Quiksilver and Vans make pint-sized versions of their skatewear. Strollers boast more options than my first car – and cost more, too. Indie bands hold kid-friendly concerts at midday. Yup, parenting is a lot cooler than it ever was before.

So little wonder that baby names are far more adventurous than in earlier generations. But there is a category of names that could be classed as Trying Too Hard, Burdensome to Your Kid, All About You, Inconsiderate.

Even – dare I say it? – Bad Parenting.

And I nominate the following boy’s name for the top of the heap: Maverick.

Many of us who are now of an age to name our babies remember Maverick as Tom Cruise’s daredevil fly-boy character in Top Gun. It’s worth noting that Maverick was his callsign – his given name was Pete.

And yet in 2006, this name was given to 388 baby boys born in the US. It’s no Jacob, sure, but that makes it more common than compelling choices like Deacon, Matthias, Atticus, Heath, Rhys, Paxton and Beckett.

Of course, Maverick has been in the dictionary since long before Tom Cruise flew into the danger zone. From www.dictionary.com, a maverick is a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates.

The term originated when Texas rancher, Samuel A. Maverick, decided to leave his calves unbranded.

It is also a missile.

Now I will grant you that, calves and weaponry aside, Maverick is not as wacked out an X-Man choice as Wolverine, Storm or Rogue. (None of which are currently in the Top 1000 – though Storm made a brief appearance, peaking at #840 in 1995.)

Maverick is both a surname name (think Finley, Madison and Tyler) and a noun name (a la Story, Journey and Lyric.)

What’s more, Maverick has appeared in pop culture before. Back in 1957, Maverick ran on ABC – an old West show about a family of reluctant gunslinger heroes, the gambling Maverick clan. First came Bret, then Bart, Beau and Brent before the series ended in 1962.

This lends Maverick some cowboy cachet, not unlike rising star Wyatt (#82 in 2006, the highest it’s ever climbed.) In fact, Maverick flirted with the Top 1000 during the television show’s initial run, in 1958 (#792) and 1959 (#988.)

And yet, this name crosses the line from interesting and cool to outlandish and cruel, and here’s why:

• Maverick is a comic book character – this is a red flag for baby naming!
• Maverick is a Yugioh villain – again, anime names are, at best, dicey choices.
• The name has been given to a roller coaster – would you name your kid Viper, Steel Dragon or El Toro?
• Ford has used Maverick for four different models – including their European SUV. While some little girls are named Camry, this is another big stop sign in baby naming.
• The Mavericks are Dallas’ NBA franchise. As a general rule, professional sports teams names do not lend themselves to becoming good choices for our children. Imagine: “This is my son, Steeler Smith. Hi, I’m Red Wing Jackson.”

But lastly, there’s just something about this name that feels over-the-top. Beyond the gamblers, the hoop stars, the thrill riders, this noun name just feels like it’s putting way too much on your child.

What if your Maverick is more of a laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of kid? It’s a big name, an eye-popping name, and it just feels like much too much.

Don’t go there.

***For the full list of Mavericks, see Wikipedia’s page.