Are you embarrassed about your name choice?

Gosh, I didn't use Gabriel because I knew so many. It's lovely though.

We got such an awful family reaction to dd's ( completely inoffensive, I think) name that I try to be less judgy now? But,as others have said, someone is always going to be at your choice, no point getting too upset about it.

Both my boys have unusual names, Leander and Gabriel. We get comments ALL THE TIME about them. Don't worry about what others think, we don't.

LOVE Barnaby, btw.

We liked Barnaby when we were expecting our eldest, but I find Barney a bit 'wet' and thought it would be inevitably shortened to this. Think Barns, which someone mentioned further up, is awesome though - much cooler. I know what you mean though - we liked Raphael (Raffy) and I had to seriously ask myself if I would feel daft when they called him at the doctor's and so on and unfortunately the answer was yes, so it was vetoed.

I think you're best not to say till baby is born. Folk tend to open their mouths and let their tummies rumble when it comes to names when he or she is still a bump ("oh - that's was our dog's name" or "he'll need to be a good fighter with a name like that") but once they're born MOST people have the good sense to screen their thoughts!

My son's called Dexter and was born before the TV series came out.I am getting a wee bit at the 'ooh he might turn into a psycopath you know' comments,but it suits him completely and we have never met another one [yet!!]

I love my dds names but dd1's name is routinely critised as being too common or not a proper name on here which makes me sad.
When we chose it we didn't look at lists or even really think it through, in fact, on the top of a mountain in the Lake District dh said 'i love the name (dd1)' and i said 'me too'.
And that was that.

Lockets- Rex is a fab name
Freesias- I have read many of your posts and you sound sosad about your name choice for your dd4. It doesn't sound as though that feeling will change (and your justifiable anger at dh) Is it really too late to change?

I love my DDs name, the only thing I wish we'd done but we didn't, as I was adamant I didn't want to was give her a middle name...

I know what you mean. Our ds has an extremely unusual name and at first I was a bit reluctant to tell people even though I was glad we had been brave and refused to back down from calling him that. Now I couldn't give two hoots what people think and I am proud of calling it at the supermarket/wherever. I think it all just takes a bit of getting used to.

I love love love my kids names but I know when I say them a lot of folk won't and having two middle names makes me cringe a little but wouldnt change them!

Known for. Flipping iPad.

I'm not embarrassed by any one of my children's name just sometimes when I'm asked 'what's your children's names?' and I have to give all three of them together I realise I am a pretentious prat Singularly they are ok together I'm poncetastic.....

elseilltellyourfather great minds.....it's Clementine too! Or Clemmus, as bump is currently know fo reasons that are lost to both of us :)

ds2's name is very rare - possibly unique. He may hate it when he is older but I suspect not.

Ds has an Irish name, every time somebody asks what he's called I have to say it several times (we're in the UK)
I do dread telling new people as nobody ever says 'that's nice' even to be polite, except every now and then somebody will say that's Irish isn't it? And that makes ma :) all my Irish relatives love it as well.
I wanted to call him Rafferty, but exh vetoed it. Since I've raised him single handed I sometimes wish I'd stuck with that. But he is his name, and hopefully he'll like it.

jobrien i may have misunderstood you but i think you may be a bit unfair to say "it's all about me attitude" . naming a dc is probably the first and one could argue the most important thing you do for a dc after their birth . something that will stay with them for life and may even influence their life chances. it's something that if you make the wrong choice is not easy to undo unlike buying the wrong , pram seat etc. it must be far better to discuss how you feel about a name before dc's birth than leave it till it's too late as op is doing .
i honestly believe that when most parents agonize over a name choice that it's actually less about how they feel , but how the name will affect their dc and how their dc will be perceived . if i feel embarrassed about this name will my dc , if i'm proud of this name than my dc will feel special etc.

if a parent feels uneasy about a name choice then their is a possibility their dc will pick up on these negative feelings which may affect not just how they feel about their name but how they feel about themselves. even if these feelings are passed on inadvertently .that is why most people try to find a name that "pleases others " but also one they love . obviously you will never please everyone . therefore it must be better to pick a name you love over one that pleases others as you are the one who will have a greater influence on how a dc feels about their name than anyone else .

many parents crave a unique , special name as to them their child is just that. others want something popular because they want a name that blends that doesn't make their child stand out . nothing wrong with either position imho. personally i also dislike daft spellings but each to their own .

to say you should choose a classless name can be difficult if not impossible todays "posh" is tomorrows "naff" and vice versa . in the UK there sometimes seem to be very few truly classless names anyway

My child's father dislikes her name. But I figured as a single mum I was entitled to make the decision alone, he just calls her by her nickname. I still love her full name, no matter how often I have to correct spellings. You're the ones saying it most, just choose your favourite, ignore comments.

If it has even 1% cringe factor for you, don't use it.

personally I think it is poncearama, but that shouldn't sway you

EVERY single name will be disliked by someone. Thank goodness we all have different tastes .

Lockets I love Rex! not that it matters what some random internet sprite thinks, but I think it's a good strong name but classic enough to mesh in with your other children's names. I loved Dominic too btw, but Rex is fabulous.

The poster who was going to use Sukie short for Susannah, that's lovely!

And Barnaby wouldn't be my first choice OP but it is a totally normally name, and I wouldn't think twice if I heard it called out in my local supermarket.

I feel that my dc1's name sounds quite conservative and that's so not me. Her father chose it and I sometimes feel like telling peoplet that. But all in all I don't feel it matters. It's no an embarrassment in itself! It just doesn't match me. But my daughter's name is not all about meeeeeeeeee!!

Nothing wrong with Barnaby, but if it makes you cringe even slightly, then go for another name. You're supposed to like your children's names, not to wait for them to grow on you!

I think, unfortunately, that some people will be judgey about any name you choose, for any number of reasons - too popular, too unusual, too faddy, too posh, too old fashioned etc... So for this reason I'm just come to pick the name(s) we want and develop a thick skin to the cat's bum faces! I think Barnaby is great btw!

"Why are you so keen to please others, name your kids what YOU want!"

Sorry if this offends, but I really hate the "my child's name is all about meeeee" attitude. Our DCs will still be stuck with their names long after we're dead and buried. IMO its important to give them a name they can live with in later life (ie no daft spellings, no strong class connotations), even if its not 'unique' or 'trending' or whatever. Sorry, but it does matter what other people think...our DCs will be living with the positive/negative reactions for the rest of their lives.

Yes I know exactly that feeling, not embarrassment but dreading having to justify the name. Felt this strongly when ds1 was born. He is barnaby. Took me ages to get used to saying his name but loved hearing other people say it. Had very positive comments about it over the last 3 years, some people are gushing in their admiration!
Ds2 is Caspar. I was much more comfortable with this from the start but am still waiting for someone to say they like it. I can honestly say I don't care.