Ready for everyone to come at me, but...

Teddy is a shortening of Theodore and Charlie of Charles. How is that different?

Ralphie is a cutesification of Ralph but the other names like Teddy, Charlie etc are just really regular names.

Actually, I should have said "judgemental and superior"

Agree, it's embarrassing when I see someone name their child something like 'benny' 'river' or 'tyler' or 'tessie', it's sweet for child hood but not very appropriate or professional for work and will not get you very far with certain associated names...

That might be the case in the UK - I can't comment as I don't live there - but where I do live no-one would ever consider any name "not very appropriate or professional for work". Unbelievable. I find it far more embarrassing when I see someone as judgemental as you, I actually cringe for you.

I totally agree. I think for female babies as well, it’s anti feminist to give your daughter a name that she could never use to be the president/prime minister with if she needed to one day. If you want something super cutesy then do a middle name but give her options!

Sorry, I must have missed something as I wasn't aware there was a list of suitable names for presidents/prime ministers!!! What a ridiculous post.

Yep, the smug assumption that you choices of names are superior to other people's is a very bad reflection on people indeed.

Totally agree with this statement.

I have a child who has a 'cutesie' name. We chose that because we didn't like the other , more common abbreviations of the 'full' name, so the name on the BC is the so-called cutesie one. Except that it is a name in its own right as well , just that most people assume it's a nn only. It's sad to see the level of prejudice against this type of name and the way some posters write off children based purely on the name chosen by the parents. FWIW, there were some who did the same when we announced DC1's name. It's a good job that his future employers were not so narrow minded and chose to focus on DC1's talents and skills when they chose to employ. Our choice of name for our child has definitely NOT hindered their success in any way.

Not a very pleasant sound though and even the actual character isn’t named Bucky.

So all names are either pretentious or chavvy? I mean that sounds like you have a really narrow allowance for acceptable names.

I’m not keen on cutesy names or very unusual ones because I think they’re harder to ‘wear’ than a plainer name. However, I often see people referring to my kids’ names (one in particular) as dated/dull or ‘meh.’ To me they’re versatile names that would suit any type of person, to others they’re boring and unimaginative. Everyone’s doing their own thing.

Unless it’s a cruel name (stuff like tallulah does the hula/racist connotations) I can’t get too worked up about other peoples kids names. If you call your child Ralphie and he feels he won’t be taken seriously he can change his name. It’s not likely to hold you back for life.

friendly

l like the ie names, they sound friendy.
Each to their own l say.

It is so depressing to see the lengths people will go to to try and belittle people who don't choose highly conservative names. So what if it gets found that 'shock horror you were called Peaches and then changed your name to Gillian. So what if donald trump tries to bully people for 'unusual' names? he's a bully and if can't do it that way, he'll do it another. So what if you spell a name unusually? Really the issue here is societal prejudice and anyone who can't see that is part of a much bigger problem. It's awful.

I can’t stand the snobbishness of having a long name on a birth certificate which never gets used. I’m sure it’s a MN thing. I have a shortened name as my real name and not once had it occurred to me I won’t be taken seriously in my senior professional role. I imagine my friends feel similar. My kids have lots of Harry Lottie Libby Alfie Jamie Jessie Katy Rosie Ellie Zac Tillie Millie names and they’re all their full names and I perfectly suitable for all stages in life.

@toastofthetown

Should an African family living in the UK not call their children Precious and Blessing because they are unusual names here?

Of course not.

Or parents could avoid names like Hassan or Noor so that people can’t know anything about their background.

Not if that is their background, but he spellings you've used aren't the usual ones and Hassan is incorrect

Nothing wrong with William and Emily - but if the parents spelled them Willeam and Emmileigh I'd think something like wtf were the parents thinking

You are bending backwards to create an argument.

If I was told I would meet 6 people today and that they had the names you used - I'd think 2 probably West African origin, 1 muslim background with parents who can't spell the other of middle-eastern background, the other two probably uk english origin.

I would probably not expect them to be children. Those are names of adults I know.

I guess the issue I have with ‘there’s lots of prejudice in the world’ is where does it stop? Should an African family living in the UK not call their children Precious and Blessing because they are unusual names here? Or parents could avoid names like Hassan or Noor so that people can’t know anything about their background. Or maybe we accept that every parent has their own reason for choosing the names they chose and not all children should be called William and Emily. Almost all names have some kind of association with them that is either too cutesy, too poncey, too foreign, too working class, too out there for some people. But the root problem isn’t the name; the root problem is classism, sexism, racism.

I accept that a name is part of a child’s identity and that it shouldn’t be chosen lightly and it should be chosen with the child’s best interests at heart, but what that looks like in practice will be different for each family. A name at its core is just a sound which identifies a person.

@toastofthetown, that's not what I am saying.

You can change your name fairly easily, but if you were originally known as a different name, people could probably find out

Lots of film stars in the past had names quite different from their birth names, often to make them seem more 'american' (WASP)

Look a all the fuss Donut Trum made of his predecessor's middle name etc.

There is a lot of prejudice in this world. Why make it harder for a child?

Ralphie could be Ralf/Ralph on his birth certificate and the response would be different

And I still don’t know why someone’s name means that they can’t be taken seriously. Why can’t a Peaches be prime minister?

Boris Johnson has a daughter called Cassia Peaches.

She'd probably make a better job of PM than her dear old Pa.

So what everyone seems to be saying is that it doesn’t matter if parents name their child a cutesy/nicknamey/‘unprofessional’ name as the child can easily change it to something they prefer? Then why be so critical of parents naming choices if it’s so easily changed? If Ralphie doesn’t like being Ralphie then he can change his name to Ralph. Or Thomas or Ocean or Harrison or Ptolemy whatever he prefers.

*The idea that in years to come (or even now) people will be equating ‘Bucky’ with fortified wine is ridiculous. It will be the Winter Soldier.
*

I'm assuming you don't live in Scotland 😆

@toastofthetown, Margaret Thatcher grew up as Hilda Roberts. See the difference.

A lot of people manage to succeed on merit but if you have a completely run-of-the-mill name you won't stand out in the same way.

A politician ight go by a nn that people can identify with - Hilda would have negative connotations when the UK's mot famous Hilda was the cleaner at the Rovers Return.

Jim or Tony might seem more friendly first names for Labour leaders etc

Not RTFT but, whilst I personally prefer longer more formal names, I think the -ie trend is here to stay and they won't look out of place as adults. When I visit our local nursing home the list of names is literally like the local nursery (actually that was more the case 10 years ago as we are now onto the Brenda/Carol generation). They were Ivy, Lucy, Molly, Millie, Stanley, a Louie with an E, even an Evie and a Gracie...
What goes around comes around!

@toastofthetown, part of the prime minister's branding is his first name.
Or rather he now uses his middle name as a first name.

His first name was Alexander and his siblings call him Al

Al Johnson or Alex Johnson does not have the same impact as the name he goes by now.

A name says more about the parents than the child.

The only baby names I see on MN are either pretentious or chavy names, I like reading the baby name threads and reading the same "original" names being suggested to posters.