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Baby names

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

Our name choices don’t seem very liked

462 replies

Fritesky · 18/10/2025 18:45

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?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Genevieva · 20/10/2025 16:24

To me, these are nicknames.

Gigi for Georgiana / Georgina / Georgia / …
Lola for Charlotte / Louisa / Delores / …

I think it’s important that children are given names that can be serious as well as fun. You could still calm them Gigi and Lola, but their legal names would be Georgina and Charlotte or something of that sort.

myfitbitisfucked · 20/10/2025 10:02

They are both fabulous names

user1492757084 · 20/10/2025 09:52

I LOVE both the names you chose.
Gigi Apolline and Lola Gabrielle are gorgeous for twins.

I read now that you have changed to Lila Gabrielle.
That is also beautiful.

Your names are refreshing and womanly unlike names that can sound more childish like Poppy, Minnie, Evie or Mopsy.

Other lovely names that give me a similar grown up vibe are ..
Cleo
Tess
Chloe
Mimi
Vera
Ida
Rose

Ghhbiuj · 20/10/2025 09:20

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 21:37

Isn’t that Layla? Oh no, I got that muddled up with Eric Clapton 😁

Edited

We always used to get that song played at school discos and similar when I was growing up. Quite odd really but I know it very well considering I grew up in the 90s and it's a 70s song. My friends at uni knew it well, one of them named their car lola after the song

ThePoetsWife · 20/10/2025 07:40

What about Giselle or similar?

Firebird83 · 19/10/2025 23:38

Are you pronouncing Lila like ly-la or lee-la?

LivingTheDreamish · 19/10/2025 23:18

I think Gigi and Lila is perfect OP (and I'm still in love with their middle names too). Funny how this small change has made all the difference. I feel bad that this thread upset you and you shouldn't change from Lola just based on what strangers on the internet said, but I think enough people in RL would have made the showgirl connection that it might have grated after a while, so I hope you can forgive us for pointing this out. Congratulations on your twins!

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 21:41

pictoosh · 19/10/2025 19:30

But it's a rude fucking word to use in this context wouldn't you say?

Well GiGi and Lola aren’t stupid names (Moon Unit is though or Sir or North). 😬

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 21:37

Ghhbiuj · 19/10/2025 20:15

It's the kinks song that I know

Isn’t that Layla? Oh no, I got that muddled up with Eric Clapton 😁

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 21:36

SwallowsandAmazonians · 19/10/2025 18:23

I hired a Crystal recently and have worked with a Candy and not once did I give their names a thought!
Crystal is an investment analyst and Candy was head of a team of project managers...
Not lightweight roles.

I really like the name Crystal, probably because I like sparkly things. I would never shorten that name.

Ghhbiuj · 19/10/2025 20:15

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.

It's the kinks song that I know

Ghhbiuj · 19/10/2025 20:12

I'm not the world's most physical guy but when she held me tight she almost broke my spine l l l Lola

I'm not a dumb man but I can't understand why she talked like a woman but walked like a man l l l lol

I'm not the world's most passionate man but I know what I am and I am a man and so is lola l l l lol

It's about him being with a cross dresser, first off he's confused and then he quite likes it

They must sing the name songs 100 times in the song

- YouTube

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https://youtu.be/GP0X0CRMZLU?si=XZD3jnuO46ZTzJrD

Genevie82 · 19/10/2025 19:55

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.

Yes, imagine them as older girls/ women getting introduced at a party sorry I think the middle names are lovely but Gigi & Lola are abit, well, as the other poster pointed out.

SwallowsandAmazonians · 19/10/2025 19:49

SwallowsandAmazonians · 19/10/2025 18:23

I hired a Crystal recently and have worked with a Candy and not once did I give their names a thought!
Crystal is an investment analyst and Candy was head of a team of project managers...
Not lightweight roles.

No idea on Crystal, but Candy I think was a Candace who went by Candy, including professionally, on LinkedIn etc. so I guess it worked for her!

FrodoBiggins · 19/10/2025 19:47

pictoosh · 19/10/2025 19:30

But it's a rude fucking word to use in this context wouldn't you say?

I would not call either of OPs name choices stupid (even if I thought they were, which I don't). I was specifically calling "Khaleesi" a stupid name, as PP brought it up. This led to her saying I was racist and classist in a now deleted post which was...a bit much.

Iocanepowder · 19/10/2025 19:44

I would honestly just keep both names op.

I hate my name but am personally still glad i’m not called Gigi as my full name, so if you won’t change Gigi then you’re may as well keep Lola.

ThePoetsWife · 19/10/2025 19:31

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.

This

pictoosh · 19/10/2025 19:30

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 19:12

I think it’s just down to personal opinion if someone thinks a name is stupid, it’s not really a question of being qualified.

But it's a rude fucking word to use in this context wouldn't you say?

Stripperyone · 19/10/2025 19:25

DuchessofStaffordshire · 19/10/2025 16:26

You're absolutely right! I stand corrected. Still brought to mind Eurotrash and finally being allowed to watch it by my parents back in the day. I'm not sure it would work these days though. I seem to recall it usually featured the likes of naked Germans rising bicycles with socks on their noodles

I remember watching it and being very confused about all the antics, rather than seeing it as something 'sexy'.

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 19:14

Well the names are a lot better than some horrors you get on MN.

BunnyLake · 19/10/2025 19:12

Everlore · 19/10/2025 17:14

What qualifies you to pronounce on what makes a stupid name? Would you like to publish a list of names you approve of that everyone can choose from since you are clearly the arbiter of good taste and judgment.
I stand by my original post, you may be unaware of the motivations behind your name prejudice but you should still do something to tackle those prejudices, regardless of how much faith you have in your impeccable taste in names and analyse your need to sneer at parents whose idea of a good name differs from you.

I think it’s just down to personal opinion if someone thinks a name is stupid, it’s not really a question of being qualified.

BreadstickBurglar · 19/10/2025 18:56

OP I’m sorry if you’re feeling hounded. I think Lila and Gigi together sound brilliant and don’t have any kind of “showgirl” as you put it feel at all. FWIW I like Gigi! I first heard it in Gilmore Girls where she is Rory’s baby half sister so I’m glad you haven’t plumped for Rory for your other daughter after all! Gigi is a perfectly good name, sounds international and interesting and I’d be perfectly charmed to be represented/operated on/judged by a Gigi. Or a Lila.

Hope you and your girls are doing well!

me24x · 19/10/2025 18:54

I honestly think these are the most lovely sweet names for twin girls I’ve heard!

AzurePanda · 19/10/2025 18:50

@SwallowsandAmazonians I wonder whether Crystal and Candy like their names? I speak as someone who loathes mine!

pambeesleyhalpert · 19/10/2025 18:49

Beautiful names!

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