People are sharing their surprise and amusement over the list of the 10 baby names most commonly regretted by new parents in the United States.
When it comes to choosing a name for a newborn, new parents look to everything from popular culture to nature for inspiration, while others find it more meaningful to pass down family names.
However, according to baby name consultant Stephanie Coffield, who goes by @nameswithsteph and who recently created a TikTok about the most regrettable baby names, there are certain instances where these choices just don’t work out.
Coffield shared the “biggest baby name regrets” in the US in a TikTok video posted in August, in which she referenced data provided by the Social Security Administration to The Washington Post earlier this year, and noted that one of the most common reasons behind the name changes are misspellings.
“Let this be a lesson to look up your child’s name ahead of time,” Coffield jokingly reminded her followers, as she revealed that the names most commonly changed, according to the list, are Issac and Chole, which are misspellings of Isaac and Chloe.
“The misspelled names are killing me,” one person wrote in the comments under the TikTok, while another asked why the spelling mistakes happen so frequently. “Wait do nurses not double check the spelling…? ‘Ma’am are you sure you want to spell ‘Chloe’ like that?’” they wrote.
Someone else revealed: “My nephews name was spelled Issac instead of Isaac we couldn’t tell if it was intentional or not.”
The list also includes the name Aiden, in third place, while Conner, an unusual spelling of Connor, is in fourth place. As for the rest of the names, Coffield noted that there is nothing really “uncommon” on the list, as it includes popular names such as Elliot, Michael, James, Isabella, Sophia and David.
“There’s nothing really uncommon that was a name change,” Coffield said.
The baby name expert also shared the list of the “most-adopted names” in the US, with the correct spellings of Isaac and Chloe unsurprisingly in first and second place, while the names Sebastian, William, Olivia, Michael, Elijah, Matthew, Connor and Jonathan also made the list.
“This seems like just a case of names that were already commonly given to children, so of course they are high on the regret list,” she said.
Interestingly, the inclusion of Sophia on the list of most-changed names comes after the moniker dropped in popularity from number one to the fifth-most popular name last year, according to BabyCenter, which notes that Isabella is currently in sixth place.
As for the most commonly adopted names, data from BabyCenter shows that these monikers are likely inspired by the names increasing in popularity, with Elijah currently in fourth place, while Sebastian has risen to 17th place, a jump from the 19th spot in 2020.
“People tend to abandon names that are falling rapidly in the ranks of most popular baby names - such as Aiden - and to adopt names that are on the rise, such as Sebastian,” The Washington Post noted.
While many of Coffield’s viewers were interested in the data, others jokingly claimed they found the list offensive. “Ouch for Sebastian lol that’s my oldest’s name,” one person wrote, while another said: “As a David I’m offended.”
As for the most popular baby names of 2022 so far, BabyCenter reports that Olivia is currently in first place for girls, while Noah has remained in the top spot for boy names.
