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Baby names

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

Original poster

Bear

58 replies

ginger9495 · 21/06/2022 16:55

Me and my DH both love the name Bear, which will be so cute as a baby, but we are worried people will think it is a silly name for a man. I like it for an adult just as much, but just curious to peoples opinions? By the time he is an adult it might be such an unusual name maybe?

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Frida9 · 22/06/2022 13:39

Just think if the name will restrict your child in anyway. If he grows up and wants to be a policeman or a doctor people won't take him as seriously when he's called Bear as they will if he's called Edward or Peter or something

Fundays12 · 22/06/2022 13:38

Sorry it’s not a grown man’s name. I am not keen on the name at all but it’s a baby and toddlers name not a grown man’s name. I suspect even at primary school age they would get teased.

babyjellyfish · 22/06/2022 13:34

Only acceptable as a nickname, e.g. for Theodore or Edward.

Idiotintraining · 22/06/2022 08:55

One of the characters on doctors is called bear and he seems to get on OK in life. His actual name is Rupert but is called bear as Rupert was a bear.

JustRestingMyEyesForAMinute · 22/06/2022 07:43

It's so, so bad. The sound, the connotations, the fact it's a wild animal.

Dinoteeth · 22/06/2022 07:43

I know a cat & a dog called Bear. Daft name but hey ho they don't need to go to school or put it on a CV

xalo · 22/06/2022 07:38

Anybody else find it slightly annoying when OPs on these name threads post once then disappear if they don't get the positive response they want?...

Antarcticant · 22/06/2022 07:33

I don't say this of many names but I think it's absolutely awful.

For child - nauseatingly twee
For adult - incongruous and embarrassing

What about Edward/Edmund with nn 'Teddy' and you could call him 'Bear' within the family - plenty of options for him to choose when older, with 'Ed' or 'Eddie' as well as Ted/Teddy, his full name or sticking with 'Bear' if he personally likes it.

JuneJubilee · 22/06/2022 07:33

Are you both mid height & solid? If you're both tall & slim you might want to consider Giraffe instead. You need to think about these things.

ThreeKneeRepeater · 22/06/2022 07:32

Awful name. Imagine having to respond to questions like ‘Are you Bear?’ (bare)
at school. Or saying ‘I’m Bear’. Embarrassing.
Also doesn’t sound so good in many regional accents.

RedRobin100 · 22/06/2022 07:30

Use it as a middle name?
Or a nickname

comealongponds · 22/06/2022 07:24

It’s awful. If you must use it then keep it as a nickname for something more sensible like Edward or Theodore.

Or better yet use Bear for a pet and don’t saddle your child with it

greenteafiend · 22/06/2022 03:27

OP, it's really really silly. It's also slang for a big butch gay man with a big beard.

Pick something else and use this as a nickname.

mistermagpie · 21/06/2022 23:06

Yeah, it's terrible.

I always think with these kinds of names, if you love it so much then change your own (or DHs) name to bear and see if you feel silly introducing yourself to people. I bet you do.

Spohn · 21/06/2022 22:59

It doesn’t even sound nice, a lot of english accents would say it ‘beh’

BoreOfWhabylon · 21/06/2022 22:52

Arthur comes from the Ancient British for bear. Call him Arthur.

ellieboolou · 21/06/2022 22:44

Choose Teddy instead it is rather less ridiculous than Bear 🐻

Purpleavocado · 21/06/2022 19:05

Imagine a balding 40 year old with a bit of a belly. Maybe in IT or a teacher. Now imagine his name is Bear.

Xiomara22 · 21/06/2022 19:05

Makes me think of Stephen Bear, definitely doesn’t want to be linking a child to him!

calmlakes · 21/06/2022 19:04

Ds has this as a nickname but I kind of agree with pp it is a better nickname for younger dc.
We use it less with teenage ds.

WeOnlyPlannedTheFirst · 21/06/2022 19:02

My son was nicknamed Bear as a baby unplanned, it just happened. He's now almost 11 and hasn't been called Bear in a good many years and just uses his name. It doesn't even age well as a nn imo.

Snugglemonkey · 21/06/2022 19:00

bakewellbride · 21/06/2022 18:51

@Gnusmas when I took my son to baby rhyme time a few years ago there was a Fox. The mum loved putting him in jumpers with foxes on but I can't see that going down well at secondary school! Poor boy.

I thought that at a baby group when we met Wolf. Teenage boys do not appreciate cute.

MintyGreenDreams · 21/06/2022 18:56

Teddy sounds better but it's very overused

Gnusmas · 21/06/2022 18:56

bakewellbride · 21/06/2022 18:51

@Gnusmas when I took my son to baby rhyme time a few years ago there was a Fox. The mum loved putting him in jumpers with foxes on but I can't see that going down well at secondary school! Poor boy.

@bakewellbride poor little fella! What's wrong with some people?

Snugglemonkey · 21/06/2022 18:56

It really is not a name for an adult man. Imagine it in a professional setiing, it sounds too silly to take seriously. It is cute for a toddler. You could use Theodore or Edward etc, but my son's nn is monkey, so you could still use the nn Bear with any name you fancy.