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Baby names

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

Original poster

Regret my daughter’s name Phoebe

185 replies

LondonAnnie · 25/03/2021 14:17

Does anyone else regret the name you choose for your child?

My daughter’s Phoebe and I worry that other people might not like it ( didn’t realize it’s a marmite name ) that it’s too hard to spell ( we get Pheobe already didn’t think it would annoy me but it does ) or that she’ll get teased and be called Beefy ( didn’t think about that as a potential nickname when I choose her name ) or something else that’s mean .

Unfortunately it’s too late to change it now. She’s nearly 3. Other mums with a Phoebe, are you happy with that name?

Happy for any support !🙂 Thanks !

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Haydugee · 25/03/2021 15:02

Beautiful classic name!

seatofmars · 25/03/2021 15:02

[quote TheRoaringGirl]@seatofmars ha, we probably know each other! [/quote]
@TheRoaringGirl Certainly not unlikely! Well, that certainly adds an interesting flavour to my new venturings on Mumsnet!

Winecheesesleep · 25/03/2021 15:00

I love it, it sounds very elegant to me.

Blackbird99 · 25/03/2021 14:58

I don't have a Phoebe but I love the name. I have a very unusual name myself, people can't say it let alone spell it, I had a few people saying it differently on purpose at school but not in a nasty way. Now I'm an adult I love having an unusual name. I know a few Phoebe's and I can't imagine it would occur to anyone to call your daughter Beefy :)

MinnieMous3 · 25/03/2021 14:57

Love Phoebe ❤️ MN called my daughter’s name something that would be yelled across a supermarket by a chavvy mum, I couldn’t give a shit! Mumsnet name opinions don’t seem to reflect the general public’s, otherwise all children would be Charlotte or Kit.

TheGriffle · 25/03/2021 14:57

I have an 8 year old phoebe and I still love it, as does she. We do get the odd Pheobe spelling (in laws Im looking at you!) but she’s confident enough to correct people. She doesn’t get many nicknames if I’m honest, Phoebs being the most normal one.

HotShowerNTea · 25/03/2021 14:57

Phoebe is one of my favourite ever names. It’s gorgeous! If I’d have had another DD I’d have used it.

TheRoaringGirl · 25/03/2021 14:56

@seatofmars ha, we probably know each other!

TempsPerdu · 25/03/2021 14:56

Have read a lot of these name regret threads, and sometimes when I see the name used I do think ‘Ah yes, that’s a bit of a shocker!’ But I don’t see how anyone could think that about Phoebe, which is a perfectly nice, normal and uncontroversial name with a lovely meaning.

Fwiw DD has a name that’s a lot more ‘marmite’ than Phoebe and we quite like the fact that it’s not universally popular and will never be bothering the Top 10 lists!

Simonthecatsservant · 25/03/2021 14:55

I’ve got a Phoebe and in the last 16 years she’s never been called “beefy.”
Her little brother aged 2 calls her BB and her mates called her either Phoebe or Pheeb’s.
She loves her name as do I.

seatofmars · 25/03/2021 14:54

[quote TheRoaringGirl]@seatofmars Ha, the old Phaeton/Phoebus jumble!
There's always 'Sweet Phebe' of AYLI too. It's my favourite girls name. [/quote]
Woman after my own heart! Grin

BuggeringBugger · 25/03/2021 14:54

It's a lovely name :)

seatofmars · 25/03/2021 14:53

@TheRoaringGirl - have just noticed the Middleton / Dekker link with your username, too. Double blushes!

TheRoaringGirl · 25/03/2021 14:52

@seatofmars Ha, the old Phaeton/Phoebus jumble!
There's always 'Sweet Phebe' of AYLI too. It's my favourite girls name.

Lonelycrab · 25/03/2021 14:52

It’s a lovely name, op

RevolvingPivot · 25/03/2021 14:48

I like the name. Also does she respond to it? If you start calling her something else won't it be weird? Have you applied for a nursery place etc. Everything would need to be changed.

Beamur · 25/03/2021 14:47

It's a pretty name.
My DD has always gone by the short form of her name but uses the full version at school. (Was too shy to say she preferred the short version and now is used to it!) But she finds its rather mangled by kids with a strong accent (west Yorkshire) as it has a soft pronunciation in the middle which gets pronounced hard by lots of people.
Something like Rachel being pronounced Rack-el. (It's not Rachel)
I don't think Phoebe has any obvious trips, slightly tricky to spell with the Ph having a F sound. But I would never have thought beefy!

seatofmars · 25/03/2021 14:47

[quote TheRoaringGirl]@seatofmars What's the passage from RII?

It's an utterly beautiful name [/quote]
Actually, @TheRoaringGirl, I'm thinking of 'Down, down I come, like glistering Phaethon', 'to the base court', when he realises he is going to be deposed. For some reason I always confuse it with Phoebus - but of course, it's bloody Phaeton who scorched the Earth after making off with Dad's chariot! (And I'm meant to be a bloody Shakespeare expert! Blush). Lots of other references to Phoebus in Shaky, of course, but I do love that scene in Richard II!

ilikebungalows · 25/03/2021 14:46

It's a gorgeous name, I'd rather have that than my name.

jessstan2 · 25/03/2021 14:46

I was at school with a girl known as 'Beef'. Her name was actually Frances! I don't know where the 'Beef' came from but she didn't mind and was very popular.

StCharlotte · 25/03/2021 14:46

It's not difficult to spell...

My sister's name is Phoebe. She hates it. I would gladly swap as it's absolutely my favourite name. BUT - I was in my 20s before I learned it wasn't spelt "Pheobe" Blush.

(She's never been called Beefy)

LaBellina · 25/03/2021 14:45

Lovely name. I don’t think you have to regret it. It’s a decent, classic name that many people will love. Doesn’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea, does it?
At least it’s not something like ‘Diamond Princess’ or ‘Chanel Chardonnay’.

RickiTarr · 25/03/2021 14:44

What has made you worry about “beefy” as a nickname? I have never heard that.

Livpool · 25/03/2021 14:42

I love the name - it was going to be DS' if he had been a girl

Aspiringmatriarch · 25/03/2021 14:40

@Ilovemaisie

Beefy? That's random. I don't get that link at all.
Switching the ph sound with the b I'm guessing.
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