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Baby names

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

Original poster

What makes a name officially ‘made up’

139 replies

ikeakia · 24/01/2020 06:48

And why can’t you have a ‘made up’ name without Judgement?

Surely all names were made up at some point, even those with a very long history. Someone had to be the first one to use it and why are we so against that now? When does it become a ‘name’ in it’s own right?

Btw, I’m not talking about ‘yoo-nique’ spellings or presentations of established names.

I mean more ones you’ve conjured out of the air yourself or perhaps combination names from one or more other names to create something unheard of.

I’ve noticed there seems to be a real thing on here about declaring that names are or sound made up (even if they aren’t, just very uncommon) which often goes with the poster not liking the name. Just wondered other posters thoughts?

For what it’s worth, I have one child who goes by an unusual animal name, not bear/fox/wolf but a feminine one. And one with a combination name that is mostly easy to say/pronounce and sounds like a proper name anyway.

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kittykat7210 · 25/01/2020 19:25

I have to agree with Tatiana here, you are naming an adult! You’re naming your child and they will turn into an adult. At the end of the day of course you can call your child whatever you want to but be prepared for them to get bullied to hell and hate you because with a name like butterfly it will happen. Not only will they have to try and be taken seriously by universities and employers (before 18, when she can legally change her name) but they will have to endure the absolute crap that comes from a name like that.

As a parent I have to discard names I like due to our last name, in order to protect them from as much bullying as I can. Yes I could ignore it and just go with names I like, but as someone who lived my life being bullied about my first and last name combination I would NEVER inflict it on my child.

JasonPollack · 25/01/2020 19:23

Dracob

PMSL

TatianaLarina · 25/01/2020 19:21

I have an unusual name and I love it. It’s not made up though.

Made up names stand out for the wrong reasons - looking a bit illiterate.

heartsonacake · 25/01/2020 19:20

I can pretty much guarantee that if your daughter wants to be any kind of professional, she won’t be keeping “Butterfly” 🤦‍♀️

Of course she likes it now, it’s cute and she’s a child. But no self respecting woman would ever be happy with it.

As for Dracob... well. I think it’s pretty cruel to be honest.

Original poster
ikeakia · 25/01/2020 19:17

And you have no clue at all whether that child/adult will want the name you choose. So you pick what you like and hope for the best.

I hated my ‘normal’ name because there were loads of us, would have loved something unusual and stand out. We’re all different.

OP posts:
TatianaLarina · 25/01/2020 19:14

That’s the thing though, you aren’t naming an adult, you’re naming your baby.

Er no. You’re naming an adult who will be a baby for about 2 years. Or 2.5% of its life assuming 80 year lifespan.

Original poster
ikeakia · 25/01/2020 19:11

That’s the thing though, you aren’t naming an adult, you’re naming your baby. And no matter whether you pick something never heard of because you made it up, or the number one name that year, they may hate it!

No one knows their child really when they name them, let alone the adult they will grow to be. You may pick a soft name for your son, to find he’s 6’4 and 18 st as an adult. And the same for girls, a strong sounding name may get lost on a quiet shy young lady.

You may raise a child that hates their top 10 name and for an unusual one. And vice versa. So you just have to pick what you like and see what happens.

I really can see mine being strong enough to want to keep Butterfly as her name as an adult, and carrying it off, but she has options if she chooses not to. Best of both worlds.

OP posts:
Rainingdogsandcats · 25/01/2020 19:00

One of my dd's has a totally made up name and I'd bet my other kids on there not being another one anywhere.

PeppaisaBitch · 25/01/2020 18:57

You can call your child whatever you want but you do need to remember you're naming an adult as well as a baby. Not aimed at you specifically OP just an observation.
I can't imagine many 45year old women wanting to be called butterfly. And in a professional capacity it would make me cringe. But at least she has a different name to chose if she wants.

elp30 · 25/01/2020 18:56

I know of a woman who decided to honor both her own father and the father of her husband when naming her son. Her father was called, "Agostino" and her FIL was called, "Andres". She named her child "Tinondre". I really like it.

