A mum tried to be creative by combining two “traditional” names to give her daughter a name that was “creative” but she didn’t realise it had an unfortunate alternative meaning
A mum’s creative baby name has an unfortunate alternative meaning – and she had no idea.
Coming up with a name for a new child can be quite the tricky task. Names can, whether we like it or not, lead to snap judgements and preconceived notions so it’s vital parents make a decision that won’t hinder their child or cause them any upset.
Sometimes, parents’ quest for “uniqueness” seems to trump all else, with many keen to ensure their offspring have a name that stands out from the crowd or isn’t a dime a dozen during their school careers.
This can lead to some beautiful creations but it can also lead to names that are very difficult to pronounce, or have nonsensical spellings that completely ignore the rules of phonics.
One mum decided to opt for a portmanteau of the popular names Katrina and Larissa, which she felt were “too common” or “too old”, in order to create the name ‘Latrina’ for her daughter. Unfortunately, as many people on social media were quick to point out, ‘Latrina’ and minor variations of it, means “toilet” in some parts of Europe.
One person said: “You literally named your daughter after a toilet. Well done.”
The name was then shared on Reddit in the popular subreddit, Tragedeigh, which mocks the more bizarre and unfortunate names spotted in the real world and elsewhere on social media. It boasts 515K members, all eager to share and criticise names deemed “tragic”.
Reddit users posted their thoughts in the comments section. One person quipped: “Well, unfortunately someone just gave her the idea of Lavatory for her next daughter. LavvaToreie, Lahvahtoree, there are options depending on pronunciation.”
Another was relieved the comments pointed out the mum’s blunder: “I’m glad people told her instead of ‘omg it’s soooo cute and unique’!”
Someone else said: “I’m laughing way harder than I should at this.” While another lamented: “I just can’t understand what’s wrong with ‘old’ names, FFS”.
Another joked: “We call her Lava or Torrie but not both” while someone else asked: “They couldn’t go with Katrissa??”
Agreeing, another replied: “Or Karissa? Karina? Larina? …Kalina? Kalissa?” One Reddit user feared for the little girl’s future: “‘Latrine’ is already a known term in U.S English too. I’ve heard plenty of other Americans (mostly from the south) refer to it that way. So that poor kid is definitely getting made fun of.”
Someone else simply said: “Tauighlette.” And another shared their own encounter with a translation error which led to an unfortunate, and similar, issue: “I once met someone who had the kanji characters for toilet tattooed on them, after someone told them it meant ‘being useful to those around you’. Technically not wrong, I suppose.”
Another person added: “As always, when people try to eschew tradition, they end up looking foolish.”