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Baby names

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Unpleasant comments you have received when revealing baby name

270 replies

Polkadotfanatic · 17/02/2012 09:49

My friend has just had a daughter (Monday morning, all new and pink and fresh and gorgeous). She has chosen Alice Elizabeth, (imo) a timeless classic name which wont age.

Her mother's comment:

''Oh. Playing it safe are you?'' Hmm
''Well I suppose someone has to use the boring names so the braver people can use the nicer ones...'' Shock

I mean as comments go, it's not the nastiest, but the timing (Alice was about four hours old and friend was in blissed out baby loveness) wasn't great.

Just wondered what, if any negative comments you had when announcing baby name...

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Pinkie29 · 19/03/2012 13:06

Love the response on obem Grin that's exactly what I'd say! I don't think there's anything wrong saying that's a bit unusual etc but when you get nasty comments from the start it's downright rude! x

CheshireDing · 19/03/2012 12:23

Darcey just makes me think of the prima ballerina, it's a lovely name.

Would love to know what the wee smelling name was ! Grin

We didn't tell anyone ours choices until DD was born, everyone has said nice things about her name but my Mum said "good job she wasn't a boy then" when we said George Hugo had been our boys choice.

On OBEM the other week the chap rang his relation and said their baby was called Faith. The Relation must have said they didn't like it (or something along those lines) because the Dad then said "I don't give a fuck, that's her name". I thought this was a perfect response :)

LoopyLa · 19/03/2012 10:53

Brilliant thread!! Have been wetting myself over people's responses!

Alice Elizabeth is gorgeous :)

Pinkie29 · 18/03/2012 11:12

Great thread Smile when we finally get pregnant if we have a boy it will be named after my partners dad, if it's a girl I've always loved the name Darcey, told this to a now ex close friend (not fell out for that reason!) and she goes 'that's a horrible name it reminds me of this Chav Iived near and she'd scream her name up the street'

Just so rude and insensitive! We can all call our children whatever we like! Grin

FreshwaterPlimpies · 18/03/2012 10:18

I know this thread's slowing down (Alice Elizabeth is beautiful and lovely btw,) but had to add something my FIL said when we told him our potential DD's middle name.
'Hmm.. just makes me think of a little old lady pottering around smelling of wee.'
We changed it.

overthehill · 17/03/2012 20:34

On hearing that we had decided to call our DD Miriam, MIL said: "That's a bit Jewish, isn't it?"

Everton4me · 14/03/2012 21:32

Ooh good thread. Never had anyone criticise my DS names, but pretty straight forward, not unusal names (our choice). Although when we announced I was expecting , my FIL said "We'll have to start thinking of names", to which I replied "No, because we've already chosen". Let him know from the start that it was up to us not him.

I never realised until I became a mum just how much people think they know it all about kids and parenting and how they want to takeover have input. Busy-bodies.

We can call our kids whatever we like and having worked in schools, I have heard so many names that nothing suprises me anymore. I do know of teachers though that make assumptions on a child's behaviour etc, before even meeting the child, just based on the name :( (there was an article on this years ago).

Badgerina · 14/03/2012 21:08

About DS's name Oscar: "Ugh! That's soooooo GERMANIC" (exP's mother). Mean, bitchy, and xenophobic in one fell swoop. Bravo.

PlumPeridot · 14/03/2012 01:36

Oh -- with my first, I was considering Genevieve and a friend said "that's a stripper's name". Needless to say, she's not Genevieve.

PlumPeridot · 14/03/2012 01:32

I'm so glad you started this thread. We had 'Adele Katharine" picked out and my evil b*tch of a step-mother said... "Well, we'll cross our fingers that you don't call your baby that." It has put me back months. Still considering it, though.

zozzle · 08/03/2012 09:22

Only a handful of people have said anything positive about my daughters name, with everyone else I've introduced her to it must just wash over them. Oh well!

abbypumpkin · 06/03/2012 13:42

I can't believe anyone would be either so tactless or so cruel as to make negative comments when introducing the baby. I can see how people comment on name suggestions BEFORE the baby is born but once the baby is named I think is just rude and inconsiderate

NickettyNacketty · 04/03/2012 14:41

I think Alice Elizabeth is lovely.
My mother said 'you Can't call it that!' when told we were thinking of Robert for a boy. Luckily we then had another girl whom we named Lois. MIL then opines that these unusual names are sooo unfair on the child. She had never heard of the name Lois.

zipzap · 04/03/2012 14:36

Alice Elizabeth is lovely (my sis is Elizabeth so happily biased)

When I had ds1 and told my mum his name she was a bit po faced and said that's not a real name, nobody's called that. It's Noah so hardly unknown! Within a month she'd come across 7 little Noah's born after mine so had changed her tune to 'oh my dgs is already called that' :o

When bil told mum they were thinking of Gemma for their dd2 (as dsis still in hospital and he wanted her to tell mum officially) mum said thank god you haven't finalised the choice, that's a dog's name, why not choose poppy? Despite the fact we don't know any dogs called Gemma but her partner's dog was called Poppy Hmm dsis agonised for a couple of weeks as she really wanted Gemma but was worried about what mum thought.

