AIBU to think my DH has gone mad over this baby name?

It is not unique.

Why does anyone think spelling heaven backwards is beautiful? Is he a satanist, OP? Because it just gives upside-down-crucifix vibes to me 🤷🏼‍♀️

No it’s awful. It’s not even unique so I don’t know where he got that from. I would not budge from my refusal to have it. (Apologies to anyone is called it or has called it for their dd).

What about Neve (or Naimh) as a sort of compromise.

You need the E for the Ah sound after the Mh, like Caoimhe (Kee-va)

Irish names get a hard battering in the UK 😂
Grainne, Saoirse, Aoibhinn and even Siobhan have interesting attempts.

No, you're spot on. I have a name I always have to spell and I would never do that to a child.

Have you spoken to him about why he wants to give your daughter such a.. flamboyant name when you were both happy to give your son a very typical English name? I’d also remind him that what he loves today has to be her life forever. And from my own experience, there are some names you simply don’t grow into just because your parents thought it was a bit different at the time. I’ve also been called chavvy for it, it’s not nice for something that was never your choice.

What would you use instead?

It perfectly sums up the name

Just ask him how he would feel if you were trying to railroad him into a name he didn’t like.

Eden is quite a nice name too.

Unless you reverse that as well - to Nede, pronounced 'Neddie', like a donkey giving rides on Blackpool beach!

A cousin of my husband call her DD Nevaeh. She's a gorgeous child. Very sweet natured but everyone feels the name is very chavvy.

And I also know another little girl with this name too.

It's a monstrosity.

If you like Niamh - I had a colleague with this name once and rather liked it - then I'd go with the conventional spelling rather than any of the variants. It's classic and will date much better.

FWIW, I have a conventionally boring name but it has several spelling variants so I end up having to spell it every time anyway! It's not a big issue.

Not unique, at all!

I think this is a lovely alternative, and yes she may have to spell her name out lots in later life, but its better than saying yep its heaven backwards all the time!
I also like Neve as in Neve Campbell.

Got to agree with posters saying spelling heaven backwards feels kind of demonic. There's a whole conspiracy theory about songs being played backwards and the lyrics are demonic. If anyone's interested in that kind of thing.

If he gets to veto six names you like then you can veto one he likes.

Are you Irish too?

I thought this was really funny. I've never heard of Nevaeh as a name and I'm certainly one of the people who would need to have it explained to me.

I would never call my child a name that isn't straightforward to pronounce. I have enough problems with my surname which, although it's actually pronounced the same way it's spelt, seems to be an issue for many people. They find so many weird ways to pronounce it that it's laughable.

I think we owe it to our children when we name them to think how that name is going to impact them in their everyday life going forward.

There are so many beautiful, varied and characterful names in existence to chose from.I don't understand why people feel the need to invent names as a fashion statement. A statement that generally won't stand the test of time.

My maiden name was Irish and difficult to pronounce and spell. No one could pronounce it apart from when I went to Ireland! When I was asked for my surname I gave up ever actually saying it. I would just say "I'll spell it for you." It had an apostrophe. I remember going to give blood once and the lady who took my details didn't know what an apostrophe was and I actually had to go round the desk and show her where it was on her keyboard. Hours of fun. 😂 I actually considered changing my surname to "I'll spell it for you." 😂

I went to school with a girl called Siobhan. She said that a lot of people, if they saw her name written down, would pronounce it SEE-OB-HAN rather than SHIV-ON snd it drove her mad. I would be inclined to stay away from names that the little girl will be having to spell out forever more. It's exhausting! I hope you can choose something nice you both agree on. 👍 Also, I really really hope you have some inside information about the government lowering the pension age to 50. 😉😂 Wishing you all the best with your little bundle of joy. ❤️

Unless you live in Ireland naming your daughter Niamh is not a good idea. Irish names never sound right in an English accent anyway.

It sounds like Nivea, the face cream. Agree, not a good name.

What's meaningful about a name spelt backwards? Is the word dog meaningful!?

Is he religious? If so I'd suggest a name.like Faith or something

OP, you couldn't get more 'common' than the name he suggested!

I met a woman called Nebula once. I thought she'd made it up, but no, her parents chose it. It's quite nice, really. Perhaps try that.

If that’s true, they should actually name the child Lleh so that it will mean heaven. You could always claim it’s Welsh, OP!

Yes it’s awful, yes it’s more commonly found in lower socioeconomic groups (several in my school in a deprived area) and no it’s not unique at all. In 2010, it was the 25th most popular name for girls born in the US.

Hold firm on Nevaeh, but you might have to compromise, though I like all the names you've suggested!

(You could try telling him you think Chlamydia would be a lovely name, but you’d have to hope he didn’t agree…)

This.

Noo it’s not unusual like he imagines it to be. It’s popular but also it’s just a bit cringey/known as a chav name.

Niamh is lovely and similar enough that he may like it? Also well known enough that there should be no problem with pronunciation anywhere but not over used.