Selecting a baby name can be tough, especially with thousands of options available. Some parents stress over the lasting influence of their child’s name, wanting to ensure a prosperous future. Trends in naming kids mirror shifting cultural norms and evolving ambitions for children.

Getting baby names right has taken on a new level of importance for expecting parents. In fact, TikTok has become a platform where creators gather substantial followings by discussing baby name trends and highlighting names to avoid due to their trendiness. They openly share names they considered but didn’t use, along with names they’d rather not encounter again. TikTok’s baby name inspiration videos now focus on various themes, including “old money” names such as Caroline, Elizabeth, and Charlotte, “main character” names like Blaze, Arrow, and Falcon, and “aesthetic” names like Rowan, Wren, and Atlas.

Celebrities are accustomed to unconventional names. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, and musician Grimes named their first child X Æ A-12, often called “X.” Their second child is Exa Dark Sideræl. They also affectionately refer to their daughter as Sailor Mars, inspired by the “Sailor Moon” manga series.

“The Most Unusual Name I’ve Encountered in Real Life”

Occasionally, parents opt to invent a name, a decision that carries some level of uncertainty. While they might create something distinctive and appealing, there’s also a chance of the child being given a name perceived as peculiar by others. This situation arose for a baby, drawing significant attention on Reddit. The name of the child came to light through a thread titled, “The Most Unusual Name I’ve Encountered in Real Life.”

It reads, “So my mother just told me the name of her ex’s child and my GOD is it a doozy. He and his wife named their daughter: Audtom. Because his name is Tom and her name is Audrey. I could not f—ing believe my ears.”

The worst baby names

Commenters had strong opinions, with many criticizing the name choice. Others suggested more seamless ways to combine the parents’ names, including one person who wrote, “Assuming this is pronounced ‘Autumn’ and not ‘Odd-Tom,’ would it have killed them to just spell it Autom?”

Another person suggested, “Not me thinking ‘Tomrey’ would be better,” and another joked, “They missed an opportunity: ‘Tawdry.’”

Redditors even came up with baby names that they considered to be the worst. Take a look at some of these names below.