What's in a name

I was talking names with my crit group last night. You know the rules: can't have two names beginning with the same initial for major characters, can't have too many one or two or three syllable names for different people, have to make the last names match but rules one and two apply to them as well, can't match a single syllable first name with a single syllable last name too often, need to vary the rhythms of names.

I started thinking about all the names that bring up an immediate negative response in me. I'm exposed to different names all the time. I write, I read and I teach so there's a neverending supply of names. One thing I've always found interesting is that often, the same names crop up with similar personalities. For example: there are certain boys' names I would never use for a hero, because every boy I've known with those names has been irritating at best. Here are some examples with my own 'baby name meaning'. Some of these names I've only known one person of that name, but they've made a lasting impression. Others, like Joshua and Cory, I come across again and again. 

Please remember these are my opinion only, based on my own experiences. I can't speak for others' opinions or experiences.

• Joshua: A bully, distracted and disrespectful and often arrogant. 
• Bartley: Sly and mean.
• Cory: Enjoys embarrassing people, sometimes a thief.
• Brandon: Arrogant, disrespectful, a thug.
• Bradley: Sneaky, untrustworthy.
• Bartley: Short temper, can get violent.
• Aaron: entitled.
• Edon: Drug-addicted.
• Emmanuel (Manny): sweet, but extremely irritating.
• Gregory: sly, a lier.
• Mark: Marks usually turn out okay, but they're hell during the teen years.
• Gary: more energy than sense.
• Jeremy: a bit hit and miss--some Jeremys turn out okay, others stay irritating sots throughout.
• Kacey, Kade, Kane: All three of these are sly and untrustworthy, sneaky bullies.
• Oakley: angry, thief.
• Travis: Some Travises I've met have been greedy and sly; others have been strugglers, never giving up.

So that's my list of boys' names to avoid for heroes. What's yours?

Next week I'll do the same for girls' names, and after that--who knows--I might even pick some names I like.