50 Names People Once Encountered And Couldn’t Forget Because Of How “Yooneek” They Were
Interview With ExpertIn today’s world, we’ve grown used to hearing some pretty unusual names, especially with celebrities leading the way by naming their children things like Apple, Blue Ivy, and North.
However, these choices often pale in comparison to those shared on the subreddit ‘Tragedeigh’, where people reveal the most bizarre and creatively spelled names they’ve encountered. In one of their posts, we found some truly jaw-dropping examples. Check them out below and upvote the ones that surprised you the most!
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Vegan. "Vegan, come sit down and eat your burger." Actually heard this. They were eating McDonalds.
I used to work with a woman in her 30s named pebbles. customers would always ask, “is that your real name?” and she’d be like, “unfortunately.”.
To understand why parents are choosing unconventional names for their children, Bored Panda got in touch with baby name blogger Abby Sandel.
In the US, Sandel observes that fewer children are receiving top-ranking names compared to fifty, twenty, or even ten years ago. She views this trend positively. “We’re less bound to traditions, freer to choose names that reflect our heritage, identities, and values, and just plain open to more creative names than in the past,” she explains.
This growing acceptance has paved the way for more unique options. “If we meet kids named River and Willow, we’re more open to choosing, say, Canyon and Marigold for our own kids,” Sandel notes. But not all modern names are as extreme. Nature-inspired, surname-style names like Wrenley, Oaklynn, and Wylder are particularly popular these days. However, in the quest for originality, parents sometimes end up with choices that sound quite similar. “Classrooms are filled with girls called Lily, Lilah, Lola, and Lyra. Four different names, but easily confused!”
Justin Sane. Mom swore she didn’t realize.
Somewhere in the world there is a person named Delicious Bush. I engraved a corporate award for that person 25 years ago and never forgot the name.
Twins named Deevious and Keevious. Deevious in particular—both crooks but it feels like someone named Deevious was doomed from birth.
They were identical and at some point got identical tiger tattoos on their right arms so it was always fun figuring out which one you had and if the warrant was for him or his brother.
As far as I know Keevious is still around but Deevious tried to rob the wrong dude in midtown Atlanta a few years ago. Rest in Peecious.
Evolutionary biologist Dr. Mitchel Newberry believes there is an evolutionary reason behind why parents opt for less typical names. In his research, he analyzed databases of names in the US over the last century and found that they go through what he describes as ‘boom and bust’ periods.
When a name becomes very popular, it often ends up being perceived as too common by new parents. Consequently, the more popular a name gets, the less likely future parents are to choose it. This phenomenon is known as negative frequency-dependent selection.
“If people are always thirsting after the newest thing, it creates a lot of new options,” says Dr. Newberry. “Every time a new name is created, it gets attention, allowing rarer names to become more common, leading to greater diversity in the population.”
Pistol, she’s a kid in my son’s class. Siblings include Remington and Colt.
But while standout names like River and Wylder tend to be well-received, others raise quite a few eyebrows. God, Famous, Casanova, Elmo, and Vader are among the most eccentric baby names Sandel came across last year. “The line between strange-amazing-cool and strange-wait-what is pencil thin, shifts over time, and varies dramatically from person to person,” she writes on her blog.
“Assuming we choose unusual names with our eyes wide open, I think they can be great,” Sandel tells us. “Parents need to recognize that a really different name will require more frequent repetition and spelling, as well as questions. And even if you love that really different name, chances are someone in your life will not. That’s okay, but it’s best to be prepared that grandma might not like the idea of calling her grandchild Wonder, Givenchy, or Gnash.”
“Of course, your child might grow up and wish for a more conventional name,” she adds. “When in doubt, it’s better to name your child Wonder James than Wonder Givenchy. A little bit of balance can make a bold first name feel more wearable.” Ultimately, the decision is entirely in your hands.
An old school friend named their daughter something like Aevyrleighy (Everly) I know I've spelled that wrong, because no one is ever gonna spell that right.
And my cousin's daughter's name is Emyhleigh (Emily). .
Felony. Poor kid.
Crazy-Excitement-684: I met a newborn with the name. Her parents were step siblings and thought they were immensely clever.
Revenge, Chaos, Ransom, and Rage. Not related but I was their teacher (different years.) Always made me scratch my head and feel bad.
Felatia. She worked with my sister at a pizza place. I was dumbfounded when I read her nametag.
I've worked with a Justin Case, and an electrical engineer whose surname was Sparks.
