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HelpRe: What Names Do You Consider Low Class?
in reply to a message by Onyx the Obsidian
I do have a slight bias against alcoholic beverages being used as names. Gin is a guilty pleasure, but when actually used it's like broadcasting that the parents were wasted when they got pregnant. Using an expensive alcohol doesn't make it any classier. Chardonnay, Brandy, Tequila, Merlot, Gin, Bud (weiser), Margarita, Sherry, etc fall into this category.
Using obvious brands as names comes across as tacky as well no matter how expensive the product is. Examples include Armani, Cartier, Ferrari, Infiniti, Porsche, Maybelline, Coco, Channel, Mercedes, Gucci, Diesel, etc. Some names might be brands but they are already established names that have other associations. Names like Tiffany and Jared have a common usage apart from the store, so while they might not be my style, I don't consider them tacky.
Names that have a clear cut, indisputably unsavory association without any more positive bearers to lighten them come across as low class. It is fine if you want to make a statement but using your child to do so is tasteless at best. Adolph, Aryan (on a non-Indian), Lolita, Che, Hussein, Osama, Stalin, Rasputin, Mao, Manson, Jim Jones, Shoko, Ripper, etc would probably fit into this category. Personally, I also place Delilah in this category because it has historically been used as a synonym for treacherous hooker alluding to the Delilah in the Bible. In old movies and books, they would call a woman a Delilah if she was the type of woman to sell out anybody for a high enough price. When I hear Delilah being used as a name, a small part of me wonders if the parents are planning to sell their daughter as a prostitute. More recently, I begin to suspect that people aren't aware of the names previous usage.
Using obvious brands as names comes across as tacky as well no matter how expensive the product is. Examples include Armani, Cartier, Ferrari, Infiniti, Porsche, Maybelline, Coco, Channel, Mercedes, Gucci, Diesel, etc. Some names might be brands but they are already established names that have other associations. Names like Tiffany and Jared have a common usage apart from the store, so while they might not be my style, I don't consider them tacky.
Names that have a clear cut, indisputably unsavory association without any more positive bearers to lighten them come across as low class. It is fine if you want to make a statement but using your child to do so is tasteless at best. Adolph, Aryan (on a non-Indian), Lolita, Che, Hussein, Osama, Stalin, Rasputin, Mao, Manson, Jim Jones, Shoko, Ripper, etc would probably fit into this category. Personally, I also place Delilah in this category because it has historically been used as a synonym for treacherous hooker alluding to the Delilah in the Bible. In old movies and books, they would call a woman a Delilah if she was the type of woman to sell out anybody for a high enough price. When I hear Delilah being used as a name, a small part of me wonders if the parents are planning to sell their daughter as a prostitute. More recently, I begin to suspect that people aren't aware of the names previous usage.
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TBH, if I met someone called Rasputin, I'd think it was awesome! I mean, it's so outlandish...
Lolita and Osama were relatively useable names in living memory, so I don't think they really count. I hate both, but I can see how someone who's been called Osama for thirty, forty years can't be judged because of recent history.
Lolita and Osama were relatively useable names in living memory, so I don't think they really count. I hate both, but I can see how someone who's been called Osama for thirty, forty years can't be judged because of recent history.
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I know the story, but I still like Delilah. I don't think being linked with a biblical prostitute in and of itself is a bad thing, since women back then had, like, zero options when it came to making money. YMMV.
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Delilah was used as another name for a prostitute from old times until fairly recently. It has also been used like many people use the french word for a female dog that starts with a "B." In the Biblical story it wasn't that she was just a prostitute, although why somebody would think that is an empowering association to saddle their daughter with is beyond me. She insisted that if her boyfriend truly loved her he would tell her the secret of his strength. Apparently, he did love her enough to trust her, and she promptly sold his life for the highest price she could get and helped his enemies capture him. His eyes were put out and he was used in place as an ox to grind grain and subject to ridicule and torture as a political captive. If she had helped the Philistines capture him out of a sense of patriotism or something, people would think better of her, but from the story, she had not objection to sleeping with Samson or having a relationship with him and only betrayed him when offered a pile of gold. She had a lot more options than Mata Hari. Actually, Mata Hari would be a classier courtesan association.
This message was edited 7/29/2015, 12:58 PM
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Still doesn't bother me. I really dig the sound of it.
This message was edited 7/29/2015, 1:49 PM
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It's fine if you like it. It's just my opinion anyway.
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I think the sound and look of Delilah is lovely. But, my reservations on using it technically stem from the Bible story but are not based on it. My reservations stem from the fact that it used to be a culturally-appropriate slang word for prostitute. It isn't anymore, but I can't shake the feeling that it would be like naming your child Harlot.
I know several little Delilahs though, and I find it pretty on them.
Also - the biblical Delilah was not considered bad for her prostitutery (word?), but rather her trickery and willingness to condemn her boyfriend to death over money. Her boyfriend just happened to be a judge too, which is like saying the "king" to that particular area, so she was also a traitor. Believe me though, Samson was no angel himself.
I know several little Delilahs though, and I find it pretty on them.
Also - the biblical Delilah was not considered bad for her prostitutery (word?), but rather her trickery and willingness to condemn her boyfriend to death over money. Her boyfriend just happened to be a judge too, which is like saying the "king" to that particular area, so she was also a traitor. Believe me though, Samson was no angel himself.
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