Parents criticised our chosen baby name without knowing it was ours

If it's Ralph, how are you pronouncing it? I know the Ralph/Rafe thing is devisive. Personally I think Rafe sounds too close to rape.

You are not giving us much wiggle room to help here op!

You are sad they don't like it, BUT you don't want to change it, so we can't help with suggesting alternatives.

You are determined to keep it, but don't want to give them time to get used to it, and not dig themselves deeper with their comments.

Then you've suggested Edward and Ralph, the first of which is completely classic and inoffensive and the second of which is quite a Marmite name.

And we don't know what it is ... sorry, that was unfortunate they said that but we really can't suggest anything.

Problem with sharing the name is that the whole thread derails into a discussion about whether the name is MN approved, rather than actually helping the OP with their situation

So if it's something like Ralph or Edward then it isn't a "chavvy" or a footballer's/influencer's kid name I presume? Maybe that's the problem and they'd prefer Jayden, Keegan or Tyler or something of that ilk!

But that’s their specific taste, which will be subjective, generational etc etc. You’re naming your baby. They had their shot when they had babies.

All four of our parents hated our DS’s name, but that was neither a surprise nor a shock given the dreary names they’d saddled their children with.

My ILs think you call firstborn boys after their father and first born girls after their grandmother or something, and there was also a set of rules for subsequent children, so you only get to actually choose a name freely if you have quite a large family.

After growing up in a household that had, at one point, no less than four boys/men with the same first name and surname (my dad, granddad, great-uncle and brother) and being one of five girls with the same name in a class of 30 throughout primary, that was never going to wash with me.

Use the name you love. They will adjust.

Oh dear!

Hence why no one should indulge in rude dismissive rants about subjective choices which do no harm.

Hard for you because now you know there will be opposition.

But you love the name, hopefully they will reflect and have the grace to withhold any further negative opinions.

(an opinion I was able to give without badgering for the name, given you have said it is a mainstream type of name, with a standard spelling)

They’ve got their opinion, they didn’t say it to hurt you, so you shouldn’t find it hurtful.

Call your child what you want, they’ll get on with it.

If you think about it, grandparents up and down the land secretly cringed when they first heard the choices for their grandkids names!
It's just out in the open in your family!

We can’t know unless we know the name.

If it's Wilfred, a friend of mine has a very sweet baby Wilf. Nice name.
Ignore your parents! I understand if it's soured what should be a fun process though, it's a real shame

Yeah don't then. If they're nice they'll be mortified and apologise. If they're horrid narcs they'll think you did it to insult them, but it will just be the first in a line of many things they think that about so what can you do. If they're somewhere in between they'll probably grumble a bit and then get used to it as the baby becomes a real person. Just carry on as you were. You can name your baby whatever you like. My mum had a hatred for Martha for some reason but I'm sure she would have liked it eventually if I'd called a kid that, as she loved the kid if not the name!

It really depends on the name.

If you’re dead set on it, then you go for it, but now you know what people think of it maybe it’s a sign to change it?

That’s awful OP. Even if you hadn’t chosen that particular name it’s mean behaviour. I would come clean and tell them it’s one of your chosen names so that they have an opportunity to apologise and to start adjusting their attitude now

There's nothing wrong with them commenting on a name and whilst unfortunate that it's one that you like they certainly aren't awful.

If you like the name you still use it, it's that simple and it just before their grandchild's name.

People can just have a personal dislike to a name which seems to be perfectly acceptable to most.

Esme in my case

Oh ignore them. They'll get over themselves. My child is named a hated Mumsnet name. No one matters except you!! There's many many crazy names out there. People might give a chuckle over it but then they just forget about it and move on.

Call your baby whatever you like and sod them. I say that as a granny and my policy is that I love all babies and all their names. Judgement gets you nowhere and the sooner grandparents learn that the better!

What sort of comments were they making? Did they think it posh or old fashioned? Why didn't they like it?

Ralph and Edward are totally different names!! Anyway, the answer is just to carry on as you were planning and see what happens when you announce the name. Otherwise you can warn them but only if you have the type of relationship where you can say "shut up about it please' or they'll try to persuade you against.

I wouldn’t lump Ralph and Edward together personally. Edward to me is fairly timeless but Ralph is an “old name” which maybe back in fashion now but not a permanent feature on the top 100 baby names.

Impossible to comment-do they just really hate a perfectly sensible name for some reason, or have you chosen to call your child Spudulike?