Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

Frankie or Brynn for our baby girl?

119 replies

Abcd2026 · 05/07/2026 21:15

Frankie or Brynn for baby girl?

I prefer Frankie but my concern is it's more popular. We like uncommon names.
Brynn is very uncommon in our country.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
TallulahBetty · 06/07/2026 15:30

Brynn is not a name. Bryn is a boy's name.

DimwittedSkater · 06/07/2026 15:30

Herstruly · 06/07/2026 15:02

PP are taking issue with Bryn because it's a traditionally male name (which I'd tend to agree) but so is Frankie! The irony...

It's equivalent to calling a girl Freddie or Tommy. Would you really like to be a woman called Frankie with no lengthened version that you can choose to go by if you'd like a more womanly name?

Neither option is particularly nice. Sorry, OP.

Yeah, if I was a girl whose legal name was Frankie, I'd change the legal name to Francesca so that I could at least have the option of sounding like an adult woman when I wanted to.

TheBirdintheCave · 06/07/2026 15:30

Herstruly · 06/07/2026 15:11

The irony is found in the fact that PP are slating Bryn for being a traditionally male name but seemingly not recognising that Frankie is as well.

Edited
Show quote history

That’s because Frankie is a diminutive and could be short for Francesca.

DimwittedSkater · 06/07/2026 15:28

Frankie is awful if that's going to be the given name instead of short for Francesca. It makes me think of a little boy in short trousers. Also, the "ee" sound on the end of a boy's name is very infantilising since she'll have no option to get rid of it. As in, a Frankie who's actually a Francesca can call herself the latter if she ends up as a judge or something.

Brynn is better.

SNESRainbowRoad · 06/07/2026 15:24

Stevie. What about that? After Stevie Nicks?

ItalianChineseIndianMexican · 06/07/2026 15:21

I know one Bryn (boy) and two Frankies (one boy, one girl). I like the addition of another n for a female Brynn.

MarriedinMaui · 06/07/2026 15:15

noonames · 05/07/2026 23:05

I was going to say Bryn is a bit of an old codger name to me. It would be like calling a little girl Keithh or Derekk or Colinn.

😂🤣😂 100%

Herstruly · 06/07/2026 15:11

NamingNoNames · 06/07/2026 15:07

There is no irony.

Show quote history

The irony is found in the fact that PP are slating Bryn for being a traditionally male name but seemingly not recognising that Frankie is as well.

yonem · 06/07/2026 15:07

Whodathunk · 06/07/2026 14:37

OP may be American. Bryn(n) is an almost exclusively feminine name there. I can think of multiple American women called Bryn(n).

She might be better off posting on an American forum in that case as the naming cultures are very different. I still remember meeting an American woman called Lainey a few years ago and thinking how embarrassed she must feel to introduce herself as that as an adult, but I see it’s now in the top 30 girls’ names in the US for 2025!

NamingNoNames · 06/07/2026 15:07

Herstruly · 06/07/2026 15:02

PP are taking issue with Bryn because it's a traditionally male name (which I'd tend to agree) but so is Frankie! The irony...

It's equivalent to calling a girl Freddie or Tommy. Would you really like to be a woman called Frankie with no lengthened version that you can choose to go by if you'd like a more womanly name?

Neither option is particularly nice. Sorry, OP.

There is no irony.

ToadRage · 06/07/2026 15:07

Neither, they are both boys names, unless you are using Frankie as an abbreviation of Frances but I'd also tell you not to call your daughter that cos it's awful.

Herstruly · 06/07/2026 15:02

PP are taking issue with Bryn because it's a traditionally male name (which I'd tend to agree) but so is Frankie! The irony...

It's equivalent to calling a girl Freddie or Tommy. Would you really like to be a woman called Frankie with no lengthened version that you can choose to go by if you'd like a more womanly name?

Neither option is particularly nice. Sorry, OP.

Sassylovesbooks · 06/07/2026 14:45

Not keen on Brynn at all. Go for Frankie, out of the two. My husband's cousin is a girl and she's called Frankie (not short for anything). The only Frankie I know (I work in a school) is a boy.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 06/07/2026 14:44

Do not saddle your child with either name because you will not be thanked for doing so. Give her a a name she can carry through to adulthood and not feel embarrassed about writing it on a cv or passport application.

HoldMyWine · 06/07/2026 14:43

I wouldn’t use either.

Moveoverdarlin · 06/07/2026 14:42

Brynn is just awful. Firstly it reminds me of Uncle Bryn and secondly it reminds me of the name Bryan. Either way it reminds me of a bloke in his sixties.

Frankie I would think of as a boys name. And if it was a girls name I would assume she was Francesca - which is giving quite 80s / flash / Essex vibes.

Whodathunk · 06/07/2026 14:37

OP may be American. Bryn(n) is an almost exclusively feminine name there. I can think of multiple American women called Bryn(n).

yonem · 06/07/2026 14:24

They both sound like boys’ names. Brynn is particularly horrible sounding for a girl. I’d much prefer Frankie as a nickname for Francesca.

SirChenjins · 06/07/2026 14:21

Don't give her a misspelled boy's name - that's just silly.

Frankie at a push, but even that's not a particularly nice name. There are literally thousands of other, better names out there.

DoughnutDreamer · 06/07/2026 14:17

You should go with the name you like best rather than trying to avoid one that is slightly more popular. I don’t want to be mean or snappy so sorry if it sounds this way…but this need to name your (generic you) child something unusual or uncommon to the detriment of choosing a likeable or usable name is just silly. This isn’t just about you OP, I see it in here all the time. A list of far-out, whacky, weird or ridiculous names just to make your child stand out is silly and pretentious. People should go with what they like. So if you prefer Frankie then go for Frankie.

user1492757084 · 06/07/2026 13:47

I voted Brynn though I would not use it myself.
Do you like Briellen. Frances?

Watchoutfortheslowaraf · 06/07/2026 10:21

Are you American? I have seen the name Brynn before on dance moms I think it was.

i think a pp has nailed it. It’s like calling a baby girl Colinn

if you’re in the UK, do not pick Brynn. USA you can maybe get away with it.

to me, Bryn will always be an older Welsh blokes name

Inmyuggs · 06/07/2026 10:16

Brynn yes has 2 n's for a girl.
I like Frankie, it has a savvy sounding upbeat name.
Brynn i find a little flat.
Either way it is your choice!
Your choosen name sounds good spoken out and with other family and the surname is the main thing I was looking at not opnions.
Isnt any baby gorgeous whatever the name anyway.

NamingNoNames · 06/07/2026 10:07

Abcd2026 · 05/07/2026 23:11

And you've just reminded me why I never usually post on these forums. People have a real hard time being kind huh.

Show quote history

We are being kind. Brynn is awful.
It's a nice enough name for a man, if spelt properly - there are plenty of them aged 60 or thereabouts in Wales - Bryn Terfel, Bryn Williams and Uncle Bryn, for example.

Frankie is OK if short for Francesca or Frances, but I'd think it was a boy's name. (Frankie Dettori, Frankie Boyle, Frankie Valli)

@SpottyAlpaca , Brynn and Brian are not variants of the same name.

Mycatmax · 06/07/2026 09:22

Francesca is nice.

Brynn is not.