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Baby names

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

Original poster

What were you nearly called?

237 replies

Abigail47 · 08/08/2024 19:13

I was nearly called Deborah or Scarlett.

They were in my parents top three names.

Then they finally chose my name.

I feel a bit of a connection to those other two names.

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FunLurker · 08/08/2024 20:35

If I was a boy I was gonna be Bert

Umbrellamaybeneeded · 08/08/2024 20:34

Christopher or richard if a boy.
Other girls name was Victoria.

MyOtherCarisAVauxhallZafira · 08/08/2024 20:33

Adam, scans weren't as accurate in the eighties

StopInhalingRevels · 08/08/2024 20:33

I was dead cert to be Justine. Then two days after I was born, a friend visit and asked to hold Baby Tina. So Justine was no more.

My dad's other choice was Michelle. My mother's, Elisa. Clearly they hated me Grin

Although not as much as my friend's parents who almost named her Zyggy. And that's what I call her when I want to annoy her.

user1471453601 · 08/08/2024 20:32

If I'd been a boy I would have been called Willis. If I'd had a boy id have called him Willis. Probably Willis Nathan.

Sunburnisrareinscotland · 08/08/2024 20:31

My ndn had a lovely little dd. Her dh registered her as Amanda. Not the name the ndn had agreed to!!

Hadalifeonce · 08/08/2024 20:29

Penelope Jane

Summerperfume · 08/08/2024 20:28

Lydia

monicagellerbing · 08/08/2024 20:27

Nichaela pronounce Nick-eye-La

Or Jenna

Thank god my dad said no to them 😂

itsallabitofamystery · 08/08/2024 20:26

I was due Xmas Eve so was going to be Holly. I'm not keen on that or the name I was given, along with the 80s middle name that almost every girl got.

I almost called my daughter Pixie. My lovely Nan was mortified, said it was a "traveller" name. When she was born it just didn't suit her.

spiderdave · 08/08/2024 20:25

Bloody Magdelena! I'm glad they changed their minds, I'm not a fan.

Ketzele · 08/08/2024 20:22

Hedwig. I kid you not.

little0miss0mac · 08/08/2024 20:20

Kirsty, which would have been ok? Or Declan if I was a boy - a name which i found appalling as a kid and not so bad now.

Anyway, they did well with the final choice.

thursdaymurderclub · 08/08/2024 20:16

i was supposed to be called sally but my dad and his best mate when to the pub before they went to the registry office and forgot the name they were supposed to give me!

my DD was supposed to be names Megan-Louise.. and the minute she was born me and her dad looked at her and said 'nah' and immediately gave her another name.

muffledvoice · 08/08/2024 20:16

I was meant to be a quadruplet, we would've been called Eleanor, Jude, Lucy and Sadie... yeah my parents were Beatles fans...
If we were boys no doubt we would've been George, John, Paul and Richard BlushGrin

Lifeinlists · 08/08/2024 20:13

If I'd been twin girl number 2 I would have been Jane. But my twin brother popped out first. So I got first choice for a girl. I got one of the compulsory middle names of the time and I really wish they'd used Jane. My 2 names can be a hyphenated first name ( eg Anne-Marie type name)
and it pisses me off when anyone calls me that.
My mum's excuse was that she had a lot of names to think about. My dad didn't get much of a say apparently as he wanted to call me Victoria!

honeylulu · 08/08/2024 20:12

Janet, Judith or Heather. I'm not keen on any of those (apologies to anyone with those names). I think they were already falling out of fashion in the early 70s. I ended up with a timeless classic name which I really like and which my daughter has as a middle name.

Richard if I'd been a boy. I like the name but it would have been a bit unfortunate with my surname. Not quite as bad as Dick Head but along those lines.

LoneHydrangea · 08/08/2024 20:11

My mum wanted to call me Lorraine! Thankfully my dad intervened 😅

VeryQuaintIrene · 08/08/2024 20:10

If I'd been a boy, Oliver, which is fine, or Endymion which would decidedly not have been.

Lorrymum · 08/08/2024 20:08

I was born late 1950s and was almost called Cheyenne. My Dad couldn't remember how to spell it when he went to register my birth. I think it was the name of Clint Eastwood's character in "Rawhide" a popular western TV series at the time!

mistymirror · 08/08/2024 20:05

Holly and Zoe were my Dad's choices.

Cerrie and the name I actually have were my Mum's.

I like Holly and my actual name best out of the 4.

Cattery · 08/08/2024 20:04

Wendy or Juliet

ChildlessCatLadiesRuleOK · 08/08/2024 20:04

Britannia. Fortunately my mother wouldn't have it and I got a mildly, but not totally embarrassing 1960s name instead.

Parker231 · 08/08/2024 20:02

Céline after a relative who died just before I was born but my parents decided that they didn’t want me to carry the name of a dead family member.

Lovelynames123 · 08/08/2024 20:02

Brooke, Rachael and Rebecca were all on the list, born 1980. I ended up with Lucinda which is nothing like a typical 80s name but I like it