A family psychologist explained the dangers of strange names given to children at birth

According to the capital’s Office of Civil Registry, in 2023, newborns were given over seven thousand different names. This was reported at the capital’s mayor’s office, also listing the most strange and unusual for our hearing names of the new little citizens of the country. “MK” found out from a psychologist what difficulties a child with an unusual name may face on his life’s path.

The most popular names of newborns in 2023 were Mikhail (2,295 boys) and Sofia (1,981 girls), Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development Anastasia Rakova spoke about this. According to her, in Moscow the popularity of the name Spartak has increased four times and the name Matrona has increased five times. Compared to the previous year, parents began to lean twice as often towards such names for their babies as Korney, Semyon, Svyatoslav, Lyubava and Dana.

Among the most extraordinary options for girls are Venus, Fevronia, Hellas, Raspberry, Spring, Angela, Fairy, Nektaria, Aprilia, Perseus, Universe, Rossiyana, Severina, Philippines, Tasmania, Sicily, Yenisei. As for boys, Mars, August, Ural, Romeo, Sever, Yenisei, as well as Marx, Semislav, Neon, Zlatozar, Zima, Altai now live in Moscow.

Let us note that last year “MK” wrote about parents with many children from Ulyanovsk who named their seventh child – a daughter – with a completely unique name Arsina, which means “ARMY – THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE!”

Meanwhile, the majority of Muscovites on social networks are inclined to believe that children in schools will be bullied for such names: “Not names, but nicknames. Poor kids”. Some do not spare offensive epithets for such married couples: “Sick parents, children will have to suffer with such a name all their lives!” “Boy Winter. So what is next…? What will his children’s middle names be? The parents need to be treated.” “And my friends named their daughter Eurydice!” – shared one of the Muscovites.

– When parents give unusual names to their children, they probably only want good things for them in life? They most likely associate these names with certain specific qualities,” comments family psychologist Elena Ulitova. – A name is generally a very important thing. And a child with an unconventional name may have a variety of problems in the future. He may not identify with that name and will end up calling himself something else. And therefore, the way his parents named him may be associated with some kind of negativity for him, with something strange that his peers laugh at. Because of this, the child may even develop a hostile attitude towards his parents.

If a child does not accept his own name, he has difficulties with self-identification, he does not understand “who I am.” And very often, people, having waited until they are old enough to receive a passport, even change the name given to them at birth to something else.

On the other hand, parents can instill in their child the qualities that they associate with this name, so that the child can perceive it positively and be proud of it.

The psychologist advises mothers and fathers to give their children more traditional names to make it easier for the child to enter society. And then, one cannot help but take into account the discrepancy in some cases between the child’s appearance and the unusually beautiful name given to him (for example, from the above “Zlatozar”). And the child will suffer, realizing that the name does not suit him.

Parents, according to the expert, when calling a child something pretentious, often think that he will “grow up” to his name and that it will guide him like a guiding star. “But it doesn’t always work out this way,” warns Elena Ulitova. – I would advise parents to better start as early as possible to develop in their child some qualities that are useful for him, and then his own name will be a symbol of the very qualities or achievements of which he has become, and not vice versa. As happens with outstanding people or literary heroes.”