I met a woman yesterday called, "BeauShondra". I like that one too.

But I've also encountered two of the most bonkers names ever by a woman who I worked with many years ago. She literally got the tiles of a Scrabble board and put letters together. Her daughters were called, wait for it...

Jsutoya
LaTrevia

Several years ago, I lived in Atlanta, Georgia and my son told me that when they did a "roll call" for attendance, the teacher had a lot of trouble pronouncing his name. The students before him were:

Key-ran (in other places, it's spelled, "Ciaran")
LaWanda (she was a white American girl)
Shoshana (another blonde American)
Waltershaw
Brionty

My kid is called, "Adrian". lol

AfterSchoolWorry · 25/01/2020 18:38

🤦🏻‍♀

Original poster
ikeakia · 25/01/2020 18:32

Rachel

That is a very pretty combination, and nothing about it would make me say ‘oh that’s not a name!’. Amelie is lovely too.

OP posts:
Original poster
ikeakia · 25/01/2020 18:29

Dracob did have significance for me but not relating to family.

When I was pregnant I was told at my 20 week scan he was a ‘healthy’ baby girl, then he was born early with Down Syndrome and a condition meaning his bladder was on the outside of his body. The doctors wouldn’t confirm he was a boy until over 24 hours later.

But I was convinced they were wrong after my scan and just knew I was having a boy. I flip flopped between Drake and Jacob in my head for ages (we had a girl name ready) and can so clearly remember exactly where I was on what road when my head went ‘Dracob’. Weeks later he was born and in the same way I knew he was a boy, I knew he was Dracob.

OP posts:
Rachelhaydenberk1 · 25/01/2020 18:15

I liked the name Amelise which is Ama for my grandmother combined with Elise but as you said in your post, I got a lot of flack about it so I decided to use Amelie instead just because reactions hurt my feelings although I still think it's pretty and I have a sodt spot for combination names if they have significance.

Original poster
ikeakia · 25/01/2020 15:33

Time will tell I guess. It’ll be their choice if they change but I really can’t see it. They both have other more common names to fall back on.

OP posts:
Totaloptout · 25/01/2020 11:27

People are rude on this thread. Love Butterfly as a nn and great she has options if she decides othwrsise. The only really made up name that I will never consider is a name is 'abcde' pronounced absidee. There is a report on googlw which shows its a name of some poor kid.

Historyisdifficult · 25/01/2020 11:21

They're definitely Jacob Rees Mogg sort of names!

Historyisdifficult · 25/01/2020 11:20

I don't think you'll find too many folk starting to use Dracob to be fair. .wonder if he'll change it to Jacob when he's older?

As for Butterfly, possibly at 3 not so 33.

Happityhap · 25/01/2020 11:12

Polished?
Sixtus is still a stupid name, especially for a sixth child.

TeacupDrama · 25/01/2020 11:09

Jacob Rees Mogg called his son Sixtus which kind of derived from Greek for polished some people thought it meant sixth as sixth child but sixth is actually Sextus in Latin

emilybrontescorsett · 25/01/2020 11:00

I would assume Dracob was Eatern European too.
Sounds quite harsh a d dark sounding (just my opinion). Octavia reminds me of the bird from an old children's programme, Pipkins.

LittleRa · 25/01/2020 10:22

bridgetreilly Yes, and this little girl’s actual name is Octavia.

bridgetreilly · 25/01/2020 10:15

didn’t too Lady Bird Johnson (First Lady of the United States) any harm.

Whose actual name was Claudia.

LittleRa · 25/01/2020 09:43

OP do you have other children (as you mention Butterfly’s sister was the first to call her that), and if so what are their names?

Thinking of Butterfly as an adult with a serious job- didn’t too Lady Bird Johnson (First Lady of the United States) any harm.

Happityhap · 25/01/2020 09:30

As an aside, a Polish friend once commented that she finds it confusing that, in the UK, many names are unisex e.g. Riley, Jamie, Alex, etc.

My adult DS has changed his middle name from a traditional British one to a foreign name that is not made-up but is fairly obscure.