To call our baby Huckleberry?

[queenmools]

We are really struggling to think of boys' names for our second baby (due in 3 weeks.) We have no idea if it will be a girl or boy. The girl's name is all sorted but we already have one boy and have kind of peaked with naming him. My husband came up with Huckleberry and says he is not joking. I really like it but don't know if I'm brave enough. We are not American and feel it is a very American sounding name so maybe would be out of place. Also would it work for an adult? Would an adult named Huck sound like a complete tosser? I should point out that we live in a very alternative area with lots of unusual names around.

Just don't

He will one day be a teenage boy. He will get called Fuckleberry in high school.

Exactly this along with any other 'amusing' variant you can think of.

I went to school in the early 70s with a Titus, Julius, Gulliver and Alexia! None of them were ever beaten up because of their names as they were perfectly normal to the rest of us kids.

Go for it if you like it, I personally don't like 'Huck' as a shortening but Huckleberry is quite charming.

I love it and I am really picky !

I actually quite like Huxley! But I would use it as a straight name, not as a shortening NN for Huckleberry.

some names do suggest a certain social background and some don't....
Take for example:
Jayden, Kayden, Brandon, Logan, Lexi, Lili-Mae, Chardonnay...
Tarquin, Theobold, Hermione, Hatty, Camilla, Pippa....
Moon Unit, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Buddy Bear, Apple.....

Compare with:
John, Mark, Stephen, James, Jane, Laura, Kate, Susan

Not saying that any of those names are better than others (I'm not making that judgement) but all I'm saying is that they can be associated with certain social backgrounds

I really like both huckleberry and marmaduke (wasn't the foul toddler in London Fields called marmaduke). I'm not sure if I would name my children those names but I think if you both love them then you should go for it. What about Ezra?

My ds had an unusual name as it is Norwegian and we live in the uk. I don't expect him to be beaten up. It's a bit depressing that we're expected to consider this when naming our children. Maybe we should concentrate more on bringing our children up to be considerate and respectful instead of ignorant oiks.

You say 'I'm not American' as if Americans call their kids this, or they are somehow to blame for your inability to name a child appropriately.

A boss that sees 'Huckleberry' on a CV will assume the child is descended from idiots, or has put a stupid nickname on the CV and is therefore a poor judge of social boundary.

Print out the top 1000 names and choose something that isn't going to have your child ostracised. Life's hard enough without having to feel a sense of dread every time you introduce yourself, because you know the other person's face is going to wrinkle in disgust.

Huck! Off that slide this minute and come and ave yer tea!

Picture the looks on people's faces as your DS introduces himself. Imagine this happening over and over during his life. A name like that will get a reaction. He may well come to dread these reactions. It might be small minded of people but that's reality in many areas.

Poor kid.

If your not completely sold - you should do some looking round site like this one - see how it stacks up against other unusual possibilities.

nameberry.com/lists/category/unusual-names

I'd think about spelling - and how easy it is for for primary aged school age to learn and how the name is for a DC and an adult, and are they going to spend their lives correcting spelling or pronunciation - ( I do with DH now my surname ) - rather than bullying and being beaten up.

If you are planning on having more kids, you could go for a "berry" theme:

Huckleberry, nicknamed Huck
Loganberry, nicknamed Logan
Cloudberry, nocknamed Cloud
etc.

gosh, I don't think Huckleberry is that bad, especially given some of the names that are routinely recommended on MN. Personally, I don't think it's any better or worse that Arlo, for example, which doesn't sound like a proper name to me at all.

... Bilberry, nicknamed Bill.

I used to get work emails from someone called Starbuck as first name*

It's also worth remembering that there are actually people in jobs like judges and MPs called things like Lee and there's even a minister called Brandon, shock horror.

*for those worrying apparently he had rechristened himself

I'm not keen on names like Arlo either but they don't have the problem of rhyming with the f word! Like Huck would.

