'Makes Me Cringe': People Share Most Unusual Baby Names They've Encountered

Baby names are a matter of personal taste but there's no denying that parents are increasingly turning away from tradition in favor of something more unique.

The shift was perhaps best highlighted in a study by Jean Twenge, a psychology professor from San Diego State University. In 2010, she investigated the names of some 325 million American babies born between the years of 1880 and 2007. What she found was a notable shift in the number of parents using common names since 1950.

While more than 30 percent of boys were handed a name that ranked among the top 10 most popular in 1950, by comparison just 10 percent of boys were given a top 10 name in 2007.

Not only that, Twenge found many parents were applying unique spellings to other popular names. Jaxson, for example, had become more prevalent in the U.S. than the more commonly spelt Jackson while double-barrelled names were also found to be increasingly prominent.

Commenting on her findings, Twenge attributed the shift to a desire among parents to be nonconformist. "As American culture has become more individualistic, parents have favored giving children names that help them stand out," she explained at the time. "That means more unique names and fewer common names."

More than a decade on from that study and it would appear the unorthodox approach to baby names is showing no signs of abating.

In a thread posted to Mumsnet, people have been sharing the most unique baby names they have ever encountered in real life—and it's fair to say that the responses are raising a few eyebrows on social media.

It all started when a user posting as CaramelJones asked: "What's the most unusual baby name that you've encountered recently?"

"A friend in the U.S has called her baby son, Sundance. I rather like it in a way though I was taken aback at first," they wrote. "I met a McLaren recently too."

The question sparked a glut of responses.

Stichintime said they had met an "Arrow and Echo" while Isonthecase recently met a "Loki and a Neville" acknowledging that both were "a surprise."

FirstFallopian was unimpressed, writing: "Loki always makes me cringe. Like did the parents even do a two-minute Google before landing their kid with the same name as a malicious god from a different culture?"

Velvian knew a "Banjo" with babyjellyfish recalling a child called "Wandrille". Bluebloodedblue had met a "Parsley" adding that they didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl.

"I knew a little Cello," BeautyGoesToBenidorm said. "I also knew a little cherub with big blue eyes and white-blond ringlets, called Diesel - that one was quite jarring!"

Grissini50 said: "There is a Hood in my daughter's class" while Dolares claimed: "There's a girl called Lyric at my daughter's nursery."

VonTrippTrapp remembered knew kids called "Sherlock and Athelstan" while ChickinMarango said: "I have an Odin in my circle of friends."

PinguTheLion knew a "Pixie-Pandora" while MalkosTeenageAngst reeled off a list that included "Rogue, Cayman and Pace" for boys and "Oxanna, Harlow, Gigi and Ecko" for girls.

Somertime, meanwhile, remembered meeting a baby called "Elder" who despite their name was "the youngest of the family."