Being horribly judgemental (baby name related)

[namechange201020]

Someone I know has had a beautiful baby boy. The name she has given him is a bit odd.

I know it's not my place to have an opinion but I can't help but think this poor boy will be made fun of as he grows up. I've name changed as I don't know for sure she's not on here and I don't want her to find the rest of my posts if she is. I know of no other children with this name. She's from a similar socioeconomic background as me.
She's called him Cloud. I can't even think of a nickname he could go by.

@anon2000000000 no she doesn't or I don't think anyone would mention anything.

@WorraLiberty I may have over thought things but I certainly considered the types of name that would stand out less where I currently live.

It's not a wealthy area with all sorts of unusual names going about

What has wealth got to do with it? DS was born in a grungy bit of London, and the babies we were meeting at local Sure Starts and at midwife weigh-ins had West African, Turkish, Kurdish, Eastern European etc names which were 'unusual' by Little Englander standards. I remember a Dada and a Berko, both Nigerian, I think.

WorraLiberty I may have over thought things but I certainly considered the types of name that would stand out less where I currently live.

Well let's hope you and your kid never move to another area, where you might find judgmental adults starting internet threads about him.

@FramingDevice you're absolutely right on that one. Apologies, the only areas near me with more unusual names are wealthy areas of course more diversity would also lead to different names.

@WorraLiberty as stated down thread my sons name is there as you feel the way you do about me. At less than a month old I don't think her son gives a hoot about what adults are posting about his name. It is however unlikely that I will ever afford to move away from the area I live in so I considered how his name would sit in this area as it's likely to be where he goes to school. It's a poor area with very little diversity the way I was bullied at school I took whatever steps I could to try and limit (obviously not remove completely as I have a very normal run of the mill name and still had a horrendous time) any bullying he may come across. I was also thinking about how his name would age as he became an adult.

I really don't think this woman will give a crap about what I think of his name, she chose it knowing full well that it was usual and that people would have an opinion. If she cared what people like me thought (and why would she) she wouldn't have done it. She'd have gone to the top 10 baby names and chosen one of those.

My DD3 had a complicatedly spelled first name. Her second and third names are Mary Rose. I painstakingly spelled out her first name for the registrar, then said what her middle names were. I got a cocked eyebrow and a 'and how are you spelling those?'

I felt duly chastised.

And she almost never uses her very pretty, complicatedly spelled first name, she goes by a shortened nick name, damn it!

Ok well then you carry on being "Horribly judgmental" about it and enjoy.

My cousin called his DD 'Storm'. She's grown up now and no-one bats an eyelid. This boy may or may not get some teasing at school but by the time he enters the workplace the name probably won't even seem unusual going by what some parents name their DCs these days. At least he'll probably be remembered because of his name, rather than just another Oliver, George, Harry (or whatever else is in the top 10 these days!)

Don't worry @WorraLiberty I feel very much put back in my box.

I work in a secondary school and the teachers would have a field day in the staff room......

You are right to be concerned OP. We have had a massive family rift over the naming of a baby. Had this wee mite been called Cloud the rift wouldn't have happened the name is so bad. Kids get the piss ripped out of them for weird names. It's not right but it happens. Worse is that employers put applications in the bin on the strength of a name. I have seen this with my own eyes for jobs and for applications for work experience at my place of work. Too many parents trying to show their own personality by giving their DC a millstone round their neck Younique name.

Kids can be mean

In twenty years of teaching ive never known of a child being mean to Another because of their name. Names are accepted just as their name.

Adults, on the other hand...

I like Rueben op an unusual name certainly but it is a name.

I don’t like Cloud and wouldn’t use it as my child’s name but I either know or know of a variety of names that are in a similar vein so I imagine it will be well liked by some people. Cloud won’t feel out of place with Storm, Skye, Summer, Raine, River, Winter, Autumn etc and all of those names are popular enough to be likely he will come across at least one during his education.

There are some really ignorant people on MN.

I agree with Worra and Jacques. This thread was stated with the intention to point and laugh... and some have obliged you, OP. The fact that you decided to post it and changed name to 'protect you' says a lot... about you.

As for the name, it's a name. 'Cloud' is also the holder of a great deal of information as well as a weather type. So what? I won't comment on your child's name, you liked it and chose it so I haven't anything to say about it.

Over 30 years ago I overhead a women talking to her daughters, they were called Cloud and Raine......or thats what it sounded like

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe if she finds the thread she will know who posted it, the details I have given would identify me. I name changed as I've talked a lot about particularly PND that I'm struggling with just now that I don't intend to discuss with people, certainly not yet. With hindsight I shouldn't have posted. I didn't intend to point and laugh or if I did I didn't realise that was what I wanted to do.

I don't want to be one of those posters who has the thread turn on them and they then just vanish so I'm still here but I obviously feel like a twat.

I have a cousin called 'Claudia' but she's not from this country and pronunciation is 'Cloudier', it's a pretty name.

OP, I'm sorry that you're suffering from PND, I hope you're getting treatment and support for that.

It's not just your thread. Baby names threads can be pretty horrible because some people just love to be mean if they can; they live for it. So whatever the intention behind your thread, it's ill-advised, particularly as you're feeling vulnerable yourself at the moment. I'd never post one myself but that's mostly because I don't care or mind what other people call their children, their reasons are personal and that's fine by me.

@rubaiyatofanyone Thank you!!! I had no ideas for the impending arrival of my baby. You have just solved it!

Hilarious thread! If OP had come on asking if Cloud was a good name she'd have been laughed off the thread and annihilated, but because it's a different viewpoint everyone's pretending it's completely common place 😂 'oh yeah it's better than Archie' dearie me.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe that's nice of you to say I seem to spend most of my time doing things I shouldn't at the moment. I honestly didn't intend to be nasty I was more intrigued and wanted to discuss but as I can see that's not actually what I did or what happened. I don't want people to feel sorry for me I didn't mention my struggles to get people to leave me alone, I was just explaining why I wanted my other posts kept separate.

YANBU, OP, it is a rotten choice of name. Poor kid. Some parents don’t think about having to live with a name to adulthood.

High-school will be a trial for the poor thing. “My files are too heavy, you carry them. Isn’t that what a Cloud is for?”
When he farts, will they call it thunder?

Sagradafamilar, well you might . Others wouldn't. Why does anybody care what somebody else names their child? It's a non-issue, surely?

I quite like it.

It’s sad that you feel that the area in which they live will not be as accepting of a more unusual name. Surely though if everyone is afraid to stand out and make a difference then this place will forever remain the same. At some point trends change Wayne and Gary become Alfie and Reuben. They then become Bear and Cloud.

Be happy to be you.

Congratulations on your baby! Gorgeous name by the way.

Hilarious thread! If OP had come on asking if Cloud was a good name she'd have been laughed off the thread and annihilated

Because there's a difference between 'I'm pregnant with a girl and considering Cloud, Emilia and Sophie as names -- please vote' and 'Someone I know has already called their baby Cloud and I've come online to sneer'?