Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Do I change dd’s name!?

54 replies

NameChanged15729 · 01/04/2022 14:45

My daughter is three months old and I just cannot get used to her name. While I was pregnant with her I had this belief that the perfect name would just come to me as that’s what happened with her older sister.

This just didn’t happen. Me and dh couldn’t agree on a name and in the end we compromised on one that we both liked but neither loved. Subsequently he has gone off the name we gave her but still couldn’t think of anything else.

That perfect name has now come to me and I can’t see her as anything else! Dh also really likes it and I have massive regret that I didn’t consider it before she was born. The name I want to give her can actually be considered as a nickname for her current name but I don’t think it’s a natural derivative so am unsure of just using it as a nickname.

I know it can be changed on her birth certificate up until one but would I be stupid to do that? Part of me thinks she will grow into it and I’ll get used to it… but the other part of me thinks I’ll forever regret it if I don’t change it.

OP posts:
newname2022 · 01/04/2022 16:30

2 very pretty names but I would never have associated Heidi with Adelaide.

Change it. You'll regret it otherwise

midsomermurderess · 01/04/2022 16:38

The name is a form of Adelheid, common nickname, Heidi.

tempester28 · 01/04/2022 16:52

As she is only 3 months old I think it would be fine to change it

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
TinaYouFatLard · 01/04/2022 16:53

I would leave her BC name as Adelaide but use her “known as” name as Heidi.

Saltyquiche · 01/04/2022 16:53

Do it

KELLOGSspeck · 01/04/2022 16:55

@Lou98

What if I change it but then can’t get used to her new name?

Why don't you and your Husband start calling her the new name now, before the appointment at the registry office, to see if you can get used to it?

I was going to say yes until I read this.

You cannot be faffing around OP. If your going to change your baby's name you need to be sure!

DramaAlpaca · 01/04/2022 17:06

I'm with a pp, I love Adelaide and loathe Heidi, so much so that I actually cringed slightly when I saw that's what you want to change it to.

However, Heidi does work well as a diminutive of Adelaide, so just keep it as her first name but always call her Heidi. It also means she has the option of something less twee when she's older if she prefers it. She might not of course, but at least the option is there.

Lesperance · 01/04/2022 17:07

You can change it and it only matters to you, but how do you know you won't find another "perfect" name in three months? Fickle.

Cuddlemuffin · 01/04/2022 17:12

I would just change it. If she goes by Heidi it will be really annoying all the way through education having to explain why she's Adelaide on the registers. My cousin changed her name at 12 (and my other cousin at 32 other side) and we all got used to it so I think for a 9 week old baby nobody will have an issue xx

StCharlotte · 01/04/2022 17:15

I have a friend called Caroline. Her family call her Heidi. I have no idea which (if either) is her real name!

Want2beme · 01/04/2022 17:21

Adelaide is a gorgeous name!

Original poster
NameChanged15729 · 01/04/2022 18:11

Lesperance thats a fair point and I can see why people might think that.

Mainly because I have two other children and never felt this way about there names. I found names for them during pregnancy and knew they were the ones.
With dd both me and dh knew it wasn’t the perfect name but it was the one we liked the best which we both agreed on. We always knew it was a compromise name but now I’ve found one that I genuinely love and even more amazingly he loves it to.

OP posts:
Musicalmaestro · 01/04/2022 18:18

I'd just call her Heidi without bothering to change the birth certificate. Just introduce her by the preferred name.

Rockbird · 01/04/2022 18:19

Heidi is absolutely a nickname for Adelaide and all variations of. Knowing the names now I'd keep the original but use Heidi. Plenty of people go by nicknames etc. Both are lovely names.

monsterpup · 01/04/2022 18:22

Agreed with above, start calling her the new name and when you're absolutely sure register her with it, you've got 9 months to officially change it so plenty time and if you decide not to then just say it was a nickname you were trying out but decided you didn't like anymore

axolotlfloof · 01/04/2022 18:51

@hybridoaties

I changed my daughters name. However her birth certificate still says her old name with extremely small writing at the bottom with the corrected name. Although it is official I had a nightmare with the passport office it took several months for them to accept the new name. I also had some issues opening her a bank account but again it was sorted in the end.

Please change the name if it isn't right. I would also add they don't just change the name because you changed your mind. There has to be a good reason and then it goes to some kind of panel to be assessed.

Good luck xx

Given this hassle, I would just call her the new name as a nickname. It will become her name soon enough and lots of people will forget what her "real" name is.
ThatPosterIsSoRight · 01/04/2022 18:58

They are similar enough that it’s an easy switch to make, and easy for other people to remember. I would change it while you still can, to avoid years of hassle with a ‘known as’ name.

Both lovely but I can see why you might want to change it.

RiaOverTheRainbow · 01/04/2022 19:05

You could always spend a few months calling her Heidi, and if it sticks you still have time to change it officially.

TragicOutpostofthe70s · 01/04/2022 19:15

Heidi, have we really forgotten the horror.

I have, shall we say, 'experience' of this name. It's ok for a little girl. It's rubbish for a teen or grown woman. It's an utter joke if you ever go to Switzerland. If there's a TV revival of the story your child is doomed.

I'd keep the given name and use Heidi as a nickname if you're set on it. Pp is right, it's a twee name. As I know to my cost.

SunshineCake1 · 01/04/2022 19:17

@NameChanged15729

Her current name is Adelaide. I want to change it to Heidi.
Heidi is lovely. Much better. Definitely change it.
HomeHomeInTheRange · 01/04/2022 19:22

Start calling her Heidi and see how you get in with it.

My DH has a ‘known as’ name and a never used official name. This is incredibly common in Asian / Indian families. Passport and bank account in ‘official’ name. I didn’t even know his official name until we bought a flat before we git married, it just never cropped up. It doesn’t cause any complications.
Might be easier than a changed birth certificate with the original name still shown.

Calmdown14 · 01/04/2022 19:38

Given you have changed your mind once, I would book an appointment with the registrar for a few weeks before the cut off and for now just start calling her Heidi as a nickname.

Introduce her as that to anyone new and start using it around anyone else.

If your other kids are young blame it on their pronunciation. 'oh it's how x says it and we all thought it was cute so it's stuck'!

Then if anyone asks later you can just say, oh we all got used to it so we changed it officially.

I love Heidi and it feels much more natural as a name somehow

erinaceus · 01/04/2022 19:47

As others have said, why don't you just start calling her Heidi from now on? It won't take long for you to realise if you find it doesn't suit her. If it does I think it's fine to change it as she's so young, but you don't have long before it will be more tricky.

Luredbyapomegranate · 01/04/2022 19:49

@NameChanged15729

Her current name is Adelaide. I want to change it to Heidi.
I have to say I far prefer Adelaide, Heidi is very little girly to me. But I’d absolutely change it if I wanted to - albeit I’d give her a more grown up middle name.
ShadeOfMorningSun · 01/04/2022 19:50

I did it, ds was also 3 months. He’s 16 now and it’s a funny story, no regrets.

Swipe left for the next trending thread