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Baby names

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

Alabama???

109 replies

Amandawest447 · 21/04/2022 15:43

I’ve been looking around for names and I do prefer what some people would call “weird names”. I’ve come across Alabama, I know a lot of people don’t like place names on Mumsnet but im falling in love with it for a little girl. Travis barker named his daughter Alabama years ago and I think that’s how the name came into the mainstream. I do also like other state/city names like Memphis (which would be for a boy) For a girl there’s also Georgia which is obviously a state but that is more of a classic old name that has been used for decades as appose to a “trendy name” like Alabama. I also adore the nickname “Bama” I would just like to hear peoples thoughts as I don’t know how a name like this would work in England because people here tend to stick to old fashioned names like Lily, Elsie etc? Middle name will be rayne

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Crunchymum · 21/04/2022 18:28

DD1 would have been Indiana..... if everyone I ever mentioned it too hadn't hated it.

Still love it.

Alabama - just no.

thebeespyjamas · 21/04/2022 18:27

It's from the movie True Romance. I love it.

chipsandfish43 · 21/04/2022 18:23

I love it. It's the name of the hooker in True Romance, always thought it was pretty cool.

comealongponds · 21/04/2022 18:22

It’s awful. As PP said the state has lots of negative associations of racism, slavery, far right etc

TrashyPanda · 21/04/2022 18:19

Gingernaut · 21/04/2022 15:56

Don't be ridiculous Alabama Rain?

great song.

but

not a good name

got those Teen Mom/redneck/deliverance vibes

obsessedwithsleep · 21/04/2022 18:12

Bama is a horrible sound - so hard, like hammer.

AmberLynn1536 · 21/04/2022 18:11

I wonder if Americans call their children Shropshire, Cumbria, Somerset, Wiltshire etc. I know Devon is quite popular. Alabama is awful.

flashpaper · 21/04/2022 18:02

How do you pronounce Alba @Blone? I think Alba is lovely, but I assumed there was only one way to pronounce it??

I don't like Alabama. I don't like the "bam" sound. Alaska is nicer.

Libertaire · 21/04/2022 17:51

It definitely needs a Lynn. Alabama-Lynn. It’s a bit like Tammy-Faye or Brandi-Lynn, definitely has that trailer park vibe.

IchBinAnnaOfCleves · 21/04/2022 17:49

I’ve met someone called Manhattan.
Dakota is nice too.

CrowAndArrow · 21/04/2022 17:49

Honestly, I like 'out there' names but this is awful.

Bobbybobbins · 21/04/2022 17:45

Not keen. Some good suggestions above - love Georgia, Savannah, Adelaide, India.

AmandaMirandaPanda · 21/04/2022 17:41

It's the name of a native American ethnic group, which makes it a bit questionable as a personal name for someone not associated with the group.

I do understand why you like it in terms of the sound, though.There are lots of common names ending in -ma (Alma, Cosima, Emma, Fatima, Fidelma, Gemma, Jemima, Norma, Paloma, etc.) but not so many in -ama (Fiamma? Miriama? Naamah?)

I like the name Salma - meaning health/well-being - which has a similar kind of sound to me.

LightDrizzle · 21/04/2022 17:12

Sorry, I think of lynchings and the Birmingham church bombing. Not great associations.

zseago · 21/04/2022 17:11

DrDetriment · 21/04/2022 16:43

It's awful. People associate it with redneck America, incest jokes and hillbillies. Why would you do that to an innocent child? Are you expecting her nickname to be Alla? I think that ones already taken...

😂

oh god don't name your child Alabama if this is true.

DancingUnderTheLights · 21/04/2022 17:07

No offence to people from there but it doesn't have a very good reputation and is often presented as backwards. I know some of that might be stereotyping etc but still, it exists and would be associated with the name. I also don't like the sound of it. I think if going for US states there are better ones. Not sure what I'd choose but I guess I like Indiana but that might just be because I'm an Indiana Jones fan.

Blone · 21/04/2022 16:54

@Moonshine160

What about Alba?
That's bloody awful too, most people cannot pronounce it correctly!
toastofthetown · 21/04/2022 16:53

Not a huge fan, sonically or otherwise. Alabama is evocative and not in a way I’d want to be associated with. In terms of state names, I like Alaska (probably because I lived Looking for Alaska as a teen).

fairlygoodmother · 21/04/2022 16:50

I am not against place names but I don’t think Alabama makes a nice name, and I really don’t think Bama makes a nice nickname.

I do like Memphis and Georgia. Also Arizona, Atlanta, Alaska, all would make perfectly nice names. Not Arkansas though.

SAB10 · 21/04/2022 16:50

UhtredsLatestPaganHussy · 21/04/2022 16:38

Travis Barker brought it into the mainstream?

Nah.

Yes! Love that film.

inmyslippers · 21/04/2022 16:50

Sweet home alabama!

elenacampana · 21/04/2022 16:49

Bama Rayne? 🤣

SAB10 · 21/04/2022 16:49

Going against the grain but I think it's lovely. It's also the name of the female lead in one of my favourite films, True Romance, so that might be part of the reason I like it!

I also really love Adelaide.

Moonshine160 · 21/04/2022 16:43

What about Alba?

DrDetriment · 21/04/2022 16:43

It's awful. People associate it with redneck America, incest jokes and hillbillies. Why would you do that to an innocent child? Are you expecting her nickname to be Alla? I think that ones already taken...