New Post
Search
HelpRe: Which names are considered tacky or trashy in your country/area? (more)
in reply to a message by Perrine
I think that this is too sensitive a subject in the US to address, because to too many "tacky" means "African-American", and then racism comes into play. I'm not saying that there aren't names that aren't African-American that can be seen as tacky, but there are far more African-American names that are. I'm also not saying that it's people here on BtN necessarily---I'm addressing more the general public.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
Agreed. African-American naming traditions and trends get a lot of flack. One thing I like about where I live (which is 60% AA) is seeing the interesting variety in names!
1
This is spot-on for the U.S.
I also think tacky / trashy means something different for the general public than for namenerds.
For example, we see Nevaeh and cringe a bit.... but the general public seems to think it is sweet.
My daughter Clarisse tells everyone her middle name is LaToya (it's not) and people always have that wide-eyed "!! should I say something?" look on their faces.
I also think tacky / trashy means something different for the general public than for namenerds.
For example, we see Nevaeh and cringe a bit.... but the general public seems to think it is sweet.
My daughter Clarisse tells everyone her middle name is LaToya (it's not) and people always have that wide-eyed "!! should I say something?" look on their faces.
1
I have a bit of a soft spot for Nevaeh, I always thought it looked a bit like a Biblical name (Neriah, Tirzah, Jeremiah) and it has a soft sound. I love Clarisse, it is very pretty! :) I know of Latoya Jackson. I never liked how it has the word 'toy' in it, but apart from that it is fine. I think it was common in the 80s, according to statistics.
1
This is why I started this thread because as someone from outside of the US this is so odd to me and I would like to know the background behind it.
I never knew that Diamond is more common among African Americans. I always put it in a group with Jade, Ruby, Pearl - a usable gemstone name. I always liked the Italian variant Diamante a lot.
I never knew that Diamond is more common among African Americans. I always put it in a group with Jade, Ruby, Pearl - a usable gemstone name. I always liked the Italian variant Diamante a lot.
1
I work with a girl whose name is Deimante and honest, I find it, in German terribly 'hochgeschissen'. Like, it's not even regular diamond, nooo, it's fancy diamond with a faux french accent.,
Just me though
Just me though
1
I didn't know it was more common among African Americans either. I've only ever heard Diamond as a surname; it sounds weirdly cold and formal to me.
Also, although I like most of them, I'd say gemstone names as a group are considered a bit tacky, but they've all got different vibes (for example, Pearl has a redneck vibe to me, and Topaz has a hippie/flaky vibe)...and most people I know with gemstone names (except for Jade, actually) are white.
Also, although I like most of them, I'd say gemstone names as a group are considered a bit tacky, but they've all got different vibes (for example, Pearl has a redneck vibe to me, and Topaz has a hippie/flaky vibe)...and most people I know with gemstone names (except for Jade, actually) are white.
This message was edited 4/25/2017, 9:48 PM
1
The spelling thing might affect Jasmine. I know a bunch of girls named variation like Jazzmyn.
DH really, really loves this name. I just couldn't bring myself to consider it because it does have that tacky vibe.
We ran into the same problem with Tiffany :(
I don't know the car / Opal association. I think most people have just forgotten about Opal really. No idea why it didn't hit the hipster crowd along with Ruby. I am guessing people have relegated it to middle name status.
DH really, really loves this name. I just couldn't bring myself to consider it because it does have that tacky vibe.
We ran into the same problem with Tiffany :(
I don't know the car / Opal association. I think most people have just forgotten about Opal really. No idea why it didn't hit the hipster crowd along with Ruby. I am guessing people have relegated it to middle name status.
1
Oh this is sad :( I didn't know about this.
1
Yeah, I always squirm when I see this topic, so...
1
I don't agree with judging people by their names. I just noticed that very often when people ask about a name people answer with 'it is really tacky/trashy where I live', so I was interested in hearing which names have these associations as they seem to be very different from country to country or even area to area. I would like to know why because I often don't understand why a name brings up a certain image as I don't live in the same country and have no idea how a name is perceived there.
Just as an example, I always though Crystal was extremely beautiful. It made me think of snow crystals and a winter wonderland. When I asked about it many people told me it was tacky and I didn't really know why. So this is the reason for this thread, understanding why names are perceived in a certain way. Same with Destiny which made me think of a cute pilgrim girl before I came here.
I am just interested how this happens to names, it is not a thread where I want people to hate on certain names, I am really interested in how names are used in different societies.
Just as an example, I always though Crystal was extremely beautiful. It made me think of snow crystals and a winter wonderland. When I asked about it many people told me it was tacky and I didn't really know why. So this is the reason for this thread, understanding why names are perceived in a certain way. Same with Destiny which made me think of a cute pilgrim girl before I came here.
I am just interested how this happens to names, it is not a thread where I want people to hate on certain names, I am really interested in how names are used in different societies.
This message was edited 4/24/2017, 10:50 AM
1
Do you get a snow crystal association from Amber? Amber for some reason is a very fiery name to me :D The opposite of Crystal which is clear, white and blue. Amber is orange and red and warm :) I really like Amber too, and the Italian version Ambra. The French Ambre is quite fashionable currently!
1
Nadine is cute. Clarisse and Nadine are very nice for sisters :) I love the classic, old French names like Eliane, Noelle, Madeleine. I hope they will make a comeback in France soon, at the moment many 4 letter, 2 syllable names are common in France and I am a little tired of all the similar sounding names I hear all the time now: Lina, Lena, Louna, Lana, Lea, Lola, Lou, Louane, Lilou ahhhhh :P I mean some are nice but they all sound so similar and there are so many of them.
1
I like it a lot, but it is not a classic, it only became common quite recently. At least from my personal impression. The oldest one I know is 29 years old and I know quite a few younger ones. I think names ending in -ïs and -ys are becoming really fashionable in France. A friend of my mom who is a lawyer in Paris and I guess among the trendsetters there, she is a bit of a hipster, just had a little Thaïs. Anaïs was super common too but it is getting less common now.
This message was edited 4/25/2017, 1:44 PM
1