An old money family named their son Richard Breath. His parents them nicknamed him - D**k. Not Rick. He's an elected official in my town. Met him in a bar. They said meet D**k Breath . I lost it cause I heard dickbreath! 30 years ago. I'm still laughing E
Escherichia - this could conceivably be a girl's name, but it's what the E. in E. Coli stands for. The couple that named their daughter this were biology teachers. She'd be about 16 now.
Not in “real life,” but while doing family history research, I found a woman in my family with the name Heterogenous Clementine. Nicknamed Hettie Clemmie.
I had an aunt named Forest Fern. Not kidding. She went by Pete. Still not kidding.
A male co-worker named Sugarplum Fruitcake. The name fits him well though.
I went to elementary school with a girl named Quinnzola. My friend said it sounds like a cooking oil lol.
Someone in my town is named Knickolle.
Sound it out. It’s the same name as mine (except mine is the usual spelling) and it took me a good 30 sec to realize that.
Bodacious Jr.
I also met his father, the senior Bodacious.
My dad approved name changes as part of his job. He had someone come in to change his name to Pythagymus Toadstool.
Mine won't be the worst but it triggered me with the hyphen. Jake-ub. I cannot unsee it. It haunts me.
Jacsun. Just... Why? It was on his name plate outside his office.
I was doing voter registration and I met a guy named T. His first name was the letter T and his last name was unremarkable. He showed me his ID, he was very proud of this fact.
My paternal grandmother had a brother named A. That was it. Last name Taylor.
Velveeta.
Geccika -_-. Her parents actually chose that, it wasn't some edgy teenage desire to be yooneek.
Took a couple tries: Gekicka, Guess-ika, Gechika... Jessica!
Daexia (pronounced day-ja).
LaSagna. She was married to one of my forklift drivers. I thought he was kidding,until she brought him lunch one day.
Traeh. It is Heart spelled backward.
I will never understand people who name their kids Karma.
JesusIsLord. No joke, that was his first name. Went by Jesus.
Abcde pronounced absidee.
There was a girl at my work named Ambiyen. No idea what her parents were thinking.
Expensive. A woman named her baby girl this. Truly WTF.
Mom wasn't wrong, kids ain't cheap to raise. Doubt I'd name my kid that though.
Harmonica.
Capers. His last name was weird too. Word beginning with A that means “crooked or in disarray.” Ends with W and sound like “ask you.” (Trying not to doxx.)
I also once rode a Greyhound bus with a little girl named Kiwi Strawberry NormalLastName. I know because her mom full-named her when she was misbehaving.
Maighdelynne.
Bridalveil. It was about 15-20 years ago. I saw her ID and that was her actual, legal name. Pronounced exactly like it sounds: bridal veil 👰.
Freya Andrikitis Zork and her brother Noah Zork. Say his name out loud a couple of times.
Ahhnjellyka (Angelica).
There really needs to be a dedicated person at every maternity ward in the world armed with a rubber bat, able to smack sense into people thinking about giving their child a stupid name.
had one named Golden Hymen. poor kid is probably in high school or early college by now.
Load More Replies...I overheard a girl called Atlas at an airport. Not only is Atlas in Greek myth male, he is also one of the Titans who tried and failed to overthrow the Greek gods and is sentenced to hold up the Heavens for eternity. So, naming your daughter after a male failure and prisoner is pretty big.
On the same line of technically a name but why. Artemis for boys, why name them after the one Goddess who didn't really like them? Same but not as horribly bad with Athena. Neither of those are unisex names no matter what any name websites say.
Load More Replies...An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman were talking about what they had named their sons. "I named my son George after St George's Day" said the Englishman. The Scotsman comments "What a coincidence, i named my son Andrew after St Andrew's Day" and the Irishman said "Same here! I named my son Pancake!"
I wanted my son to have a personalised car number plate, so I called him BTX 382W.
I worked with a woman who named her daughter "Chevelle". She thought it was a pretty word she invented. I pointed out to her that "Chevelle" was once a model of Chevrolet. She got really upset, thinking she had invented that word. Her daughter was five years old, yet no one noticed this, or mentioned it to her.
She had invented the name. She just hadn't invented it first
Load More Replies...Funniest thing is Americans calling girls Veruca after Veruca Salt in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. It was an insult A verruca is a wart you get on the sole of your foot.
