Britons have mocked “fatally embarrassing” American parents after finding out some have named their kids after UK cities – including one baffling choice.
An unnamed Reddit user caused carnage on the social media platform when they demanded Americans stopped using British place names for their children’s names.
He included one bizarre choice as proof of why this seemingly popular trend needed to be shelved.
The poster used the example of his friend’s cousin’s girlfriend being called Lecesta, based on the East Midlands city of Leicester – famous for its football club and cathedral where Richard III was reinterred in 2015.
The name caused a huge debate online, with many calling it “fatally embarrassing”.
The rant began: “I’m from England. My American friend’s cousin’s girlfriend is called Lecesta. I thought it could be a cultural thing but it isn’t.
“Apparently, her mother got together with her father at a party in Leicester in England and therefore named their child Lecesta.
“And what’s even worse, the mother pronounces the word Leicester as Lie – Sess – Tur. It’s actually Less – Tuh. And since Lecesta’s mother pronounces Leicester this way, her daughter’s name is pronounced Lee – Sess – Tur.”
The furious post added: “Can we stop naming children after British places? AND THEN SPELLING THEM INCORRECTLY.”
The comments, unsurprisingly, were awash with stunned remarks and outrage, including one who said the name was “cringe”.
Another said: “You realise all of American naming history is copying Britain and their version of English is just incorrect but with the excuse of calling it American English.”
One wrote: “Hard yikes on that pronunciation.”
A fourth added: “There is no end to the amazing things that Americans do with our language and culture.”
But many others took the case further, revealing the other names they had heard American children called – albeit playfully.
One said: “I saw an American who named their child Leeds and could not understand why the Brits in the comments found it funny.
“Nothing pains me more than the pronunciations of my city like I know there are a lot of letters but its Les-tah.”
A second continued “I’ll name my baby Milton Keynes and you can’t stop me,” while a third wrote: “Please at least give them a nice city/town name… like Slough.”
But a fourth shockingly finished: “I (American) work with a woman named Devon Norfolk. Her last name is Norfolk and her parents either doubled down or are ignorant of British geography… I’m guessing the latter.”
