Page 13 | Our name choices don’t seem very liked

Fritesky · 2025-10-18T17:45:27+00:00

DH and I have just had our twin baby girls, they are 3 weeks old and we have named them Gigi and Lola. We love their names and put a lot of time into picking them. We are a Anglo-Franco-Italian family so tried really hard to pick names that everyone would be a fan of. Since then we’ve told family, friends etc. our babies names and got lots of “oh are the nicknames” and “oh that’s interesting”, which I guess just makes me feel really crappy. We haven’t registered the girls yet so we could change the names, but I’m not sure if I want to. Their full names are Gigi Apolline and Lola Gabrielle. What are your thoughts?

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Original poster

Fritesky · 18/10/2025 23:29

ElizaMulvil · 18/10/2025 23:19

I think when choosing names for your children you have to imagine them not just as babies but also walking into a room to give a presentation on economics or politics, to a mixed audience. I'm not sure I'd want to announce I was called Gigi (or Lola ).

Would you say the same about Poppy? Nina (similar sound)? Sadie? Josie?

I really don’t understand this take at all, I get the connotations point. But this point just feels a little off to me, as though someone’s name should define their abilities, respectability or something else? Can’t a girl be both cute and intelligent? Sweet and an expert in something serious like law, medicine or science?

It feels like a very dated and almost classist take to suggest someone’s name says anything about who they are.

If someone wouldn’t hire my child because of their name, I’d argue it’s not someone you’d want to work for anyway.

OP posts:

Ddakji · 18/10/2025 23:27

I wouldn’t worry about it (nor solicit opinion on MN about it).

Your children’s peers won’t have any of these thoughts about their names. Children are much more accepting than their judgemental and often very old-fashioned parents - who wouldn’t turn down life-saving surgery from someone with a “stripper” name (utterly foul thing to say, btw).

ElizaMulvil · 18/10/2025 23:19

I think when choosing names for your children you have to imagine them not just as babies but also walking into a room to give a presentation on economics or politics, to a mixed audience. I'm not sure I'd want to announce I was called Gigi (or Lola ).

Renamed · 18/10/2025 23:17

you like both the names
there are probably quite a few more Lolas these days due to the children’s books, most people will not think Lolita
it can be quite hard to get girls names that have no connotations at all, due to the narratives people tell about women. Your daughters will have their own stories “Her name was Lola, She was a doctor…”
If they ever wanted to for any reason, they could always vary their names or even use completely different ones. E.g. the crime novelist Elly Griffiths - her real name is Domenica de Rosa

Shinybrightdarling · 18/10/2025 23:15

Gigi and Lila
Gigi and Lisette
Gigi and Lucia
Gigi and Livia
Gigi and Paloma
Gigi and Celeste
Gigi and Amelie

BeanQuisine · 18/10/2025 23:01

Too cutesy for my taste, and to me that makes them seem somewhat culturally restrictive. But that's my personal impression, and others might associate names like Gigi and Lola with brain surgeons or rocket scientists.

Blappengrap · 18/10/2025 22:54

GingerPaste · 18/10/2025 18:59

Sorry, but I agree with some of the PPs. The names make me think of ‘ladies of the night’. 😬

I also immediately thought of strippers, but individually I like them so I'm sure that in real life I would get over that thought very quickly.

Needmorelego · 18/10/2025 22:53

The only time I have heard Gigi is as a shortening of another name of a child who has two G names (for example Gemma Gertrude) and it's gets abbreviated to "GG" which evoles into Gigi.
If you like it then use it - but it doesn't feel like an actual name to me.
Lola is the nicer name of the two and to me a really normal regular name and every modern primary school probably has a least one 😂

Iminthetiredmumsclub · 18/10/2025 22:51

I absolutely love them. Don’t change them.
F everyone else!

DietQueen2023 · 18/10/2025 22:51

Nice names but to be honest I prefer their middle names!

Original poster

Fritesky · 18/10/2025 22:50

ShesNeverSeenAShadeOfGray · 18/10/2025 22:48

I would use a name where 'Gigi' is a nickname derivative, like Georgia or Georgina.

I would do something similar for her twin's name, that is something that can be shortened down to a cutesy nickname that you seem to favour.

Problem is, they might not favour cutesy nicknames when they get older. Give them the options to revert to more 'grown up' names.

I mean they would always have their middle names if they didn’t like their first name?

I don’t really like the full versions of Gigi, I really love Gigi though, and I feel like it suits her.

I’m more moveable on Lola as it was a compromise name from the start between DH and I.

OP posts:

ShesNeverSeenAShadeOfGray · 18/10/2025 22:48

I would use a name where 'Gigi' is a nickname derivative, like Georgia or Georgina.

I would do something similar for her twin's name, that is something that can be shortened down to a cutesy nickname that you seem to favour.

Problem is, they might not favour cutesy nicknames when they get older. Give them the options to revert to more 'grown up' names.

RuthW · 18/10/2025 22:47

BreadstickBurglar · 18/10/2025 18:52

Ok being brutally honest I wonder if Gigi and Lola have a bit of a… well an air about them. My immediate connotations are Gigi the film about a child (future) prostitute, and Lolita the book about an abused teenager. The combination of the two kind of strengthens the association. It’s a real shame because I love the names and individually I wouldn’t be thinking of those characters.

