Chavtastic names

[Ed]

Ere, our Cortnee's in fuckin trubble again, innit?

I was googling for suitable chav names for a character, and I stumbled upon this article in the Daily Mail (usually a middle class rag full of 'worrying' stories), about how teachers can guess how much of a nightmare each kid is going to be by their chavtastic name - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=363230&in_page_id=1770&ct=5

Quote:

Teachers also fear names with a hyphen, such as Bobbi-Jo and Jean-Marie. Variants of common names - for example, Kloe and Hollee - inspire similar trepidation.

An online discussion running to 20 web pages started when one teacher wrote on the Times Educational Supplement Internet site: 'I went through my new class list and mentally circled the ones I thought would be difficult. I reckon I have a 75 per cent hit rate.'

The name that 'inspired the most dread' was Paige. Subsequent contributors listed their own most feared appellations - ranging from Storm to Nokia. One scathingly claimed such youngsters are from 'chav' backgrounds.

These are the girls' names that made the teachers blanch - some with comments attached: Adrienne (kiss of death - spiteful, sneaky or both), Alanna, Ashleigh, Britney, Candice, Chantelle (spawn of the devil), Chelsie, Chelseigh, Chloe (nasty, spiteful).

Cindy (always a pain in the a**e) Courtney, Cortnee, Cortnie (trouble), Danielle (a nightmare), Jade, Jodie, Jordan (pretty bad for a girl), Kayleigh (a pain), Keeley, Keira (live in fear), Kimberley, Kylie, Leanne, Leigh, Lou-Lou, Mia, Paige, Poppy (hyperactive and not very bright), Stacey, Tyler (lesson disrupter).

[bintarab]

Something like this always has me seething. I am a teacher, so I back up tons of research with first-hand experience: the "self-fulfilling prophecy" is absolutely a true phenomenon, one that is devastating for so many kids as this article shows. I'm so mad I could spit! Did these very teachers never once question their own role in enforcing stereotypes and reproducing hierarchies?

Aaaargh!

~bint

[Ed]

Well, there are teachers, and teachers, aren't there? Some of the teachers I've had in the past were deeply flawed individuals, and some that I know today are people who shouldn't be around impressionable kids, IMO. Some are quite obviously hanging onto their sanity by the most slender of threads. In fact, I can only ever remember one teacher from the whole of my school experience whom I thought was great at her job. I learned loads from her, but she sadly packed it in the year I left school, because one of the girls in my year punched her in the face for asking her to put her cigarette out (on school grounds).

As for the names, TBH, I can see some of logic to what they're saying. Of course you can't stereotype people like that, but I've noticed that some names make me think of certain types of personality, although there are many other factors to consider in addition to the name, and even then it's obviously less than scientific. And thinking about it, the name of the kid probably says more about the parent than it does about the kid. For instance, somebody who would name their kid 'Hollee' would earn my undying scorn, because that poor kid is going to have to spell that stupid name for every person who ever wants to write it down. The name 'Holly' is fine, though. Our neighbours (whom I regard as a couple of knobs) have just named their kid 'Natascha'. Why? Well, because they're a couple of knobs. Now the kid is either going to play up to that programming, or rebel against it, so it could go either way for the kid, but the parents will always be knobs, IMO

[Sallyq]

Interesting discussion, and having been born a Tracy, I can attest to the fact that people expect certain things of you when you have an 'Essex girl' name. But I don't wear white stilettoes and tiger print mini skirts and I do know where 'East Angular' is. I do have a brother called Darren and an aunty called Sharon, so the whole family is bloody doomed (but we're not chavs by any stretch of the imagination!)

I also have a granddaughter called Mia ...ahem (and yes, she is a bit hyperactive, God love her).

I should add that the reason I chose the pen-name Sally Quilford is that I was convinced no-one would take a 'Tracy' seriously. This was long before Tracy Chevalier came along though. I've now reached the point where more people know me as Sally than know me as Tracy. In fact if I counted the people who call me Tracy now, I probably wouldn't use up all ten fingers.

[rsmccoy]

Forgive this ignorant Colonial, but are Chavs England's version of Poor White Trailer Trash?

So the point was that there are Chav like names so teachers assume they are stupid and low class? That's truly sad. I'm fairly certain there is no direct correlation between income brackets and intelligence, especially for a child.

I agree with Ed on the Knobs (what is the origin of the UK use of Knob?). Anyone who gives their kid a screwed up name is a Knob. When we were expecting both our kids, we tried to come up with girl and boy names as everyone does. We got two girls, but my goal if we had a boy was to give him a name that didn't get his ass kicked on the playground and one he wouldn't have to explain.

My full name is Richard Scott McCoy. My mom decided before I was born that I would be a boy (good luck that), and what my name would be. She also decided (my dad could care less), that I would be called Scott. I didn't know my first name was Richard until I hit 7th grade when the teachers don't know you and role was called. I corrected the teacher and was then corrected by him. Since then, I have had to explain it about a million times, which is why I settled on R. Scott McCoy on my work business cards about 20 years ago, in hopes that people would make the connection without me explaining it.

