This Aggressive Baby Name Trend Is 'Alarming' Experts

[Diamond_Dog]

Good grief …….

***********

Some parents draw baby name inspiration from sources like family history, geography or even their favorite foods and brands. Others look to literature, music and pop culture. Still others get ideas from a more surprising source: weapons.

“There is a small but noticeable trend of parents using weapons-inspired ― and, more broadly, aggressive ― names for their sons,” Sophie Kihm, the editor-in-chief at the website Nameberry, told HuffPost. “Many of these names first appeared on the baby name charts in the 2000s, including Wesson, Caliber, Shooter and Trigger.”

Weapon-inspired monikers that parents have chosen in recent years also include Blade and Cannon, as well as brand-related names like Remington, Colt, Ruger and Winchester. Arson, Cutter and Dagger are among the other names with a violent edge in recent data from the Social Security Administration.

(snip)

BabyNames.com founder Jennifer Moss believes some parents are drawn to weapon names for their sons because they feel “threatened” by recent cultural shifts toward broader acceptance of gender identities and expressions outside the traditional gender binary.

“Assigning these overly violent names might be a reaction to the fear that their son might have less-than-masculine traits,” she said. “So these parents assign a dictionary word name that has been traditionally associated with aggression or strength, hoping to instill those characteristics into their male offspring.”

“Weapons-inspired names convey masculinity without being traditional male names,” Kihm added. “They are at once undeniably masculine and extremely modern. We associate weapons with men and masculinity, so these parents might have more conservative values around gender.”

More

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/weapon-baby-names-trend_l_66fc3db0e4b0d70dca9f58f9

[DenaliDemocrat]

1. And this is why Germany has a state-approved name list

lol! One should not name your child as if he were your birddog!

[Shermann]

13. FALSE

The German registrar's office does have the authority to reject names that are deemed offensive, inappropriate, or not clearly identifiable as a name. Additionally, male children must have male names and female children must have female names. So, there is a kind of unwritten list based on cultural norms, but not an official whitelist.

Names can be rejected in the US as well by the states, but we are more lax about it.

[Celerity]

33. Naming law in Sweden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_law_in_Sweden

The naming law in Sweden (Swedish: lag om personnamn) is a Swedish law which requires the approval of the government agency for names to be given to Swedish children. The parents must submit the proposed name of a child within three months of birth. The current law was enacted in 2017, replacing a 1982 law. The Swedish Tax Agency administers the registration of names in Sweden. The law has been revised since originally enacted; in 1983, it was made possible for a man to adopt his wife's or partner's name, as well as for a woman to adopt her husband's name.

The 2017 law states, in part: "First names shall not be approved if they can lead to discomfort for the person bearing the name, or for any other reason is unsuitable as a name" (§ 28). This text applies both when parents name their children and when an adult wants to change their own name. Unlike the 1982 law, the 2017 law gives the Swedish Tax Agency the ability to charge a fee for requesting to change your name. The law states nothing about registering which name is used on a daily basis, but the tax authority can register that if requested.

[WarGamer]

74. to use the most overused word of 2024... "that's fascist"

[blm]

80. I would say 'socialist' and 'commie' are overused, but,

still, unsurprised at your pov.

[question everything]

43. After WWII, in Italy one had to choose a name of a saint, to prevent Benito

I don’t know if this is still in effect.

[milestogo]

2. Arson?

If we name him arson he may end up in prison, but at least he'll be a "man".

[JohnnyRingo]

4. I thought it was a play on words.

He may end up in prison but he'll still be "Our Son"

[milestogo]

8. That would be a lot better.

[wnylib]

66. Arse could be his nickname.

[milestogo]

67. ...

[JohnnyRingo]

3. My grandkids are popping babies so fast I can't remember all the names.

I know my latest great grandson is named Maximus, but his older sister is named Mahliya or something like that.
There's an Avery too, but I like that one. I don't know where that comes from.

