Completely negative real life reaction to baby name....

sweetkitty - I love Bible names, please tell what it is? (sorry OP!)

This is why you should never tell anyone your chosen name ( apart from MN of course).

As part of DD2s homework this week we were talking about her name why we chose it etc (she's 7 now). Its a fairly unusual name and she gets a few coiners.

We didn't announce her name until she was born my mother said "where did you get THAT from?" me "the bible" "well I've never heard of it, I'll have to write it down I'll never remember it" :S MIL said "well at least she's healthy :S she did say a few years ago that she wasn't keen on it at first but DD2 has grown into it and she couldn't be called anything else. My Das couldn't pronounce it for the first 3 years (it's not that difficult).

Names are very personal, I've met babies and thought "mmm" about their name not my choice but I would never be rude about it.

I also known a Grandad who refuses to use his grandsons name merely calls him the boy

Name your baby what you want and tell everyone else to piss off

I heard a man on a radio quiz this week whose wife was Feena (dunno how she spells it), short for Seraphina, and I knew a Vina, short for Josephine.
My PILs hated dd1's name, but we had stuck it in the births of a national paper before they were able to visit and rant.

I think it's pretty.

When I was a kid, I thought that if I ever had a daughter, I'd call her....

Shangri-la.

Oh yes.

You know. If you were evil. You could always say you know what, we've changed our minds. We're going to call her Shangri-la.

Keep up the pretence until the birth.

Then announce you were kidding.

They will be so massively relieved that they will forget completely that they ever disliked Seraphina

Love it & Fifi for nn.

IMO parents have already had their turn at the name game so should butt out. My MIL was insistent we used the name Oliver despite us saying no several times. In the end DH (who never questions his mother) politely suggested that she used it for her next one as this was our child, our choice.

Sephy sounds like Sophie (think phones!) and also looks like it's short for Stephanie.

and Sera - Sara is likely to happen

I have to say I'm not English, but moved here (DH's English) and always have to spell my name and explain spelling etc, very annoying, but there's not much I can do.

so my view is to make it easy on her, maybe give it as a middle name?

it's a nice name, not for me, but definitely not awful , actually reminds me of Sapphire.

there's was a French painter called Seraphine Louis, just tell people you adore her style - and also the maternity wear.......

rude family doesn't get to hold baby - and if they ask what you want for baby tell them you want anything with that name printed/beaded /glitter written on! try to find that keyfob Granny!

go for it and congrats on baby girl! (I waited 11 years to use my favourite name, first girl after 5 boys....)

On slytherin, the OP of that thread might have been joking but my idiot DH seriously suggested Slevin for DS2. And Ace.

ps - only announce a name when the baby has arrived as otherwise people think you are asking their opinion.

It's stunning!!! I adore that name. Don't change it. They probably would have preferred you to call her something more usual like Ellie or Ruby. Just ignore and follow your heart, I bet you wouldn't like the names they have chosen for their children.

I love this name. Was on my list but DH doesn't like it. I think it is very pretty, although the girl I knew called this got called Sarah.

Also, when you're out and about and you call out to your daughter "Seraphina!" heads will turn to look at YOU.

Fine if you like that kind of attention and it makes you think that people are thinking to themselves "what a lovely name". If you are in anyway paranoid though...

I would be just too embarrassed to call my daughter that name for that reason alone (i.e. needing to call out to her in public).

Sounds like a cross between terrapin and dolphin!

I quite like the name actually. Of course it will be shortened to ser'e by her friends though.

I think it's a grand name. I had the same with dd (Avery) there was much nose crinkling and humphing from friends and family, fortunately I'm known for cheerily telling people to wind their necks in and doing what I choose. :-)

There's always a desire in families to name newborns after some dead relic but I prefer my kids to blaze their own trail.

I love the name Seraphina,it's completely gorgeous .

Fwiw,my mother baulked at our name choice for DS,And my sister baulked at my name choice for DD.
I don't particually care for their opinion though,As I don't much like the names they picked for their DC...
And now the DC are here,and have grown into their names,no one ever mentions it.

I'm getting a little Seraphina to sleep right now. The name suits her PERFECTLY even though she's a rough and tough little bruiser and my absolutely precious PFB

For nn she started as phi but, quite strangely, ended up as a nana as she started to point to herself and say, 'nana nana.'

I don't know any others and have only had very positive responses.

It's a beautiful name as almost everyone here has said. Go for it if you love it, and remember you will never ever ever find a name that is universally loved by everyone and if you did it would probably be uber popular and not unusual and precious like Seraphina.

Seraphine was my top name for dd. I loved it but when dd was born she didn't look like a seraphine so spent days trying to decide which name she looked like (went for esme)

tell everyone you have taken all their"advice" and have gone for Bertha instead. Then when you go for seraphina they will sigh with relief.

Or you can tell them all to shove their advice up the arse they are talking out of.

Lovely name OP, go for it!

It's a beautiful name, go ahead and use it. We used a very unusual name for our own daughter and never regretted it. Besides, once she's born and introduced to everyone, it'll be fine, everyone will just accept that's her name.... Not that it should be any of their business anyway!

What the hell are you doing telling people your chosen name before your baby is born??!

Look, the grandparents had their turn. It's simply not fair of them to try to influence your choice. It's not their place.

Seraphina is a nice name - it's your name and so if you love it, go for it.