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Baby names

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Original poster

Hyphenated first names?

159 replies

Sunmoonstars33 · 20/10/2023 16:50

My DH chose the name for our baby who is due in 3 months. Its a name that has a lot of meaning to him and as I basically chose the names of our last two children (we agreed on them together and he likes them its just they were suggested by me) I think I want to use his chosen name for this child. However this name is only two letters.
The name is Io (eye oh) as in one of Jupiter's moons. My husband loves anything to do with space.
I just feel like Io is very short so I was considering hyphenating it with another more traditional name to make it longer?
I wondered what peoples thoughts were about this.... the name we would use is Celeste. So it would be Io-Celeste.
I've never actually met anyone with a double first name but I know they are common, lily Rose, Anne Marie, Lisa Marie, etc
Interested to hear peoples thoughts

OP posts:
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Orange67 · 21/10/2023 07:51

Io is probably the worst name I've seen on this board :(

eurochick · 21/10/2023 07:20

It's a pretty dreadful name. Don't make it worse by hyphenating it. Give her a nice easy to use middle name so she can go by that if she chooses.

Original poster
Sunmoonstars33 · 21/10/2023 01:57

@LylaLee yes. Because that is the question I was asking as i had not made my mind up about it. That is what I asked for opinions on.
I did not say in the OP 'do you think I should name my child Io?' That is something I had already decided on and is not up for debate.

OP posts:
LylaLee · 21/10/2023 01:42

mathanxiety · 21/10/2023 01:26

THIS ^

I sincerely applaid you for this post.

Show quote history

So OP will take the opinion of random people about the general consensus towards hyphenation. But NOT about their general impressions about the suggested name. Got it.

mathanxiety · 21/10/2023 01:26

Sunmoonstars33 · 20/10/2023 20:04

Thanks to all the people who have been reasonable. I am not going to hyphenate the name, I agree with pp that actually it makes it too much.
The name Io was never up for debate. That will be her name.

You can all unclench with your 'child abuse and 'saddled' comments. Out in the real world I dont think any child given a name out of love would resent her parents for it.. (although it may become an issue if their relationship with their parents is damaged in many other ways too) its possible she won't like it and will change it when older which is up to her.. but I had a friend called Sarah who did that.. kids can dislike any name. Hopefully she will love it.
I like my unusual name. My husbands first name is very unusual and he's a psychiatrist.. contrary to what a previous poster tried to say, they do not prevent you from entering medical school if your name isn't in the top 10 names of that year.
Kids today do not have the same type of names as in the past. Some of the names on the top hundred baby names at the moment would have been considered very out there only a generation ago. I won't be naming my child simply to try and fit in. I will be naming my child something out of love that was personally chosen. Everyone is free to do as they please but some of these comments are downright ridiculous. Fair enough if its not to your taste but there is no need to be rude. Children get bullied for anything and everything. Its the bullying that's the problem not the child's name, or how the child looks or speaks.. I dont think its a great lesson to not name a child something you love for fear they will stand out. Everyone stands out anyway for various reasons. Personally I like the name Io and do not see what makes it more socially unacceptable than names like Ivy or Erin... I had thought it a bit short hence my idea about the hyphen. However I do agree with pp saying it actually lessens the beauty of the name and becomes clunky were I to do that. So I'm just going to have Io as the first name and Celeste as the middle.

THIS ^

I sincerely applaid you for this post.

jammyhand · 21/10/2023 00:04

Daffodilwoman · 20/10/2023 21:48

Yes I’ve come across a couple of people with double barrelled fist names and double barrelled surnames. Neither of them had names which flowed. So not Mia-Mae or Jonathan-James but more like Lilac-Nadine Somersby-Gothenburg. Or Arlo-Brain Thompson-Bottomley.
Must be a growing trend.

Brian-Brain

renata2485 · 20/10/2023 23:25

CurlewKate · 20/10/2023 17:08

I don't like hyphenated first names- people will drop the second one anyway!

I like Io. The only problem is that people might think it's Lo.....

Do they assume Ione is Lone?
or Iona is Lona?

I like Io. It's strong and distinctive.
Why fancy it up with a silly-frilly name like Celeste?

MaryMaryx3 · 20/10/2023 23:25

I know an Ayo - it's a Nigerian name pronounced exactly the same as Io (Eye-oh). I love it. When I first saw it written down I wondered if it was pronounced Ay-oh, but she explained straight away. I find it strange that people do so much hand ringing over not knowing immediately how a name is pronounced. I can only assume they don't live in very culturally diverse places, because it's the norm where I live to sometimes double check the pronunciation of an unfamiliar name.

