypes. But I taught school for nearly a decade and then subbed for nearly a decade more (and subbing is interesting because you see over a hundred rosters a year) and you definitely start to notice all…

lol- we’re cussing already?

I disagree with that. I think a general opinion of a name actually matters a bit. I can look at a class roster and tell what sort of class I’m going to have based on the name. I assume it’s the same when people look at resumes. Your child's name can scream "teen mom" or "mcmansion pinterest housewife mom" or "artsy…