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Baby names

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

Original poster

Worried we chose a bad name!

79 replies

GCG1 · 14/12/2021 12:22

Our DD is now 10wx- and I’m seeking a bit of external verification that we chose a nice name. Seems silly but I feel like her name hasn’t ‘stuck’. My husband is 100% that it’s her name but I feel like I trip when I say it! Is this normal/weird! I didn’t do this with our son!

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rifling · 15/12/2021 11:25

One of my neighbours had a daughter called Clara, and then when she was about 8 months old changed her name to Genevive, and now everyone's forgotten that she started off as Clara.
Except you. Grin

Original poster
GCG1 · 14/12/2021 23:47

I want to thank all of you- your comments are helping me realise that I'm not alone in this, others have felt they too may have had a wobble on their baby name! And also that this will ease/pass. She will become her name.

I feel bad as I'm certainly not married to an ogre and defo agreed at the time to Sophie it's just I don't think he realised (as I never told him!) that through my pg in my head I thought of 'her' (we didn't know she was a girl at the time!) as Annabelle.

Thank you to the post which concluded 'you've not saddled her with a howler!' That did make me laugh!

OP posts:
Derbee · 14/12/2021 20:59

Obviously there are no guarantees. But I have a goddaughter called Sophie (I think it’s a gorgeous name) and she’s the only one in her class. Her parents have only met one other one.

Elisemum · 14/12/2021 20:16

Sophie is an absolutely gorgeous name - very well suited to a baby and an adult. Sophie Annabelle sounds delightful and I don’t know how anyone could find it not nice.
Lovely choice of the name, don’t worry I still call my 12 week old “baby sean” or “baby seany” - it’s compelling normal

namechange5575 · 14/12/2021 19:37

I agree with pp, I think your husband behaved very badly pushing you into a decision that you didn't want, at such a vulnerable time. I wonder if your touch of PND, and your fixating on the name, is a bit of a misdirection from an actual sense of betrayal and confusion that your partner wasn't working in your best interests, that there is an anxiety that he isn't actually on your side.

Sexnotgender · 14/12/2021 19:10

Sophie is a lovely name!

I had a wobble over my daughters name a couple of weeks after she was born. We had a final 2 that we both agreed on and my husband let me decide after she was born. I made a snap decision whilst still in the birthing pool. Couple of weeks later I had a big wobble thinking shout have picked the other name as I really loved it! But 8 months down the line I’m so glad I went with my gut.

DillDanding · 14/12/2021 19:10

Presumably, her name is just Sophie. How often are you going to say her middle name too?

You're definitely overthinking it.

CaMePlaitPas · 14/12/2021 19:08

@MmeDefrag

Good heavens. I was expecting Hepzibah Ermyntrude or something like that.

It’s a good name.

Mum? My Mum calls me Ermyntrude Grin she's the only one I've ever heard use that name.

Sophie is a lovely name.

ForTheLoveOfDoughnuts · 14/12/2021 19:06

With my oldest. We had a name picked out for months. Brought bunting. Dead set. We'd both discussed loving the name years previously. We were so sure. Then on my due date my other half name died. We wanted to honour her in some way. She had a beautiful middle name (violet) that happened to be on our list but this didn't go with our chosen name (Scarlett). We decided to wait till the baby arrived to pick a name. When DD arrived we chose a different name, Imogen. To go with the middle name Violet.

Because she's been a Scarlett in my head for so long, I tripped up a lot. Definitely took a while for her to be Imogen in my head.

gofg · 14/12/2021 19:02

You are overthinking OP. They are both lovely names and you will get used to them.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 14/12/2021 18:59

That's a beautiful name OP

EmmaGrundyForPM · 14/12/2021 18:58

You can change her name up to 12 months old. One of my neighbours had a daughter called Clara, and then when she was about 8 months old changed her name to Genevive, and now everyone's forgotten that she started off as Clara.

WimpoleHat · 14/12/2021 18:55

I was in a similar(ish) position to you - the name I wanted for my DD ended up being her middle name. But her name is now “hers” and the idea that she might have been “Middlename” seems so odd now. By this time next year, I bet you won’t be able to think of Sophie being called anything else. (And it’s a lovely, lovely name. I loved it, but it sounded wrong with our surname.)

KirstenBlest · 14/12/2021 18:51

My thoughts too @girlmom21.

Shall I throw in Susan as a nn or Susannah or Spondoolika is a beauiful name to add to the randomness?

Roselilly36 · 14/12/2021 18:50

I love the name Sophie, lovely choice, nice meaning to, Wisdom.

MrJollyLivesNextDoor · 14/12/2021 18:50

Her Maj. vetoed the name Annabel and suggested Beatrice to Andrew and Sarah

Sophie is a lovely name

girlmom21 · 14/12/2021 18:48

@SeanChailleach

Sophie nn Sonia or Sage or Sagacity is a beautiful name. Annabelle is beautiful too. Sometimes there is more than one right answer
ConfusedConfusedConfused
Iamanicepersonreally · 14/12/2021 18:28

I think Annabelle Sophie has a better flow, but I do like it

HonorHiding · 14/12/2021 18:23

You’ve chosen lovely names for her.

momamama · 14/12/2021 18:23

I really regretted my dd3's name for a few years now she's 6 is absolutely owns it! It's not that uncommon or younique - Annaliese - but she rocks it now. It was just a big name for a baby

DoodleBelle · 14/12/2021 18:20

Beautiful classic name!

FolornLawn · 14/12/2021 18:19

@SoapySnowflake

I think that’s why I may be having a wobble too, as I agreed to a top ten name... My preferred, less common choice gets so much love on here too which doesn’t help matters! I almost want to say to people when I meet them “her name is X but she was nearly a Y” just so I get it in there and people don’t think I have zero imagination.

Sophie is currently at 26 so it’s more likely there will be another Sophia in the class rather than a Sophie. If you go on the ONS website you can look at the top names for your area too. We have a pocket of Florences where we live surprisingly!

I guess to help matters one has to look at it logically - it’s a nice normal name, she won’t get bullied for it, it will age with her nicely, it’s pretty without being twee and she can always use her middle name if she really hates it, which I doubt she will.

I hope these comments help you to feel better about it, if not then feel free to PM me, I’d be more than happy to chat name woes with you!

In this situation I'd definitely have a convo about changing it to the other name, it's such a shame you feel you want to mention what she was almost called, that to me shows that should be her name!!

OP, I had massive name regret with DD, and did change it. Sophie is a perfectly lovely name though, you definitely haven't saddled her with a howler.

user1493494961 · 14/12/2021 18:13

She has a lovely name.

Fifthtimelucky · 14/12/2021 18:13

I like both Sophie and Annabelle.

Sophie Annabelle sounds better than Annabelle Sophie I think, so I'd stick with what you've got!

rifling · 14/12/2021 18:13

It was also the number one girls' name in our city that year but weirdly she's now at secondary school and has never been in a class with someone else with the same name!