Parenting is a murky business, and perhaps the first taste of that murkiness happens before your baby is even born: naming.
Much has been made of the enormous pressure involved in naming your progeny. Striking that oh-so-subtle balance between too common and too eccentric is no small feat. And heaven forbid you finally stumble upon the perfect name to describe your little darling, only to have someone come you know come along and 'steal' it as their own.
"Parents spend a lot of time thinking and dreaming about their child's name, and it's one way they become attached to their child before they even meet him or her," said Linda Murray, global editor-in-chief of BabyCenter. "It's an emotional process, so when you share your favourite baby name with someone and they 'take' your name, it feels like theft."
But what of the real duds? What if you choose badly, and your child winds up on a 'bogan' list?
Compiled by Australia's Kidspot, the 'bogan' list identified the top worst names back in 2014. A 2016 version of the 20 most "hideously repugnant and unintelligent" names has just been released.
Much of the list is tongue and cheek. Still, you can see what leads some names to warrant the 'bogan' title - complex or misspelled variations on classic names, as well as those derivative of celebrity names.
BOY:
GIRL:
Yes, you almost want to throttle the parents of little J’zayden and Younique without having ever laid eyes on them.
Chose wisely, folks, chose wisely. And if you're concerned about someone appropriating your gem of a name, you may wish to keep it under wraps at least until the baby appears. After all, there's no such thing as copyrighting baby names.
"There's no law that says you [and others] can't both give your child the same name," said Murray. "...remember that in the long run, your child's own personality and character will make the name uniquely his or her own."
RELATED: Don't Name Your Baby That 
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