tragedeigh

English

Etymology

From tragedy, respelled to make fun of unconventional baby names ending in -eigh such as Bradleigh, Aubreigh, Emileigh, etc. Now mainly associated with the r/tragedeigh subreddit, created August 25, 2021.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɹæd͡ʒɛdi/, /ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪdi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

tragedeigh (plural tragedeighs)

1. (Internet slang) An instance of giving someone an extremely bizarre or cringeworthy name, especially one that is a fanciful respelling of a more common name.

   Synonym: (rare) travesteigh

   • 2020 July 11, @_LaBlondeJames, Twitter‎^[1], archived from the original on 27 August 2023:

     Most of the baby names I see these days are complete tragedeighs

   • 2022 February 11, Gabrielle Bruney, “Celebrities Are Really Out Here Naming Their Babies "Wolf"”, in Jezebel‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-07-01:

     I have no kids and no pets; there's not a creature on this earth that I've ever been tasked with naming. Still, I love browsing the Name Nerds subreddit, where anonymous internet users gather to debate the merits of different names. Most posts are from users looking to crowdsource honest opinions on monikers they're considering for their kids, for themselves, for their Sims, and responses can be pretty frank. Trendy "-eigh" names are deemed a "tragedeigh;" if you're considering naming your baby boy "Riot," the users of Name Nerds will strongly suggest that you do otherwise.

   • 2022 December 27, H. J. Hayes, “I named my baby after a weapon – people say it's 'terrible' but the spelling is a real 'tragedeigh'”, in The US Sun‎^[3], archived from the original on 2022-09-02:

     In the comments section on Facebook, people ripped into the parents and the "terrible, terrible name" they chose. ¶ "You can't put 'eigh' into just any name and call it good," one critic said. ¶ "That name is a Tragedeigh," a fellow troll agreed.

   • 2023 May 3, Rebecca Jennings, “The baby name boom”, in Vox‎^[4], archived from the original on 2023-06-22:

     These days, naming children can feel like an unwinnable game — you could be accused of trend bandwagoning if you name your daughter, say, Harper; you're called a "tragedeigh" if you go with something truly original; or you're simply a bore whose child is destined to be one of a billion Liams — hence the baby name consultants who say their DMs and emails are overflowing with requests from confused parents.

   • 2023 June 17, u/meow_avocado, “What was the first "tragedeigh" name?”, in Reddit‎^[5], r/tragedeigh, archived from the original on 27 August 2023:

     What name do you think began the tragedeighs? Or what was the first one you ever heard? Bonus: what is the worst tragedeigh you know in real life?

   • 2023 August 23, u/linerva, “Why is /r/namenerds so obsessed with "unique" names?”, in Reddit‎^[6], r/NameNerdCirclejerk, archived from the original on 27 August 2023:

     I'm more frustrated with every passing post that is basically "we want to name our child David/John/Sarah/Mary, is it useable today?" ¶ Like... there are literally millions of people with these names. Your perfectly average name choice is not a tragedeigh or unusable. Please talk to someone about your anxieties.