The Most Hated Baby Names

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Just don't name them Jayden and Brayden. (Image credit: Dreamstime)

There is no scientific study on the most-hated names, but these results, culled from hundreds of online message board postings by Baby Name Wizard blogger Laura Wattenberg, suggest that people have very strong opinions about what makes a good name.

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Girls:

  1. Nevaeh ("Heaven" spelled backward and one of the most divisive names around, according to Wattenberg.)
  2. Destiny (People dislike names that confer a virtue onto a child, Wattenberg said — and many felt associated this name with exotic dancers.)
  3. Madison
  4. Mackenzie
  5. McKenna
  6. Addison (An example of a masculine named turned feminine, which many people dislike, Wattenberg said)
  7. Gertrude (People said this name is "ugly.")
  8. Kaitlyn (For its "made-up" spelling.)
  9. Makayla
  10. Bertha
  11. Hope

Boys:

  1. Jayden
  2. Brayden
  3. Aiden
  4. Kaden (These rhyming names struck many as overdone, Wattenberg reported.)
  5. Hunter (Too much like a last name or "too violent.")
  6. Hayden
  7. Bentley (People dislike brand-name names, Wattenberg found, calling them "trashy")
  8. Tristan
  9. Michael (Too boring, according to some.)
  10. Jackson
Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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