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Baby names

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

Original poster

Do You Care About the Meaning??

31 replies

Jossina · 28/09/2019 04:59

When you named your child did you care about the meaning or did you just like the name?

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Carpetburns · 29/09/2019 08:05

No, I'm not sure I even know what what my kids' names mean Confused

Biancadelrioisback · 29/09/2019 06:59

I have no idea what my son's name means. It could mean sausage fingers and it wouldn't change the fact that I love it and it suits him.

Timeless19 · 29/09/2019 06:56

My husband wanted to call our daughter Cecily which means blind. It really put me off and was a no from me.

Shmithecat2 · 29/09/2019 06:55

Ds' name is a biblical one, and I'm an atheist so no, meanings don't really mean anything.

Crunchymum · 29/09/2019 06:50

We have a Natalie in the family (meaning born on Christmas day IIRC) she is a summer child.

VenusClapTrap · 28/09/2019 19:38

Nope.

MissPepper8 · 28/09/2019 18:37

I find it interesting, DM called us all something that had a meaning to it. Although I wanted to have this too, DS name meaning is bloody awful (at the time I was 4 days in hospital and I liked nothing) however it was special in a way as it was the name of the trainee mw's son who helped me try bf him and she was wonderful and really touched by it.

Baby coming in March will have something with a nicer meaning behind it.

Bishbosh84 · 28/09/2019 18:23

One of my kids is named Cain so no, I don’t care

Pippilsngstrumpfi · 28/09/2019 15:17

but I do care about the associations of names and if the actual etymology is negative.

Exactly. Me too.

Pippilsngstrumpfi · 28/09/2019 15:16

I would hate for my child to find out his/her name's meaning and it being obviously negative!

Many names don't have 'obvious' meanings but some do, being directly derived from an actual noun or adjective (in either English, Germanic or Latin/Greek).

DramaAlpaca · 28/09/2019 15:04

Yes, meanings of names are important to me.

My third son's middle name was chosen specifically for its meaning. I liked the name anyway, but when I looked up the meaning it made the name perfect for him - it means, according to a very old book of names I found in the library, 'God has added another son'.

LolaSmiles · 28/09/2019 15:01

I don't care much about names apparently meaning "one from whom the river is blessed" or "the lights shines upon their face" and that sort of thing, but I do care about the associations of names and if the actual etymology is negative.

Mummybares · 28/09/2019 14:59

Yes it was why i named themthat name

Newyearsameoldshit · 28/09/2019 14:58

If I loved a name, a nice 'meaning' or origin would be a bonus. A negative meaning wouldn't put me off - only negative namesakes as mentioned above.

It is the child's actual name you will be hollering 100 times a day when they are selectively hearing toddlers, so whether it means 'angel from heaven' or 'one who makes much trouble' makes no difference for me Smile

whatausername · 28/09/2019 14:16

What @bridgetreilly said. I don't care at all really about meanings. I would be bothered by namesakes to a limited extent (e.g. Judas, Adolf are no) and I would think twice if it meant something rude or embarrassing in another language but only to a certain degree.

Queenoftheashes · 28/09/2019 13:20

Oh I always think of the hero Hector. It never crossed my mind to associate it with the verb. Mallory I think of natural born killers or the babysitters club 😂

bridgetreilly · 28/09/2019 12:18

Most names do not actually have a meaning. The 'meanings' listed on baby name websites/books are made up or are the meaning of words that sound a bit similar. But obviously that's not how language works. Words that look or sound similar can mean completely different things. And collections of letters that look similar to a word do not suddenly mean the same thing as that word.

EmrysAtticus · 28/09/2019 11:21

It mattered to me. It didn't need to be some epic meaning but it needed to not be negative.

SeekingShade · 28/09/2019 11:19

I hate the name Amelia ( it's a birth defect with a missing limb(s))

AmberDino · 28/09/2019 08:50

Queenoftheashes with Hector I think of the verb "to hector" as in "to bully someone" rather than the Iliad.

Mallory comes from 'the unlucky/misfortunate one'. "Mal" is a negative meaning in French and Soanish and some other European languages.

Pippilsngstrumpfi · 28/09/2019 08:35

Look up what 'to hector' or 'hectoring' means!

Mrsfrumble · 28/09/2019 08:22

Not really. Our downstairs neighbour told us off for calling our firstborn Benjamin Grin

That said, I was put off the name Jacob when I found out it meant “deceiver”.

Queenoftheashes · 28/09/2019 08:17

Most of those I get but why hector and Mallory?

AmberDino · 28/09/2019 08:08

Negative meanings or connotations would turn me off (will never understand why people name their children things like Cain, Dolores, Hector, Ophelia, Lilith, Damian, Mallory, Candida)...

Pippilsngstrumpfi · 28/09/2019 07:40

I agree that Claudia's meaning is very obvious, derived from claudus (disabled/lame) which would put me off.