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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Should we stay safe, or go for the name we love (that's seen as 'made-up' and 'chavvy')?

278 replies

MushroomWorld · 27/01/2017 18:48

What the title says! I'd rather not say what the unusual name is, as it's rare. I like 1 spelling of it.

Or Olivia Grin

I like Olivia, but love the other name. Should we just go for it?

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Catam · 27/01/2017 19:29

I wanted to give my son 4 names - trad family one first, two other family names and....

Xavier!

I chickened out at the registrar's office and still wish I hadn't, no reason why he couldn't have had one interesting middle name.

But to go a bit mad with a first name seems more risky so why not Olivia Amberleigh? Then as she gets older she has a choice.

Two sisters I know decided before teen years that they preferred their middle names & inside of two years everyone was calling them their preferred names without any need to change by law (just had to fill in extra bit for passport)

So I guess I think you don't have to decide a or b, give her both names & she can chose when she's older.

I'm Irish and my ex's middle name was majella (confirmation name) and he's found it easy enough to cope with despite being hugely embarrassed by it so if she hates Amberleigh it's not the end of the world.

NapQueen · 27/01/2017 19:28

Amber or Ember is way nicer than Amberleigh

NapQueen · 27/01/2017 19:27

Amberleigh even without a hyphen is very much of the ilk of "Tiani-Mae" or "Amelia-Rose"

Nothing at all negative towards them aside from the frequency of them. You can't turn round in Dds school yard without seeing a girl with a name of this style.

Olivia is far better. Olive even more so.

HappyFlappy · 27/01/2017 19:27

Olivia

Definitely Olivia.

Olivia is best.

FrancisCrawford · 27/01/2017 19:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheChosen1 · 27/01/2017 19:26

I think people will always shorten it to Amber anyway tbh. It sounds like Emily....so how about Emily??

thatdearoctopus · 27/01/2017 19:26

And shortening it to Amber is no better, to be honest!

thatdearoctopus · 27/01/2017 19:25

Oh God, please don't do it!

We toyed with the idea of a popular (Irish) name 21 years ago for ds. We opted to play safe with a traditional name in the end, with the Irish one as a middle name. In the blink of an eye it became chavvy. Can't tell you how glad I am we can hide it.

Don't ever take a chance on your child's name. She/he and you are stuck with it for ever and I' sorry, but people WILL judge.

SleepFreeZone · 27/01/2017 19:24

Terrible terrible name.

Newtoday · 27/01/2017 19:23

Use the name you love! I like it and don't usually like 'out there' names. This is quite beautiful and can be shortened to Amber.

No need to aim for mediocrity!

Janey50 · 27/01/2017 19:21

Sorry OP but Amberleigh makes me think of Amber Leaf,the tobacco! Grin

throwingpebbles · 27/01/2017 19:19

I actually quite like it. And I am about as solidly boringly unchavvy as it is possible to be. She can always shorten it to Amber if she wishes.

Or do Amber Leigh as first name and middle name?

There lots of awful names that are "approved of" by the mumsnet name police (Penelope; Enid; Agatha etc) so I wouldn't take the comments on here to heart

reikizen · 27/01/2017 19:19

I found the link to young adults with inappropriate sexual behaviours too, made me chuckle. TBH, asking for opinions on names on mumsnet is just asking for trouble isn't it? For what it's worth, I think it sounds like an old persons home, but olivia is pretty much number one most popular name every year isn't it?

strawberrypenguin · 27/01/2017 19:18

If you love it then go for it. If your DD dislikes it later in life she can always shorten it to Amber (which I love)

gingerchick · 27/01/2017 19:17

Sounds like amber leaf the tobacco

TheChosen1 · 27/01/2017 19:17

If you want people to pronounce it Amber-Leigh you need to put the hyphen there. Otherwise people will most likely pronounce it Amberley if you get what I mean.

Zippidydoodah · 27/01/2017 19:17

I know an amberleigh! She's fab. Use it if you like it! Though amberley might be a better spelling?

Butterflies27 · 27/01/2017 19:15

Go with the one you envisage using as she grows. Be happy with YOUR decision, you'll only regret it.

namechangeforthis123 · 27/01/2017 19:14

It reminds me of amberleaf ( rolling baccy!).
Olivia is nice, but popular.
Emerson is nice kind of similar?

Beedoo123 · 27/01/2017 19:12

Amberley is a village in West Sussex... is Amber-Lee any better?

UnicornButtplug · 27/01/2017 19:12

I prefer Olivia but Amberleigh is not too put there. Use it if you like it .

GinIsIn · 27/01/2017 19:12

It sounds like the kind of thing a Deep South redneck Bible Belt cheerleader would be called in the 80s....

GlitterGlue · 27/01/2017 19:12

When you google it, the first entry is a centre for males who exhibit sexually inappropriate behaviour. So, no, not a great association.

ICantThinkOfAUsernameH · 27/01/2017 19:09

I agree with damediazapam personally,
I say name her what you'd like though.

LonelyImSoLonely · 27/01/2017 19:09

Sorry, you've just said about the data base thing!

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