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

Thank you!

Actually, pronounced like that NEV-AY-ER (emphasis on second syllable,) it sounds OK. 😆

Still, no-one would ever pronounce it properly! 😬

You're not wrong there Toast! I go there when my blood pressure is a bit too low.

If you end up with Niamh, she won't spend her life correcting. There will be moments, such as starting school where you will be 'in charge' and teach people the correct spelling and pronunciation. But her peers will rapidly pick it up. It isn't an uncommon name these days either.

Once she is an adult, starting jobs etc, same again. Teaching people when she first starts somewhere, but beyond the first day or two, it will be a complete non-issue.

I say that as someone who has an unusual name. It really hasn't caused me problems. And far rather that than being saddled with Nevaeh, which she would also have to spell out and teach people to pronounce whilst they inwardly eye roll.

I would think there's at least one Niamh in every school these days so it won't take long for everyone to recognise it.

I've always liked it

The reverse of Heaven is Hell.

I know 3 Victorias and no Vickys at all

I love a mad baby name from the dregs of the popularity list, but Neveah is where I draw the line - yuck. DH was fixated on the name Alabama (big True Romance fan) but to me, little Alabama sounds like she is destined for a life working on a pole! Just refuse and ask him to think of something else. Anything else.

Well exactly - why Heaven backwards?
Just use Heaven (or don't)

It’s a negative sounding word … like “Nevah have I evah ”. Then if u explain it’s Heaven backwards it sounds black magic, satan worship or a stripper.

Child needs normal name.
Evie? Similar to Neavah
Aurora? It’s like heaven?

If somehow he gets his way, go either with more acceptable middle name on everything you do from name stickers & school forms.

A teacher at my school named her ds James - her surname is Bond.

Spelled Elty-Bee?

I just had a look at names that mean heaven of angel and there are plenty to choose from that are not chavvy. E.g. Angela, Celine, Talia, Celia, Lani, Araceli, Leylani, Eshal, Jannah, Nalani.

I think Angela goes really well with Oliver.

My niece's dd is called Niamh but she has spelt it Neve.

It is up to you both how you decide to spell it if it is your name of choice.

No, no. Don’t try to compromise. Get him to want to compromise.

Insist on ‘Mildred’. Saxon name, means ‘gentle strength’. Beautiful. Very unusual these days too. Don’t see a lot of Mildreds at nursery. You’ve set your heart on it. You’re thinking ‘Mildred Nevaeh’. Everyone’s happy, yes? Excellent!

The name wouldn't be a problem as such, personally.
On the other hand, your husband's problems onto my head!
😊

OP tell your husband that Neveah isn't unique anyway. Unique essentially means made up. Neveah would have been unique the first time someone thought it was a good idea to reverse the word heaven & plant it on their poor child.

I seem to remember it being a trend perhaps 10/15 years ago. I could be way out on that timescale though.

Awful

Tell him the first Nevaeh that came up on Instagram is a professional wrestler - might put him off? https://www.instagram.com/nevaehoi4k/?hl=en

What on earth is weird or hard to spell about Ashleigh?

Its literally the correct spelling, based on well used actual words and place names (Ash = type of tree, Leigh = a Meadow) and has a history of use going back centuries.

Or are you American where you stuck the historically masculine spelling on girls and have no actual concept of the history or a name taken from another culture?

I doubt that would put most men off, several mean I have known wanted to name their kids after wrestlers.

I wouldn't use anything rude to describe the name.
It's just a name.
Not to everyone's taste - but no name is.
Personally I really dislike the names Henry, Percy, Stanley or Agatha (all names I know of actual children under the age of 12 or so) but do I say "urrgh those names are so poncy"?
No I don't. I don't say anything. They aren't my children so why should I care.
People are so unbelievably rude about names on Mumsnet.
Obviously parents should be discouraged to name their babies Adolf or Satan but other than that - does it matter if you don't like the name of someone else's child?

Your husband is as ridiculous as he is selfish. It's not as if he is the one that's going to carry the name to at least to the point they can legally change it.

Might I suggest Siobhan whilst we are on Irish names? I like Phoebe too but it's Greek rather than Irish.

Or Beattie-Elle?

Someone will actually do that now, won't they?

A relative swears that someone they worked with told him they were going to call their son "Gooey" because they'd read a book in which the hero was called that.
He asked how it was spelled.
Apparently, it was G-U-Y.

I genuinely don't want to derail and start an Irish vs English debate over this, but when did this become a thing?
Niamh and Neve are not the same name. Neve isn't just a misspelling of Niamh, it isn't even the same pronunciation.

On the subject of spelling, don’t underestimate the extent to which perfectly normal top 30 names get misspelled.One of mine has a name which I thought only had one way of spelling it - you would be amazed at how creative people can get. The younger one has a name which only has one way of spelling it in the U.K. but it’s popular in central/eastern Europe with a different spelling so I now have to spell that one out too! Both these names have 5 letters only and were around 20-something in the name charts when they were born.

I would pick a name you like and grey rock it until he compromises. Loved the suggestion of Mildred upthread. We had a list which we kept adding to with both of ours, and each had the right of veto. We had maybe three front runners each time we agreed on.

Did you not see recently the couple who have called their child Lucifer? That’s not even the worst bit, they gave the poor child the middle name Gary….