Middle school students can find a way to tease about anything. I have heard plays on names as common and unremarkable as Janet, David, John, and Sarah.
Trying to pick a name specifically because it’s un-teasable is doomed to failure.
There is a huge difference between picking a name that someone might mess with, vs picking a name that you KNOW will be grist for the playground mill. If you don’t want your kid to hate your forever, don’t name him Ben Dover or a few of those other gems.
Wait, what’s wrong with Layla?
Agree with jym. “huge difference.”
No offense to anyone that has gone that route, but I’m not a fan of the whole Jr. thing. My older kid had friends growing up in the neighborhood -one was a III, another a IV ! He is still very good friends with both of them and one is already married and the other is getting married later this year. I can’t imagine the naming pressure if either of them ends up having a boy.
I have a child named Mary. Rarely has she had another child in a classroom or even the school named Mary or at least called Mary; there was another child with her same name/middle name in grade school, but that girl was called Molly.
Yep, go with Mary. Plain, old fashioned, and rarely used anymore.
A newly married couple we know involves a Jr. who goes by Junior. His wife says things like, “Junior and I are hoping…blah, blah, blah.” It’s very weird.
@jym626 I always thought Layla was Clapton’s pet name for Patty Boyd…I guess I am a historian too 
Parents should consider how others will react to their kid’s name. A name shows that you belong to a certain group/class–and also can show your aspirations for your kid. The name should not have negative connotations or hold your kid back from the group you want him/her to belong to. As much as people try to deny it, everyone will mentally “classify” a person by his/her name. (“Only ignorant parents would name a kid that, so I’m not expecting much of the kid, either. . .”) Do you think that Tyffannee and LaFawnduh sound like the names of Supreme Court Justices or neurosurgeons?
My grandparents were immigrants with an unpronounceable last name. My dad and his brother had ethnic first names that were also hard to pronounce, so they became known only by American nicknames. My dad had his first name legally changed to the formal version of his nickname. (Not the English version of his birth name, btw) Both my dad and his brother named their kids short, simple American/English names with standard spellings (like Tom, Jim, Jane. . .) We had to deal with the difficult last name, but (I think) our familiar first names reassured people that we were “not foreigners.” My (American) friend’s Hungarian H insisted on Hungarian names for their kids. Now the American mom gets annoyed that people can’t pronounce her kids’ names. Really? I just think this is “un-strategic.” Their last name (like the one I grew up with) is also unpronounceable to English speakers. The kids are being raised here, so, imo, it would be better for them to use American names. Two of the kids’ names have common English versions, but the mom gets annoyed when people use them! I’m all for preserving your ethnic heritage, but if you are in a cultural/ethnic minority, and aspiring to be accepted by those in the majority, names can make a difference.
Personally, I like classic English and Bible names or international Queen/Princess names. I never understand why people pick the trendy name of the year/decade or get into the weird spellings. Even worse when they pick the popular name from the last decade. . .Don’t like the “made up” or stripper names, either. (fwiw Aiden is an old Irish saint’s name. But all the Cadens, Braydens, Jadens. . .I’m not a fan of those).
One branch of my H’s family can be traced back several hundred years–his grandfathers’ names are (from most recent) Harold, Frank (not Francis), Daniel, Zadoc, Ebeneezer, Ebeneezer, Ebeneezer, and John. The grandma’s names were Marta, Concepcion (she was Mexican), Maria, Sally, Hannah (don’t know the rest. . .)
I believe you are right, lje. I believe she dated several rock stars in her day.
As for names., any name that has in whole or part a sexual connotation word, some kids will emphasize that syllable and have a field day with it.
I am an acquaintance with someone who is always saying David or David Jr. on Facebook. Sometimes has said little David even though the kid is an adult. It does seem strange. My kid’s friends (who are the iii and lV guys). go by the middle names of their dads as their first names-and that is what everyone knows them by and calls them.
Patti Boyd was Patti Harrison, wife of a Beatle during the Clapton affair. The name comes from a piece of poetry - Layla and Majnun. But, I agree it was about them. And, it’s a great song.
Layla/ Leila/ Leyla is a very old, historic and literary Arabic and Persian name. I think it is a lovely name.
Funny, my daughter was playing Pandora on our new smart TV last night and the unplugged Layla came on…I was just talking about how seeing Clapton in 1995 was such a disappointment for me. He was on my bucket list of people I wanted to see perform in my lifetime , but that concert was shortly after his son was tragically , accidentally killed and his performance was a big letdown to me. She wasn’t aware that there was another version of Layla, which I consider the good one
Tears in Heaven 
Since we are talking names, she typically went by Pattie Boyd. She was supposedly the inspiration for the Beatles’ “I Need You” and “Something,” and the inspiration for Clapton’s “Layla,” “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Wonderful Tonight.” She was quite the looker in her day, probably the prettiest of the Beatles’ wives/girlfriends. You can see her in the train scene in A Hard Day’s Night. Carry on 
nottelling-
Leila is a very pretty name, but I wouldn’t want to grow up through my teenaged years with it.
^^ I was only aware of the George Harrison, Eric Clapton connection and rivalry…I hated the song " Wonderful Tonight "
FWIW, despite all of the defending I’ve done on here (and poking holes in stereotypes), I will give my kids “traditionally” white American names with common spellings and absolutely no apostrophes in their first names.
Kids (and adults, obviously) can be very, very cruel and I’d like to not inflict intentional damage on my child. Apostrophes are a PITA and they’re already going to have an apostrophe and hyphen in their last name. No need to make their lives more complicated than they already will be.
I wanted to name my daughter Lee, which is my middle name,my father’s middle name, two grandparent’s middle names, and one great grandparent’s middle name (from the South, started in the 1870s, and across gender lines). Husband, from Massachusetts, refused.
I often wondered how my grandfather was “Ira Lee ***”, born in rural NC in the early 1900s. Ira just seems New York to me. My grandmother’s generation had Bessie, Myrtice, Beulah, Mamie … ugh. But I like Bess without the “ie”. I also like “Millie” but not MIldred … maybe for Amelia.
My 20 year old daughter likes Henry, Phoebe, and Peter.
Apostrophes and hyphens in general can cause problems and it might not hurt to avoid it if possible. Even hyphenating at its peak never seemed to have really caught on. Again, no offense intended to those who might have gone that route back in the day.