My mother's first name is Jimmie. Her parents never expected to have children, as my grandmother was nearly 40 when my grandfather returned from WWII. She got pregnant and they decided that the child would be named after him, James Alfred if it was a boy, Jimmie Sue if it were a girl. Some people cannot comprehend that Jimmie is her real name.
Checked an ID on a guy when I worked in retail because his credit card requested it. Hand to god, his name was Lancealot Knight. He said his parents had a sense of humor. Still think it's the best name I've ever come across.
I had a student whose name was Primadonna, and my mum was Olive Green before she married my dad!
I saw a little boy 1 time named Shithead, the mother pronounced it as Sha-theed. I hope he gets it legally charged when he's old enough.
Real names I've encountered: Cheryl Noble, Misty Snow White, and Sparkles.
Someone at a fast food place I was at years ago wore a name tag that read "Philosopher." Also met a woman at healthcare place, her name tag read "Nugget." I hope that hers at least was a nickname!
Load More Replies...The Governor of Texas, James "Big Jim" Hogg named his daughter "Ima Hogg". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg
When I was a kid I desperately wanted a cool and unusual name, but with the benefit of hindsight I'm glad I got a relatively mundane one. After all it's the things that you do which make you who you are, not the name you got slapped with at birth.
I spent my primary school years promising myself that I would change my name to Guinevere as soon as I was old enough. I got over it.
Load More Replies...I forget the comedians name, but he did a bit about his buddy JB. JB put on his drivers license application J only B only. And then they all laughed at Jonly Bonly.
My school's grading system is named qmltiv (I don't remember the exact spelling) and pronounced cumulative?
My sibling and I encounter unusual first names often in our professions: Cinderella, Vagina (VAG-INA), Doctor, Lawyer, Pride, Sir, Lord, Lady, Esquire, Creed . . .
Legitimate First or Leggie, a character from the Discworld. https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Legitimate_First
I actually like the name Stringfellow (IYKYK) but even I'd think twice about naming my potential kid that nowadays. Some of these names are just "Heh?" -_-"
Best name I ever came across was Ruby Champagne. Nice lady, too! When I was in high school in the 70s, there was a flyer up on the bulletin board with photos of students from elsewhere in the country who had won some kind of school awards. One of these students was named September Swann.
I knew someone whose first name was Guy & the last name was Payne. 😅 Shortman syndrome who thought way too much of himself
We went to Montana's and our waiter was called Steak. Real name. We had someone in a committee named Tigerwood + last name. First time I encountered someone named Darlene, I was about 8 and I thought she was saying Darling and I thought she was named after the Disney movie with the 2 dogs (that was 50 years ago mind you). The only thing that came through my head, and I told her, is that she must have been really loved by her parents (then she corrected me on her name). LOL.
I remember reading about a woman who named her daughter Sexy Beth, and got angry with the teachers at the girl's school just calling her Beth.
I have a person in my company named Geekette. Not sure if it's a hard G or J sound. But... It made me look twice.
I student taught 7th grade. The poor girls name was "Shithead" pronounced "Shh-theede".
First of all, there was a fairly wealthy man in Pittsburgh history (kid of Henry Clay F***k) named Childs F***k. Childs! Second of all, I was reading something and came across the name in the acknowledgements 'Judah I. Septimus,' which is an excellent name. Edit: So I just discovered that BP considers 'F***k' to be a Bad Word, but luckily if you edit a post the censor-bots forget to check it, so on behalf of anyone with a vaguely Bad -sounding last name: f**k your s****y censorship BP, I'm going to open the door with a k**b to get to the p**n if I want to!
I notoced a lot of these had normal names just spelled different from what they are spelled normally.
In this thread I learned there are people that are happy with the government telling them which names they are allowed to name their OWN children because they dislike the spellings of certain names even though it doesn't affect them and they are free to name their own kid and have them be the 100000th Thor Thorson if they want.
The issue isn't weird spellings. It's stupid names like "Chevette" (that's the name of a car) or "Velveeta" (an actual brand of cheese). Children should not be saddled with stupid names that will get them bullied throughout school.
Load More Replies...Maybe people should be required to pass an IQ test before having children.
And to think Aloysius (not my name) was considered a weird when I was growing up. Sometimes, I think governments writing laws dictating name lists is ridiculous (e.g. Iceland). Stories like this show that it's necessary.
I have two, my son goes to school with a kid named Jay-Z and my neighbor watches a kid named Diablo, as in another name for the devil. 🙄🤦♂️
Grunt. Our son is "Javier". But - Mrs. TriSec is Basque. We toyed with the Basque spelling, which is "Xabier". It's pronounced the same as Spanish. But in America, he'd be called "x"-avier. So we didn't do that.
