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Baby names

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

Original poster

What do your children wish they were called?

86 replies

Choosinganame · 21/01/2019 18:09

And I don't mean 'Peppa' or 'flobadobadee'

I mean children old enough to understand names, do they love their names or wish you had called them something different?
I am interested in this because we often want to choose unusual names for our DC but do they like them? My DC is still too young to know.
I have quite a serious but common name in the 80's and I really wanted to be a Sophie or an Isabella, something more girly and soft.
I find it hard choosing a name because I want to choose something I like but also know how important it is when you are school age to feel like you 'fit in'.
For example, I think Greta is a great name, but would a Greta like her name in a sea of Isla's, Evie's etc.

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theveryhighlife · 23/01/2019 07:08

I asked my dc this a few weeks ago. My dad likes Harriett and my ds Zachary. They both like their names though. I like Alice for me!

mustdrinkwaternotwine · 23/01/2019 07:01

DD likes her name and hates all of the other options as well as the name she would have had had she been a boy.

Cauliflowersqueeze · 23/01/2019 06:55

I always wanted to be called something with an S in it. I remember thinking Susannah would be a fabulous name.

tammytoby · 23/01/2019 06:52

I know a Sterling. Great name. It really doesn't need to be shortened, it's so easy to say!

GemmeFatale · 22/01/2019 23:59

@bluejag Sterling is on our baby list. Does it get shortened much and to what? (it’s the one sticking point we have with it as a name)

m0therofdragons · 22/01/2019 23:51

Dd is 7 and wants to be called Melissa. No idea why.

NoMoreMarbles · 22/01/2019 23:49

My DD dislikes her name... she would have preferred to be called Olivia or tessa (her choices) Grin

I always imagined myself as a Rachel... I very much dislike my name and effort was spent to make sure DD was named something lovely... imagine my disappointment HmmGrin

abigailthespiderinthehat · 22/01/2019 23:47

I have an uncommon name, not weird but never really used now, I've only met one other person irl with it. I LOVE MY NAME. As a child however I wished I'd been called Sally Hmm...

AndNoneForGretchenWieners · 22/01/2019 23:35

DS really likes his first name (the shortened form that he prefers to be known as) but isn't very keen on his middle name.

I have a very common late 70s name and always wanted to be Louise, Caroline or Pandora Hmm

bridgetreilly · 22/01/2019 23:33

Looking at the ONS graph: it definitely peaked sharply in popularity about 10 years ago and is on its way out.

thaegumathteth · 22/01/2019 23:29

Dd (8) has a Gaelic name which is fairly unusual. She wants to be called Abbie:

Ds (12) also has a Gaelic unusual name and loves it.

Dh and I have both have very 80s baby names. Dh couldn’t care less but I’ve always hated mine as there were so many of them! I’d have loved a name like Ellie or Hannah or Katie. Something traditional but not millions of them in my area in the 80s/90s when I was at school.

bridgetreilly · 22/01/2019 23:29

I don't think Keira is timeless at all, sorry, OP. I definitely think it's peaked in popularity and is on the way out.

bridgetreilly · 22/01/2019 23:26

In general there's a reason why we don't let young children pick their siblings' names. So I can't get too worried about them needing to like their name all their lives. If they really hate it, they can change it as an adult. But most names are fine, and not that big a deal for most people. I don't think people need to angst about choosing them nearly as much as they do.

BlueJag · 22/01/2019 22:53

My ds 13 likes the name Benedict but his actual name is Sterling.

MrsRhettButler · 22/01/2019 21:46

Dd1 has just informed me that if she HAD to choose a different name then she'd pick Sunny.

MrsRhettButler · 22/01/2019 21:42

Dd1 is 13 and loves her name. It's a name that comes across as 'unique' although it's actually biblical but people would assume its made up.
MN wouldn't like it Grin

Dd2 likes her name because she has a song that she is named after but she's only 7 so time will tell. Hers is not unique sounding like dd1's is.

I hated my name for being very plain and growing up I wanted one of the 'fashionable' 80's names.

RubertRoo · 22/01/2019 21:41

I have an usual name but when I was younger I wanted to be called Emma or Sarah so I could have a chunky headband with my name on!

MacavityTheDentistsCat · 22/01/2019 21:39

My DD has always wanted to be a Jennifer.

TheMightyToosh · 22/01/2019 21:36

DD (12) has an unusual name that gets lots of positive comments, but she told me the other day she wished she was a Josephine or Samantha or something else that could be shortened to a boy's name - tomboy stage Grin

funnyoldonion · 22/01/2019 21:17

My daughter has a very unusual name and wishes to be called Emily Rose!

MumUnderTheMoon · 22/01/2019 21:11

My dd is 11 and loves her name but just last week she told me she would like a middle name and wants it to be Diana. She's a big fan of Wonder Woman.

twobetwobetwo · 22/01/2019 17:40

Mine hated his for a while when he was younger because people weren’t sure how to pronounce it (even though it’s 4 letter name and pronounced phonetically). Coupled with his foreign surname however it makes him stand out and he’s often told his full name is cool. Lots of nicknames derived from it too.

Eggstatic · 22/01/2019 17:34

DD and I were talking the other day about names I thought about calling her, she said she would have preferred Amelia, which was very nearly her name and she insisted her name was Lilly when she was around 6/7. She has quite an unusual name but not too unusual to turn heads. There's different spellings to it so she's often having to spell it out or correct people which I understand must be annoying but I absolutely love her name

callmekitten · 22/01/2019 17:22

DD knows that our second choice name was Oona and wishes we had used that because her name has become quite popular in the past few years, though it wasn't at the time.

Snapsnapsnap · 22/01/2019 17:18

Love that parthen.

Had a bit of a wobble over baby DS name but his middle is John so he can always swap. Too soon to ask him if he likes his unusual, but getting more popular, first name.