BRITAIN and America have many things in common, but first names aren’t one of them. Here are some that Brits would never foist upon their children.
Randy
Ask a British person what they think of when they hear ‘Randy’ and it will be something like ‘sexy’, ‘horny’ or ‘frisky’, or they’ll do a terrible impression of Austin Powers. None of these are things you would want to associate with a newborn baby, which is a small part of the reason Brits think Americans are mental.
Addison
An old Scottish name meaning ‘Son of Adam’. Although now largely given to girls, Addison appeals to Americans wishing to remain in touch with the Celtic roots they all believe they have. If you’re British, though, you’ll immediately think of the well-known London-based cab company Addison Lee and trying not to vomit in the back of a taxi on the way home from a shit club.
Chad
Chad conjures up an image of an all-American dumbass, eating hotdogs, playing baseball and voting for Trump. This is made worse by the fact that it’s short for ‘Charles’, which is itself only one syllable long and therefore not too onerous to pronounce in the first place. However, it is funny to imagine the UK having a ‘King Chad’, so maybe this one should hop across the pond.
Reagan
Reagan means ‘regal’ or ‘royal’, but all anyone in Britain will think of is a dead actor-turned-president who was pals with one of the most hated prime ministers we ever had. It’s like calling your son Thatcher. Which isn’t completely terrible and is certainly better than naming him after another deeply unpopular leader and landing him with the moniker ‘Truss’.
Hank
Hank is a diminutive of Harry and means ‘home ruler’ but in the UK you’ll never escape the fact that it rhymes with wank. Imagine going to a British secondary school and revealing Hank as your name. You’d be known as ‘Hank Spank Wank Bank’ or similar before break time, and it would stick for the rest of your life.
Serenity
Serenity is quite a beautiful name, conjuring images of heavenly calmness and dignity. Perhaps you can get away with that in the US, but does it really fit for a British kid? Imagine it being yelled across a Tesco car park by a stressed mum trying to stop her daughter getting run over as she pisses about on a shopping trolley and you’ll have your answer.
