12 Once Normal Baby Names . . . That Pop Culture Basically Ruined
You may think that pop culture has NO BEARING on what you name your kid . . . but even if YOU didn’t think about Michael Jackson when you call your son “Blanket,” everyone else will. (???)
Lifehacker.com has a list of 12 “once normal” baby names that pop culture basically ruined. They are:
1. Karen . . . It’s now a meme for a specific kind of entitled white lady.
2. Mario . . . It’s now basically 100% associated with a video game character.
3. Chad . . . Like Karen, it’s now a meme for an “alpha dudebro”-type.
4. Katrina . . . Most hurricanes don’t ruin the human names they are given, but Katrina wasn’t an ordinary hurricane.
5. Hermione . . . It wasn’t a super common name before “Harry Potter”, but it was considered an “exotic” option. Now, it has a much different vibe.
6. Adolph . . . Arguably, the king of negatively associated names.
7. Siri and Alexa . . . They’re now associated with somewhat-creepy digital assistants, and to use them you call them out by name. That said, Siri was never a “normal” name, right?
8. Dick and Fanny . . . They’re slang terms for naughty parts of the body.
9. Donald . . . This name will now be associated with Donald Trump . . . for better or worse. “Hilary” could’ve also made the list. And to kids, it’s connected to “Donald Duck.”
10. Waldo . . . There will always be “Where’s Waldo?” jokes.
11. Damien . . . Ever since “The Omen” came out in 1976, the name Damien has been connected with supernatural evil.
12. Guy . . . No specific pop culture connection . . . at least outside of “Flavortown” . . . but it’s so widely used as a stand-in for boring, “generic member of the male species.” Like, “just a guy.”
