What to Know
Some of us are worse than others when it comes to choosing baby names. That’s just a fact of life, and the sooner we admit to our wrongdoings when it comes to choosing baby names, the better. I will die on the hill of the names I chose, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little guilty that one kid will never find his name on a keychain and the other kid was named after a fictional character. I know, I know. So when one TikTok user shared a video where he says “burnout parents” choose names that set kids up for failure from the start, I kind of understand that on a visceral level.
Some unique names that parents choose are actually that, and they set kids apart from others in a positive way. Other names, however, are just too kitschy and too outlandish to be taken seriously. Do those names really mean the kid will grow up to be mediocre at best? Not necessarily. But according to the TikTok, some name choices certainly don’t help in the matter.
@killuaxpilgrim #burnoutchallenge #nameideas #badchoices ♬ #3 – Aphex Twin
“Burnout” parents choose some of the worst baby names.
The TikTok user points to some specific names, but he also says, in general, parents don’t pick the right names for their kids sometimes.
“I feel like parents name their kids stuff that don’t even give them a chance at life,” he says. “Like, I feel like there’s a lot of burnout names. Like, why would you name your kid Xander?” He later adds, “I remember I used to know a dude, that his name was Blaze. Like, I don’t know what he’s doing now, but I feel like that name just brings your credit score down.”
Shoutout to all of the Blazes with credit scores above 700.
To the same tune of “burnout” names, though, someone added in the comments under the video, “I have twins in my kindergarten class. Sativa and Indica.”
Even if the TikTok creator struck a nerve with other users and their own name choices for their kids, some left comments to share their personal hatred for specific names. Others added that they believe there really is something to the idea of a kid’s “burnout” name being a clue of who that kid will be, even if there isn’t necessarily any science behind that.
“My cousins named their kid Riot. He’s got severe autism and aggression challenges,” one user wrote in the comments. “Not saying they jinxed him but like…RIOT.”
Another added, “I knew a kid named Blade in grade school who had anger issues, but later in life I met him again and he changed his name to Toby and became a mental health counselor.”
OK, if that one is true, then maybe there is something to adopting a certain persona because of your name. I mean, if this Blade kid hadn’t become a counselor, then he probably would have wound up fighting vampires as a daywalker, a la the movie Blade.
Other names that people are now shunning as burnout parent names or just awful names in general are, per the comments, Cash or Kash, King, Stormy, and Brick, among others. Sometimes, strong and unique names can be fitting for kids to grow up with the mentality that they too are strong and unique. But we don’t all have to make such statements, do we?
