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Baby names

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

Original poster

Change his name??

54 replies

Mommymattters · 18/04/2020 13:28

Hi everyone, just after some advice ...... when my son was born, myself and my husband hadn’t got a name chosen and we found it really difficult to choose one... we wanted a name that wasn’t overly popular so there wasn’t going to be 5 of them in the same class at school but ideally a name that could be shortened.
After a lot of googling and reading books we decided on the name Vince - with the shortened version being Vinnie smile we were debating using Vincent on his birth certificate and official documents etc.
Anyway, yesterday we watched Toy Story 4 and on there are ventriloquist dummys Called Vincent confused and they look like slappy dummy off Goosebumps.... not what you want your son associated with :.(
I know you can’t predict how kids are going to be cruel at school but we just don’t want to make it easy for the bullies! He is only one month old at the moment so we could change his name pretty easily.... and we think we have another name we’d use
Just wanted to hear what people thought.... should we change his name or not?

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Mommypower · 20/04/2020 10:04

Thanks for all the comments it’s made us think about things Smile the real issue lies with that our favourite name is Harry but obvs cudnt have sons named William and Harry Blush but then thought about Harrison but that’s likely to get shortened to Harry too Hmm or even Henry Blush

babycornplease · 19/04/2020 18:09

I also think stick with Vincent/Vinnie. It's a perfectly nice name! And goes well with William.

I've saddled my poor dd with a name no-one can pronounce or spell, and was the name of a recent rather destructive storm but I don't plan on changing it! As PP say, any name can be associated with negative things if you go looking...

Not a fan of Bradley.

YinMnBlue · 19/04/2020 18:06

Vince / Vinnie is great!
Stan / Stanley also great.

Bradley less so.

There will be no bullying as a result of Toy Story.

And I don’t know where you live but here there is such a huge diversity of names from many cultures, and kids are well versed in diversity, they just don’t get involved in connections to names.

Joans3rddaughter · 19/04/2020 18:04

Vincent is my favourite name for a boy. I love it. Vincent, Vince, Vinnie, Vin.
Ageless. Not unusual. Not commonplace.
What a shame for your son to lose such a great name

Chipmonkeypoopoo · 19/04/2020 17:57

I really dislike the name Stanley/Stan.

I taught a boy called Bradley once and he was not a very nice person.

I know a teenaged Vincent/Vince. He is lovely. Not bullied at all. I don't even think he would know who the Toy Story character is. I certainly don't.

YappityYapYap · 19/04/2020 17:54

I just noticed others said the same. I just remembered because I watched the film yesterday

YappityYapYap · 19/04/2020 17:53

The dummy things are called Benson

Strawberrypancakes · 19/04/2020 17:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Mommymattters · 19/04/2020 17:43

Well appreciate any suggestions Grin

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Original poster
Mommymattters · 19/04/2020 17:05

@Whatsyourflava our other son is called William so it’s trying to find something to go with that too Smile

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IckleBear · 19/04/2020 15:20

And yes, the dolls are called Benson.

IckleBear · 19/04/2020 15:17

Vincent is much nicer than Bradley or Stanley in my opinion. But as others have said, if you're going off the name it's better to pick something you love rather than keep the name then regret it in the future when it's too late!

Cbeebiesrehab · 19/04/2020 15:16

Out of all of your choices, I love Stanley.

givemeacall · 19/04/2020 15:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Whatsyourflava · 19/04/2020 15:10

What your first sons name out of interest?

I do like Vincent but I definitely prefer Stanley

Whatsyourflava · 19/04/2020 15:09

Vincent and Stanley are both really nice names
People might be a bit confused at first when you tell them you’ve changed the name but honestly no one is as interested in your sons name as you are. They’ll only give it a fleeting thought then will think about something else. After a few days or weeks no one will even mention it or care

LotusClover · 19/04/2020 14:58

OP, you're overthinking it a little. Think of all the poor little girls who were called Alexa before the Amazon device came out. As most other people have said on this thread, you can never predict what's going to happen to a name.

That being said, I really dislike the name Vincent so I'd encourage you to change it. But that's purely based on my personal taste. If your heart is set on Vincent, then stick with it regardless of the Toy Story characters. If you're really in love with the name, it shouldn't matter.

disappear · 19/04/2020 13:14

I prefer Vincent to both Bradley and Stanley but if you are having a wobble, maybe it's not the one for you.

SnowdropFox · 19/04/2020 12:57

I hope some of the confidence rubs off on you! It's easy to be confident as an anonymous person on a forum though! Must harder to say these things out loud.

Original poster
Mommymattters · 19/04/2020 11:43

It seemed so much easier with our first son, we didn’t have a “wobble” on deciding the name at all.

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Original poster
Mommymattters · 19/04/2020 11:41

SnowdropFox I’m loving your confidence!!! Think that’s great advice that if we do change it just let them deal with it coz it’s our child so we decide!
We just need to decide now lol Wink

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SnowdropFox · 19/04/2020 11:24

People will probably wonder but get used to the new name. You are honestly worrying and overthinking this too much. If you change it, do it with confidence. If you change it and keep apologising for the fact and making awkward excuses about why you'll just make the whole situation awkward.

Just say simply, Yes we've changed his name to X, Vinnie just didn't suit him. End of conversation. And if people start saying oh well we preferred X, just reply, well we didn't!

Good luck whatever you decide @Mommymattters

Windyatthebeach · 19/04/2020 11:04

Bradley as in Bradley Walsh? Bradley the Bear? Any name you choose has some connection.
As long as it's not to a serial killer you are safe imo..
Saying that my dgs is Freddie (Kruger /West!!)
Vince /Vinnie /Vincent are just lovely op..
Most people have some sort of name wobble..

Original poster
Mommymattters · 19/04/2020 10:58

Also what do you think people will think of us if we do change his name at 6 weeks old?

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Mommymattters · 19/04/2020 10:54

Thanks again for all the opinions Smile I’m wondering now if “Vincent/Vince/Vinnie” wasnt “the one” for us and maybe like some of you said the toy story issue just bought it to light Hmm the other name that was on our top list before he arrived was Stanley/Stan

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