Agreed

that’s a very polite way of putting it.

ButterPiesAreGreat · 18/10/2025 22:46

I think you should just go with the names you’ve chosen. You are the parents. You get to choose.

ItsTheDoctornotDoctorWho · 18/10/2025 22:45

They're lovely names.
You clearly love the names so that's all that matters. Others should keep their opinions to themselves quite frankly.
No idea why people go on about having a longer name and using them as nicknames either, ridiculous.
If I was you I'd go register them as soon as and ignore everyone else.
Congratulations!

Original poster

Fritesky · 18/10/2025 22:44

LivingTheDreamish · 18/10/2025 22:42

Would you consider Lola and Romy?

I think we really want to use Gigi, we are pretty attached to the name compared to Lola which was more of compromise. We have spoken about having a little girl called Gigi since we got married!

OP posts:

HelloVeritas · 18/10/2025 22:43

Beautiful names, congratulations 🥰

LivingTheDreamish · 18/10/2025 22:42

Would you consider Lola and Romy?

NewShoes · 18/10/2025 22:41

I think for twins it’s tricky, I wouldn’t want to name them names that sounded too ‘matchy’ and I would worry these do- both four letters, repeated first and third letters with consonants in between, they also do have the same ‘vibe’ as others have mentioned. I’d go for something longer or less ‘nicknamey’ for one of them. But that’s only my opinion and I do strongly feel that they’re your babies and you should go with whatever you really like 😊

Libellousness · 18/10/2025 22:41

Fritesky · 18/10/2025 22:38

Hm thank you everyone.

We don’t really want to use the middle names as first names, and I find the whole “I wouldn’t trust a surgeon” with that name narrative a little strange as loads of babies have “cute” names now like Evie, Poppy, Elsie.

I hadn’t thought of the “lady of the night” connotation.

I did study literature so I’m very familiar with Lolita but it hadn’t crossed my mind (I thought of a girl I went to school with, a character from Gossip Girl and the Barry Manilow song which I figured no one their age would know!)

For Gigi I guess I just associated with lots of girls I knew who used it as a nickname.

I think we are more attached to Gigi as a name than Lola so maybe we should change Lola. We had
Romy/Rory (too masculine?), Mila, Lena and Cami on our list too.

Romy, Rory and Cami are all far too similar to Gigi - you can’t have twin girls who both have two syllable names ending in ‘ee’ sounds.

Original poster

Fritesky · 18/10/2025 22:38

Hm thank you everyone.

We don’t really want to use the middle names as first names, and I find the whole “I wouldn’t trust a surgeon” with that name narrative a little strange as loads of babies have “cute” names now like Evie, Poppy, Elsie.

I hadn’t thought of the “lady of the night” connotation.

I did study literature so I’m very familiar with Lolita but it hadn’t crossed my mind (I thought of a girl I went to school with, a character from Gossip Girl and the Barry Manilow song which I figured no one their age would know!)

For Gigi I guess I just associated with lots of girls I knew who used it as a nickname.

I think we are more attached to Gigi as a name than Lola so maybe we should change Lola. We had
Romy/Rory (too masculine?), Mila, Lena and Cami on our list too.

OP posts:

Gloschick · 18/10/2025 22:31

I think they are lovely fun names, but better as nn rather than full names. There are so many beautiful full girls names (especially given their heritage) that you could shorten to Gigi and Lola.

Apart from the references already mentioned, I wonder whether when written down the brain also jumps to Gigolo as it is only 1 letter different to Gigilola. Or maybe that is just my brain being weird!

UnderstoodBetsy · 18/10/2025 22:27

Spookyspaghetti · 18/10/2025 21:44

Lola and Lolita are completely different names. Although in the U.K. it is likely to remind people of the Kinks song (she looked like a woman but talked like a man, L L L L Lola)

I think regardless both names and middle names are lovely and only you and DH know if they are a ‘Gigi’ and a ‘Lola’ as the names suiting them are far more important that other people’s opinions or associations.

(With the exception of the op from the other week who was considering Mira…)

Show quote history

"She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita."

There's a reason the PP associates the name Lola with Nabokov's Lolita.

DidIForgetPEAgain · 18/10/2025 22:22

Whereismyfleeceblanket · 18/10/2025 18:50

Mil said she didn't like ds's name and wouldn't be calling him that. I said she had no need to see him if she wasn't suited..
She soon stfu..

Wish I’d thought of that when my mum said similar

FrodoBiggins · 18/10/2025 22:22

Spookyspaghetti · 18/10/2025 21:44

Lola and Lolita are completely different names. Although in the U.K. it is likely to remind people of the Kinks song (she looked like a woman but talked like a man, L L L L Lola)

I think regardless both names and middle names are lovely and only you and DH know if they are a ‘Gigi’ and a ‘Lola’ as the names suiting them are far more important that other people’s opinions or associations.

(With the exception of the op from the other week who was considering Mira…)

Show quote history

Not completely different names - Lolita = Little Lola.