Names You Hate in Stories

Claire.
Ari.
Aria.
Cody.
Jason.
Tyler.
Jennifer.

When every single character in the story has to have a weird/unusual name.

Usually names aren’t going to be good if the author has to search through pages and pages of names to find a cool name with a meaning to match the character’s life. I usually just choose the first name that comes to mind, and then rather than making the character suit the name, I write the character and then the name suits them without any baby name websites.

The worst are usually from OCs in fanfiction though. Here is my list of OC names I have disliked:
Aphrodite (what)
Shayla
Aven
Rin
Laila (I like the name Layla, but this spelling/pronunciation I don’t like)
Zaria
Juniper

I just don’t understand why people can’t just use a normal, everyday name if their character has a normal and everyday personality. A character’s name doesn’t change their personality, so a simple name is sometimes the best.

Rayne.
Just....no.

Skylar
Or anything someone seems to think is 'Scene'

Just stop
please.

hephaestus:

Rayne.
Just....no.

And it's funny because I loved the name Rayne/Raine/Rainn before I started getting into writing.

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Laila, Chelsea, Abby, Jessica, etc. - those 'mean girl-type' names.

Razorblade, Razor, Blade, Rayne/Raine, Skylar, Payge, Aiden/Ayden, Jayden, Kayden, Ebony, Ember, Lexii/Lexy, Willow, Rose, Holly, Jade, Eve, Brandy, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Shadow, Scar, Ever, Lyric, Roxii/Roxy, Athena, Midnight, Nygth, Raven, Ivory, Kade, Kadence, Blaze, Zane, Blood, Maddox, Stryker, etc.

I mean come on. Who in their right mind names their child Razorblade or Midnight? Unless you're 12, 'emo'/'scene' and pregnant I'm doubting anyone would name their child that.

And with certain fandoms they'll give the OC a name that has something to do with the band.

Like A7X stories. I can't count how many times I've read one of these and the OC's name is Synthia, and she is in love with Syn. Another time I saw one where each of the band members had an OC. Mattie was paired with Matt. Jimmie was paired with Jimmy. Synthia was pared with Syn. Zacaric/Zackiesomething was paired with Zacky. And Johnnie was paired with Johnny. I mean, come on. Seriously?

And Asking Alexandria stories almost always have the OC girl that Danny falls in love with who is named Alexandria.

I don't mind if you create a whole different universe, because then you're able to create whatever names you want because that universe, those people, are yours.
However, if it's in this universe, I'd appreciate it if you checked and then re-checked the trending names of when your character was born. That's what specifically irritates me.
Oh, and if your character (or one of them) is called Moonlight Windcatcher, I'm leaving you for good and not reading another story of yours. I don't care if you promise to change, you've already written that story and that name; I just can't forgive you for that.

Ebony, Skylar, Raine, Moonlight or anything else that blatantly screams scene. ESPECIALLY in stories where Avenged Sevenfold/any other band of that genre are used. It's the single reason I internally groan when comment swap sends me that way.

Also, using Greek/Roman God names. Unless it fits your story or has some meaning, then calling the character Jupiter, Athena, Apollo or Pandora sounds silly. And I hate people using the name Aphrodite. At all.

People born in the late '90s with what could be classed as 'old-fashioned' names. Like spewyourwordsout said, check the trending names for the year the character was born before naming them something like Beatrice.

I am going to write up a list of these names and write a story with the names people hate just for my own amusement.

I agree with the original post. I hate it when author's use names like Raven or Raine or Midnight. That just annoys me more than anything else. If they want to use Gothic names they should do a little research into them and make sure that name actually fits the premise of the story. Having a girl called Midnight in one of those happily ever after things is lame to the nth degree.
I also hate the name Grace (no offense to anyone called Grace for the record), I just don't like the name since every Grace I've ever come into contact with has been anything but "graceful".

@ everybody dies;
I'm not sure I totally agree on your last point about old-fashioned names. A lot of parents give their kids "classic" names, or a name that has been in the family for a long time. Like, I know two Eleanors and a Dorothy who are my age. Also, some names are "old-fashioned" but don't seem like it because they're timeless--Evelyn, Charlotte, Elizabeth, James, Louis, Samuel, etc. Those were all top 100 names in 1920. I've also known two Beatrices who were younger than me.

But I do see where you're coming from, for sure. :) I mean, I don't think some kid born in '94 would be named like, Gertrude or Herbert.

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It seems like everyone hates the name Skylar, which I find kinda strange cuz I've known sooo many Skylars, both male and female.

@chai latte
I agree about the old-fashioned names - I know a lot of people with names that would be considered old-fashioned, including a Beatrice who's the same age as me. Some names would never be used these days, but like you said, some are definitely timeless - I don't think you can categorize every name as either 'modern' or 'old-fashioned,' because some are a mixture (for instance Eleanor is probably the most common girls' name at my school, but it's still considered fairly old-fashioned).

@ chai latte
Yeah, Charlotte and James and that are fine, they're still fairly popular and still crop up in the top 100 nowadays. Beatrice was probably a bad example :') It just seems that the older names that are kinda phasing out are used on here to the point that it annoys me slightly xD

Raven
Skye
Lacey
Hannah
Annie
Angela
Tylor
Frankie
Kaitlyn
Zoey
Jade
Elizabeth

This one takes the cake in my book...you ready?

Crayon.

For a girl -_-

@ That Is Mohagony
Totally laughed out loud and snorted when I read that. Was her boyfriend named Marker?

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"Luna". 'Nuff said.

I can't stand when the main character is name Coco Clio Sera and her sister is named Brittany. The naming is just so inconsistent that it's unbelievable.
On a different note, I have to say that most of the names you dislike are used quite often here. I know a twenty year old female named Kaiden, one named Shilee, and one of my friends is named Chancey. But people here tend to get a bit creative with their names.
Personally, I tend to stick with somewhat unconventional names, but not so much that they're ridiculous. My current favorites are Genie, Nessa, and Marcy.

The name Stacy.

Idk.

Alex. Which is ironic because that's my name but when I'm reading a story with the name Alex as the leading female or male character, I just feel weird. And as if I'm that person. It's especially when this character Alex is a horrible person, and I'm just thinking "No I'd never do that!" Idk. I'm weird.

John, James, Bob, Sarah.

@ tempest.
I am not a fan of Stacey/Stacy either.