A school teacher has humorously requested “thoughts and prayers” after sharing a class list of names that have been labelled the most “awful”.
Teachers and educators come across a myriad of children from diverse backgrounds throughout their careers, encountering a vast array of names – and their various spellings.
While most parents put considerable thought and effort into naming their offspring, for some, the drive for a name’s “uniqueness” trumps all, leading to some unconventional choices. Some unique names can be charming and inventive, while others may not be as well-received, particularly when traditional names are spelled in non-phonetic ways to appear different or more distinctive.
In the run-up to Valentine’s Day, one teacher decided to post their class list on Reddit. The list is typically distributed among students to ensure no one is overlooked during card exchanges. It featured less conventional names such as Kurstein, Averiella, Raeleigh, Paisyn, LaKendren, Emmitt, Kohen, alongside more widely accepted names like Ella, Ian, Shane, Jesse, and Wyatt.
Alongside the list, the teacher jokingly wrote: “Thoughts? Opinions? Prayers?” prompting fellow Reddit users to share their views. One person queried: “So…it’s pronounced Kur-stine? Like a beer stein? Because that’s how I’d be saying it.”
The teacher clarified: “It’s Kirsten”, accompanied by a grimacing face emoji. Another individual remarked: “Kurstein?! Geez.”
The name Paysin particularly drew attention, with one comment reading: “Paisyn is so, so bad” and another simply stating: “PAISYN?” A third person added: “Paisyn is just so awful I’m sorry to those affected” which elicited the response: “Yeah my brain record scratched on that one.”
Someone else recounted: “My toddler has a classmate named Payson. He’s very sweet but the name is unfortunate. Paisyn is somehow leagues worse.”
Another contributor expressed: “I read it as Pai-sn, or poison with some kind of accent. Not sure which accent though.”
A Reddit user reflected on their appreciation for their children’s school policy on Valentine’s cards: “At my kids’ school, if we choose to give Valentine’s cards we can only address them as ‘to my friend, from Name.’ Now I can see why haha.”
Another joked: “Fist bump to Jesse. Keepin’ it real, my man.”
And someone else pondered the generational trends in naming: “Is this a trend with millennial parents, or has it always been like this? Gen Z and I don’t remember kids in my class having names like this, even if the name was ‘made up’ it was at least easy to pronounce and spell – and my school was pretty diverse across ethnicities and classes.”