You know what? You can’t just take any old sound or word, add a femme suffix, and call it a name. I mean, clearly you can, but you shouldn’t. Rarely does it make a lovely name, and usually, it sounds cheap and tawdry. There are a few different suffixes that people have been using, but the most prevalent is -lyn, so I’ll start there. Here is a list of girls’ names from the top 1000 of 2010 list that I find reprehensible:
Brooklyn (#34), Brooklynn (#142) – Yup, Brooklyn is a city. And a lot of people live there, and a lot of people love it. I will give a teensy pass to those people who name their kids Brooklyn out of NYC pride. But the rest of you, who’ve never been to Brooklyn, and who are just doing a name-smush of Brook(e) + Lyn(n) — it’s not cute or clever.
Madelyn (#76), Madilyn (#332), Madalyn (#361), Madelynn (#398), Madilynn (#561), Madalynn (#581) – I assume this is supposed to sound like Madeleine (#320). If so, please use that original spelling, which is very pretty. And if anyone is pronouncing it MADE-el-lyn, with a long A… wow, gross.
Adalyn (#256), Adelyn (#385), Adalynn (#445), Adelynn (#633), Addilyn (#974) – I have a huge problem with names that start with the word “addle.” I know Adelaide and Adeline are legitimate, but I don’t like those, either. So expanding that line to include brand new icky addled baby girls is upsetting. And if you’re pronouncing it like Ada Lynn, why not name the kid Ada Lynn? At least she could go by one of her names later instead of sounding like a pharmaceutical.
Kaelyn (#339), Kaylin (#399), Kailyn (#439), Kaylynn (#577), Kaylyn (#772), Cailyn (#835), Kaelynn (#907) – All the misspelled variations of Caitlin (#340) have bothered me for years, but I’m not going to bother* to point out the half-dozen of those bastardizations that are still in the top 1000. These names take it one step further, dropping the T. I guess this is so you can call her something that sounds like Kaylee (#35) but she’ll still have a more “formal” name. The thing is, Kaelyn and its ilk are just as silly and babyish as Kaylee. Avoid all.
Jaelyn (#368), Jaylynn (#496), Jaelynn (#504), Jaylin (#613), Jaylyn (#862) – Horrible trash. Sure, name your kid a word that begins with “jail,” since she’ll probably wind up there. Why not? Her sister can be Morgleigh.
Jazlyn (#407), Jazlynn (#625) – I have a visceral puke reaction to these names.
Braelyn (#456), Braelynn (#893) – Is your daughter a donkey? Do you want people to think of donkeys whenever they hear your little girl’s name? No? Then I suggest you stay away from anything that starts with that sound.
Gracelyn (#524), Gracelynn (#843) – Not as bad as some of the others, but Grace is a thousand times better. Plus she’s going to get a lot of Elvis jokes.
Aylin (#573) – “Hi, I’m Aylin.” “Oh no, I’m sorry, what are you ailing from?” Get her used to it, because it’s going to happen often.
Sherlyn (#617) – Rhymes with Merlin. This is just ugly. Really bad. I am shocked that it’s on the list at all because it doesn’t even have that over-the-top feminine thing that most of the others have.
Raelynn (#626), Raelyn (#733) – Again, I just think of the word it sounds like, and I think it’s weird for a child.
Still not advisable, usually because of wacky spellings of an otherwise fine name, but I don’t have individual comments: Yoselin (#773), Evelin (#981), Ashlyn (#156), Ashlynn (#239), Joselyn (#379), Joslyn (#636), Jocelynn (#714), Evelynn (#725), Emmalynn (#745), Jacquelyn (#861)
Here are what I consider legitimate names on the top 1000 with these endings — go for it: Evelyn (#39), Jocelyn (#65), Marilyn (#547), Gwendolyn (#566), Elin (#724), Carolyn (#741), Roselyn (#932)
*I lied, yes I am: Kaitlyn (#90), Katelyn (#103), Caitlyn (#300), Katelynn (#313), Kaitlin (#665), Kaitlynn (#716)
babynamezeitgeist 