[Rebl2]

40. I remember

a character on Murphy Brown named Avery. It was Murphy’s mother’s name and her son’s name. I rather like that name.

[Walleye]

51. Maximus Naughtious

[Stardust Mirror]

62. Avery?

What kind of name is that to label a child with?

[DBoon]

78. Well that is what you call the child when you adddress them

[Mossfern]

81. I think it's a fine name

I know a great kid (now an adult) named Avery.
Why do you object to it?

[WENSTJDON]

68. I have a grandchild named Avery

I like the name too.

[tanyev]

5. Not surprising for a culture where many celebrate the Prince of Peace by displaying their family arsenal:

Link to tweet

[newdeal2]

6. Were Rape, Assault, and Theft taken? nt

[eppur_se_muova]

17. Give it time. Of course, the name 'Trump' would cover all of those. nt

[sop]

7. Wesson, Caliber, Trigger, Remington, Colt, Ruger, Winchester, Arson, Cutter and Dagger.

At least it'll be easier for schools to identify potential mass shooters in a few years.

[milestogo]

9. There must be a kid or two out there named AR-15

Its such a deeply loved weapon.

[sop]

12. I remember something a few years back about a hardcore Star Wars fan naming his kid R2-D2.

[Renew Deal]

14. Trigger isn't a great name for a bunch of reasons

Neither are Arson, Cutter, Dagger. You have to think about the impact on the kid and ridicule the kid will face might be worse than the fear of the gay.

Kids will find their own paths in life despite their parents.

[Shermann]

15. It's an OK name for a horse. nt

[Renew Deal]

16. lol, I agree

[milestogo]

22. People don't always think about dog names.

It needs to be something you can yell without alarming anyone. Something that rolls off the tongue. Because you're going to be yelling Napoleon Bonaparte, get over here right now!

Anyway, I knew a guy who named his greyhound Danger. He would be at the dog park yelling Danger, Danger. And everyone but the dog would look at him.

[Renew Deal]

25. lol

[Renew Deal]

10. This is why I named my son AK Lastname XLVII

[Takket]

11. this is one of those "like, 50 people have done it, so let's write an article about it to spark outrage" articles.

[yardwork]

18. I had the same thought.

A small number of people have always named their children weird things.

[Hieronymus Phact]

55. Calling Moon Unit.

Moon Unit Zappa to the front desk please.

[Xavier Breath]

19. Perhaps those naming their kid "Wesson" are just really intense Florence Henderson fans.

This is our son. He has Wessonality!

[SickOfTheOnePct]

20. 😂😂😂

[milestogo]

23. Or they cook a lot.

[GoCubsGo]

38. My first thought went to the cooking oil, as well.

I suspect that's the case for a whole lot of people, and I feel sorry for those kids, because of it. They'll probably be catching a lot of crap, thanks to unintended consequences of what they were named.

[ITAL]

21. Maybe not the others

But I've seen Colt as a name for years. I think I even had class with one 30+ years ago.

[Renew Deal]

27. It is also the name of one of the guys on the Bachelor show that was a football player

That announced he was gay.

[GoCubsGo]

35. How many of them were actually named "Colton"?

Which has been a somewhat popular name over the past 20ish years. I've seen a lot of Coltons shortened to "Colt," much the way one would shorten Ronald to "Ron."

[ITAL]

39. Good point

I don't actually know, but you may be right about that!

[Igel]

41. I've had both "Colt" and "Colton" on my official.

Those are their legal names.

Back then it was either "young horse" or one of the many surnames moved a position or two earlier in the name.

https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-colt for whatever academic worthiness the site might have.

[Think. Again.]

50. "This is your doorman, Colton"

(from some 80's tv show)

[MLWR]

57. That was Carlton (your doorman).

The show was Rhoda.

[Think. Again.]

71. Ha! I stand corrected!

[JoseBalow]

63. "This is Carlton your doorman" was from Rhoda, in the 70's

[Think. Again.]

