Baby name regret?

I changed my son's name when he was 6 months old. At birth, I wanted one name, my ex wanted another so we 'compromised' and came up with a third name. My son was 3 months old when I left my violent partner - it was a very difficult time.

Whilst talking to a friend, I mentioned how I wished my son had the name I wanted - she said I should 'try the name on for size' so I started using 'my' name. It was obviously tricky remembering at first but i didnt look back and when he was 6 months old, I changed it legally.

My son is now 23, he really likes his name and it suits him perfectly 😁

It doesnt matter how you spell it. Most people are told people’s name. Theyre just being rude if they pronounce it differently to how youve correctly said it. Correct the lazy fuckers every time.

Hi. I’m sorry that you’re feeling like this. I had a very similar experience with my now 4 year old. We hadn’t settled on a name for her although I did have one that I kept coming back to. I had a traumatic birth and looking back now realise I was depressed during my pregnancy. To cut a very long story short I felt pressured to register her birth at 3 weeks and immediately felt a crushing regret about her name. I couldn’t say it, felt ill when I saw it written down and developed PND. We eventually chose a name and formally changed her name at 4 months. It’s very easy to do before 12 months. I would definitely change it if you want to and please don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. I completely tore myself to bits about it all but now 4 years later I’m so relieved we changed her name. I’m sending you lots of love x

What beautiful name! Somebody else mentioned "May". You could call her "Mae" as a pet name (if you like the name). This way, people will realise how to pronounce the last part of her longer name . . . Is it the name that is the issue or how people say it?

@Rollonspring1111 if it's the name I think it is beginning with a K then I think it's a beautiful name with a great meaning.

French pronouncation of Esme = approx Ess-meh forvo.com/search/Esm%C3%A9/fr/

As pp said, it's male in French, and it originated as a male name. The female equivalent would be Esmee = Ess- mey forvo.com/search/Esm%C3%A9e/

In both cases, with acute accents on the second 'e'.

If you want English speakers to pronounce it Esmay then I'd spell it like that, Esmay.

Esmé is the French male version of Esmée.

I've only met one Esme who isn't es may- I thought es-me pronunciation was an error!

Just change the spelling to Esmay or Esmae

Please don't, and definitely not Ezmae.

No its not too late to change you actually have up to12 months. Do it ASAP though. In a few months she'll know her name.

I love Esme.

I had a lot of negativity around my 4th baby's name. It's a completely different style of name to my older 3, but a name I fell in love with.
I very nearly changed his name to something completely different, but I'm so glad I didn't as it just fits him perfectly!
It's that 3 letter name that gets so much trash on here, but I still love it now.

Just change the spelling to Esmay or Esmae . I know an Esmae.

Btw I love esme xxx

I had this with my daughter . There was another name that I loved but didn’t use . Can honestly say that i now love her name and am glad I didn’t change it . I actually regret my other child’s middle name now still but try to reassure myself it’s just a middle name so not as important ! If you really don’t like it I would change it . It’s easier than you think I have heard and who cares what anyone thinks about it xx

I would pronounce it Es-may. It’s a lovely name.

Esme is the right spelling and to me Es-me is the spot on right sound.

Es-May sounds a bit dragged over, like you try to make the name a longer sound without any reason really.

However, if you explain that this is the spelling you want no-one would bat an eyelid.

I wouldn't change the name, which would result in a made up name, just to clarify pronunciation.

If you want a completely different name that's another topic.

Definitely change it.
Esme is pretty but you don’t need other peoples opinions to sway you if you don’t like it.
I had the same problem with my oldest daughter, I did change it. I was embarrassed to change it etc, but it’s better to do it then because you won’t do it when they’re older and live forever with regret.
The only issue I have is I still don’t LOVE my oldest daughters new name , but I am still happy I changed it, it’s better than the original name, so I am more at peace.

That's my favourite name it's lovely

What about 'May' while you think of another name.

Change it to esmay?

Could it be that you associate the name more with the rubbish time you had than the gorgeous baby?

I had bad name regret with DS2. I was still wanting to change it at 1 year old. It bothered me constantly for his first year. It really didn't help that everyone pronounced it wrong so I know how you feel!
Anyway every time I said I'd change it we still couldn't think of a name we both agreed on and then I actually felt sad about changing it. Yes there were names I preferred but none that DH also liked.

Long story short we stuck with it and I'm pleased we did. Most people get his name right now so that's less of an issue. We chose the name for a reason. I think you should try to look back at why you chose it.
Esme is beautiful, you can always lose the accent if you want to. People will get used to your chosen pronunciation and even when people get it wrong it's still a lovely name.

If your partner's amenable to changing it just print off say the top 200 or top 500 girls' names from the last stats release and see if there's something there you both prefer. There are a lot of names out there, would be a shame if you still regretted your child's name 10 years from now, like the poster above.

You can see the stats excel sheet on this page

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/babynamesenglandandwales/2020

It’s a nice name. But if you don’t like it, change it.

Try her w different names for a week.