155+ Names That Mean Trouble

You might want to honor premier U.S. architect Frank Gehry--even though he was born Ephraim Goldberg. Gehry, pronounced like the more common surname Geary, may be a spin on the name Gary, which means spear, or derive from the Middle English word geary, which means fickle.

Power is one of the new crop -- Justice, Liberty, Peace -- of strong, clear-cut, declarative choices, though this one carries more assertiveness than virtue.

Rugged, rustic Wrangler evokes cowboy charm, bootcut denim, and SUVs.

One of the latest in a suite of rowdy boy names, including Chaos, Wrecker, Lawless, and Rowdy itself.

Wrecker is a new entry to the newly trendy group of badass baby names -- names mostly for boys that sound wild (or Wilder) and summon the kind of kid that races around (Racer), breaking things (Breaker), and yeah, why not, being a Wrecker while he's at it. Actor Cam Gigandet introduced this one, with a more phonetic spelling, when he named his son Rekker.

Fogarty has the Old Fogey problem.

Rekker comes to us thanks to actor Cam Gigandet, who gave his son this phonetic spelling of badass word name Wrecker. Use at your own peril.

It doesn't matter if Savage is a surname on your family tree — it's a highly controversial choice for a first name with connections to racism and colonialism. Despite this, over a dozen sets of parents named their sons Savage in a recent year.

Spelling it with a K doesn't do much to separate Kaliber from Caliber's violent image.

Roulette debuted as an American baby name in 2023, when it was given to five baby girls. While Roulette's sounds are very on-trend — the "rou" found in names like Ruby and Cruz, and the "ette" ending of Colette and Juliette — we don't recommend using gambling-related names for babies.

A Miwok tribe name with a pleasant meaning.

Debuted in 2020, when it was used for six baby boys. All the same, gambling isn't an appropriate theme for a baby name.

Biblical name from the Old Testament.

Unfortunately, everyone will just hear Jared.

A rare Biblical name, perhaps due to its slightly gloomy meaning, Chilion was one of Naomi's two sons, referred to alongside his brother Mahlon (meaning "sickly"), the husband of Ruth. He was married to Oprah.