I work with a woman whose middle name is Euthanasia. I won't mention her first name but think of it like a feminine version of Hercules. Her surname is the name of a famous saint who got his head cut off for marrying lovers against his emperor's decree.
- A celeb couple in my country named their son Anakku Lelaki, which literally means My Son. - A girl I knew was named Santa Klaus (or was it Sinterklas?). A Muslim girl. Had no idea how she was named so. - I also know of a woman whose name is sorta phonetic spelling of Lady Diana in my language (Laidy Daiyana)
In my country was a boom of girls named Ladys (not a typo) for Lady Diana, but mixed with worse midnames like Ladys Yenny, Ladys Jhoanne, Ladys Maria...greetings for all the ladys i meet in school lol!
Quarina AKA Corina. I thought it was so cool. Someone I knew pointed out her mom just didn't know how to spell.
I am 100% convinced that this is how the name "Anfernee" came into existence. They couldn't spell (or pronounce) "Anthony." I could be wrong of course, I've never heard how that came to be.
Load More Replies...Only in America..... In my country atleast 90% of the names here wouldn't be approved. And rightly so. To me this is one the things that make the USA such a stupid country.
"My government controls which names we are allowed to name our own children but it's that one country that's stupid!" ~ You
Load More Replies...There really needs to be a dedicated person at every maternity ward in the world armed with a rubber bat, able to smack sense into people thinking about giving their child a stupid name.
had one named Golden Hymen. poor kid is probably in high school or early college by now.
Load More Replies...I overheard a girl called Atlas at an airport. Not only is Atlas in Greek myth male, he is also one of the Titans who tried and failed to overthrow the Greek gods and is sentenced to hold up the Heavens for eternity. So, naming your daughter after a male failure and prisoner is pretty big.
On the same line of technically a name but why. Artemis for boys, why name them after the one Goddess who didn't really like them? Same but not as horribly bad with Athena. Neither of those are unisex names no matter what any name websites say.
Load More Replies...An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman were talking about what they had named their sons. "I named my son George after St George's Day" said the Englishman. The Scotsman comments "What a coincidence, i named my son Andrew after St Andrew's Day" and the Irishman said "Same here! I named my son Pancake!"
I wanted my son to have a personalised car number plate, so I called him BTX 382W.
I worked with a woman who named her daughter "Chevelle". She thought it was a pretty word she invented. I pointed out to her that "Chevelle" was once a model of Chevrolet. She got really upset, thinking she had invented that word. Her daughter was five years old, yet no one noticed this, or mentioned it to her.
She had invented the name. She just hadn't invented it first
Load More Replies...Funniest thing is Americans calling girls Veruca after Veruca Salt in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. It was an insult A verruca is a wart you get on the sole of your foot.
My mother's first name is Jimmie. Her parents never expected to have children, as my grandmother was nearly 40 when my grandfather returned from WWII. She got pregnant and they decided that the child would be named after him, James Alfred if it was a boy, Jimmie Sue if it were a girl. Some people cannot comprehend that Jimmie is her real name.
Checked an ID on a guy when I worked in retail because his credit card requested it. Hand to god, his name was Lancealot Knight. He said his parents had a sense of humor. Still think it's the best name I've ever come across.
I had a student whose name was Primadonna, and my mum was Olive Green before she married my dad!
I saw a little boy 1 time named Shithead, the mother pronounced it as Sha-theed. I hope he gets it legally charged when he's old enough.
Real names I've encountered: Cheryl Noble, Misty Snow White, and Sparkles.
Someone at a fast food place I was at years ago wore a name tag that read "Philosopher." Also met a woman at healthcare place, her name tag read "Nugget." I hope that hers at least was a nickname!
Load More Replies...The Governor of Texas, James "Big Jim" Hogg named his daughter "Ima Hogg". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg
When I was a kid I desperately wanted a cool and unusual name, but with the benefit of hindsight I'm glad I got a relatively mundane one. After all it's the things that you do which make you who you are, not the name you got slapped with at birth.
I spent my primary school years promising myself that I would change my name to Guinevere as soon as I was old enough. I got over it.
Load More Replies...I forget the comedians name, but he did a bit about his buddy JB. JB put on his drivers license application J only B only. And then they all laughed at Jonly Bonly.
