“Kody, But Spells It Chode”: 35 Names That Are Practically Asking For Trouble

To learn a bit more about names and how to choose a great baby name, we got in touch with naming expert, founder of Namerology.com, and author of The Baby Name Wizard, Laura Wattenberg. Laura was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and remind readers that, thankfully, most of the names on this list are simply hypotheticals. "Even most of the claims of, 'I met a kid named…' are urban legends!" she noted.

The expert also says it's important to be empathetic when discussing names. "When it comes to real names, it’s always worth remembering there’s a real child attached. Don’t be too quick to insult a name, even online," she noted. "The child WILL find it, and it will hurt."

When it comes to bad baby names, Laura says there are two kinds: "names that are not what the parents intended, and names used as a weapon."

"Parents occasionally choose a name not realizing the way it will come across to others. They may not know a word or a cultural reference and are blindsided by people’s reactions," the expert noted. "It can even come down to a matter of spelling, like Analie vs. Anally."

"The rarer case is names chosen maliciously," Laura says. "For instance, I’ve heard of instances of a husband insisting on a particular girl’s name, only for his wife to later discover it was the name of the woman he was having an affair with. Then there was the family that chose Nazi names deliberately to upset people. No child should be used as a weapon."

But the good news is that, even if you truly hate your name, you can always have it changed. "More adults are changing their names than ever before," Laura shared. "Your name is your identity in word form; the way you’re presented to the world. If you honestly believe yours doesn’t represent you well, changing it can be a reasonable choice."