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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

IABVVVVU but I cringe inside when I see

363 replies

AmataesAmataes · 21/05/2013 14:14

Girls names with -Ella, -lily, -mae, -Rae, -lee or any variation

Following on from my name thread and a couple of threads I've seen about rochelle from the Saturdays new baby,I can't help but cringe when I see any of the above e.g. Gracie-Mae

I am being VVVV judgey pants but I find it so overdone, twee and chavvy.

I'm ready for my flaming!

OP posts:
thegreylady · 17/08/2013 09:40

Mai is French for the month of May. My dd liked May as a first name for dc1 however he is a boy :-)

OHforDUCKScake · 17/08/2013 09:44

ilovemyself my most recent post on here was in complete jest. And you clearly did not read any of the thread if you think not one person on here agreed with me. You must not have even read the OP?

TiggyD · 17/08/2013 10:25

BAN THE HYPHEN! In names that is.

And have standard spellings.

feelingvunerable · 17/08/2013 11:38

I don't really care.

But this May lark is very old hat.

My friend used May as a middle name 18 years ago.

Surely it's time for a change.

June anyone?

SamuelAndOscarsMummy · 17/08/2013 12:25

I just wouldn't want my children to have names that would cause them to be picked on at school. I don't want my children standing out for their name, I want them to be remembered for things like their personality or achievements & interests! Therefore both my boys have very 'normal' names and I am glad about that.

I don't thing the name Lily-Mae is chavvy, I think it is pretty. I wouldn't choose it for my child simply because I already have a name picked out if I ever have a girl (Jasmine Ava).

At least you admit you are being a bit unreasonable, would much rather be a nice chav than a bitchy judgemental 'non-chav' (not saying that is what you are but lots of people who get all snippy about names can come across like this)

HaveIGotPoosForYou · 17/08/2013 12:41

Ha just realised I posted twice.

[Well three times, if you include my response to another poster].

Thought it was a new whiny thread! Oops.

Pinkpinot · 17/08/2013 12:42

My Gran's name was May
Not chavvy for us

FreudiansSlipper · 17/08/2013 13:18

I think anyone using the word chavvy especially when directed at children is a twat

Shrugged · 17/08/2013 14:18

Genuine question to those with a Mae or Mai, -Mai or -Mae who called their daughters after a relative - was that relative called 'May', or was she actually called Mai or Mae? The latter two spellings now seem far more used than May, but I would have said that the 'May' spelling was far more likely in the past...?

DMD2205 · 19/08/2013 10:12

MAI is not modern it's ancient. It's just Welsh for May. If you live in wales it's MAY that's unusual. I don't get why people are reacting strongly to it being overused or spelt correctly for the country you live in. My son is called Thomas and no one on net mums seems to think that's been " done to death" even though it has, for about two thousand years. My middle name is June, but my daughter was not born in June she was born in may. May is about freshness newness and beauty and I think it'll be around for a while longer despite a gaggle of net mums getting increasingly desperate to find a pretty name for a girl that doesn't get pinched by us poor people.

oakmouse · 28/08/2013 09:56

Well I think May is a fresh, pretty name and I like Mae West and her sassy attitude. I don't get it about hyphenated names being too popular, I only know one Ellie-Mae, which I thought was cute and American-retro, and a -Leigh, who is a sweetie and makes her name look lovely. I think made up spellings are fun and some of the most admirable inspiring people I've met are "chavs" so I'd be proud to be mistaken for one of them. I think the world would be very boring if people stuck to the same taste in names and any name becomes appealing attached to a cute child or impressive adult.

Standardised spellings haven't been around forever, names have different connotations in different cultures and times. I live in a very multicultural, ethnically and economically diverse area and the amazing variety of names is a never-ending source of pleasure to me.

But then, I'm easy pleased, me Grin

vladthedisorganised · 28/08/2013 10:19

I read a lot about how a child's name determines its future path in life, so we called DD President just to make sure. It's gender-neutral too Grin

ViviDeBeauvoir · 28/08/2013 10:30

I cringe inside when I see another thread started needlessly to criticise the name choices of other parents.
It also makes me

YANBU to have an opinion.
YABU to start another pointless thread about it.

