If a girl's first name was Valerie and her last name started with a D, would kids tease her about...

[yurbud]

Poll question: If a girl's first name was Valerie and her last name started with a D, would kids tease her about...

being VD?

My wife and I are having a baby girl, and she likes the name Valerie, but we are both wondering if the initials VD would cause a problem. I'm a little older, so I think it would, but she thinks it won't since VD has already gone through two renamings (STDs and STIs).

I'm going to break this down by age to see if the association is fading too

[LostInAnomie]

1. That's a pretty long way to go for kids to make a joke.

[Mutley]

2. I'm 30, and I don't recall anyone calling it VD when I was a kid.

Maybe it's a regional thing, but it was definitely STDs by then.

[Tuvok Obama]

16. "VD" was a seventies term

and to hear kids talk about it back then, you'd think it was the one and only sexually-transmitted disease.

[quakerboy]

3. I think you are safe unless health classes start getting retro

I know VD because I read. Most people don't read. Should be fine.

[Blasphemer]

4. Possibly... if she were an outcast, misfit or unpopular for whatever reason

In such a case, they would find SOMETHING to make fun of even if her initials weren't VD. Most likely, it wouldn't be an issue. It never would have occurred to me if I were thinking up baby name. I'm in my early 30's for what it's worth.

[EndersDame]

5. I am 23 and have not heard that term used in school only STD and STI

[WildEyedLiberal]

6. I'm in my 20s and I don't think that would occur to people

I can't see when she'd have to go by her initials in class - most kids don't think about other kids' initials. Plus, she'll have a middle name so it's not like it'll just be plain ol' "VD".

But to answer the age question: I'm 20something and no one my age calls them "VDs" anymore. It's STD, and I think the even newer thing is STI, so I highly doubt the type of schoolkid who would make a VD joke to begin with will even know what a VD is.

[Broken_Hero]

7. I have a very close friend

with the initials VD, and he/she got teased relentlessly.

[yurbud]

10. about how old is the friend? I'm wondering if this is a generational thing

[DemBones DemBones]

8. I wouldn't give a baby the initials VD or STD

or a lot of other combinations. Somebody said that only people who read know what VD is. Trust me, your daughter will go to school with some people who read and it only takes one person who reads to start the ball rolling against your child. Children can be incredibly cruel and anything you can do to make your kids less of a target is a good move.

I suggest you choose another name for your daughter and later get a female puppy and name her Valerie.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. Go ahead and do it. My brother's initials are BS and it hasn't slowed him down any.

[likesmountains 52]

11. VD has been replaced by STD (Sexually transmitted disease) go ahead..

[kimi]

12. No, I doubt it

I'm over 40 and yeah, maybe back in the day when I was in junior high, it might have caused a chuckle or two. Now, I've got kids in middle and high school, and when I say "VD" to them (admittedly not often), they have no clue what I'm referring to.

Valerie is a lovely name, btw.

[Cabcere]

13. I'm from the STD generation...wait, let me rephrase that...

:P What I mean is that I only heard VD used in passing, like "STDs used to be called VDs," stuff like that in health class. I wouldn't worry too much about it - kids can be mean, and sure, somebody might make that connection someday, but as a 23-year-old I kind of doubt it. :shrug: That's my two cents, anyway. :hi:

Oh, and congratulations to you and your wife on the new addition to your family! :party:

[Bucky]

14. Seems like the people in the "experienced parent" demographic are pro-VD-tease

But kids are going to make fun of their friends for something. The name that can't be ridiculed is a true rarity. I wouldn't let this be a deciding factor. Valerie is a pretty name.

[Capn Sunshine]

15. Only if Chlamydia isn't around

cause that chick has it ROUGH

[Posteritatis]

17. 100% of possible children's names will be bully fodder

No matter what, something'll be twisted into an attack if other kids decide they don't like someone. That's really all there is to it.

[Rising Phoenix]

18. Valerie is a pretty name

I didn't make the VD connection. It is always possible, but to be honest kids will always find something to make fun of. If it is not her initials, some bully won't like her shoes or something like that. Unfortunately it is part of growing up. The name very pretty, and as you are not naming her Bambi or Sharon Cox ( I went to school with her) I would say it is a nice choice.

Oh, by the way, congratulations!

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. I don't think would come up with that one these days

[valerief]

20. Hey, I picked two different pseudonyms for my novels BECAUSE the initials were VD!!!

I thought VD was obsolete anyway. I thought they were STDs now.

[NightWatcher]

21. kids will tease about anything.

[mzteris]

22. had friend in highschool

whose first name started with "V" and middle name started with "D" - and yeah - she got teased. Not a LOT, mostly 'cause pretty much everyone liked her, but still - it did happen. Though to be honest, it really didn't bother her that much.

[RubyDuby in GA]

23. I tease my mom for her initials - BM

I am sure at some point in her life, the VD thing would come up.

[JVS]

24. VD is for everybody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK_jDA3qrUU