It seemed like a good idea at the time. A person's name is an integral part of one's identity. It's a very specific part of first and lasting impressions. So when you're a parent the pressure is on to get it right and sometimes parents.... have a massive fail. Think ahead, whiskey may not always be you're go to. Also, originality is cute but you may want to save it for the fish.
Redditor u/TheKaleidoscopeEyes wanted to hear from parents who are wiling to admit mistake by asking.... Parents of Reddit: who has regretted the name they gave their child years down the road?
Historic Rethink.
Giphy
My former boss has a cousin in her 20's named Isis. Her parents were both anthropologists that met while doing field work in Egypt and so named her in honor of the Egyptian goddess. Had to change her name a few years back :/ AvatarTreeFiddy
Maybe leave off the 'h?'
I named my daughter Sarah. It is a family name but more importantly my best friend and sister's name. Where I grew up there weren't a lot of Sarah's. Seemed safe. One year we had 5 in her class. Poor kid. She hated it. Now she is an adult she has decided being named after her aunt is a good thing so it's not so bad I guess. zim3019
How high were you?
Not a parent, but my aunt once taught a kid named Pocahontas McGinty. My mother used to know someone who named their son Richard. Their surname was Tickle. They named the kid Dick Tickle. never_too_uncouth
Destined to be Hot.
I got named Chad and now its a word for douchebaggery. So that sucks. chadnotchad
Chad is the hot guy. Brads the A**hole. Congratulations, you're a hot guy. peacewiIlwin
Burn baby...
Giphy
Parents of Daenerys and Khaleesi might regret their choice after this last season. PM_Me_Ur_Nevermind
I mean, naming your kid after a fantasy tv show character is something they'd probably regret either way eventually. Or at least their kid will. Anzai
Backwards....
My 8 year old daughter is named Lana. Spell it backwards. I'm just waiting for the kids at school to figure it out too. Omfgimaweirdo
Just have her push the whole Lana Del Rey thing, i guess. Not sure if that's any better. jimmbie
Oh la la.
We have family friends from France who named their daughter "Myrtille," which means blueberry and is pronounced sort of like "Mere-tee." It's a very cute name and they didn't regret it for a while. Then they moved to the US when Myrtille was 4-ish, and then their little blueberry became Myrtle, which is a very not as cute name lol. jimmbie
B & B.
I had classmates in second grade named Beyonce and Brittney (twins btw). I wonder where they are now. AwesomeNinjaYT
Leave Britney alone. YimyoLa
How Regal... or not.
My name is Anastasia. My mom regrets the name because it's associated with an oligarch and a character in a porn book. I was actually named for a Catholic Saint. haloarh
I mean, probably 10% of women in Russia and the other former soviet countries are named Anastasia (and the associated nicknames: Nastasia/Nastia/Stasia/etc). There were at least 5 on the rhythmic gymnastics team that I coached. tsukiii
The Calm Before....
Giphy
Kylie Jenner named her daughter Stormi righhhhht before the Stormi Daniels controversy. usernameeightandhalf
Nah, it was right in the middle of the Stormy Daniels controversy. I'm not sure Kylie's up-to-date on what's going on in the world though. smash__lampjaw
You don't have to turn off your red light....
I worked with a Roxanne at my first job out of high school. I sang a few words of the song at her after learning her name (I didn't mean anything by it, it was just kind of a reflex). She went straight blank face at me and replied, "Wow. Thanks. Love to hear a song about a hooker sung at me every single time I meet someone. That just never gets old."
I only did it that once. ZooieNewbie
The old Standard.
Giphy
My brother's name is Owen, which wasn't a super popular name at the time. Now it seems like everybody has at least one nephew named Owen so it feels like a little kids name (he's 23). Reddit
Hip-Hip Hooria!
My high school relative (girl) was named "Hooria" (nickname: hoor ) which comes from the Semitic word "Hoor" that means "the blessed virgin/mermaid." After they moved to U.S.A, ummm the girl needed to change her name because of some ...misunderstandings. AerisRuby
Sexy.
My sister graduated with an Ivana Mann and my dad used to date someone back in the day named Penny Nichols. popaquickHonthebox
Oh the Finn!
In Finland "Jonne" was a popular name until it became the name of a stereotype for badly behaving kids that drink energy drinks. (Yes this might sound weird and specific but I would say about 50% of Finnish kids fall into this category nowadays. kappelikapeli
Do You Hear the People Sing?
As someone named Cosette, try not to name someone a name that has multiple songs about you? Especially if one of the songs says how much someone loves you. It's super awkward. I walk into a room and everyone breaks into song about how much they love me. Could be seen as cute, i see it as creepy. Fjellhum
Listen Closer.
Giphy
My cousin's initials are A.S.S.
