You know how some countries are so restrictive they actually determine what people can name their children?  Every once in a while, I think that’s not such a bad idea.  Here are some examples of names that get on my nerves.

A common name made fancy by adding random letters.  If the kid’s name is Lindsey, for instance, don’t spell it Lynndzziee.  It’s annoying, and they’re sure to end up on a stupid reality show like Bachelor Pad.

Don’t let your child end up here.

Trendy names.  Please look around and see if there are a thousand other Emilys or Ashleys or Britneys  (Brytnees?) out there before naming baby.  Otherwise you’ll get a kid who continues to whine as an adult on her blog about how her name is common and she is supposed to use an initial after it, but she won’t, because they can’t make her.

Food names.  Apple, Cherry, Candy, Cookie, Yogurt, etc.  Someone might eat your kid.

Someone say Coooo-kiiiie?

Calling a child by its middle name.  People will never get it right. Ever.  They’ll be forever called by their first names.  They will complain, like my mother and brother do.

Changing boy names into girl names.  Ever notice how once a girl gets named something that was once a boy’s name, it forever becomes a girl name?  For instance, Kevin is a typical boy’s name.  First time you find a girl named Kevin, forget it.  All older Kevins will have to deal with people thinking they’re girls.  And they’ll whine about it too.  I know my father does.  We might just be a family of whiners.

Now everyone thinks I’m a girl!!!!

Last names as first names.  This is really popular these days.  Especially the presidential trend.  Kennedy, Madison, Reagan, Clinton, Garfield, Bush, etc.  What happens if one of these people marries someone with that last name?  Hello there, Mrs Kennedy Kennedy, how are you?

Weather Names.  Stormy, Sunny, Windy, Rainy, Hurricane, Tornado, etc.  If I want to know the weather, I’ll look outside.

Hey, now I know what to name our baby, honey!

Naming all your children similar sounding names.  Nicholas and Nicole, for instance.  It’s like the same freaking name.  Or worse having a Britain, Braxton, and Breydon in the same family.  Your kids really don’t have to have matching names.  They’re not furniture.

Sparkly names.  Rainbow, Star, Love, Angel, Destiny, Unicorn, Effervescent, etc.  Just, stop, please.

Do not name your child after a Lisa Frank poster.

Vampire names.  Speaking of sparkles, if you want to saddle your kid with Edward, fine, but please don’t say it’s from that insipid book.  Your kid will figure out he’s named for a fancy, prancy fake vampire his mom had a weird thing for and he’ll hate you.

Naming siblings for lovers.  For instance, you have a boy and a girl named Romeo and Juliet.  Why would you do that?  It’s just icky.

Stupid nicknames. We can’t always control this one, but sometimes people purposely choose to call their kids stuff like “Corky”, “Rusty”, “Chuck”, “Spot” and the biggest offender . . .

Yup. Honey Boo-Boo.

Handing down awful names hidden in the middle name.  There’s just no reason to give a kid the name Bertha, even if it’s Jennifer Bertha.  Let’s just leave that one in the past, shall we?

Naming a child for the place where she was conceived.  Would you want to think about your parents and, well, that when you’re a teenager?  I didn’t think so.  So no naming your kid First Street Diner, no matter how strangely special that place is to you.

So these are my biggest pet peeve names.  What are yours?