Mumsnet's most loved baby names

*I so think = I DO think, sorry

Interesting thread. @Drunkenmonkey I so think you have a point ( I think it was you) re the names classed as strong and classic mainly being the ones that have endured in aristocratic circles. Fascinating.

It's so subjective,.though - I've seen PPs saying they haven't met a Thomas in 30 years and that they've apparently laughed out loud at the name Seren - I know two of each under 12yrs. I also know more than one Wren, a Persephone, a Lux, a Hugo, a Kit, an Arlo, a Margot (all under 8yrs) - based on this thread, these are variously ridiculous/incredible 😁

I guess you just get used to what you're surrounded by, as it were! And it does of course drones on where you live, your local demographic, whether you have friends living abroad/from other cultures etc.

Stop goading then.

[quote KirstenBlest]@Wondermule, no they won't. I've seen enough spats on here where you get a poster saying it's said one way and another saying it's said a different way. Welsh is phonetic, so there isn't any reason for a name to be said in different ways.

Wales has areas that are Welsh-speaking and areas that aren't. If you don't speak Welsh, the vowel combinations and names ending in r are tricky.

An example of a name that will sound different will be something like Eira or Lowri. They don't sound like Eye-ruh and Lowry in Welsh.

Some people can't hear the difference between Marian and Marion or Marian and Marianne.[/quote]
I just don’t get what you’re worked up about, I really don’t.

You forgot to use the full name

Theodore "Aww such a beauiful name but I am bias'

Elizabeth is a classic. Hasn't fallen out of use at any point. The shortened forms go in trends though.

It's also

Theo
"Oh, such a beautiful name!"

And Elizabeth. "Such a classic'"

@Wondermule, no they won't. I've seen enough spats on here where you get a poster saying it's said one way and another saying it's said a different way. Welsh is phonetic, so there isn't any reason for a name to be said in different ways.

Wales has areas that are Welsh-speaking and areas that aren't. If you don't speak Welsh, the vowel combinations and names ending in r are tricky.

An example of a name that will sound different will be something like Eira or Lowri. They don't sound like Eye-ruh and Lowry in Welsh.

Some people can't hear the difference between Marian and Marion or Marian and Marianne.

DD's name is on here with a lot of loathing for it. She's in her 20s so I guess we were ahead of the trend. It's also a family name and she was named for a great aunt.

At least it was a change from all of the endless Milly, Molly, Katie, Amy, Emma of her era.

[quote KirstenBlest]@Wondermule, "Huh?? Well as long as people in Wales keep using Welsh names they’re not going to die out are they? What does it matter if they are used in England with a different spelling? It’s a compliment if anything. "

They don't die out, the pronunciation gets changed. Dylan being said as Dillun and Rhiannon as Reeannun, for example. Ugh!

Not sure how you'd change the spelling of welsh names, as the language is phonetic. Maybe write Siân as Shahn or something? The vowel sounds are different - Siân as Shahn don't sound the same to me.[/quote]
But Welsh people will keep pronouncing them the right way, won’t they? That’s my point - every culture has their own names which they pronounce correctly, and ‘borrowed’ names which they have altered slightly. It really isn’t a big deal. Eventually most names will be lost to time, it’s just what happens 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Wondermule, "Huh?? Well as long as people in Wales keep using Welsh names they’re not going to die out are they? What does it matter if they are used in England with a different spelling? It’s a compliment if anything. "

They don't die out, the pronunciation gets changed. Dylan being said as Dillun and Rhiannon as Reeannun, for example. Ugh!

Not sure how you'd change the spelling of welsh names, as the language is phonetic. Maybe write Siân as Shahn or something? The vowel sounds are different - Siân as Shahn don't sound the same to me.

Other ones that have been lost are Sophia and Maria. You won't hear them as Soph-eye-ah and Mar-eye-ah now, but those were the original English way of saying them.

@Drunkenmonkey, " I completely see where you're coming from. When a name is mispronounced and becomes mainstream you risk losing the original name entirely. Caitlin is a good example of that.
I could see the same happening to Ciara actually."

It has already happened to Niamh and Orla. They are Neeve and Awla now.

