Report: Amazon particularly to blame as parents stop naming children Alexa

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An Alexa-compatible Echo smart speaker. (Amazon Photo)

Alexa, STOP! How many times have you shouted this after inadvertently waking up a voice-activated Amazon device? Now imagine being the parent of a human named Alexa who is trying to coexist with your smart speakers.

This messy 2021 reality and more serious issues with the name have apparently led to a drop in the number of babies named Alexa, seven years after Amazon chose the name for its artificial intelligence newborn.

Atlantic has an interesting new report this week on how Amazon killed the name Alexa.

The rise in popularity of Amazons Echo and other voice-activated devices coincides with a sharp drop in the number of American babies named Alexa, as the name has become rather ubiquitous. Alexa joins other names that fell into disuse after their association changed, such as Hillary, after Hillary Clinton became first lady.

And while sharing a product name isn’t always a problem, The Atlantic points out how Alexa differs because Amazon turned it into a name for a female voice who is bidding on it. Younger children would be teased in school with an onslaught of orders.

Many parents [of Alexas] change their children’s names or use their middle names because it leads to horrific bullying, Laura Wattenberg, founder of the naming trends website Namerology, told magazine.

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