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Baby names

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

Original poster

My husband hates every name!!

108 replies

ImNotAMermaid · 18/08/2023 20:32

Dh is driving me loopy with his lack of flexibility on names. We are expecting a boy in two weeks and we still don’t even have any names we both like. Names we have are as follows:
Ollie (ambivalent but we don’t like it)
Jordan (I hate but dh likes)
Every name I suggest dh hates, the only name he’s come up with is Jordan. Dh likes gender neutral names which I don’t mind but I want something masculine sounding.

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NameChange30 · 19/08/2023 20:47

Hmmm. Have you talked about other parenting-related decisions? I hope he will more willing to compromise about other things!

Is he into numbers at all (not to stereotype but many people with Asperger's/autism are)... he might be interested to know how many babies actually have the names, because there are so many more names in use nowadays, which means that the top 10 names aren't as common as the top 10 for our generation (if that makes sense?!) If you want to be a geek about it you can look at the ONS stats I may have done this myself and no I am not diagnosed ND just a geek

Original poster
ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 20:43

Honestly I feel like I’m living with an eight year old at times.

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Original poster
ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 20:42

NameChange30 · 19/08/2023 20:31

I think you need to compromise with a more unusual name but one that has a standard spelling without variations and is not likely to be misspelt or mispronounced. If he's obsessed with comics/movies but also quite fixed and methodical in his thinking I wonder if you could persuade him to look through a baby names book to widen his reference? Or just look at the top 50 names or something? You could agree to rule out the top 1-20 to appease him?!

Show quote history

We’ve been through the top 100 but every name is ‘too popular’ <despite the fact he liked Jacob (Jake Gyllenhall played his favourite Spider-Man character of ‘all time’)> it’s so frustrating, he won’t compromise on anything. He won’t even go through a baby name book as it’s ‘too boring’.

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NameChange30 · 19/08/2023 20:31

ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 20:21

@NameChange30 interesting you should ask as dh has a ‘classic biblical name’ think John, Paul, David. While I have a youneik spelling of a popular name which irritates me to this day. Dh is also diagnosed aspergers and he is quite fixed in his thinking (and obsessed with comics/movies) which I don’t think helps the situation!

I think you need to compromise with a more unusual name but one that has a standard spelling without variations and is not likely to be misspelt or mispronounced. If he's obsessed with comics/movies but also quite fixed and methodical in his thinking I wonder if you could persuade him to look through a baby names book to widen his reference? Or just look at the top 50 names or something? You could agree to rule out the top 1-20 to appease him?!

pizzaHeart · 19/08/2023 20:29

Frankly if the baby is getting dhs surname, abd you've been the one to carry and deliver him, then I'd say you get the say, provided its not one dh actually hates.

This^ was always my way of thinking. I offered DH choice of name or surname and he preferred surname so the name was chosen by me.

Original poster
ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 20:21

@NameChange30 interesting you should ask as dh has a ‘classic biblical name’ think John, Paul, David. While I have a youneik spelling of a popular name which irritates me to this day. Dh is also diagnosed aspergers and he is quite fixed in his thinking (and obsessed with comics/movies) which I don’t think helps the situation!

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cherryassam · 19/08/2023 20:20

I’ve been thinking of other character names:

Jack (24)
Anthony (Sopranos)
Fox (X Files)
Cosmo (Seinfeld)
Barney (How I Met Your Mother)
Frasier (Frasier / Cheers)
Gregory (House)
Sheldon (Big Bang Theory)
Josiah (West Wing)
Daryl (Walking Dead)
Dale (Twin Peaks)
Logan (Succession / Wolverine)
Joel (The Last of Us)
Connor (as in Sarah from the Terminator)
Bodhi (Point Break)
Axel (Beverly Hills Cop)
Indiana (Jones)
Harrison (Ford - no he’s not a character but he plays like two of the coolest characters of all time, Indy and Han)
Maximus (Gladiator)
Ethan (Mission Impossible)
Vito (The Godfather)
Atticus (To Kill A Mockinbird)
Ash (Evil Dead)

NameChange30 · 19/08/2023 20:13

Out of interest, do you and DH have "classic" names that were common for your generation? How does DH feel about his name?

DH and I both have pretty classic/popular names and wanted something a bit more unusual for our DC; nothing too "out there", though.

