is it ever ok to question someones name choice?

It's a brilliant name. If I was a little boy, I think I'd want to be called something like Diesel. Everyone will get used to it soon enough. It's better than being one of seven Bens in your class.

I like it not one I would choose mind but I have known a Diesel and a Levi. I would not say anything she needs support and I hardly think a name is the be all and end all. Although young girls can sometimes find it hard to bond with babies and picking a name can really make the baby feel like hers so I would definitely leave it.

It all work out fine. I know a woman with an Axl and a Diesel and I don't want to identify them, but one of the couple is foreign. Nobody bats an eyelid. They are in their 30s and have good taste otherwise. But their kids are fine! nobody is ostracising them!

My mum pointed out to me that the name I had chosen (annabel) and its shortened version we were going to use (anna) sounded like a completely different word (animosity). It had never occured to me, but once she said it, I couldn't get that out of my head. In the end, we decided to change the name and I am glad that she did tell me... because I think I would regret that name now.

I think it depends on the relationship of the people involved (I am close to my mum and respect her opinion - so was more than happy to listen to other ideas) and I think it also depends on the personality of the pregnant women. I prefer to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions and then make a judgement bearing in mind what people think of a name (not necessarily whether they like it - that's personal, but I do like to know what images a name conjurs up for people - as names do have 'types' etc). But others prefer not to discuss names at all and cannot take any criticism on names. So I guess it depends on the character of the pregnant woman.

Where does she live? If in a big city it probably won't stand out that much. It wouldn't at my kids' school- a lot of people would like it a lot and it wouldn't raise any eyebrows. Maybe you could comment nicely on what different types of name she's selected for a boy and a girl and see if she brings up any latent doubts about Diesel that you can then agree might be a problem. I'd keep it very conversational rather than giving your own view though.

cloelia whats wrong with dizzy?!?!?!

it is odd but i agree with monniemae, it is not actually all that bad. It is a v trendy brand name so maybe she thinks it's no worse than levi. could shorten perfectly acceptably to something like dd. Or dizzy. as in rascal. I should leave her to get on with it. good luck to her!!

lol!
let's be honest, "bedroom" could as easily fit into that sentence too!

Displayuntilbestbefore.. I re-read your comment 3 times before realising you said 'boardroom' and not 'bedroom'!

If you tell people names you're thinking of before the baby arrives then people are bound to comment on them, positive or negative. What I objected to was my own mother having a problem with the name we chose AFTER the baby was born, when it was his name, he had been named, and it wasn't even an off-the-wall name! That's just plain out of order - and upsetting! Especially as dh and I purposefully never told anyone any of our names choices for our dcs before the birth so it would be a surprise (we knew of loads of friends who told us the gender and name of their unborn children so when they arrived, we knew everything bar their birthweight already!).
Not sure about Diesel myself but a lot of people don't seem to think about what their child will feel about having names "of the moment" when they're in their 30s or 40s and wanting to be taken seriously in the boardroom!

I was 15 when I fell pregnant with DS (16 when I had him) and I was the other way around... I had a normal name for a son but a weird one for a daughter. Thankfully he was a 'he'. My Mum just rolled her eyes and said 'really'? at my choice of girls name.

I'm not sure whether I would have actually used it in the end as all the way through I was convinced he was a boy anyway so I didn't give loads of thought to a girls name.

I would be brutally honest.. if someone I respected had said to me, nicely 'listen darling, I love you but please do NOT call your child xxx, you will regret it' I would have listened.

Maybe she'll consider using it as a middle name and using the more traditional name instead?

It is a tough one, i worked with an 18 year old that wanted to simply give her child initials. I had a chat with her about why she might not want to do but i attempted not to sound all knowing or patronising and had to leave it at that....

I know that my Mum does not like my choice of name if i am having a boy and i wouldn't mind her saying so once but she keeps bringing it up and that i am finiding very annoying!

i am only 18 and if my mum has said shes not keen on names i have thought of in the past it has put me off and made me think of something else, i know it is down to me but the thought of people saying the name behind my back and bein like OMG why has she called him that and stuff makes me think a bit harder. at the end of the day its her baby but maybe you and her mum should talk to her together, just bring it up in conversation and say so have u thought of any more names yet etc and when she says diesel just say hmm yea its alright, if she gets used to hearing that people dont like it then she will probably feel silly and change her mind x

I knew a young girl who named her child Ice

I would suggest her mum (and you if you want to get involved) make positive suggestions for male middle names which are more conventional, so that if she does go with Diesel (a ridiculous name, but one she's more not less likely to stick to if you undermine it), the boy has a more sensible fallback option should he not want future teachers, employers, girlfriends etc to be put off by a name akin to Petrol.

That, or just pray it's a girl!!

If she was 30, would her mum be panicking about how teachers would judge the child? She may be only 16 but needs the support, assurances and trust of those around her, not a pre-natal hand-wringing of what will become of the baby. And if she's this determined about the names, hopefully it means she'll be able to stand her ground about other decisions that are hers to make, as a mother.

It's cute, anyway, on second (or third) look..

if one of the parents to be asks you what you think of a potential name then it's perfectly acceptable to say if you don't like it.

But if people don't ask, keep quiet or trot out the classic 'ohhh that's unusual' line.

Pranma, you might be thinking of Frank Zappa's son Dweezil.

I believe Dweezil Zappa is also a rock guitarist.

btw, his sisters are called Moon Unit and Diva.

Why not buy her a diesel engine from the Thomas train set. She might not think it's so cool as a rather ugly train, rather than a designer sweatshirt.

Diesel the train in Thomas is a baddie, isn't he?

I am sure there is a pop star with a son named Diesel.Tell her it is fine and sounds just like Denzil!

I think its almost inevitable that a teenager will want to call her baby something "cool". A name is hardly the worst thing in the world to cope with. A boy in my DD's class at school is called Jedi and while I'm sure most mums have rolled their eyes the kids (a) think its pretty cool and (b) just get on with it. About the only thing I can suggest is to ask her what her friends think of the name - if she's had some negative feedback already from one or more friends she's much more likely to reflect on that and possibly reconsider than what her mum or her mum's friends think. I guess your friend could call him some sort of nickname? Maybe just "D"? My DD2 is called "B"!

I don't think it's that bad either. In fact it could be quite easily a lot worse.

It does remind me of a conversation that I overheard between two old ladies about "Supernanny". One was telling the other that the child had been called Petrol and how terrible it was. The other one was asking her if she was sure and the first was saying that she was. I was almost demented trying to work out what it was. I had to find an old newspaper or I would have never slept again.

I just hope the child's name is the only problem he'll ever have in his life. Is this the only thing the family is worried about in the circumstances?