Hate DD’s planned baby name. Is it ever ok to say that?

My ex called his boat Io.

When he registered it, the registration document labelled it 10.

Or maybe Hey Ho ! Actually.
OP I rather like the name, it makes me think of Ngaio Marsh the author. I would not like a rape association though, for my daughter.

I’d have to say something. It’s pretentious at best. Poor kid will be faced with a lifetime of people completely confused by her silly name.

It's terrible. And the myth it comes from is terrible. Ok I know Phaedra, Antigone, Jocasta, Eurydice , Daphne and Dido didn't have a great time either but Io is worse.

Also, if they want a longer Greek name they could call her Iolanthe to give Io for short.

(She wouldn’t have to be a fairy, though 😂)

Nah, she'll get called lozz or lozzer

Didn't know/forgotten rapey connection. I'd have assumed Jupiter's moon. There are so many unusual names for children now, that she may not stand out as much as you fear OP.

Having said that I think that Io is actually quite nice.

Agree

I guess it depends on your relationship. My mum isn't a big fan of my kids' names or the fact that they have middle names and tells me so once in a while (not in front of the kids). It's a bit annoying but I don't mind too much. In my family we tell each other when we don't like something and beyond a bit of annoyance (and in turn I do tell them how annoying they are) it doesn't really affect our relationship. To be honest I can't imagine any of my family members holding back with their opinion because they think I wouldn't forgive them or because they think something isn't any of their business.

Having said that I think that Io is actually quite nice.

yes I would say something. that's a desperate name to give a child

I’d just say to DD is Lo the one raped by Zeus?
and sew the connotation seed. That is all you can do, don’t pass comment

Yanbu to hate it - I would too - but you can’t say anything, it’s their choice. FWIW there are so many highly “unusual” baby names these days that it almost renders them all normal. At my kids’ secondary school there are brothers called Fox and Hawke. Both very popular boys in with the cool crowd so it doesn’t seem to have done them any harm with their peers.

😂

I don’t understand why mumsnet got rid of the laughing emoji because I wanted to use it on this 😂

Lovely name. Keep your mouth zipped and remind yourself that you’ve had your kids already, and this baby is not yours and your opinion does not matter one bit. Sooner you realise that the better. Jeez, grandparents are so entitled these days thinking that their opinion matters…!

Io is on my list!

Tbf, Zeus raped everyone.

The bigger issue would be Io was also a cow. A literal cow. But also, as a PP pointed out, a moon of Jupiter

Thought you were going to say Pol Pot

I’d say lovely, short for Iona? Then they can call her Io but she has a longer name that won’t get confused with ten or LO

Don't say anything. It's your personal opinion, but ultimately it's their choice, and there are just as many people (myself included) who DO like the name Io. If the parents (and child, eventually) like it, that's all that matters :)

I don't dislike it, but it's going to be a tricksy name because of the way it's written. It could be mistaken for Lo or read as number 10, as you say. Then there's the Old McDonald song (ee-eye ee--eye-oh). Plus some people are saying that the correct pronunciation is actually ee-oh.

Iona, as others have suggested? Or a different name from Greek mythology?

I know a toddler Io! I actually like it and think it’s a pretty cool name.

There are alternatives with a similar vibe - Hebe, Juno, Clea, Hero, Dido… or they could go for more nymphs - Calypso, Daphne…but I wouldn’t actually worry about the details of the myth or about bullying: names are much more individual these days and among the kids DD knows or knew at primary school the names were very varied and international.

As a rape survivor I think it’s awful that OP and many others on here think being given the same name as a rape victim would be awful and shameful and is ignoring the fact Io was also a princess and priestess. If a woman is raped is all she’s reduced to a rape victim? Is that all I am?

The villain in the story is Zeus, not Io. If your grandchild was going to be named Zeus after a rapist by all means complain, but how misogynistic to tarnish the rape victim and reduce her to nothing but her sexual assault. Plus sexual violence against women is unfortunately so common, and has been even more common at various points of history, that almost all female names will be the names of rape victims. Even in mythology there are many rape victims (male and female): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofrapevictimsfromancienthistoryandmythology

Would you be against the name Cassandra? Lara? Susanna? Eve? Adam? Arthur?

I rather like it, and I would guess in this day and age not many people would know about the myth. Kids anyway, who would presumably be the only ones likely to tease her about her name. And we'd run short of names if we excluded everyone who was raped by Zeus! You could point out that the myth sees her turned into a very unhappy cow, that might be off putting... and in some accounts she turns into Isis (the goddess, not the terrorists. But still maybe not a nice name to be associated with.)

That’s “Hi ho, Hi ho” Old MacDonald is ee eye ee eye o .

Is it pronounced “eeo” or “eye-o”? If it’s eye-o yeah I don’t like it.

I don’t see how she’d be teased, it’s a fairly neutral name. I’d say maybe go with Iolanda and have Io as a nickname but I’m not a fan of the name Iolanda.

I wouldn’t pass it on considering the rape story though, it’s just too dark.

You could be really rude...
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee i ee i o
And on his farm he had some cows
Ee i ee i oh