Also I didn’t suggest that you dislike foreign names, I asked you the question. Think about your exact comments & now apply them to a Muslim name instead, is that acceptable? To say the pronunciation is ‘ridiculous’? If not, why not?

I’ve read enough of your posts to know that you’re a very smart cookie so you know exactly what I’m getting at. Please don’t be disingenuous by twisting what I’m saying.

There's really no need to take it so personal. The pp was just saying her opinion, if yours is different that's OK but no need to take it to heart..

Have you even bothered to read my post? I clearly say that I have no problem with the poster having an opinion or thinking the name is ‘dreadful’, what I have an objection to is something being branded ‘stupid’ & ‘ridiculous’ just because it doesn’t conform to conventional English pronunciation, which as it’s foreign, it wouldn’t do. You have completely missed the point of my post.

Also, please don’t tell me not to take something personally or to heart, that’s extremely patronising. I also don’t need you to validate my feelings by telling me they’re ‘OK’. As someone who has suffered racism & xenophobia in England, I am not going to apologise for my feelings. Until you have walked in my shoes, please don’t tell me how I should feel.

Just to be clear, I know the poster I’m referring to NOT BE RACIST OR XENOPHOBIC, in fact they’re the opposite, but that still doesn’t make their comments acceptable. I know the poster meant nothing by it but comments like theirs are absolutely insidious in society & it’s only something that someone who is “foreign” or an ethnic minority would pick up on & unless attention is brought to it, it will continue.

@Wondermule "All that happens is your child ends up with a beige name that doesn’t sound very pretty."

Yes, that is what this thread really should have been called

Oh dear Ottilie is thrown around with such joy. It is like a bacterial culture description: Batch 4 has the case of Ottillie.

Heinous name

Emiliy - boringly also suggested
Winter - why?
Sage - again why

I genuinely hope i never meet one

This made me laugh. You sound ummm.... interesting.

Did you mean you hope never to meet a person who named their child Persephone?

How dare you suggest i dont like foreign or unusual names. Thats massively rude.

This is one singular name i can't stand because of the way it is written and the way its pronounced

It is allowed to dislike certain foreign names for particular reasons. That does not mean you dislike other names which are less 'English'.

Far from it, i prefer unusual names. But Persephone is a pet hate as a name for me. I can not stand it. I genuinely hope i never meet one.

And it’s not even that unusual a sound, I didn’t think...

Penelope
Hermione
Antigone
Calliope

Shock - other languages have other ways of pronouncing letters and words.

Calling something ‘stupid’ and ‘ridiculous’ because it’s a different language is so ... I’ll be kind and just say ‘sheltered’.

Persephone. Dreadful name. Don't get the love for it. Its spelt Percy-Phone and I can't get past that.

Its spelt percy-phone. I can not read it as anything else. Its one of those stupid names thats pronounced in a ridiculous way.

It’s spelt Persephone & pronounced per-seff-oh-nee

• Per - per
• seph - seff (ph = f)
• one - oh-nee (like panettone)

It is not a “stupid” name just because you are unable to perceive a Greek name being pronounced in a non anglicised way. Do you have the same problem with names from other cultures too? Are they also stupid & have “ridiculous” pronunciations? Would you say the same about a Irish or Welsh name? How about an Asian or African name? Are you unable to “get past” those too?

It’s very disappointing to hear you say something like that as I follow your other threads & I have always found what you have to say engaging. Ironically, your comments are more in line with what I’d expect from a Daily Mail reading Brexiteer.

As a non white person with foreign heritage, I find comments like yours quite upsetting. By all means think a name is dreadful or whatever, but please don’t insult them or brand them as stupid or ridiculous just because they don’t conform to English speaking convention. It’s amazing how insidious comments like this can be.

Most of the names I was gonna say have been said, but the other thing I must say is that MN is utterly OBSESSED with middle names and how they sound with the first name, do they go, are they silly etc etc. As much attention is often given to a middle name as a first name. I can honestly say that other than family, I neither know nor care what anyone's middle names are, they are very rarely ever used, and this MN obsession with a middle name does not seem to occur in real life conversations!