The use of the word 'chavvy' (often misspelled 'chavy') also makes me cringe because it usually indicates a limited vocabulary.

MaidOfStars · 28/08/2013 11:29

My maternal grandmother was called May. A fair number of female second cousins on that side have May as a middle name, or hyphenated with their first. It's more a meme than a name in our family and serves as a far better family identifier than our collection of surnames.

My paternal grandmother was called Lille, or Lily as a diminutive.

Both were wonderful women, strong, kind, generous, spirited. It would be an honour to have a daughter of mine bear their names and I've always known it would be so. If that makes you cringe, I'm sure I'll get over it.

DizzyZebra · 28/08/2013 12:16

I'm not a fan - But for some reason only in babies. A friend has an older daughter called Ellie-Mae and that doesn't bother me.

Rowgtfc72 · 29/08/2013 14:48

DD is Lucy May. Again, May after both great grandmas. I have had to correct people who call her Lucy-May. Its Lucy. Not because its chavvy but she only has one first name.

Ghostsgowoooh · 29/08/2013 17:34

Mae was my great aunts name and its now dd2s middle name.

I didnt choose it because it was fashionable but because it's a family name and dd2 is a may baby too so it seemed fitting. She's six now and not many had mae in their names where I live

Ghostsgowoooh · 29/08/2013 17:40

She is also an Elinor Mae. Ellie for short. Its not hyphenated although people try to

Enb76 · 29/08/2013 17:59

It may have been mentioned elsewhere in the thread but the name you give your child impacts on job prospects. It shouldn't but it does. We do live in a world where names matter. If you are deemed to have a name from lower down the socio-economic scale then you are less likely to be invited to interview than if you have a name which is viewed as higher status. It's been studied. Made-up spelling fares badly as do hyphenated names and entirely made-up names. Thankfully, there's always deed poll.

Ghostsgowoooh · 29/08/2013 18:18

Elinor isn't a made up name. It's welsh!

MaidOfStars · 29/08/2013 22:03

Enb76 If you are deemed to have a name from lower down the socio-economic scale then you are less likely to be invited to interview than if you have a name which is viewed as higher status. It's been studied.

Exactly why all job applications should be anonymised - to prevent exactly that kind of unfair and unjustified prejudice. I haven't seen a name, an age, a gender or a nationality on a job application for a while now.

justmyview · 29/08/2013 22:11

MaidOfStars - I think this depends hugely on the field you work in. In my field, it's cvs with your real name & the interviewer phones his golf club buddy to find out about you. No chance of anonymity

lagertops · 31/08/2013 18:17

I think its a matter of taste. I don't personally like the names the OP refers to, and agree that they're overused. Just as I'm sure some other mums might not like my son's name.

The OP definitely has a point about people associating said names with class. Again, depends what your tastes are. Maybe you've seen 5 'chavvy' mums yell the name Ellie-Mae that week. You can't help your perception. I've been told that I come across as quiet/ nerdy/ boring when people first meet me. I'm not offended. It's human nature to judge. I wish people would stop being so bloody precious. Is it so bad to have an opinion? A feeling that certain names evoke different imagery? It's not like common people don't exist, just as hoity-toity people do. Of course, you're not going to be 100% right in the day-to-day judgements you make, but fuck right off if you're going to act holier-than-thou in the sense that you 'don't judge.' EVERYONE judges on little things, whether they care to admit it or not.
You see someone with a weed leaf tattoo on their neck, a can of Special Brew in one hand, swearing at every passer-by in the street, and you don't judge, right?

kkfairybrains · 31/08/2013 19:27

God some of your lives must be so boring if this is the kind of shit that makes you 'cringe'. I have an Ellie May-not hyphenated- and we picked it because it's a beautiful name to us and the May part of it has family meaning that I shouldn't feel the need to explain because of some jumped up old snob with nothing better to do than start a ridiculous thread like this.
Plenty of 'upper' class have double barrel surnames and that's just the way it is so why would it bother anybody if someone has a hyphenated first name. Who makes you the queen of class?

I'm so glad my life is more exciting than this!

LolaCrayola · 31/08/2013 19:53

My favourite variation that I've seen is Maisy-May. Love it!