Don’t name them that.
Millennial parents are using the ’90s as inspiration for naming their newborns — which is fine, as long as they avoid three names in particular, according to a speech therapist.
Chloe Conrad is a speech-language pathologist who often posts informative, helpful videos for parents on her Instagram page.
In one of Conrad’s recent posts, she shared three specific names parents should never consider naming their baby — and for good reason.
“Three names I would never name my child as a speech therapist: Rory, Rowan and Aurora. They’re so hard to say,” the expert point-blank said in the video, which has garnered over 250,000 views.
In the caption of the post, she provided some more context on her opinion: “Basically any name with R and O in it next to each other. I LOVE the way they sound but struggle teaching a child to say them.”
If you struggle pronouncing these challenging names — you’re not alone. Many people in the comment section agreed with Conrad.
“My guess was Aurora before I ever heard it! Lol. I have the hardest time saying it! We had a little girl on our soccer team last season and even the parents yelling it sounded off to me! Lol.”
“lol I’ve always found Rory hard but I just realised I can’t say Aurora at all.”
“So true lol all those Rs!”
Conrad explained in an interview with TODAY.com why so many people struggle pronouncing these, rather simple-looking names.
When there’s a word or name that has a R before an O — most people struggle articulating these letters together.
“The W sound is made with rounded lips, and O is also a rounded vowel,” she told the outlet. “So when you put the two together, it becomes increasingly difficult for a young child to produce clearly.”
Thankfully, it seems that most parents are avoiding these tricky-to-pronounce names — and instead are opting for simpler names like Liam and Olivia.
Liam has ranked No. 1 for boys’ names eight consecutive years — while Olivia has taken the cake for girls’ names for six years in a row.
Aside from these two, old-fashioned baby names like Theodore, Oliver, Owen, Eleanor, Eloise and Margaret are back in style.
“I think vintage names evoke a sense of nostalgia. I get a lot of clients who pull out their family tree, looking to grandparents and great-grandparents for name inspiration,” Colleen Slagen, author of the forthcoming book “Naming Bebe,” told Yahoo! Life.
