Names you hate?

[Weird Harold]

Good thing I'm past my childbearing years, or "Honeysuckle Valentine" would be on my baby name list as of now!
For a boy- "Valentine Satori"

I sort of borrowed that from a cell-phone comercial where an aging Hippy mother is chastizing her daughter "Honeysuckle <something> <something> <something> Smith" for exceeding her prepaid minutes.

I've always liked unusual "hippy" names but lost the argument with my Ex over bestowing "November Dawn" on my first daughter.

In many ways, the characters in my stories are my children and the same considerations over what to name them come into play. How easy is it to say (or read)? How will others react to it; will it cause problems growing up or make things easier? What nickname will it generate?

The difference between naming children and naming characters is that I can indulge my low sense of humor and baser instincts with characters. I can be one of those parents with horribly bad taste who don't think about living with some of the verbal atrocities inflicted on children. It gives me the oportunity to play "what if" and make the most dire predictions of doom over th effect a particular name can have on personality and life experience come true or be overcome.

Anachronistic names drive me nuts. I don't think an 18th century serving wench would be named "Tiffany" (no matter how big her tits are!). I can't read the rest of the story without thinking about what else might not be "true".

That's pretty much the problem I have with anachronistic names -- if the author doesn't know what names are appropriate, how much other research did they skimp on?

 

[Stella_Omega]

I sort of borrowed that from a cell-phone comercial where an aging Hippy mother is chastizing her daughter "Honeysuckle <something> <something> <something> Smith" for exceeding her prepaid minutes.

"AUTUMN YOU GET BACK HERE 'FORE I WHUP YOUR BUTT!!!"

I'll always treasure hearing that, in a highway rest stop in Georgia...

 

[Darkniciad]

I don't really have any names I hate... I can't imagine ever using Brittany or Todd, even in a real world story.

Because I write primarily in fantasy, my names tend to be off the traditional scale in most cases. Darkniciad, Thakkorias, Cerebus, Arilee, Zoraster, Danica...

I'm quickly trending toward names that I can shorten into nicknames with ease. My latest side series is offering me a lot of flexibility between the nicknames, proper names, and titles. Royalty and rulers are nice to work with for that additional layer of limited redundancy.

My characters tend to name themselves, however, so I don't have a great deal of control over the whole thing really.

 

[john-the-author]

Fern, Enid, and Agatha come to mind as women's names I can't stand.
Hubert is the only male name I can think of right off the top that I dislike.

 

[Guest]

.....

 

[TheeGoatPig]

.....