Surnames as first names…what’s the big deal?

@Ddakji , I like Humphrey, although I can see that some might not. Princess is awful, and because I am expecting to be cross-examined by you regarding why I think so, it's because it's a term of endearment. Humphrey has Yes Minister vibes, but I hear Princess in Dirty Den's voice.
Speaking of terms of endearment and surnames, Love and Darling are both. My reasons for not liking them as first names is not snobbery.

You know you don’t have to keep replying to me, yes?

Not so much obsessed as just a bit bored today 🤣. And I like challenging the dying breed of name snobs, given that kids today accept pretty much any name whether it’s Humphrey or Princess.

Cheerio then! Have a super weekend.

When I did my family tree I found that a family surname being used as a first name occurred quite often eg Harrison and Robinson. It was less common with girls but I did see it a few times.

You come across as obsessed. Please leave me alone, @Ddakji .
People can dislike names because they don't like the sound, how it looks or the meaning. It doesn't automatically mean they're a snob or have problems.

I’m not obsessed. This is a chat forum. You don’t want to be called a snob but I’ve yet to see a reply from you that suggests, so far as names go at any rate, you’re anything but a snob.

Why is Carter “not ok as a first name”? (Your words.) Most people just say “I don’t like it” but you’re making a value judgement.

@Ddakji , Why are you obsessed with me having problems?
I just don't like Carter as a first name. I don't have a problem with it.

(Walter )Menzies Campbell sounds a cool name, Carter (Rose )Smith doesn't

Why is Carter not ok as a first name? What is the problem with naming along more American lines (which has increased in the uk over the last 30 years)?
Do you feel the same if someone chooses a French or Spanish or Italian name it is it just “American” names you have a problem with?

(Several generations of the Scottish side of my family have used surnames as names, usually middle names.)

Didn't know there was a pushback. It's probably fashion.
Personally I'm not keen surnames as first names unless they are older /established ones like Duncan etc

@Ddakji , not really, but this isn't America.
Calling your daughter something like Cameron or Maddison isn't a problem, but it does look a bit 'Mother's maiden name used as a first name', when it isn't something that occurs much in the UK.
It might be quite usual in Scotland, but I haven't knowingly come across it.

What is a problem is being called a snob because I said Carter was not ok as a first name.

@LadyDanburysHat Walter Menzies Campbell.

It is pure snobbery on MN that they are hated.
Not on my part. Some seem OK, others not.
Names like Taylor, Jenson, Harper and Darcey seem faddy (and celebrity-inspired).

“Seem a bit American”.

Is that a problem?

It’s kind of old fashioned now I suppose but common enough that I know old men, middle aged men and teenagers with first names like Wallace, Wilson, Ramsay, Kerr, Blair, Innes etc.

I didn't realise it was so common in Scotland until reading this thread. I really like the idea of giving a boy the mothers maiden name as a first name 😊

Still fairly common is Scotland particularly for boys to have their Mother’s maiden name as a first name.

I know quite a few men (and boys) who have unusual first names as a result

I quite like surnames as first names, I even kind of like the bizarre surnames for girls that other posters have mentioned! Not that I would ever call a daughter Murphy or Robinson, but I like the ballsy-ness of it!

My son's name is a fairly well known persons first name and another fairly well known persons surname, several of his friends have surnames as first names too, which I hadn't clocked until recently.

It's a current trend I suppose and people like to criticise it, as they like to think they are better than/superior to a trend, also the awful anti-Americanism that is bloody everywhere at the moment has a lot to do with it.

Also, we all have different tastes - variety is the spice of life!

I know many Kerrs in Scotland, as well as a Gibb and Ogilvie. It is just accepted here. Although they may not come across as an obvious first name to some. Also to add Sir Menzies Campbell.

Not just the Borders, it is a traditional practice in Scotland for the second born son, in olden times when the eldest son would have the fathers name.

It is pure snobbery on MN that they are hated.

Most traditional boys’ forenames are also surnames: Michael, Philip, Oliver, Martin, John, James, Thomas, Alexander, Peter, David, Jason, Frederick, Christopher, Duncan, Francis, William, George, Henry, Charles ….

Paterson, Orr and Pettigrew are good examples of why it doesn't work, but also not many people are using Smith or Jones as first names for their DC, probably with good reason.

@Ddakji , I didn't say it was a problem, I asked for examples.

Calling us all snobs is a bit off, because we might not be, and I wondered if people named their children things like Paterson, Orr and Pettigrew.

Both my sons have surnames for first names as did my brother when he was born in 1983, as does my husband who’s Scottish.

It really isn’t a class thing anywhere other than England. We live (and the kids were born) in a country where there is such a melting pot of nationalities that names have zero connotation.

Not sure why on the rigidity, but it seems to make the change when the type who want to be rigid on it see enough people they like using a particular surname as a given name enough.

I grew up in the States hearing it was a Scottish thing, and after moving to England I get told it's an American thing, with a lot of bile.

Out of my four kids, three of them have names that are also commonly surnames (and we all have a surname that I see more often as a first name). None are occupation names. Only one of them gets bile remark when it's discussed on here or in similar spaces, largely because it's viewed by some as an American surname when it's really a English name that's been used for both and has been used as a given name in my maternal family it appears since before the US was a thing. Perceptions are weird like that.

And why is that a problem?

@Ddakji , Scots have done this for ages
Could you give examples, please?

Calling us snobs is too generic.

There's a difference between using an occupation surname and using a family surname as a first name.
I have no objection to using something like Murray, Duncan or Gordon as a first name, but Taylor, McKenzie, Anderson or Lennon seem a bit American.

Because people (especially on the MN baby names board) are snobs. They think it’s American (though Scots have done this for ages) and they think they’re better than Americans.