Baby name consultant and mom of three Colleen Slagan has a ton of baby names she absolutely loves. But there are a few aspects of the baby naming process that give her “the ick.” She recently shared a video on TikTok of her top five baby name icks.
"I'm usually not one to post negative baby name content because I just feel bad offending anybody who just had a baby," the Boston-based consultant tells TODAY.com. "Hopefully people can find entertainment in it."
Slagan has been fielding messages from people asking if their baby name is on her "ick list."
Let's take a closer look at Slagan's baby name icks.
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Overly matchy names
Slagan doesn't love sibling names that sound "too similar," like Lyla and Layla.
"I'm very particular about matching," says Slagan. "I have a three-letter rule: no two kids should have the same three letters overlapping in their name. For example, Emerson and Madison."
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Stealing someone's baby name
Just saying your hypothetical baby's name out loud does not give you the sole right to use it. At the same time, you should be careful about using a baby name you heard from someone else.
"I do think there are times when you can't claim a name, but if someone's told you a name and then you go and use it because you got the idea from them, I do think that's messed up," says Slagan.
Unusual spellings
Spelling a name in a nontraditional way is common in some areas, but Slagan is not a fan. She also doesn't love when people take a prefix and a suffix and slap them together (for example, "-leigh" at the end of multiple names).
Slagan says that there are ways to make your baby's name unique without creating a new way to spell it.
Critiquing a baby name without being asked
"That's for the grandparents out there," Slagan laughs.
Eliminating family names
"Sometimes I see people saying that using your dad or mom or grandpa's name is like not giving your child their own original identity," says Slagan. She disagrees.
If you want to keep a family name but want your child to have something that's uniquely theirs, Slagan suggests trying a nickname. "If you're a John, you could be Jay, you could be Jack, you could be Johnny, you could be Tripp if you're the third, you could be Penn if you're the fifth," she says.
"I'm a big fan of going through the family tree for inspiration, and I love the idea of carrying on that legacy," she adds.
Slagan closes the conversation with a hot take about baby naming: She doesn't think it should be a 50/50 decision between parents.
She says conspiratorially, "I think the person pushing out the baby has a bigger stake."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
