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Baby names

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

Original poster

Myra?

312 replies

theinterest · 11/10/2025 14:24

My DH and I thought we were settled on the name Myra for our baby due later this year, but having been settled on this for several months I’m not sure how others will view it? Neither of us are into crime type media, early 30s, and live in the south of England so somehow managed to miss the connection to Myra Hindley until now. My DH is still completely set on it, but I worry now what others will think (blame the hormones). Lyra isn’t an option for us due to a close friends baby being called that earlier this year.

I’m really after view in what you all think? I love the name but now doubting if it’s the right thing to use!

OP posts:
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Elephantangel1991 · 11/10/2025 15:09

I think Myra is one of those names (like Alexa, Isis, to a lesser extent Elsa) which would have been very popular given current naming trends if it were not for other associations. I really think most people in the UK will think of the serial killer. Sorry. Would Myla work?

BlindSpotForCats · 11/10/2025 15:09

Moira is lovely though.

BlindSpotForCats · 11/10/2025 15:08

I thought first of all of a girl I went to school with in the 80s. Then said it in my head and immediately went to 'Myra Hindley'.

It's weird that there are often not those associations with other names. My older DC is named for FIL and shares a name with a mass murderer and it's never come up ever. But Myra for some reason... no rhyme or reason to why that stands out, but it does

AnnaMagnani · 11/10/2025 15:08

Asked my DH - hadn't finished before he said 'what like Hindley?'

People may not say it your face but they'll all be thinking it.

chaosmaker · 11/10/2025 15:06

Hollyoaks fan so got Myra McQueen.

TeaRoseTallulah · 11/10/2025 15:03

It's a lovely name, I always think of a lovely health visitor I knew who was called Myra.

Idontknowhatnametochoose · 11/10/2025 15:03

I'm im the south and never been a true crime fan but I immediately thought of Hindley when I saw the thread title.

Any child called Myra will be set up for bullying imo.

Berlinlover · 11/10/2025 15:00

I live in Ireland and would immediately think of the Moors Murders when I hear the name Myra. The name is unusable OP.

WhiskyCollins · 11/10/2025 15:00

theinterest · 11/10/2025 14:58

Thanks everyone, looks like we need to go back to the drawing board! Is been helpful to test with you all as we don’t want to share the name in advance with family and friends

I hope you find something you love just as much! X

Brassknucks · 11/10/2025 15:00

Kyra?

no. Myra cannot be used. It’s not a name like rose (west) which is really quite a common name. Myra is unique and the only Myra anyone knows is that Myra. She’s the Beyoncé of the murder world. Don’t even need her surname and everyone knows who you mean.

BoredZelda · 11/10/2025 15:00

Algen · 11/10/2025 14:49

Do you think the same about Ian, just out of interest?

Show quote history

Are there many baby Ian’s?

Absentosaur · 11/10/2025 15:00

No definitely not. No no no. 🤷‍♀️

Ikeameatballs · 11/10/2025 14:59

Hmm, my mother knows a Myra in her 70s. I don’t think she’s ever mentioned the murderer connection and I’d not thought of it until this thread.

I think it might be ok. Right now everyone is leaping to Myra Hindley as the connection but is that just because there isn’t another person they can envisage which obviously won’t be the case for those who will meet your daughter in real life? Also names which are similar eg Maya, Mia, Myla, Lyra have become v popular so Myra won’t stand out against those.

So, if you love it then I would go for it. I do think you’ll get a lot of people asking if you had heard of Myra Hindley but I don’t think it’s as taboo a name as others on the thread feel it is.

ThatLadyLady · 11/10/2025 14:59

I love this name. It was my nan’s middle name and my mum’s. I don’t think it works for a first name though x

Chewbecca · 11/10/2025 14:58

It's a big fat No from me.

Original poster
theinterest · 11/10/2025 14:58

Thanks everyone, looks like we need to go back to the drawing board! Is been helpful to test with you all as we don’t want to share the name in advance with family and friends

OP posts:
Bladderpool · 11/10/2025 14:56

Paaseitjes · 11/10/2025 14:46

It's enough decades ago it's fine, and only relevant to English people. By the time the baby is an adult, the people who remember the news are going to be really old. If you live somewhere with a lot of immigrants, it's even more fine. No one doesn't use the name Jack because of the ripper

Edited

Nope. There are new books, podcasts, documentaries and dramas about the Moors Murders every year, it’s a world famous case. Keith Bennett is still missing on the moors and there are ongoing campaigns to find him. The association with the name Myra is permanent.

DingDongJingle · 11/10/2025 14:55

Algen · 11/10/2025 14:34

I think it’s a pretty name and personally wouldn’t immediately associate it with Myra Hindley (I’m more likely to think of the folk song). However, as seen from this thread a lot of people still have that association - I’d actually be interested to know the age range of people responding, as I really don’t know if it’s one of those names that would always be an issue or one of those names where her peers would have no clue. (I’m mid 40s, so Myra Hindley was really before my time and not local to me anyway, so perhaps not as much impact.)

40, not local to the area and my first thought was Hindley.
How about Myla OP?

BoredZelda · 11/10/2025 14:55

Too soon.

Maybe in a couple of decades it would be ok, but too many people alive will make the connection. It’s a shame because I like the name.

cornflakesandtea · 11/10/2025 14:53

I’m mid 30s and heard Hindley straight away. In an area local ish to the murders but it’s not like it’s talked about nowadays. I’m not usually one to say don’t do it wrt names, but I wouldn’t (and I have a kid with the same name as a grocery product).

Swallowdoubleandrunamile · 11/10/2025 14:51

I love the name, always have but agree with others, it's still unusable.

AllPlayedOut · 11/10/2025 14:51

eggandonion · 11/10/2025 14:47

Ian is still used though. What about Mary?

They are both very common names with multiple other associations and many people will know a Mary or Ian. It’s really not the same as the much less common Myra.

Vitriolinsanity · 11/10/2025 14:51

Yep, you cannot name a child Myra.

Lyra is a prettier choice

WhiskyCollins · 11/10/2025 14:50

I’m so sorry OP but it is unusable. A shame, but Myra Hindley is really unlikely to disappear from the public consciousness within the next generation.

Mara, Mila, Morna, Maura, Mona, Maryam/Miriam, Maya, Dinah, Lilah?

AllPlayedOut · 11/10/2025 14:49

Paaseitjes · 11/10/2025 14:46

It's enough decades ago it's fine, and only relevant to English people. By the time the baby is an adult, the people who remember the news are going to be really old. If you live somewhere with a lot of immigrants, it's even more fine. No one doesn't use the name Jack because of the ripper

Edited

It’s hardly equivalent to Jack. Jack has literally hundreds of other associations. Myra very few others as it’s a much less common name so most people will immediately think of Hindley.

You don’t have to be English to think of The Moors Murders either. I’m not and with the proliferation of true crime podcasts and shows it’s likely to reach a whole new audience.

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