Fleur405 · 20/10/2023 23:19

I rather like Io

But Anything-Anything is horrible.

if you want to call her Io Celeste just do that. No need for a hyphen. Io-Celeste is particularly not good because “lo” looks like some kind of weird prefix.

theduchessofspork · 20/10/2023 23:08

Never hyphen. Never.

it makes anyone sound like a hillbilly

Just give her a more conventional middle name so she can dump it if she doesn’t like it.

Iona does work as a full name, just saying..

Notellinganyone · 20/10/2023 22:38

Io is a beautiful name. The moon is actually named after a nymph in classical Greek literature. I taught an Io, who was lovely. Yes you/she will probably have to explain pronunciation but that’s not a big deal. People are so ignorant!

Mischance · 20/10/2023 22:01

She'll have no trouble learning to write her name!

Antsinmypantsneedtodance · 20/10/2023 21:48

Please don't name your child Io.

It sounds like I owe. SO with a hyphen it'll sound like I owe Celeste. If someone introduced themselves like this i'd ask what they owe and why. It also sounds a little bit like a small child trying to say hello.

Truly awful name. Needs a serious rethink!

Daffodilwoman · 20/10/2023 21:48

Yes I’ve come across a couple of people with double barrelled fist names and double barrelled surnames. Neither of them had names which flowed. So not Mia-Mae or Jonathan-James but more like Lilac-Nadine Somersby-Gothenburg. Or Arlo-Brain Thompson-Bottomley.
Must be a growing trend.

Hotchocolatemousse · 20/10/2023 21:36

Could you swap it the other way round so Celeste is the first name?

Beautiful3 · 20/10/2023 20:51

Hyphenated names are very popular at my school. It's a rough, and deprived area.

KnickerlessParsons · 20/10/2023 20:22

(No hyphen )

KnickerlessParsons · 20/10/2023 20:22

I love Io. Io-Celeste is awful though.
Io followed by a normal name would be best.

Original poster
Sunmoonstars33 · 20/10/2023 20:21

@Blackandwhitemakesgrey it is a proper name. Its been around since ancient Greece and although never common, has been in usage in the UK for over a hundred years. Since 2000 its been rising popularity.. I mean its not very common still.. only 15 girls called Io in 2021in the UK. But you couldn't say it wasnt a proper name thats ridiculous.

OP posts:
RogueFemale · 20/10/2023 20:20

Blackandwhitemakesgrey · 20/10/2023 20:14

This.
People are being kind on here. It’s a truly awful word because it isn’t even a name.

And hyphenated first names are not nice.

Celeste is lovely. Just give the child a proper name.

Show quote history

Io is a proper name. Those of us saying it's lovely genuinely think that, we are not just being kind.

Gnomegnomegnome · 20/10/2023 20:19

I’ve never heard of Io but love it. Glad that you decided against the hyphen though. Why spoil a pretty name?

Blackandwhitemakesgrey · 20/10/2023 20:14

Bellabluea · 20/10/2023 17:40

Sorry but it’s awful and hyphenated names are grim. You need to put your foot down.
Celeste is lovely.

This.
People are being kind on here. It’s a truly awful word because it isn’t even a name.

And hyphenated first names are not nice.

Celeste is lovely. Just give the child a proper name.

Original poster
Sunmoonstars33 · 20/10/2023 20:14

@LylaLee I have two other children also called unusual (although very much real and historically used) names. They are both over the age of 3 and have had absolutely no issues. My son is nearly at secondary school age and has always been very proud of his name.. I do maintain that while a child may dislike their name, that can happen with absolutely any name rare or common, if they actively resent their parents for giving them it theres probably far more going on in that relationship than just the name.

OP posts:
MummyTo4BoysXXXX · 20/10/2023 20:14

Hi 👋 @Sunmoonstars33 our daughter is due in February and she will have 2 names as her first name which I think sound beautiful & been told by others also it's a beautiful name.. my problem is not sure whether to hyphen it myself 🤣 so I fully understand your thread hun don't let anyone put you off from calling your baby the names you like! It's unique & YOUR baby at the end of the day 😊 feel free to PM me if you like x

KingsleyBorder · 20/10/2023 20:14

I worked with a woman who had double-barrelled first AND second names! I don’t know if the hyphenated surname came from her parents or was one she chose on marriage, but it was a real shame because people mostly remembered her as “that woman with the over-elaborate name”. She was very particular about being addressed by all four parts- fair enough, it was her name, but she must have spent so much time correcting people.