Names are important and powerful. Having to explain one's name constantly is a source of embarrassment and can hurt one's confidence, especially at a young age. Of course, like the boy named Sue, it can also make you tough, if it doesn't brake you.

This is only the opinion of an American Chav (Oooo, I like that, has a nice ring to it. Perhaps a story title??).

[bintarab]

This is why half my female cousins are name "Nadia" or "Nada" -- the name is Arabic but acceptable to Americans (and pronounceable!) who often don't recognize it as an Arab name (thank you, Ms. Comaneci).

I have a cousin who legally changed his name from Naser to Zachary (also an Arab name usually not recognized as such) after 9/11.

Also after 9/11, my sister-in-law and brother were looking for good names for their baby expected in April. They had trouble finding a good boy's name. I was living in Jordan at the time and told my friends about this, and my close friend immediately suggested "Usama." I thought she was joking. "What's wrong?" she said. "It's a beautiful name!" Well, yes, it's actually a beautiful boy's name in Arabic, but out of the question, as I reminded her. For the next month or so, many people spontaneously suggest "Usama" as a boy's name. The name is that lovely in Arabic!

There's a documentary out there -- I've forgotten the name of it now -- interviewing 4 men after 9/11, all of whom are named "Usama." The film-maker was trying to find out what it's like to have that name in these times. One is Canadian, but I believe the others are US American. Anyone here know the name of that movie?

~bint

[Ed]

Oh dear Yeah, I think naming your kid Usama after 9/11 would be a lot like naming a kid Adolf in the 1940s. I feel even more sorry for people with an infamous surname. Imagine having the surname 'Hitler' - you would never live it down, ever. A funny name can be even worse than an infamous one, though, Id have thought. There's a few families around here with the name 'Blackadder', which was probably a pretty cool name until the comedy series came out. At that point, the whole lot of them went ex directory. There is still one guy named Batman in the phone book, but I bet he gets a lot of crank calls. Poor bugger.

I don't know how you'd define a chav, TBH. I suppose they're just working class people with bad taste, who are fixated on bling. They're kind of showy white trash, I suppose.

[Geoff_N]

Sally, when I met up with JCB (James) last week, we talked about avatars and pennames. He really thought you were a Sally Quillford. I said think about that last name. His face dropped cos he'd always thought of Quillford as a total entity! hah.

When I was at school, two of my friends had names - Keith Tingley, and Billy Toes. The class register was always read out in alphabetical order of surnames only.  For 5 years I couldn't stop smiling at every registration time! 

Geoff

[PaulH]

I work in schools a lot and have to say that the name thing only holds up so far. A lot of those came across recognisably from my experience, but others I frowned and shook my head. Spawn of the devil for me would have to be Lauren. It's one of those things where you do prejudge I suppose but hopefully teachers then take as they find.

My fave chav name ever was the person on another site related the story of how his thickie chav neighbours had named their daughter 'Wyverny'. It sounds bad enough like that, until you realise they spell it 'Yvonne'!

[SharonBell]

I do have a brother called Darren and an aunty called Sharon, so the whole family is bloody doomed (but we're not chavs by any stretch of the imagination!)

OMG!! Are you my niece?? 

[Ed]

 

[Sallyq]

Well if we take the six degrees of separation thing to the nth degree, Sharon, probalby

Geoff, I'm afraid you've got it completely wrong, though you're not the first to make that connection and it didn't occur to me till a friend mentioned it years ago. Quilford is actually a genuine family name, and was the maiden name of my two great-grandmothers Millicent and Patience (my nan and grandcha were first cousins, ... yeah, I know ... )

[delph_ambi]

My Mum is her sister's cousin, but we won't go into that. 

Pupils names... hmmm... I have a pupil called Akiko, who is incredibly polite. Almost a caricature of the ultra-polite Japanese lady. Then again, I have a quiet, intelligent pupil called Paige, which goes to prove it isn't the ultimate thick chavvy name, whatever people might think. My pupil Adrianna is clever, and will likely end up as a barrister, whereas my pupil Kathryn is thick. At Christmas, I was amused that the one pupil who'd gone to the trouble of making me a Christmas card, and who raved about the school nativity play, was Rekhmat - who's Muslim.

I think the stereotypes are more accurate with boys. I've yet teach a child genius named Dwayne, Wayne or Barry .

[Sallyq]

My uncles married the same woman too, Delph. At different times, I hasten to add (we don't seem to do boundaries in our family).

[delph_ambi]

Yeah, similar idea. My Grandfather married two sisters, then his daughter by the first sister married her uncle. Makes drawing family trees quite tricky. 

My husbands have been no relation to each other, or to me, I hasten to add.