72. Thanks! For some reason I forgot that!

[sop]

52. A grade school teacher friend tells me she suddenly had a bunch of kids named Cody, Madison, Tyler,

Kyle, Seth, Hunter and, yes, Colt in her class one year. When I was in school every other kid was named Jimmy, Bobby, Billy or Tommy.

[Baitball Blogger]

24. It will be easier to eliminate them as potential mates

When they grow up.

[Aristus]

26. I take it these fuckweasels are calling their daughters

things like Submission, Deference, Brood-Mare, and the like…

[Celerity]

29. Brood-Mare is the most accurate

[Diamond_Dog]

46. Yep! You got it, Aristus.

Don’t forget Demure ….

[DBoon]

79. or they will be like the ancient Romans and just number their daughters

Daughter number one, daughter number two, ...

Because women had such low status in Roman society that, unlike dogs, they did not deserve names.

[Johonny]

28. They are all good male porn star names

[Prairie Gates]

30. I know a guy who named his kid Gunner

But said it was a variant of Gunther.

[Igel]

42. Knew a "Gunnar" once.

Then again, in college the guy a few doors down in the freshman door was "Jan", pronounced "yon".

[Clouds Passing]

61. Gunnar is the Swedish spelling

[Ocelot II]

64. The Scandinavian name Gunnar has nothing to do with guns, but

it does mean "warrior."

[Clouds Passing]

65. I thought about that after I posted. Doh!

I had an Uncle Gunnar from Sweden

[Ocelot II]

69. But it turns out that the word "gun" is derived from an Old Norse word

relating to war or battle; so the word "gun" and the name "Gunnar" apparently have the same ancient origin. You weren't wrong! https://www.etymonline.com/word/gun

[Clouds Passing]

70. Whew! Thanks!

[Oopsie Daisy]

31. Traditional names like: A.A. Ron, Dee-nice, Jay Quellin and B'Lakay... so old fashioned!

[Ocelot II]

32. Howitzer? Kalashnikov? Glock? Mauser?

So many possibilities! "Trebuchet" also has a sort of classy vibe although it's not a firearm, but it can do a lot of damage so it would be a great name for your manly manchild.

[Duncanpup]

34. I named my furry son

Duncan actually my wife named him.

[Diamond_Dog]

47. In all honesty I think of Duncan Hines cake mix

But then I am weird.

[CousinIT]

36. The latest MAGA "anti-woke" trend, I guess. Pfft. nt

[eShirl]

37. Wesson cooking oil and Roy Rogers' horse Trigger

at least they'll have Wessonality

[Dem4life1234]

44. And where are the mothers?

So many women in this country suffer from internalized self hatred.

How do you look at yourself as a mother and name your child such a violent name? Have you no self respect?

Trash at its finest. And these are the types of boys with no shit parents who will grow up to become violent thugs or general miscreants. Good luck finding a viable job with those names, and these are the same types of people who picked on black people for "Afrocentric names". I hate this country.

[dalton99a]

45. Shooter is lame and generic. Use School Shooter. Or Gatling, Claymore, Predator, Reaper, ...

[58Sunliner]

82. Bundy, Hannibal, Zodiac...

[jmowreader]

48. I see massive numbers of Name Change Petitions in coming years

Action Requested: Petitioner wishes to change his given name from "Glock Carbine Jones" to "Samuel Leroy Jones."

Reason for Requesting Name Change: Petitioner believes the name on his birth certificate is fucking stupid. As he has become known among his friends and employers by the name of his favorite actor, he desires that it be made his legal name.

[bronxiteforever]

49. America is a gun

England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.

― Brian Bilston

[Paladin]

53. Nice of these fuck-head parents to give such obvious warnings to the rest of us.

Just don't let your kids play with their kids. Under any circumstances.

[GiqueCee]

54. A good friend of ours...

... has a nephew named "Entropy." How's THAT for sadistic parents?

