Help! my family hate my baby's name!!

I would NOT think of him!

I'd think if King, Saint and martyr Oswold.

www.lindisfarne.org.uk/general/oswald.htm

"What is a Christian saint, if not one who lives a life of love, first to God and then to man?"

"King Oswald was a man of prayer."

"Oswald was a man of compassion. One of the best-known stories describes how one Easter, when he was about to dine with Bishop Aidan, a great crowd of the poor came begging alms. The king gave them not only the food but also the silver dish, to be broken up and distributed among them. Aidan was so moved by this generosity that he grasped the king's right hand and exclaimed, "May this hand never perish!" (And Bede tells us that it didn't, for in his day the king's hand, which had been severed in his last battle, was preserved in Bamburgh church!)"

Well I can't claim all that is true but it is a lovely name.

Man, some people just read what they want to read, and not what is actually written...

I said, many people will inevitably think of OM when they hear the name. Not all people, but many people. And this very thread proves it - lots of people have come on to say they would think of him.

Doesn't mean it's a problem though, or that they will always and only think of him.

As for the name Madeleine, again, it's only a fleeting thought. If you can hear a name and not have it conjure up any past associations (someone nice you worked with who made you like a name, a person you disliked who put you off a name, etc, etc) then good for you.

The person posting that thread was asking for honest opinions: did people think of MM when they heard the name - as when she'd mentioned it to people in real life, they'd been a bit shocked that she was considering it. Now I think that is ridiculous - to not choose the name for reasons of the MM association is bonkers, but likewise, I admit I would think of MM but that would be it, and the new 'owner' of the name would quickly make it their own.

As with baby Oswold/Oswald.

I think of Oswald Mosley - I'm 27 so not grandparent age! But I did live on Cable St for a while...

I also think of Oswald Bastable mind you.

lots of names might be "known" because there is a peripheral historic figure with that name, but that's a far cry from the name being forever associated with that figure. It's not like we're talking Madonna here. And Madeleine McCann - that is ludicrous - some people really read too many tabloids if common names have such resonance with them. for the record I don't know who "Jenson" is and if the name came my way would have zero associations. there is nothing "inevitable" about this child's name being associated with someone who lived long ago and is largely out of mind.

Ugh, I didn't say he was important because he married DM; I said that that elevated his fame and notoriety levels tenfold - her sister's connection with Nazi Germany and her own allegiance with fascism and Nazism and refusal to ever denounce either right up until her death made him a much more well-known figure than he ever would have been if he'd just stayed married to Cynthia.

The threat to democracy in the 1930s and 1940s was never from the BUF; it was from Hitler, the Third Reich and Mussolini. I was just trying to agree with the point that he, of and in himself, was actually not that important an historical figure, relatively speaking.

I do agree though, that the people who know of him are really not about to die out - I hope I have a few years left in me yet, at 37.

And as I also said, many people will inevitably think of OM when they hear the name, but it's not enough of a reason not to give it to your child if you love it. There was a similar discussion recently around the name Madeleine and I said the same thing, that yes, I probably would think of MM when first told of the name, but soon enough the new baby would come to 'own' the name and any previous connections would simply cease to matter. It is the exact same thing here.

Like I said if you like the name then call him that, but I think the idea that only old people know about Mosley is incorrect. the 1930's were an important part of history in Europe, and the rise of the far right even in countries like Britain is important to understanding how world war two came about. he was famous becuase he was leader of the facist party, not because he married a Mitford, that is just reducing an important part of history to a celebrity wedding. You cannot stop people connecting the name unfortunetly. It is the same with any name that a famous person has- call a child jenson in the UK, and people will say "oh as in the F1 driver"

Good name! My DS also shares a similar though different Nothumbrian king saint's name.

Stick to your guns and if anyone criticises your DS's name then reply with:

'I hope you didnt mean to be as rude as that!'

For some reason families sometimes think they have a say when they really dont!

Good name. Strong but cute. Stick to your gut. In 6 months time he will be the only Oswold or Ozzy your friends and family bring to mind.

Sorry my first thought is Mosley too. Saying that I suffer with connections. I would not use Joseph for instance, due to the Stalin connection.

I think the connection is made when first hearing name, but it is soon forgotten.

