Upset about critiscm of unborn child name.

[patronsaintofglocks]

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?

[noeffingidea]

I think there's a difference between having an 'unusual' name, and having a name which is associated with the opposite sex.
The first is becoming more accepted now and more likely to be seen as cool by other children. The second isn't.
Hopefully the OP's child (if a girl) likes her name and doesn't get a negative reaction for what is seen as a boys name. Personally I wouldn't have given my daughter a boys name - or even a 'unisex' name, partly because I know I would have hated it myself.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I always feel sad when there are 3 of each name in a class. Do parents not think their children are special enough to deserve more than a bog standard Top 10 name?

1. A lot of those names were not top 10 when given. Names can become extremely popular very fast. There was a thread recently where people were comparing notes on having a name/having given their child a name that was unusual at the time but turned out to be one of the most popular names of the generation.
   

1. There are many better ways of showing your children you think they're special than by giving them a name that is going to cause them endless annoyance.
   

Imagine conversations in the future.

'Where does your name come from?'

'Oh, my parents were too individual to follow the crowd. Daddy blindfolded Mummy and she pointed to a list of the bottom 100. I got Innogen* and now I have to spend the rest of my life correcting people who think I'm called Imogen.'

How incredibly irritating and thoughtless of the parents.

*This happened to a woman I met once. The note of resignation in her voice as she explained her name to me told me that this was something she had to do virtually every single day.

[SaudadeObama]

Noah with the H might be or have been an acceptable spelling for a girl but I don't know any female Noa's that use the h. It is a nice girls name but given that Noah and Noa are pronounced exactly the same way, why insist on the h? If it is just to make the point that it's or was an acceptable spelling for a girl then your daughter may not want to promote that argument for the rest of her life.

[noeffingidea]

I agree about it being a pain in the arse, Wizard .
I have a very simple 4 letter generic girls name and I still have to spell it out, every single time. Thats enough of a pain for me.

[samG76]

Saudade - Noa is usually pronounced with the stress on the "a". Noah in the UK at least stresses the first syllable. I realise this just emphasises your point.

[EssentialHummus]

I'm Jewish, with israeli family and friends. It is always Noa for a girl, not Noah.

[heron98]

Would you rather that people were up front now instead of secretly hating your kids' names once they're born?

[nelipotter]

I would say you have come up with two NEW names, say what ever are the two most annoying names you can think of, shazza and gazza, and how you are SO happy for everyones advice, that was a close shave there oh boy!
then watch themselves fall over to bitch about the new names.
At the last minute, go back to your original one (i.e. after baby is born)
Problem: solution!

[CatTheMouse]

At the end of the day no parent can really guarantee they choose the correct name for their child. Some people love their traditional names and would hate a 'unique' name. And lots of people hate their traditional name and would love something that makes them stand out a little. There's no point telling anyone to choose a name the child can live with, no one knows the child yet so who knows what they will like. Parents can only choose what they like and hope the child likes it too, this doesn't make them selfish.

[whenthewindblows]

I've known a Noah-Grace and thought that it was a lovely name.

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

lol @WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup

Of course in the perfect world we could all find a name which is understood, but is interesting and distinctive and is absolutely the right name for the child and person who grows up with it. But that doesn't need explain or spelling out every single time.

We chose a name way down the top 100 for our PFB. One with an old enough heritage to be well known, but not terribly common or terribly trendy. The next year it was in the top 25 . We weren't as cool and un-sheep-like as we thought (and hoped). PFB started school with 3 kids with his name out of 60. To this day we have no idea what the trigger was that made us all move together ...

[WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup]

Snork you must have been gutted!

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

We were over top-PFB phase by then so we just laughed! Child didn't seem to mind.

[OlennasWimple]

Funnily enough, kids seem to like sharing their name with other kids. It's only parents who seem to revel in the uniqueness

[WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup]

Not met another of any of my 3 yet...but #3 name was predicted to be in the top 10 this year.

[WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup]

Olenna I loved having a unique name as does my Daughter

[brownpurse]

You can have the name you like . All you need to do is drop the h at the end to avoid at least some confusion in the future. Why would you not do this? School and life in general can be bloody hard sometimes and I have no understanding at all of parents who give their children names that mark them out as different. It is unkind and totally thoughtless.

[kierenthecommunity]

I've known a Noah-Grace and thought that it was a lovely name.

The fact they teamed Noah with perhaps one of the most feminine names you could think of is telling IMO

I'm not a fan of double barrelled names personally other than traditional ones like Anne-Marie or John-Paul but I'm a bit of a fuddy duddy admittedly

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

I'm not wildly keen on my own name, which is far from unique, but I do rather like the fact that it's a family name. I share it with:

1. My maternal grandmother
   
2. My paternal grandmother
   
3. My father's sister
   
4. My mother's first cousin
   
5. My mother's sister (she had it as a middle name)
   
6. My daughter (she also has it as a middle name)
   

My daughter's first name is my mother's second name and
my mum's first name is my second name. Both of them were also recycled through the generations in our family. Boys' names ditto.

I doubt my own children will continue with this, except perhaps when it comes to middle names.

[lazytuesday]

never share your names until the child is born because whatever you chose someone will hate it and they will tell you about it!!

[Lexilooo]

Tell everyone that in light of their feedback you have changed your minds, you have thought long and hard about names you like almost as much and have decided on Nigel or Sharon. Insist that these are the only names that come close. Then wait for them to big you to go back to your first choice

Seriously, I think Noah for a girl, right now when the name is so very popular for a boy is unfair. 20 years ago you might have got away with it but not now when she will probably be in a class with two or three boys called Noah

[user1489261248]

My neighbour has 3 children (2 boys and a girl,) who all have all weird, made-up names. One of his sons names he got from the film 'Blade;' a character called Deacon (though he spells it Deaconne.) His other son is called RILEY, (but he spells it 'Ryeleigh.') The daughter is called Chardonnay, but they spell it 'Sharndonaigh.'

The name Deaconne is constantly spelt Deakon or Deekon or Deakin or Deakan or Deacon (the original spelling from the film.) No-one ever spells it the way it's spelt on the child's birth certificate. Ditto for the other 2 kids. He moaned and griped at every teacher in primary school for several years for spelling his kids names wrongs.

One day (after several years of it,) one teacher said 'well if you hadn't given your children such awkward and hard to spell names, it wouldn't happen would it?!'

And I found the comment 'when I see 3 kids in the same class, with the same name, I feel sorry for them as their parents clearly didn't think them special enough, to give them a better/more unusual name,' laughable to the extreme!

FFS, so you only care about your child if you call them Frolarna-Pindipola-smolpops?! PMSL! Do me a favour FGS!

By the way, lexi; what's wrong with the names 'Nigel' and 'Sharon?' Those names are fine. Unless you are planning on giving a girl the name Nigel, or a boy the name Sharon.

[user1489261248]

all the names of the kids above are example names and not the real ones.

[WaitroseCoffeeCostaCup]

After your highly suspect story I also found it quite funny you found MY comment funny...