What do people have against 'made up' names?

[tigersue]

It depends on what the made-up name sounds like.

Like you said, some modern names are just ridiculous (like La-a and Hashtag).

Some can be very confusing - like boy names on girls and using last names as first names. For example, I am a teacher, and there was a young man in my class with the name Tony Ellis. For a month I called him by what I thought was his first name...Tony. I tthen found out his first name was Ellis, and his LAST name was Toney. No wonder I could not find half of his files...he had two file folders in the computer as well as the file cabinet. I would never name a child Riley, MacKenzie, Bailey, Harper, Cooper (or any "profession" name).

Naming your child after objects just seems mean. Bear, Apple, Blanket, Willow, Colt, Wolf...these are all "things", not people. Next step would be to name your child "Toaster" or "Mousepad".

I also dislike crazy (or crayzee) spellings. Elizabeth is best, Elisabeth is acceptable, but Aliszebethe looks "messy". If I have to take a second look at the name, or sound it out, I would avoid it.

I have a cousin named "Leandra" (lee-ANN-dra). Growing up, she was the only person I knew with that name. Even though it sounded made up, it still was a pretty name. But think hard before giving your child that unique name.