[Sky Jewels]

56. This country is well beyond redemption.

It's overflowing with violent, hateful, racist, sexist fucking morons.

[MLWR]

58. My first thought was "Lance."

[Clouds Passing]

59. Next they'll name their kids Fuck, Bitch, Asshole....

OMG

[LisaM]

60. I don't know what the answer is.

For one thing (and this was the norm for a long time) there are always nicknames. I read a book series growing up where three of the main characters were named Catherine or Katherine, but were known as Beany, Kay, and Miggs. This used to be much more common. Nicknames develop, usually, too.

There are other odd trends too - naming kids "Sir" or "Prince". Barron. Tiffany.

Don't get me started on quarterbacks. Colt, Stetson, Landry. And didn't the Palins name Bristol after a race track?

[swong19104]

73. There's gonna be a lot of women

who will be choosing the bear in 15 years.

[hardluck]

75. Why am I supposed to get worked up over this?

From the article:

“Most of these names peaked in use relatively recently — Wesson in 2021 when it was used 306 times, Caliber in 2018 with 24 uses, Mace in 2022 with 64 uses, Dagger in 2022 with 13 uses,” Kihm noted. “It’s hard to say if these names have truly peaked in use or if some will go on to greater use, but I don’t think we’re past this trend yet!”

So Wesson was used 306 times, caliber 24 times, mace 64 times, and dagger 13 times. Who cares?

For shits and giggles I went to the SSA baby name popularity webpage to check each of the names listed - only 3 broke the top 1000 baby names in 2023 - Wesson, Cannon, and Colt.

In 2023, Wesson ranked 949 with 237 babies named Wesson or .013% of births.

In 2023, Cannon ranked 636 with 430 babies named Cannon or .023% of births.

In 2023, Colt ranked 264 with 1298 babies named Colt or .071% of babies. Of course, the name Colt could easily be in reference to the horse.

So in total, the names mentioned in the article represent about .11% of babies names in 2023. This doesn’t seem like much of a trend to me.

Btw, for anyone who wants to check, here’s the SSA website: https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html

[no_hypocrisy]

76. 2010: New Jersey Couple Loses Custody of Son Named Adolf Hitler

The New Jersey parents who gave their children Nazi-inspired names including Adolf Hitler lost custody after a state appeals court ruled that a history of domestic violence puts the children at risk of abuse and neglect.

Court documents show that the oldest child frequently threatens to kill people and the mother once slipped a note to a neighbor saying she was terrified of her husband because he said he would kill her.

Adolf Hitler Campbell, 4, and his two younger sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, 3, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, 2, will remain in the care of the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).

-snip-

The family made headlines back in 2009 when a ShopRite supermarket in Greenwich, N.J., refused to inscribe Adolf Hitler Campbell's name on a cake for his third birthday. At the time, police and child protection officials took the children into protective custody, declining to reveal the exact reason but indicating it was not because of the children's names.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/parents-cannot-regain-custody-children-nazi-inspired/story?id=11334970

[TomSlick]

77. I had a boss decades ago in the Army whose son was named Claymore - like the antipersonnel mine.

We all joked that his daughter's name was Flachette but that wasn't true (I think).

[Retrograde]

83. Hardly new

a lot of common names of Norse or Germanic origin have 'aggressive' roots: Gertrude means something like "Mighty Spear", names ending in -olf or -ulf refer to wolves, etc. We don't think of them as militant because we're used to them.

IMHO, people should give their kids traditional names, such as Faith, Hope, Charity, and "If-Christ-had- not-died-for- thee-thou-hadst- been-damned"

[AwakeAtLast]

84. I have students named Remington and Ruger

Remington's brother is named Hunter.

[Straw Man]

85. To be fair ...

.... Remington, Colt, Ruger, and Winchester are all family names of the founders of the respective companies. Of course, using surnames as given names is its own peculiarity, e.g. Mackenzie, Lincoln, Ellison, etc.