Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Upset about critiscm of unborn child name.

529 replies

patronsaintofglocks · 05/04/2017 13:22

To cut a long story short,

I am pregnant with my first child and DP and I have chosen two names.

For a girl: Noah
(I understand that many people prefer the spelling Noa for a female but we don't.)

For a boy: Ezra

I am sick and tired of my family telling us to change our minds/names. It's getting me down and making me second guess myself.

Does anyone have any advice?

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 05/04/2017 13:30

There may have been a female Noah in the bible but it has become generally best known as a name for a boy.
Your choice but it would be the daughter who would have 80 years of correcting people.

BadKnee · 05/04/2017 13:30

And yet you have done exactly the same thing here on MN where you will hear comments. Either you want opinions or you don't.

Personally I think that Noah for a girl is going to invite comment. Everyone knows the story of Noah and his ark and several (male) stars with the name. Still your child and if it means something to you, fine.

user1489179512 · 05/04/2017 13:31

Noah is not a girl's name.

NavyandWhite · 05/04/2017 13:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BadKnee · 05/04/2017 13:31

(Ezra Pound - the poet)

Nessie71 · 05/04/2017 13:32

I like both names...there was a woman called Noah in the bible why do you care what people think! I have never met a person yet and thought i dont like your name!

gabsdot · 05/04/2017 13:32

Personally I like pretty girls names, but Noah works for a girl and I love Ezra. Actually Ezra works for a girl too.

Call your baby what you like.

Floggingmolly · 05/04/2017 13:32

It's incredibly try hard to use Noah for a girl. What's being Jewish got to do with it?

Redglitter · 05/04/2017 13:32

I'd definitely reconsider Noah for a girl. For her entire life anyone seeing her name is going to assume she's male. It's a lovely name but keep it for a boy

MaudGonneMad · 05/04/2017 13:32

Interesting - didn't realise there had been 2 Noahs. The female Noah is pretty niche though - your daughter will grow up with everyone assuming she is male. There are so many beautiful female Jewish names; why choose this odd one?

RuncibleSp00n · 05/04/2017 13:33

Sorry OP, crossed posts with you there! Interested to learn that there is indeed a female Noah in the bible.

However, I don't think many people outside of you & your immediate network would know this, so I agree with PPs who say that she'd have to spend a lifetime explaining this fact to friends/potential employers/dates etc.

EZA15 · 05/04/2017 13:33

I work in a nursery and we have a little girl called Noah. I love it - she's got a lovely temperament too op

Riversleep · 05/04/2017 13:34

There are loads of Ezras where I live. Its a perfectly normal name. I agree that Noah for a girl is asking for trouble really and if she hates it, it can't even be shortened. My DH's family are Jewish and there are hundreds of beautiful, unusual Jewish girls names in his family alone.

Fridgedooropen · 05/04/2017 13:34

There have been men called Shirley or Hilary, but it doesn't stop most people expecting the bearers of those names to be women and reacting with surprise. This (in reverse) is what your DD will get, rightly or wrongly. At least go in with your eyes open. How about one of the other names on the screenshot you posted?

AssassinatedBeauty · 05/04/2017 13:34

Tell them all that you're thinking again, and will decide when the baby arrives, to see if you think they suit the name. If anyone mentions a name just be neutral and say it's a nice name and you'll consider it. If they are negative about a name then say that you'll take it under consideration. Then when the baby arrives just announce the name. Nearly everyone will manage to restrain themselves when presented with a fait accompli!

VestalVirgin · 05/04/2017 13:34

Meh. Shirley used to be a boy's name. Be trendsetter. If enough people use it, it will soon become a girl's name.

With a name like Noah, she'll not be able to use the women's toilets in half the states in America at this rate.

It's not like they ask for names. Besides, she could always say she identifies as person named Tallulah today. :P
And think of the advantages! She will be invited to more job interviews, offered better pay (if they don't see her beforehand), treated with more respect by people she is only in contact online.

I would totally call a girl Noah. Perhaps second name Shirley, so she can go by that if she chooses to. Grin

AnoiseAnnoysanOyster · 05/04/2017 13:34

Well this is what happens when you share names. You'll get opinions regardless of whether you asked for them.

PinkHeart59156816 · 05/04/2017 13:34

You missed a trick here, the way you announce baby name is once its born not before.

I think you will struggle to stop people commenting by calling a girl Noah and children can be especially cruel they are picked on for anything. I'm surprised your family are acting that way if it's a cultural thing

Endlessmusings · 05/04/2017 13:35

You've just sent a screen shot of a chat thread. It's just as easy for me to state that Colin is a females name. It's on the internet so must be true.

What exactly did Noah do in the bible?

You're setting your child up for a difficult time for no reason.

MaudGonneMad · 05/04/2017 13:35

I googled Noah female name and came across a forum insisting that this refers to Noah's wife, Joan GrinGrinGrin

watchoutformybutt · 05/04/2017 13:35

A lovely temperament?! She's not a dog!

MaidOfStars · 05/04/2017 13:36

With a name like Noah, she'll not be able to use the women's toilets in half the states in America at this rate
Yeah, but she'll get invited for more job interviews...

TrickyD · 05/04/2017 13:36

Are we all hopng the baby will be a boy?

YouMeddlingKids · 05/04/2017 13:37

Umm, there are lots of other Jewish names if you're looking for something culturally significant. Is there something special about the female noah in the Bible that resonates? Unfortunately in the UK it is considered a boys name, and your daughter will be the one who has to live with that. 99% if the time I'd smile and nod at whatever someone wanted to call their baby, but I would question this one, sorry.

Impresionante · 05/04/2017 13:37

Ignore them and do what you want. Tell them for now, you've changed your mind, to get them off your back, but don't disclose the 'new' names.

I've recently met a female Harvey.. You can make any name female, it's up to you. And if your daughter wants to switch to Noa, she can. Or not. Or become Xanthippe (which I love!).