Would you care to share your long list OP? I'm expecting a baby boy in two week and we are still very undecided on a name... I love Huckleberry but the rhyming arguments have put a dampener on it... :( would love to know your other name choices.

Do it!!

Whilst names do associate with class, names are always always associated by other people who you've met with the same name. So being a Fred or George doesn't help either - you get people ignoring you etc. because their annoying uncle was called George. So an unusual name really just trades one form of bias for another.

Children are bullied and teased for reasons not names, it's the bullying and teasing that comes first, the name is just a route - just like being short, or tall, or fat, or thin, or completely normal in every way is a route to being bullied. The name doesn't cause the bullying, it's just a route. If you want to protect your kids from bullying, calling them John doesn't do it, teaching them self confidence and social skills might.

Saying you can't imagine someone in profession X, today to have a particular name is madness, the commonest names born today are completely different to those 40 years ago. Of the top 10 boys names of 1974, only one of them makes it into the top 100 of 2013 (David at 50th) So the people doing those jobs will have different names than you imagine today, even if the jobs themselves exist.

Huck's a great a name, Huckleberry I don't like much as a sound, but it's a good name, globally recognisable for spelling and pronunciation, but unusual, so I like it as an identity.

Huck sounds a bit hillbilly, as in
Aw Shucks Huck!

But, if you absolutely must but please don'tcall him that name, then at lease give him the full version Huckleberry.

Saying you can't imagine someone in profession X, today to have a particular name is madness, the commonest names born today are completely different to those 40 years ago. Of the top 10 boys names of 1974, only one of them makes it into the top 100 of 2013 (David at 50th) So the people doing those jobs will have different names than you imagine today, even if the jobs themselves exist.

You're right there have been big changes in the popularity of names across the whole population. I wonder if there have been quite such big changes in names you find in certain professions. This study suggests not. It's based on US records and may not be a good predictor of future trends, of course. (For those who don't follow random links, it's an attempt to show the most popular names of US lawyers in each decade for the last 200 years. There's a surprising consistency.)

I like it

This study suggests not. It's based on US records and may not be a good predictor of future trends, of course. (For those who don't follow random links, it's an attempt to show the most popular names of US lawyers in each decade for the last 200 years. There's a surprising consistency.)

Except of course names did not vary much until the last twenty years (personally I suspect this is due to increased mobility and people specifically not liking the experience of meeting so many other "John Smiths" which wouldn't've happened when you stayed in your community)

Yes there were a few changes in names in previous decades, but in 1974, 5 of the top 10 names were the same as 1954, and the lowest dropper from 1954 was Alan (down to 36) and the biggest climber Mark (up from 32) So it wasn't huge changes. By 1994 - not yet in any professions other than footballers maybe - seven of the top ten were from names that were not even in the top 100 in 1954.

The change in naming hasn't entered professions as no-one is old enough to have entered the professions after the shift in naming. Also I don't think the US is an identical case, the lower social mobility and racial issues complicate naming and professions a lot.

DH thought it was hilarious that Bear Grylls had already used his top two baby names. Great minds think alike he said.
We are always being told that we shouldn't victim blame yet I've been told on here that my son will be beaten up because of his name. Surely we shouldn't all be called names in the top 100 just to avoid a beating.
I have been called stupid on this thread a number of times. I can assure you I'm not. I don't think all Americans are called huckleberry and I've never said that I do. The only huckleberrys I know are fictional Americans which is why I said it had an American sound to it.

It's so boring when people bang on about how a child will be teased in the playground for their name. If bullies don't have an obvious "in", they'll make one up; so even if a child is called Tom [Sawyer?] he might be told he's lanky, or short, or that he has nits. At least if it's his name, he'll have a come-back to hand.

Give yourself time to think about it, but if you love it, go for it! It's cultural and literary and there are far worse names out there. Anyway, it might be a girl. Congratulations on your pregnancy, by the way!