my mum doesn't like my choice of name

DP's mothers reaction to our DD's name:

silence (for one day)

then

'well it's not my first choice'

.......?????

leila grace is v pretty btw!

I let my Mum talk me out of using Greta. She said "Are you trying to make me sick?".

I still hanker after the name Margaret with Greta for short.

Name your child. She named you.

This advice from the woman who buckled under the pressure from her mother's raised eyebrow. So I can talk? Stand strong!

I think it's really pretty and don't take this the wrong way, but it's not a controversial name (like Apple for instance!! :.) Had girl named Sanam (pronounced SAH-nim) four weeks ago - people either hate it or love it. But I still like it (and think it suits her) even though I am also sad when someone close to me says they don't like it. If you feel the same, you made the right decision.

Also love the name and had it as a hot contender (with that spelling) but vetod by dh.

V rude and a shame your mum said that. It's not something I would forget easily.

BTW I'd say stick to the spelling, there've been 3 variations already mentioned on this thread, so even if you were to use an alternative which isn't your 1st choice, people will clearly get it wrong anyway. Look at all the simple names that get spelt in various alternatives Catherine/Katherine, Lilly/Lily etc you cannot win on getting everybody to spell the name properly. 2 of my dss names are frequently spelt incorrectly, even though they're both easy/normal. You can't win.

I think you've got 100% here - it's a really lovely name. Ignore your mum, or better still, show her this thread

I think it is lovely, a really pretty name. And it rolls off the tongue nicely too.
It is rude of your mum to criticise your name choice, hope that your mum keeps her opinions to herself when Leila is old enough to understand.

pretty name...

nice name

I think Leila is a lovely name - if DC2 had been a girl, that's the name we had in mind (and with that spelling).

As it was, we had a boy and we called him Evan. I told my mum when I was pregnant that's the name we were planning for a boy and she said she didn't like it. Like you, made me a little sad to start with but he's now 3 months old and Evan is just who he is (iyswim) so I don't worry about it any more.

It helped that lots of people (including my dad) said how much they liked it. I've also got friends who said their mums didn't like their name choices.

If it was me, if I couldn't say anything good, I'd keep quiet but I guess that's mothers for you (maybe we'll be saying the same thing about our grandchildren in 30 years time!!)

Its a beautiful name, ignore her, your baby, your choice!

I called my daughter Cerys Amelia (she's 7 months so before I'm a Celebrity)!! my mum's comment 'I prefer the Amelia'!

I chose to ignore her!

its lovely, my mum hates our dd's names and i think they are pretty ordinary - no pleasing some people, please don't let her put you off it

It's a lovely name, I'm sure it will grow on her, but it is a shame she has to voice her feelings instead of keeping her trap shut. I find whenever my mother feels the need to intervene I just say "you had your chance with me, now it's my turn" and, when I'm really exasperated, "FGS they are not your children, they are mine"

Leila is the traditional spelling but it is a transliteration from Arabic. It is a beautiful name - it means "night" in Arabic and Hebrew but it has connotations of brunette beauty. Dare I say that I think your mum is being rude and silly?

Lovely name,I can't understand why your mum would want to upset you over this, regardless of what name you chose, your baby, your choice of name.she will love it soon, and everytime she hears it she will smile.

Isn't Leila the"proper" spelling? By which I mean traditional - rather that Leyla which is the modern version?

I used to have a friend Leila who spelt it this way aswell. A really lovely name.

Lovely name I don't tell anyone our final choice of name (well apart from the 100 or so people on here that are helping me chose it ) on hearing DD2's name when she was born my Mum said "oh I will have to write that down" like you would forget your GDs name! MIL said "oh well as long as she's healthy"

This time I REALLY want a name they hate!

Our twins middle names are the middle names of our grandmothers iykwim. Both old fashioned, very traditional Welsh names, which we love and thought it was a nice idea.

When we told MIL dt2's name we got "oh but she HATED her middle name! Why don't you use Sarah instead?" (which was the grandmother's first name). To which I have replied on many, many occasions, because we DON'T LIKE the name Sarah, that's why!

Now it's too late to change it, we get childish digs about it instead. Dt2 is the bigger twin, and from what i've heard dh's gran was a plump lady, so now we get "oh well you gave this one the right name, she's going to be a fatty like her great Gran"

People can be SO rude, ignore them, it's a beautiful name.

that is such a pretty name. why do some mums or mother in laws behave soooo oddly about the name choice?
driving home with our newborn bundle of joy i phoned my m.i.l to tell her we had chosen sonny for our ds she told me it was odd and upsetting!!!! and then went silent......i unfortunatley didnt and exploded into a full on swearing offensive (v.v.v unlike me)which i later blamed on the pethidine

it's beautiful, really beautiful

it is very feminine and the two names sound lovely together
I am sorry your mother is being hurtful about it

When I told my Mum we were thinking of calling the baby Sam, she said, "I don't really like that name!" Then she laughed and said, "But I suppose it's not up to me!"
My aunt was going to call her dd Meg years ago but my Granny made a face and said "Meg the Peg Leg!" My cousin ended up being called Nadine!

ProfYaffle- please tell us what it is!

its beutiful tell her shes risking your hormones being let lose on her.

My dd1 has a similar name. She is 14 and now uses both forenames. Her cousins' granny (not MIL!) said dd's name is the lovliest she has ever heard...can't please everyone. Have fun with her.

pil were really rude about dd2's name and it's beautiful (even if I say so myself!). There was stoney silence around the dinner table when we announced it while i was pg, bil said "you've got time to change your mind", pil couldn't even bring themselves to say her name, kept saying "are you still calling her that".

T'was difference once she arrived though, they mellowed and it grew on them.

A friend of a friend told me that her mother said "I hope one day I can forgive you" when she heard what her dd was to be called. It was a pretty dire name but still - the child was about 5 and she was still smarting about it