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As much as I find those names objectionable, a child's entire life will not be ruined. They can change it when they turn 18.
Childhood bullies and trauma can cause emotional damage well into adulthood. Just because someone turns 18, doesn't mean their childhood vanishes from memory.
Yes, they can change their name, but why put a child in that position to begin with? Why put them through 18 years of misery?
I don't get the reason behind giving kids these horrible names. I would love for the mom to give an interview explaining why she went with such a name.
My wife is a kindergarten teacher in Minnesota. She had a child named Abcde in her class a few years ago.
You know what? The kids - neither the child with the name nor her peers - don't know that it's a name that sends some adults running for their name safe-space. They have to be taught that.
Whining about someone's name is the very definition of a first-world problem.
I’ve worked with elementary school kids (not as a teacher) and, from my experience, the name teasing doesn’t start in kindergarten. Kids that age are still trying to get their letters down pat. I didn’t witness any name teasing in 1st grade either. It’s in 2nd grade when it really starts, especially for the kids with really long names or names that don’t automatically fit the grammar and phonics rules they learned to that point. Case in point, had a student once named Siobhan and the kids would purposely mispronounce her name or put emphasis on the wrong syllable (mind you these are kids who, up until that point, pronounced her name correctly in previous grades). It’s right around 2nd/3rd grade that I would bust out a copy of Chrysanthemum and remind the kiddos that bullying kids with different names isn’t cool. For some kids, that lesson never takes hold.
This little girl is 5yo. Probably not an issue now and I bet she’s loving arts and crafts projects where her name has to be spelled out. Let’s see how she feels about it in 3 years (or course it depends on the type of school she attends, if any and if she stands out or not). I just can’t picture that name on a diploma hanging on a wall, or even on a resume. Abcde is never going to be taken seriously professionally.
No offense, but I feel like a lot of the here saying “it’s just a name, no big deal” are probably white. Black kids with “weird” names are almost automatically labeled as “ghetto” and assumed to have low IQ/poor education (or straight off the boat from Africa). Asian and Latinx kids with “weird” names are almost automatically assumed to be foreigners (hence why so many adopt a more common Western name, even if they were born in the USA). Even poor whites with “weird” names are maligned. Ask folks from these demographics what is was like growing up with a “weird” name. Studies have already shown employers discriminate against people with names like these. If a photo of Abcde’s pretty blonde hair, blue eyes, and straight suburban teeth isn’t accompanied with that resume, it may just get tossed to the side. It’s not fair of course, but it’s reality.
No offense, but I feel like a lot of the here saying “it’s just a name, no big deal” are probably white. Black kids with “weird” names are almost automatically labeled as “ghetto” and assumed to have low IQ/poor education (or straight off the boat from Africa). Asian and Latinx kids with “weird” names are almost automatically assumed to be foreigners (hence why so many adopt a more common Western name, even if they were born in the USA). Even poor whites with “weird” names are maligned. Ask folks from these demographics what is was like growing up with a “weird” name. Studies have already shown employers discriminate against people with names like these. If a photo of Abcde’s pretty blonde hair, blue eyes, and straight suburban teeth isn’t accompanied with that resume, it may just get tossed to the side. It’s not fair of course, but it’s reality.
I'm not sure why you are trying to make this about race. Little Abcde Redford is a blonde hair white girl.
Naming your kid Abcde is foolish. Save the strange names for cats and dogs.
This I agree with I just don't understand why you would name your kid Abcde and the agent was wrong to insult or mock another person's name which is uncalled for.
I'm not sure why you are trying to make this about race. Little Abcde Redford is a blonde hair white girl.
Umm, that was my point. I’m alluding to real life studies that have been done regarding names, especially in regards to employers. Another poster brought it up as well, but I think people of other races are particularly aware about how having a “weird” name can negatively influence other’s opinions of you. I’m black and would be ultra wary of the names I give any future kids. This was even a topic of conversation on a popular TV show, Black-ish. It’s practically a trope in pop culture about how certain names bring up certain connotations. She won’t face as many negative assumptions as she would have precisely due to her race and perceived socioeconomic status. You can complain about “making it about race”, but some of the key things a name can tell us about a person is their gender, ethnicity, culture, upbringing, etc., and many people try to guess at these things before meeting a person.
Look, I'm not a cruel or mean person but I have been laughing at this all day. Texted my mother about it and laughed. At work. To my husband.
Just watch the newsclips and listen to the newscasters trying to pronounce it, and then spelling it. That is hilarious.
"She has a unique name...it's spelled A-B-C-D-E."
It's like the movie Spaceballs where the combination to the lock is 1-2-3-4-5.
I truly, truly feel sorry for the little girl and it's sad that she will grow up facing an unnecessary hardship, and absolutely what the employee did was wrong.
But I'm still laughing that there is a person out there stupid enough to name their kid that. I've heard some stupid names in my life, but this one takes the cake.
"The existence of the name came to public attention in December 2014 due to a news story about a seven-year-old girl with the name.[1] This prompted the news portal Vocativ to look into the statistics of the given name.[2] It was revealed that 328 girls were named Abcde in the United States between 1990 and 2014.[2] The name was given to 32 girls in 2009 alone. The phenomenon seems to originate in Hawaii, where the first baby to be named Abcde was born at the Kona Hospital on October 19, 1986. The name became more popular and five more babies born in 1990 were named Abcde. The name appears in the episode of Studio C "You're SO Lucky!"[3]
In November 2018, a five year-old girl named Abcde was allegedly mocked by a Southwest Airlines gate agent at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA.[4] The ensuing news coverage compelled the airline to publicly apologize and privately reprimand the employee.[5]"
Abcde is one of the worst and least original names in existence (not at all original being just the first 5 letters of the alphabet). Parents think they're being cool and unique with these stupid "trendy" names, but they're setting their kids up to be made fun of and not taken seriously for life.
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