Worst baby names revealed

A new Reddit thread asking users to submit the most horrendous baby names they have ever come across has attracted more than 18,000 comments in just 24 hours. Photo / 123RF

It's hard to imagine exactly what is going on in the heads of parents who would give their daughter a name like 'Airwrecker' - an alternative spelling to 'Erica' - but apparently, such a thing exists.

A new Reddit thread asking users to submit the most horrendous baby names they have ever come across has attracted more than 18,000 comments in just 24 hours, and turned up a treasure trove of bad parental judgement calls.

The Daily Mail has compiled the worst examples, including the names 'Orgasm', submitted by the daughter of a midwife who has heard her fair share of horror stories, and 'Mazen', because "it was 'mazen (amazing)" when the child was born.

"There is a girl in my school named Gennah Tyles. With a G," wrote one submitter. "It's like her parents wanted to name her genitals."

"I work at a bank in North Florida and have been keeping a list of names I come across," wrote another. "My favourite so far is definitely I'munique. It was on her ID and everything."

Sadly for the owner of this moniker, as another user pointed out, her every introduction would have to be: "Hello, I'm I'munique."

One submitter reported a friend having named her child 'Britney Shakira Beyonce', claiming: "They would call her by the full name every time."

A handful of people warned against the pitfalls involved with combining two names into one.

"A friend of my sister-in-law worked in a maternity ward and saw a kid named after her grandparents, John and Veronica. Her name was Vejonica," one wrote.

A user known as RhymesW added a contribution: "Orgasm. As the daughter of a Labor and Delivery nurse, I've heard an abundance of terrible baby names, but I'd have to say this is by far the worst! Sadly, I'm not kidding."

"According to my friend Hellzel, her mother liked the name Hazel but her dad was a biker and loved Hells Angels, so they came up with this mess," another remarked.

'Boy Boy' was also submitted, by a user who insisted this was not a first and middle name, just the first name of a child he knows.

'Abstinence' was another shocker. "I predict she will be pregnant by 16," mused the submitter.

"This very young couple, who had just had a baby, were so obsessed with Facebook they decided to name their child Like, I kid you not," wrote another.

More than a few users mentioned the name Obamaniqua as being the real name of children they had come across, which is defined by Urban Dictionary as: "A ghetto-fabulous African-American that loves president Barrack Obama."

Several users trudged up celebrities as being good examples of bad name-givers, specifically Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin for naming their daughter Apple, Kim Kardashian and Kayne West for their tot North West, and Lil' Kim, for naming her daughter Royal Reign.

Perhaps none were quite so morbid as the name 'Lucifer', which belonged to a "little blonde boy with bright blue eyes" at the school of one submitter, and who was apparently "a very creepy kid."

As for the most popular baby names in the UK for 2014? Sophia, Emily and Lily for a girl, according to BabyCentre's annual survey, and Muhammad, Oliver and Jack for a boy.

The best of the worst

1. Obamaniqua
2. I'munique
3. Boy Boy
4. Hellzel
5. Abstinence
6. Britney Shakira Beyonce
7. Vejonica
8. Gennah Tyles
9. Mazen
10. Like

- Daily Mail