April 14th 2024.
Have you ever met a teenager named Sharon? As we all know, our names play a significant role in shaping our identity, and for the most part, we come to embrace and cherish the names we are given. However, one particular teenager feels that her parents did her a disservice by naming her Sharon. She recently took to Reddit to share her frustrations, explaining how her "granny" name has caused her anxiety and embarrassment when introducing herself.
Sharon expressed her dislike for her name, mentioning that no one expects an Asian girl to have such a moniker. She feels uncomfortable saying it out loud and hates when others call her by it. She wrote, "It's literally so bad that I get anxiety from having to introduce myself, and I'm embarrassed to even say it out loud. I hate it when people try to tell me it's not that bad."
While Sharon's parents have offered to let her change her name, she still feels envious of her sister, who has a more "normal" name. Her sister has tried to console her by pointing out that Sharon has more fun nicknames to choose from, but this hasn't helped ease her feelings. Sharon confessed, "I swear I get genuinely jealous when I hear other people's names. I get so upset when I see people online complaining about their names, even when they're not bad at all. I would die for a normal name."
Interestingly, according to Nameberry, Sharon is ranked 1312th in popularity as a baby name in 2024. This could be another reason why Sharon dislikes her name, as she feels it doesn't align with her Asian culture. She expressed, "Who names an Asian kid Sharon? It's literally not fitting at all. I feel like Sharon is either a white soccer mom type of name or a... grandma name."
Sharon also mentioned that people often compare her name to Karen, and this adds to her frustration. She wrote, "People like to compare my name to Karen, and online I see a lot of people say stuff like 'Sharons and Karens are so annoying'." She wishes her name had a different spelling, like Sherrin, to make it more appealing. "My parents could have at least made the name look nice by replacing the 'o' with an 'i', or even Sherrin would be better," she added.
Although Sharon's parents have suggested that she change her name if it upsets her so much, she believes this would be logistically difficult. She wrote, "I can't think of any other names that would somewhat fit me. I've basically just accepted defeat at this point. I feel like my life is over."
Sharon is not alone in her struggle with an "old person name." Many other names that were once popular are now considered dated, such as Ashley, Amanda, Erica, and Samantha, according to Gen Z. Surprisingly, even traditional names like Bertha, Muriel, Dawn, and Lesley are falling out of favor with parents, according to a study by Babbel. These names were in the top 100 most popular baby names in the UK until '94 but have not made the cut since then.
It's interesting to see how names that were once popular have now become outdated. As a language learning software, Babbel analyzed baby names recorded between 1914 and 1994 in the UK and compiled a list of the 50 least popular girls' names. Some of these include Aerith, Alexa, Bertha, Beverly, Dawn, Delphina, and Muriel.
Do you have a name that is losing popularity? Or do you have a story to share about your name? We would love to hear from you. Get in touch by emailing us at [email address].
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
