Trisha Paytas jumps onto wacky baby name trend

Within the past few years, baby names have become increasingly unusual. It is no shock when celebrities give their children odd names, but that desire for undeniable individuality has found itself trickling down into the public.

Just this year, names like Teddy and Ziggy have made their way onto lists of “good” 2022 baby names. Capri, Echo and even Harlow (yes, like singer Jack Harlow) also have spots on a list put out by Mum Central, a blog about motherhood.

But why have people started using such uncommon or unusual names all of a sudden? It might have something to do with celebrities like Elon Musk or Kylie Jenner who pick bizarre names. Just two years ago, Elon Musk and his ex-wife Grimes named their son X Æ A-12. How do you even pronounce that?

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott welcomed their new son into the world seven months ago and decided to name him Wolf. The couple got so much backlash for this, however, that they ended up changing his name to Jacques. Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z even had the name of their first child, Blue Ivy, trademarked.

One of the most peculiar names we’ve heard this year has, of course, been “Malibu Barbie,” the name of controversial internet star Trisha Paytas’ first child who was born last week. That is the literal name of a toy set. Barbie itself is quite an odd name, but is actually not uncommon in this day and age with examples like actress Barbie Ferreira from “Euphoria.”

It has become increasingly apparent that choosing names that no one else would have has become a trend, not just among celebrities. Coming from a family full of educators, I have heard countless stories about unusual names. This has taken a step further with the practice of picking ordinary names but spelling them abnormally. There is Khai-Leigh for Kylie, Tiphaniee for Tiffany, Mackquelliegha for Michaela and even KC for the name Casey.

To be honest, I’d expect nothing less from someone like Paytas. As of right now, the name is a hit or miss amongst her followers.

Junior English and literary studies major Paraskevi Patsalos, who goes by Paras, says that when people name their children ordinary names, it’s cool, but “often [people] try to make really unique sounding names, and the difficulty of living with that has been, for me personally, very rough.”

So for a name like Malibu Barbie, Paras said, “Who names their child after a toy brand line? That is so weird.”

Yazmine Alvarez, a senior education major, said that ordinary names are “kind of basic,” but agreed with Paras on Malibu Barbie, saying that she “did not like it.” She voiced that the name is on brand for someone like Paytas, because she’s “a little out there, so it’s not really surprising.”

However, junior English and literary studies major Mackenzie Fuller said that she prefers “wacky names” over ordinary ones, so she likes the name Malibu Barbie.

“I loved Barbie growing up, so for me, it’s just kind of an iconic name,” she said. Although, she shared that personally she’d “never do it [but] it’s entertaining.”

I can’t help but feel bad for this child because now she has to grow up with this name. Changing one’s name can range anywhere from $100-$500, but it’s not like these celebrities don’t have the money to do that.

For the public, however, changing your name can be a real hassle, and one can’t even do that until they turn 18. It honestly becomes sad knowing these children have no say in their name and can’t do anything about it. Even if they choose to go by a nickname, their real name will be on class attendance, legal documents and any important identity documents.

We will not know for some time whether or not Malibu Barbie Paytas-Hacmon likes her name, but I hope that in the future when I become a teacher, I am not reading Malibu off of my class roster.

 

ajones11@ramapo.edu