My aunt was warned, she refused to listen. ilaughathorrormovies
The "T" Card.
I'm a 35 year old man now, but some people still try talking down to me like a child and emasculating me when they get into an argument with me by calling me "Timmy."
It used to drive me berzerk when I was younger. Now I just think it's funny. You're so worked up and mad that you're gonna pull the "timmy card" on a grown man? What other childish things do you try on adults when you don't get your way? lol.
I'm sure plenty of other Tims here know what I'm talking about and have dealt with it plenty of times themselves. My advice is to just laugh in their faces. The_UnApologist
Foreshadowing?
My mum went to college with two lovely people who named their children Ira (a boy's name of Hebrew origin) and Isis (an Egyptian goddess) both of which are now also terrorist organizations. Just unusual the way it's both names. Yaaaboy1
Where's Sophia?
Giphy
My cousin named her daughter Dorothy after her (cousin's) grandmother.
Her daughter ended up being picked on in school for having an "old lady name," not to mention all sorts of Wizard of Oz jokes from kids who knew what Wizard of Oz was.
It got so bad that her daughter now goes by her middle name. jacobr1020
War Face GIF
Giphy
Apparently, their sense of humor has no bounds. Curious to hear from drill sergeants online, Redditor darkstalker1000 asked:
"Drill instructors, what is the funniest thing you have seen a Private do?"
The following examples were utterly humiliating, but valuable lessons were learned.
Longheld Punishment
"Had 2 guys get in a fight in our bay during basic. The drill sergeant made them hold hands and pretending to be on a date all week. Only time they could let go of each other's hands was rack time. They ended up becoming pretty good friends."
Confusing Paycheck
"Ex British Army officer here."
"A corporal went on a nine week mortar course and was accommodated (obviously) while he was away. It turned out he knew one of the DS teaching the course and was invited, regularly, to dine and drink in the Sergeant's Mess."
"The month after coming back from the course, he brought his payslip to me with a puzzled look on his face and, embarrassed, explained he didn't understand what it meant and could I help him?"
"It emerged that the Sergeant's Mess had a chitty system - you didn't pay for your drinks at the time, but signed for them and the total bill was deducted from your pay."
"This legend had managed to drink more than his monthly salary both months he'd been away and his payslip was a negative balance."
"I'm sorry Smith, I'm afraid you owe the Army £235 ($327.50) this month."
Asking For An Advance
"Former European Anti-Air Trainee here."
"Recruit spent his first check on alcohol and sex workers, asked his commander for next months check in advance the next day. Instead of having a good excuse prepared to actually succeed in that proposal he blankly told him in front of 80 other recruits why he'd need it."
Eye-Level Reprimand
"I saw a guy post about how he was like 6'3 and his DS was like 5'2, so whenever he messed up the DS would go up to him face to chest and yell 'Elevator!' and the guy would bend down to eye level with the DS and say 'Ding!' and the DS would proceed to look him in the eye while he chewed him out."
Some experiences were downright hilarious.
The Stain
"Not an RDC, but in boot camp I was over the laundry crew. One recruit sh*t himself because he thought he couldn't leave his rack after taps. It was funny at the moment before I realized I had to wash it."
– ScootaFL
Ambush Training
"This was the funniest f'king thing I ever read from u/odomotto"
"Recruit fired all his blank ammo during 'ambush training.' He crawled in ditch opposite where the aggressors were, and started throwing rocks at them. DI came running in middle of the road blowing his whistle and screaming 'what the f'k are you doing?' Recruit screamed back, 'throwing hand grenades drill sergeant!' Without missing a beat, the DI screamed 'out f'king standing.' And walked away."
"My sides hurt and I was wheezing laughing so hard at this when I first heard it!"
These punishments made no sense. And that's why they're memorable.
The Replacement
"When I was in basic, a kid we called 'Albino' shot off a blank round accidentally in the field. The sergeants were pissed and took his weapon away and replaced it with a broomstick for the remainder of the week in the field."
"Man I remember some dude didn't put the sheet on his bunk the right way and had to wear the sheet as a cloak and go to all the other barracks dancing around sing about how he was the 'Catch Edge Fairy' or something. It was pretty silly, he owned it though. He was doing twirls the whole time. This was Navy bootcamp."
– Konebred
Despite how they are depicted on film, drill instructors are people who care.
Like, Beals – a drill sergeant at Fort Knox, Kentucky – who said:
"We provide more than just physical, mental and emotional guidance for them. You are a father, a preacher, a financial advisor, a counselor-you provide so many different services to the Soldier that the regular public doesn't see on day to day basis."
"They see what they see in movies and what they hear about by word of mouth. But you are fulfilling so many roles other than just being a trainer and teaching an individual how to be a Soldier in the Army."
And occasionally, they are having a laugh at the crazy things their trainees do.