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Baby names

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

Original poster

Aibu? Baby names not suitable for adulthood?

67 replies

caz198917 · 17/01/2022 11:22

Wary I am probably going to cause a riot with this one! 🙈

Pregnant with baby boy number 2. And some of the name suggestions are awful.

Yes. Your name may suit a baby/toddler but an adult!?

Names such as Ralphie, teddy, hughie, Rupert, etc.

Do people honestly think there children are going to be babies forever.

Or am I being unreasonable and should just mind my own? 🤣

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flippertyop · 17/01/2022 13:19

I agree they will age fine . I would be more concerned about some of the strange names like Bluebell that are currently in trend. I can't imagine a CEO called Bluebell

bedheadedzombie · 17/01/2022 13:17

Freddy Mercury (although it wasn't his real name)
Robbie Williams

Never thought about their names being childlike.

dangerrabbit · 17/01/2022 13:02

I know a nearly 70 year old man who has one of these names and uses the diminutive version - doesn't sound silly because it's his name.

Skinnytailedsquirrel · 17/01/2022 13:01

I know a grown man called Freddy. Even as a little girl I thought it was such a cool name and was sure he was going to be handsome. He was/is.

MrsMoastyToasty · 17/01/2022 12:59

I know a Billy in his early 20s. It's the name on his birth certificate and used to christen him.
Everyone, including his DM, calls him Bill.

ESGdance · 17/01/2022 12:21

Ted Roosevelt
Ted Kennedy

Didn’t seem to have held them back in reaching the top …. and would imagine that they were registered their long form name.

FelicityPike · 17/01/2022 12:03

I know an adult (mid 40s) Ralphie. He has always been Ralphie.
I also know loads of adult Hughies. It seems to have been a popular name round these parts.

Swearwolf · 17/01/2022 11:57

I know plenty of grown men called Jamie, Robbie, Jimmy, Charlie... I don't see how Teddy or Hughie is different?

MrsTimRiggins · 17/01/2022 11:56

@MindyStClaire

I think when the current generation of small children grows up, there will be loads of adults with names like that and so it won't seem so strange.
I think the same. I don’t personally like all the ‘-y/-ie’ cutesy type names but they’re certainly popular!
Caramelvanillafudge · 17/01/2022 11:55

I agree with @MindyStClaire

Names only sound a particular way because of what we associate with them. If I hear a name like Deborah, Stephen, Lesley, Paul, they sound like men and women in the 40-50 age bracket but once they were children.

Of course, some names have maintained a reasonable level of popularity and some have never been particularly popular so aren’t tied to an era - ‘timeless’ names. These tend to be more to my taste but it doesn’t mean people will see Teddy and assume a three year old.

Lightningrain · 17/01/2022 11:54

I used to think the same but nobody ever thought Teddy Sheringham had a babies’ name. It was just his name.

I’m sure when all the Teddies, Ralphies, Alfie’s etc grow up they’ll know so many men the same age with those names it won’t even be an issue.

Having said that I do think it’s better to give a child a name like Edward/Theodore, Ralph on their birth certificate and if they do think the nickname version is too cutesy for them, it’s easy just to use the other version.

MindyStClaire · 17/01/2022 11:52

I think when the current generation of small children grows up, there will be loads of adults with names like that and so it won't seem so strange.

Batfinkwings · 17/01/2022 11:49

I pretty much agree @caz198917 but I think a lot of people will disagree as those cutesy names are popular.
They just aren't to my taste. I think when naming a baby you need to bear in mind that they will end up an adult.

I know plenty of people who haven't given their children a long version, so have called their kid Teddy or similar, not Edward with the nickname Teddy. These kind of names just seem weird for an adult to me. But I guess by the time the children are grown up they'll be the norm as @Junemoon65 says.

blyn · 17/01/2022 11:42

You mean Ralph, Edward, Hugh (Rupert is OK fior any age). People add the 'ie' sound for children but drop it when they are older. Edward can be Ed or Ted rather than Teddy.

Original poster
caz198917 · 17/01/2022 11:36

@winterowl

I think the usual thing is to actually call them Ralph, Edward, Hugh etc which become (slightly pretentious) adult names.
Ah that makes more sense. Thanks x
OP posts:
Junemoon65 · 17/01/2022 11:35

I personally wouldn’t pick one of those names but, think they’re fine. Ralphie becomes Ralph, Teddie Ted, Hughie Hugh etc. Or they would probably be fine as they are to be honest. There are so many cutesy ‘ie’ type names for boys that it’ll be the norm when they’re adults.

winterowl · 17/01/2022 11:34

I think the usual thing is to actually call them Ralph, Edward, Hugh etc which become (slightly pretentious) adult names.