YANBU in the sense that it's rude of your parents to remark on your DS' name anyway

Having said that - in all honesty my first thought went to Oswald "the fascist guy" too (I am not British, although I lived in England for 10 yrs or so)... ANd I doubt I am the only one who would think that...

Love it. If I have a ds, he would be in the running to be an Ozzy!!

My mum totally put me off a name I had chosen for a girl and truth be told I resent her for it, dont let anyone put you off a name that you love its your baby and you get to choose, Ozzy is a very cute name and Ive never even heard of Mosley, nor I imagine have the majority of mums that you socialise with - tell them to wind their necks in and enjoy their grandchild

It's a lovely name - tell your Parents they don't have to like the name, but it's done now, if they can't say anything nice, they shouldn't say anything at all, and surely they must realise that people old enough to remember who Mosley was are dying out, by the time your DS is an adult, all their generation will be in the ground or in a care home, and everyone else are more likely to think of Oswold Boatang. (I always find the 'your generation are dying out' line ends most conversations like this).

Haven't read the whole thread so someone might have beaten me to it, but:

Saint Oswald may refer to:
Oswald of Northumbria (c.604?642), King of Northumbria
Oswald of Worcester (died 992), Archbishop of York

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Oswald

As the appositely-named SpringHeeledJack says, reclaim the name from the fascists!

The thing is they are grand parents - didn't have anything to do with conception, carrying baby or the majority of his upbringing so it's not their decision. I am regularly astounded by how rude people are re names.

dd1 told my mum we were calling our twins Fairy and Mary. Bless her, my mum even tried to get used to the idea of Fairy just in case - she told me she was glad we didn't choose it and it was just dd's imagination, but she wouldn't have said a thing if we had gone with it.

Tell them to get a hamster so they can name it!

god they are rude. we got put off a name because family had such a negative reaction. won't make that mistake again - next time we will announce the name and I will make it clear I don't want to hear a negative word!

the name is lovely and no one is going to make some connection to one person whose day is long past.

It staggers me how unkind and thoughtless family of all people can be in situations like these. Having had first hand experience from an a**e of a fil.

Go with it - YOUR baby - YOUR name choice. THEY are the ones with the problem - they need to just get over it and move on! A new life has been born - celebrate!

If you like it stick with it, they will come around, people have different associations with most names. I'll be honest I thought of Mosley, but I just asked my husband and he went "Lee Harvey Oswald", I know the spelling is different. People use Joseph all the time, it was one of my favourites and Stalin didn't immediately spring to mind.

What Slinking said

Mosely wasn't as important as he thought he was, iykwim. The response to him was more important than he ever was

...that said, if I'd tried to call one of mine Oswald, my granddad (Cable Street veteran) would have excommunicated me

and fwiw, some of my family members were upset at us calling DD Maggie, as it reminded them of Thatcher. That said, she has made the name very much her own.

Take Oswald/Oswold back from the fascists!

RECLAIM THE NAME!

I think it's an age thing - I have heard of Mosely but never give him a thought.
There is a nice Oswald in the Story of the Treasure Seekers - I thought of him.

I agree that he was clearly an also run, but it's a pretty dark bit of English history, and the first thing that comes to mind for me too (and I'm probably not from the OP's parent's generation).

Ozzy on the other hand makes me think of Ozzie Osbourne. Not sure that's totally good either!

Thing is that it is an unusual name so the association sticks more, in a way that Jack just doesn't. However I am sure that given a bit of time your parents will get used to it and it will just become the name of your ds.

ImpYCelyn I think you are thinking of St Oswald/Oswold (with Old English who knows what spelling is right). Perhaps the OP could tell her parents that was her inspiration? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_of_Northumbria It might be that they are finding it hard to tell their friends their new grandchild is called Oswold if Mosely is the association that comes to mind.

I agree that OM wasn't a particularly important figure, TBH. He thought himself a lot more important than he actually was (the BUF was never any sort of actual threat) and if he hadn't had an affair with and married a Mitford he'd be a total history 'also ran'.

There was a King Oswold. King of Northumbria I think. It definitely was an alternative spelling in the original texts.

I think you have chosen a name you love, therefore you should stick with it. Does your child look like an Oswald and if you were to change it, what would you change it to? We couldn't decide on a name for our baby boy even though we knew he was a boy. We chose Noah in the end which I now love, my parents weren't so keen my dad thought he'd get picked on!! Luckily they know better to comment.