Apart from Saul (which I already voted for!) other unusual names I like are Ivo and Otis.

3isthemagicnumberrr · 19/08/2023 19:54

Definitely not Jacob. If a friend or family member used late dd’s name I would be heartbroken.

Nico is fab.

Whatsthepoint1234 · 19/08/2023 19:52

Ah yes a pp mentioned upthread - Obie Trice.
Other BB characters:
Walter
Jesse
Mike
Hank
F1 racers:
Lewis
Max
Lance
George
Rappers:
Marshall
Lloyd
Nate
Reggae:
Bob
Marley
I don’t listen to reggae….

SheilaFentiman · 19/08/2023 19:45

Ronan
Alastair nn Ally

Firefighter22 · 19/08/2023 19:40

This is a difficult set of criteria.

Gabriel
Adriel
Ira
Jai
Robin
Orin
Aaron/Aharon
Noa/Noah
Ezra
Raphael
Micah
Jesse
Riah
Shay
Shiloh
Zev

cherryassam · 19/08/2023 19:39

I think Nico is a lovely name.

It sounds like fictional characters and sportspeople is the way to persuasion.

Other ideas:

Archie
Linus
Connor
Emmett
Kirk
Lando
Max
Westley
Jenson
Mika
Luca
Sebastian
Jolyon
Marcus
Lucas
Lance
Nelson
Emerson
Damon
Rocky
Bo
Peyton
Nolan
Jesse
Brady
Gus
Oberon

urbanbuddha · 19/08/2023 19:37

Agree you can’t use Jacob.
Nico is good. I also like Charlie.

Aquamarine1029 · 19/08/2023 19:36

Jameson
Evren
Bowden
Austin
Rhett
Blaise
Vaughn

Confusion101 · 19/08/2023 19:35

ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 19:15

Quick update - I’ve sat down with dh picked the names I liked from this thread and let him choose his favourites. I’ve vetoed Obie and Jordan! So far we have:
Jacob (name of a recent stillborn so uneasy with it’s use)
Nico (Rosberg according to dh)
Jeremiah (reggae band apparently)
Saul (breaking bad)
I despair of my husband….

From this list I defo vote Saul. I actually like Obie. Jacob is a no based on the circumstances you have said and I hate Jeremiah!

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 19/08/2023 19:32

Oscar

Cameron nn camny

whereismysleep · 19/08/2023 19:31

Arthur
Theo (Ted)
Ezra

BelovedLucy · 19/08/2023 19:29

ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 19:27

Yeah, it’s a close relatives stillborns name which is why dh and I don’t think we should use it.

You’re right, you can’t use it. I’d avoid anything too close as well (eg Jake).

NameChange30 · 19/08/2023 19:28

ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 19:15

Quick update - I’ve sat down with dh picked the names I liked from this thread and let him choose his favourites. I’ve vetoed Obie and Jordan! So far we have:
Jacob (name of a recent stillborn so uneasy with it’s use)
Nico (Rosberg according to dh)
Jeremiah (reggae band apparently)
Saul (breaking bad)
I despair of my husband….

You absolutely cannot use Jacob.

I vote Saul, underused and lovely name.

Nico is ok, sounds European.

Original poster
ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 19:27

Yeah, it’s a close relatives stillborns name which is why dh and I don’t think we should use it.

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whereismysleep · 19/08/2023 19:24

Ah, you can't use Jacob if it's the name of a relative's stillborn baby, if that's what you meant?

That would be incredibly cruel IMO, you're right to feel uneasy.

How about Arlo?

BelovedLucy · 19/08/2023 19:19

Nico is lovely.

You can’t use Jacob if a family member has used it for their stillborn baby.

Original poster
ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 19:16

Oh and Obelix was apparently a joke but he does like Obie as there’s some rapper called it apparently. I just think of Obi Wan Kenobi.

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Original poster
ImNotAMermaid · 19/08/2023 19:15

Quick update - I’ve sat down with dh picked the names I liked from this thread and let him choose his favourites. I’ve vetoed Obie and Jordan! So far we have:
Jacob (name of a recent stillborn so uneasy with it’s use)
Nico (Rosberg according to dh)
Jeremiah (reggae band apparently)
Saul (breaking bad)
I despair of my husband….

OP posts: