‘I have a normal name but I’m fed up people always say the same thing’
A woman with a perfectly “normal”, regular name has expressed her frustration after people always say the same several phrases to her. Shakespeare’s Juliet famously asked, “what’s in a name?” in his iconic play Romeo and Juliet but in 2026, names are still a cause of stress, ridicule and more.
Any parent or caregiver tasked with naming a baby likely mulls over the enormity of the decision as, whether we like it or not, what our name is can lead to judgement and preconceptions. Parents also have to ensure whatever they choose to call their offspring will be suitable at all stages of their life – no easy feat.
But even when people opt for a traditional name with a logical spelling, it may still end up leading to unwanted attention. For example, “Karen” became the go-to insult for a certain type of middle-aged white woman who would demand to “speak to the manager”, though is now widely considered misogynistic as it’s commonly used just to put down any woman who people disagree with.
In other instances, names that become popular in music, film and literature can become a bugbear for people. Any man named Harry Potter is sure to be asked about Hogwarts, while anyone named Britney will likely be associated with the Princess of Pop.
This is the case for a woman named Annie, a traditional and popular name said to mean “grace” or “favour”.
She took to Reddit to bemoan all the cliched jokes and entertainment references people make to her, from quips about the hit musical show of the same name and its famous song Tomorrow, to Michael Jackson’s hit track Smooth Criminal which asks “Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?” in reference to the CPR training dummy, Resusci Anne, which trained first responders to check whether a person was conscious by asking this question.
Annie penned: “Hi, I speak for all women named Annie when I say this. Yes, we are okay.
“Yes, we know the sun will come out tomorrow. No, you are not clever for making those connections. Yes, I have heard it every time I meet a new person.
“You are not the smooth criminal who struck me. Thank you.”
In an edit, she added a further example: “Imagine you’re working as a cashier and an item won’t scan and the customer says ‘Well, it must be free!’ Same feeling.”
This refers to the very common joke countless people make in this scenario.
Fellow Reddit users were keen to share their thoughts, with many opening up about their own similar experiences with their own names.
One person joked: “As a Luke, the next person that claims to be my father owes my mother child support”, noting the famous misquote from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back where people believe Darth Vader said, “Luke, I am your father” instead of his correct line, “No, I am your father.”
Another Luke agreed: “As another Luke, I know exactly what you mean. I got ‘Use the Force, Luke’ all the time when I was growing up.”
A third, named Mary, said: “And here I am just wondering why people keep asking me where my lamb is and concerned about how my garden grows…”
A fourth quipped: “Annie, this post suggests you are in fact not OK.”
Someone else shared: “Joelene here. Yes, I will steal your man. All your men. They’re mine now.”
Another said: “I work with a doctor with the last name Pepper. He thanked me for not making the obvious joke when I met him”.
And another added: “At least you’re not a Karen.”
To which, another Reddit user replied: “I’m a Jessica and apparently we’re in careful consideration to be next. Help”.
