Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it's rude to comment on someone's choice of name like this?

241 replies

ThatWasMean · 01/10/2014 14:33

I don't know if it's just pregnancy hormones that are making me feel this way so I may well be being unresonable and probably quite silly but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I'm expecting a baby girl and me and DH have already picked the name out for her. It's not a common name and in fact has never been a popular name in the UK, however it was fairly popular in the US at one point. Even though it's unusual I wouldn't say it was unheard of and it's certainly not weird or out there by any stretch of the imagination.

However there have been a couple of occasions where we've told people what we're going to name her and they've just outright said "that's a horrible name!" Shock.

I get that it's their opinion and everybody has names they don't like. There are lots of names I don't like however I realise that other people do like them and I would never dream of telling someone that I think it's an awful name if that's what they were going to name their baby. I would just smile politely and nod.

I should add we haven't had all negative comments, there have been lots of lovely reactions too but I was just surprised that people felt the need to tell us they think it's horrible after we tell them that's what we're naming her.

Would you tell someone if you thought their chosen name was horrible?

OP posts:
Thumbwitch · 02/10/2014 01:26

Oh I like Dana! I don't know any UK Danas, so wouldn't rhyme it with banana, I only know Dana Scully from X Files, and she's anything but "trashy"! (I know she's played by Gillian Anderson, I'm not completely dense Wink)

gingee · 02/10/2014 01:43

Love love love Dana!!
Great name!

I named a dd Aurora outs self
The gasps and tuts we had were ridiculous
I loved it it suits her everyone wins! Screw everyone else! Actually a friend at work was quite scathing about it, she had a dd a few months later named Chloe of which there are probably 6 in her/my dd's year at school. It is a lovely name with a lovely meaning, perfectly wonderful but I like a slightly more unusual name. I wouldn't care at all if she hadn't have told me she REALLY wanted to call her dd something like Sierra or Solara or something like that can't remember exactly what, but she was afraid what people would think??!!
Mad. Your baby your choice!!

peasandlove · 02/10/2014 01:47

You'll never get everyone to agree so only three bad comments isn't bad. I named my dd after an Elton John song Grin i wanted a strong name for a girl. I had some European people ask me why I named her that as to them its a boys name but so what. We like it and that's all that matters

bouncingbelle · 02/10/2014 02:27

Winona?

bouncingbelle · 02/10/2014 02:28

Oops just seen it's Dana - lovely! Uncommon without being pretentious or weird or trendy!!

DontDrinkAndFacebook · 02/10/2014 04:00

I hope you feel masses batter after all these positive comments about Dana, it really is a lovely name, don't let other people put you off. You can't please all the people all the time. some people can't cope with anything not currently in the top 5, or Emma, Hannah, Catherine, Sarah etc.

I agree with what bouncing just said, and I think if you can fulfill those criteria you've found the holy grail of names.

DontDrinkAndFacebook · 02/10/2014 04:00

better!

Darkandstormynight · 02/10/2014 04:15

No I've never said anything even though there were names and definitely Spellings of names I really disliked. I would say to dh privately but that's it! I would just smile and say 'that's great'!

DontDrinkAndFacebook · 02/10/2014 04:24

It's pretty hard to cover it up when you hate something though! I think people can see through my reaction! I won't ever say I dislike it but I gush about it either. I fear a quick nod and

'Gertie? Oh. You don't hear that often …..Ok.'

is pretty transparent!

I've only been completely floored by a name once and I think the mother in question knew it in spite of my attempts to bluff my way through it - my stuttering horror was plain to see. Shock

It was a girl called Kenyan.

DontDrinkAndFacebook · 02/10/2014 04:24

sorry, I WON'T gush about it either

MassaAttack · 02/10/2014 05:57

Well seeing as you asked, I would absolutely assume it was pronounced 'Darna' and immediately I read it, 'all kinds of everything' ran through my mind. But I am in my 40s, none of your daughter's school friends will be in their 40s, it's a nice name and quite frankly it has fuck all to do with me Grin

MassaAttack · 02/10/2014 05:59

But not but

thegreylady · 02/10/2014 06:27

I think it's a perfectly pleasant name and there is nothing horrible about it. It is stupid to say nasty things about someone's name choice, especially if you are being told the name not asked for an opinion.

Jill2015 · 02/10/2014 06:35

Dana won the Eurovision, back in the 70s. She later became an MEP, for Ireland. In Ireland it's pronounced as Dana.
People should not be rude about baby names, but then some people are just rude, full stop.

Schaufensterpuppe · 02/10/2014 07:10

I think Dana is lovely, op Smile

And thank you for telling!

poolomoomon · 02/10/2014 07:14

Reminds me of Dana off the L word. It's a nice name though as others have pointed out the day-na pronunciation is an American one, I think a lot of people here would say dar-na.

Rookie error telling people the name in pregnancy. I did the same with my first truly expecting everyone to nod and smile and be polite naive. Tbf they did but I also got the stupid stories of people or animals they knew with that name. It's like when you say the name Max, that's always met with "Oh but that's a dogs name". I don't know whether it's rude or honest because they love you and don't want you to make a mistake... I reckon pregnancy hormones make some interesting choices, I wanted to call my DD Zeppelin at one late stage in pregnancy Blush. Didn't tell anyone names until other two DC were born! You live and learn.

But seriously OP, Dana is lovely. It's definitely nicer with the day-na pronounciation as well, just expect to be correcting a few people.

YouTheCat · 02/10/2014 07:21

I like Dana.

And if she's being a little monster you can call her Zu'ul like in Ghostbusters. Grin

Preciousbane · 02/10/2014 08:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ithoughtofitfirst · 02/10/2014 09:11

My brother has the same name and surname as the most famous male singer in Wales.

"Oh he won't be popular when he's growing up" - my Mum.

Dana is absolutely lovely. Pretty and really suits every age. Gutted i didn't think of it tbh!

Hexu2 · 02/10/2014 09:14

I like Dana.

One of my DC names is written as it sounds - not common but coming into fashion again.

It has four letters and no tricky or wrong pronunciation - its just as written - yet people pounce it wrong - even after seeing it written.

There have also been a few who have or even correct us /her to this other name that I'd never previously heard Confused.

People who haven't seen it written - even one who do say it correctly, stick random letters in there from arse of alphabet.

It is really odd - as it's a much more common name that Dana.

hellsbellsmelons · 02/10/2014 09:23

I'm gutted I didn't think of it all those years ago either.
Would have been lovely as my mum is Diana.

But I have to say, we had a name all picked out. We called her by that name for a few days as did everyone.
But I just looked at her a few days after her birth and it just didn't suit her at all.
So 1st and middle names were swapped around.

Dana is lovely. Ignore idiot friend!

Glittery7 · 02/10/2014 09:25

I think it's a quite dull, bland name. Neither nice or horrible.

HPparent · 02/10/2014 09:33

Dana is a perfectly good name. I used to enjoy watching Dana Sculley in the x files.

Aurora's mum up thread - how can anyone be nasty about that lovely name. It was the name I wanted for DD2 but a relative had already "reserved" it.

lastonepicked · 02/10/2014 09:39

I'm clearly ancient as I remember reading an interview with Dana in some 70s girls' annual where she said her real name was Rosemary Brown but at school she had been nicknamed 'Dana' which apparently means 'mischievous' in Gaelic. Could obviously have been inaccurate 70s puff, but I liked the story and I have always really liked the name.

pardonmytits · 02/10/2014 09:41

Youthecat I love the name too, the first thing that came to my head was 'There is no Dana, only Zuul' Grin As you say, perfect for when the terrible twos/threenager years hit...