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Baby names

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

Original poster

Cecily on a boy?

157 replies

AnneBoleyn6 · 03/09/2021 23:25

So my wife really likes Cecily for a boy (usually pronounced Sess-ill-lee, but comes out more like Sess-lee when talking fast).

I love the name Cecily, but I don't know about it for a boy. We both don't really like Cecil. We do like traditionally girl names on boys, though.

I just am not completely sold. What do you think? Can you help me love it?

OP posts:
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Joystir59 · 04/09/2021 05:45

Pull the other one.

MoreAloneTime · 04/09/2021 05:43

If I was a quirky A lister I'd actually quite like the name caterpillar Grin

HollyS880 · 04/09/2021 05:39

Ahaha call it caterpillar

SD1978 · 04/09/2021 05:31

Maybe change your name to this, introduce yourself for a few weeks and see if you'd really want to do that to a child............

Balonzette · 04/09/2021 05:29

NO! 1000 times no.

MoreAloneTime · 04/09/2021 05:29

Are you English as second language and unfamiliar with the slang term sissy? Its surely obvious otherwise

jozipozi31 · 04/09/2021 02:38

Why? Just ... why?

NellyDElephant · 04/09/2021 02:36

I know of a Cyrilyn - along the Cyril theme? How about Cecilyn? No, actually scrap that, I can’t make this any better, Cecily and Cecile and Cecilia are all girls names. Don’t do it OP

KingofQueens · 04/09/2021 02:28

Do you know what, I never would have considered it, but I think it works. I've known boys called Sacha, Chanelle, Karli, and Glory and despite what Mumsnet would say, they most definitely were not bullied (far from it). Bullies look for weaker, isolated children to bully- they don't decide to bully someone because of a name. Unfortunately if a child is going to be bullied, the bullies will find any reason.

Children become their names and after the initial eyebrow raising, an unusual name very quickly just becomes that person's name.

Cecily is a far nicer name than the traditional unisex names of Frances or Leslie anyway.

LimeRedBanana · 04/09/2021 02:24

Can you help me love it?

Nobody is going to do this for you.

Why would they - when it’s such a patently stupid idea?

Catlover77 · 04/09/2021 02:10

@Regularsizedrudy

Let’s hope he doesn’t have a lisp
Grin A la monty python
gofg · 04/09/2021 02:10

No, just no. I have a name which is usually used for males (apparently it was common for women in the Middle Ages) and I love it, but Cecily is most definitely a female name. Your son will not thank you for using it for him.

Phoenixrising2020 · 04/09/2021 01:53

It might even be one of those names where the registration of it triggers a referral to Children's Services because giving him this name demonstrates a complete inability to safeguard the child appropriately. He is at great risk of severe bullying and may need a plan of some kind to protect him. It could even raise questions of which other ways might you may be putting him at risk. I know that it sounds very dramatic but I think it is a point worth raising. Find something else, there are lots of slightly unusual names currently.

wildthingsinthenight · 04/09/2021 01:53

It would be a very cruel thing to do. It is a girl's name and most people know this.
Why do you like traditional girl's names for boys? There are lots of beautiful boys names.
Where do you live as you say it happens a lot where you are??

Flowers500 · 04/09/2021 01:35

what the fuck are you smoking

ChequerBoard · 04/09/2021 01:23

Surely no-one is this cruel?

Garriet · 04/09/2021 01:22

This has to be a joke.

Snugglybuggly · 04/09/2021 01:16

@IndecentCakes

Why not go the whole hog and name him Lady Augusta Bracknell?
Grin
Snugglybuggly · 04/09/2021 01:14

No way!!!!!!

Wheeliebinsoutinthemorning · 04/09/2021 01:10

[quote AnneBoleyn6]@Ticklyrain Yeah, I know it's really feminine. She said it's fairly uncommon, at least where we live, which I'd say is true, the only Cecily I know is Cecily Strong from SNL, so most people wouldn't immediately know it was a girl name? The area we live there are a lottt of people with names usually associated with the opposite gender.
I'll mention the Sissy thing to her tho. Maybe that'll get her to think of others.[/quote]
The Oscar Wilde play “The Importance of Being Ernest” is quite well known.
According to Wikipedia one of the main characters, Cecily, was played in the first production by someone called Evelyn.

Does that help your argument, with names associated with other genders? Or you could call him Sue. But, please don’t.

IndecentCakes · 04/09/2021 01:08

Why not go the whole hog and name him Lady Augusta Bracknell?

cheeseisnice · 04/09/2021 01:05

It's bloody mental, is what I think. Confused

MissyMooKins · 04/09/2021 01:00

Absolutely not op that is so cruel.

Plumtree391 · 04/09/2021 00:57

Why not Margaret? That would be equally interesting.

ErrolTheDragon · 04/09/2021 00:45

There are some unisex names. Like Lesley/Leslie, or Alex, or Lindsey. But Cecily isn't one of them.

These, and every 'unisex' name, plus some which are now pretty much only used for girls, began as boys names. There's a sexist asymmetry whereby it's fine for girls to have a 'boys' name but not for boys to have a 'girls' name. Once too many girls have a particular 'boys' name, it gets devalued and not fit for boys any more.Hmm

Cecily is a form of Cecilia, it's been a women's name for centuries.

In theory it should be fine to call a boy anything you like. In the real world, it isn't, it's unkind to do so.