Worst was my gran - in her 80s she asked my dad (in his 50s) how to change a name. He joked it was a bit late to change her name, to which she replied in all seriousness 'no I want to change your name, I've been thinking that I should never have given in to making me change your middle name, I want you to have the name I chose for you, not the one she chose.'. She really couldn't understand why ddad didn't want to suddenly change his name in his late 50s! :o

mammazoe · 04/03/2012 11:31

I got nasty comments from my ex fil when I revealed my DS1 name,which is liam and he decided he was going to call him lee! When I told him well he wouldn't be seeing him then! He promptly shut up.... my sister is having a girl due in July, she has chosen the name Isla which I think is beautiful but when my niece was at school last week some of the girls in her class were saying mean things about the name which upset her. I can't see why people make comments about names because a name is chosen for personal reasons and is nobody else's business if people don't like the name get over it everyone has a name!!!!

lazylula · 02/03/2012 23:43

A relation asked 'where did you get that name from?' with ds2 (Oliver, so hardly unheard of, but apparently considered a bit posh by that side of the family).
When I was pregnant with ds2 I was chatting with friends about possible names, when one friend declared she didn't like one of the possibilities (Erin), but of course it was up to us. Obviously we didn't use it then but we now have a beautiful dd with the name Erin (a late contnder for her as she was going to be Ava or Alisha until a few days before she was born). My friend has never mentioned not likikng it since we had her, I do not know if she remembers saying it as it was 3 years before dd was born, but it makes me giggle inwardly when I see her!

helebeth · 02/03/2012 09:33

To anyone expecting a baby and having problems with family/friends over names. YOUR BABY AND YOUR CHOICE. If others do not like the name it is their problem not yours. My daughter is expecting her first baby in June and I have made a concious effort not interfere or influence her in name choices. I had my fun choosing her name and now it is her turn to have the excitment of choosing her childs name. Whatever it is, it needs to be her choice and I will love my first grandchild whatever it is called. Enjoy your pregnancy and be happy and confident that you have chosen the right name for your child. After all you like it and that is the most important thing!

zumm · 29/02/2012 19:24

Hahah Tedward.

Needless - ignore your Dad! Billy Joel indeed.

My parents were equally twattish about our choice saying it sounded old-fashioned and didn't suit him. It made me very unhappy at the time... But in the long run this helped me realise I was now in charge, not them (overbearing parents).

NeedlesCuties · 29/02/2012 08:35

LMAO at 'Tedward' Grin

I'm pregnant with DC2, due in the summer. Made the mistake of telling my dad that we're thinking of the name Joel for a boy. Dad was agast, said that he'll get teased and called Billy in school... after the singer Billy Joel Hmm I very much doubt it, music tastes have very much advanced since Billy Joel was last in the charts.

Polyxene · 28/02/2012 22:38

After a slightly traumatic delivery involving cord twice round the neck and a true knot in the cord, we were able to call our parents from the delivery room to give them the news. DH talks to his dad, telling him weight, time, name etc, then hands the phone to me expecting he'd like to congratulate me. FIL's actual words? "Wilfred? I don't know anyone under the age of 90 called Wilfred!" Given that I was lying in a pool of blood waiting to be stitched up at the time, I am quite pleased that I had the presence of mind to retort: "Well you do now!"

Wilfie is now 3, and I think FIL's got used to it. (Mind you he also took a while to come round to the idea that our first son Edward would be known as Teddy - for quite a while we got cards addressed to the bizarre compromise of 'Tedward' Hmm)

mummyhat · 28/02/2012 21:05

Anon having called DS1 Harry (suits him to bits) and been asked several times whether his real name was Henry / why couldn't we have chosen something less common, we went for a really leftfield name for DS2 (also suits him to bits and we love it).
Since been asked whether we named him by predictive text? Is it Scottish? and told by BIL's toxic mother that she would scream all night if she was called *** She has several choice names in our house, and prob does scream all night the wicked banshee.

It's a good idea imho to get all the inlaws' name lists out of them early (no persuasion usually required) just so you can cross them out from the start.
Also i agree that however much you might secretly dislike friends' baby names to begin with you end up loving their kids' names because they grow into them. I would not openly comment negatively on someone's choice, it's so hurtful.

Anonymumous · 28/02/2012 10:45

With DS1 we had, "What did you call him that for?" accompanied by sniggers down the telephone from a work colleague, and "How did you come up with that?" accompanied by poorly-concealed smirk from a family member. MIL has made several pointed comments over the years about 'liking the short version'. Oh, and it's a 'black man's name' as well, apparently.

DS2 had a much more common name and everybody just seemed to like it and accept it. But that was no fun at all! So now we're expecting our third and last baby in a few weeks time, we are going for something totally outlandish and unexpected to blow everyone's socks off and get them all moaning again. Heh heh heh...! Grin

HoldTouchEngage · 26/02/2012 12:15

My son is Gabriel and just the other day i was told by some Vicky Pollard looking chavette that i am up my own arse for calling my son that! Hmm

Alice Elizabeth is very timeless, and i love that Alice is not at all popular where i live! (writes on shortlist for if we are ever blessed with dd no.2)

milk · 26/02/2012 08:07

DS is called Henry.

MIL said "bit old fashioned isn't it"

TeaforRoo · 25/02/2012 16:11

My mum said that DS's name was an old mans name and did pass comment on other names we were considering. But we all attach values and feelings to certain names and she's entitled to her view and I'm entitled to ignore it. :o

I like hearing how and why people chose names but try to wait until the child is a little older before I ask as some people can take the question badly. My children are name after authors DH and I really like. Although as both authors are from different cultures we picked Anglofied versions; George Lewis instead of Jorges Luis and Helen instead of Helené. We did this so that the names were easy to pronounce and didn't cause confusion.

The interesting thing is that since we now live in a German speaking country and George is pronounced Gayorg and Helen is Hellane. Confused