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Baby names

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

Name worries

30 replies

Boo122 · 12/11/2022 11:59

My baby girl is a few months old and I’m having a wobble about her name (it’s Hallie). Although we had quite a few names on the shortlist throughout my pregnancy, I never felt I got to the “love” stage with any of them. Hallie was DH’s favourite name by far, so we chose that. I didn’t feel 100% sure but I also didn’t have another name that I felt really strongly about either.

I think part of the problem is the reaction from people. I’ve found that people our age/younger tend to have a really positive reaction, saying how nice it is etc. However, with older people, although they don’t say anything outright negative, we get a lot of blank looks and comments about it being “unusual”, “what made you choose that”, “is that foreign”. It’s making me anxious to say her name to people and worried me that we’ve given her a ‘weird’ name that people will question all her life.

She’s obviously registered now and although I know you can change names for the first year, I don’t want to do that and I don’t even know what other name I would choose! I’m not really sure what I’m hoping to get with this thread, just felt I needed to say how I’m feeling somewhere as I don’t want to mention it to people in real life.

OP posts:
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bellalou1234 · 12/11/2022 13:26

How do you pronounce it? Is it the same as hayley

TalkisChips · 12/11/2022 13:18

I love the name Hallie! Soon she’ll just be her name and no one will even think about it. I certainly wouldn’t contemplate changing it because a few older people aren’t familiar with it.

KirstenBlest · 12/11/2022 13:13

I though Helena or Helen too, or Harriet, or Hala (arabic:halo) or Halla

Hal- names for girls

dream28 · 12/11/2022 12:54

They are unimpressed because it's modern name that they are not familiar with. They are just being faze out-ed by modern kids.

Don't worry, it's nice name and it's cute.

But, if new names might feel you more at ease, how about Helena?

KirstenBlest · 12/11/2022 12:50

@Boo122 , it's a modern name, and older people won't be familiar with it.
I can remember about 15 yrs ago a colleague announcing that his son was Theo and people remarking that it was 'a bit different', and 'unusual', and I thought it wasn't either of them, just fairly recently trendy.

Once they get used to the name, they'll love your Hallie and like the name.

It's quite normal to worry if you've chosen the right name, but if you find that it is troubling you, think about an alternative.