My school's grading system is named qmltiv (I don't remember the exact spelling) and pronounced cumulative?
My sibling and I encounter unusual first names often in our professions: Cinderella, Vagina (VAG-INA), Doctor, Lawyer, Pride, Sir, Lord, Lady, Esquire, Creed . . .
Legitimate First or Leggie, a character from the Discworld. https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Legitimate_First
I actually like the name Stringfellow (IYKYK) but even I'd think twice about naming my potential kid that nowadays. Some of these names are just "Heh?" -_-"
Best name I ever came across was Ruby Champagne. Nice lady, too! When I was in high school in the 70s, there was a flyer up on the bulletin board with photos of students from elsewhere in the country who had won some kind of school awards. One of these students was named September Swann.
I knew someone whose first name was Guy & the last name was Payne. 😅 Shortman syndrome who thought way too much of himself
We went to Montana's and our waiter was called Steak. Real name. We had someone in a committee named Tigerwood + last name. First time I encountered someone named Darlene, I was about 8 and I thought she was saying Darling and I thought she was named after the Disney movie with the 2 dogs (that was 50 years ago mind you). The only thing that came through my head, and I told her, is that she must have been really loved by her parents (then she corrected me on her name). LOL.
I remember reading about a woman who named her daughter Sexy Beth, and got angry with the teachers at the girl's school just calling her Beth.
I have a person in my company named Geekette. Not sure if it's a hard G or J sound. But... It made me look twice.
I student taught 7th grade. The poor girls name was "Shithead" pronounced "Shh-theede".
First of all, there was a fairly wealthy man in Pittsburgh history (kid of Henry Clay F***k) named Childs F***k. Childs! Second of all, I was reading something and came across the name in the acknowledgements 'Judah I. Septimus,' which is an excellent name. Edit: So I just discovered that BP considers 'F***k' to be a Bad Word, but luckily if you edit a post the censor-bots forget to check it, so on behalf of anyone with a vaguely Bad -sounding last name: f**k your s****y censorship BP, I'm going to open the door with a k**b to get to the p**n if I want to!
I notoced a lot of these had normal names just spelled different from what they are spelled normally.
In this thread I learned there are people that are happy with the government telling them which names they are allowed to name their OWN children because they dislike the spellings of certain names even though it doesn't affect them and they are free to name their own kid and have them be the 100000th Thor Thorson if they want.
The issue isn't weird spellings. It's stupid names like "Chevette" (that's the name of a car) or "Velveeta" (an actual brand of cheese). Children should not be saddled with stupid names that will get them bullied throughout school.
Load More Replies...Maybe people should be required to pass an IQ test before having children.
And to think Aloysius (not my name) was considered a weird when I was growing up. Sometimes, I think governments writing laws dictating name lists is ridiculous (e.g. Iceland). Stories like this show that it's necessary.
I have two, my son goes to school with a kid named Jay-Z and my neighbor watches a kid named Diablo, as in another name for the devil. 🙄🤦♂️
Grunt. Our son is "Javier". But - Mrs. TriSec is Basque. We toyed with the Basque spelling, which is "Xabier". It's pronounced the same as Spanish. But in America, he'd be called "x"-avier. So we didn't do that.
I work with a woman whose middle name is Euthanasia. I won't mention her first name but think of it like a feminine version of Hercules. Her surname is the name of a famous saint who got his head cut off for marrying lovers against his emperor's decree.
- A celeb couple in my country named their son Anakku Lelaki, which literally means My Son. - A girl I knew was named Santa Klaus (or was it Sinterklas?). A Muslim girl. Had no idea how she was named so. - I also know of a woman whose name is sorta phonetic spelling of Lady Diana in my language (Laidy Daiyana)
In my country was a boom of girls named Ladys (not a typo) for Lady Diana, but mixed with worse midnames like Ladys Yenny, Ladys Jhoanne, Ladys Maria...greetings for all the ladys i meet in school lol!
Quarina AKA Corina. I thought it was so cool. Someone I knew pointed out her mom just didn't know how to spell.
I am 100% convinced that this is how the name "Anfernee" came into existence. They couldn't spell (or pronounce) "Anthony." I could be wrong of course, I've never heard how that came to be.
Load More Replies...Only in America..... In my country atleast 90% of the names here wouldn't be approved. And rightly so. To me this is one the things that make the USA such a stupid country.
"My government controls which names we are allowed to name our own children but it's that one country that's stupid!" ~ You
Load More Replies...