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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want an alternative baby name

276 replies

GreenieBeanie · 21/03/2018 02:27

DP and I are trying to come up with baby names (we're waiting to find out the sex), he is favouring names such as Leo and Leona, but I love the name Green for a boy or girl. He's trying to veto it but I'm sticking to my guns here, I love it! AIBU to want a pretty out there name for lo? Would I be setting them up for a life of hating their name?

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 21/03/2018 10:07

YABVVVVU to post this in AIBU rather than Baby Names.

Mumofkids · 21/03/2018 10:39

I can't totally relate to wanting an unusual name. In my son's class there are 3 Emily's, 3 Oliver's and 2 Holly's. It's hard for the teachers and annoying for the kids. These days the classes are also full of lots of very different names and there are also many foreign speaking children who have very different names. Greene would be unusual enough to be the only one, but it's not wacky or weird. I know of children named Storm, Freedom, Bodhi, Dawson, Bambi, Indi, Neo, Evie-Bee, Wilde, Tide, Fife, Lennox, Zike, Zackai, Blue, Bleu, Rainbow, Star, Justice... to name but a few. At the end of the day all these kids have gone into school and cope just fine. Because for every 5 Olivia's or Jack's there are so many unusual names. A pp is right, in a few years there will be so many unusual names it's not going to be odd at all.
It's not pregnancy hormones it's being aware now of how many names are overused through the internet.

ZoeWashburne · 21/03/2018 10:42

If you like Green, have you thought of Greer (very similar sounds) but has the added bonus of being an old Hollywood name (Greer Garson).

NordicNobody · 21/03/2018 11:03

I knew a girl called Blue as a teenager. She was very pretty, very alternative, very cool. I was super jealous of her. However, now that we're adults it seems a bit odd. My son has a bit of an "out there" name (well, it's not out there for the county where I grew up, but I doubt the rest of England has heard of it) but I can't see it being an invitation to jokes or a barrier to being taken seriously at work. Those are the two things to consider, I think.

BelindasRedPlasticHandcuffs · 21/03/2018 11:32

Well we are going to B&Q later, he'll have to drag guide me away from the Dulux colour charts

Dahhhling at least go to F&B Wink Calamine? Cinder Rose? Inchyra (Blue)? Dead Salmon perhaps? Grin Actually, I'm starting to like the way you think! BlushGrin

C8H10N4O2 · 21/03/2018 11:40

I'm in two minds whether they'll like it, as in 12-20 years there'll be a lot more adults with unusual names than there are now.

No there really won't.

I can remember people making exactly that comment when mine were babies (and my DM could probably tell a similar story). I remember growing up with a few moonbeams and sunshines from the hippy era.

All the novelty names changed to extreme conventional names as soon as they were old enough. If you want a novelty name, change your own.

Mumofkids · 21/03/2018 11:43

I know a grown up Sunshine, she's known as Sunny. No big deal. Greene is hardly moonbeam.

SchnooSchnoo · 21/03/2018 12:41

Dd1 has a well established name that means red. When I was pregnant for the second time, if it was s boy I wanted to call him Cerulean, Ru for short! Luckily, she was a girl and ended up with non-colour related name.

I’m pretty open minded about names, but Green doesn’t sound that nice. Avery makes me think of bird enclosures!

mathanxiety · 22/03/2018 01:12

As far as your DH's name suggestions go - imo Leonie is much nicer than Leona.

Carouselfish · 22/03/2018 01:27

Every time you type lo I think you are writing Io (as in a capital i not a small L). That IS a name, moon of Jupiter I believe. Pronounced eye-oh.

Lacucuracha · 22/03/2018 01:38

What about Zarghoona? It's a girl's name that means the colour green in Afghan.

Absofrigginlootly · 22/03/2018 02:45

Please please please don't use green orbit. It sounds like a chewing gum

Actually proper lol'd at that!! Grin

OP what about Grayson?

Absofrigginlootly · 22/03/2018 02:48

I've always liked the names Raine (girl) and River (boy) for middle names (I have favourite first names I'm not divulging!) but DH always rolls his eyes at "those bloody hippy names"

LadyOfTheCanyon · 22/03/2018 04:00

This is just my opinion but I can't be the only one. When I hear an 'out there" name I just think "why don't people have any class any more?

Giving children unusual names isn't a race to the bottom, although sometimes it seems that way. A child will be a genius or not, or a free spirit or not regardless of what it's called but calling a child Green, or Storm, or Drogon just makes the parents look like celebrity obsessed fools.

LadyOfTheCanyon · 22/03/2018 04:01

This is just my opinion but I can't be the only one. When I hear an 'out there" name I just think "why don't people have any class any more?

Giving children unusual names isn't a race to the bottom, although sometimes it seems that way. A child will be a genius or not, or a free spirit or not regardless of what it's called but calling a child Green, or Storm, or Drogon just makes the parents look like celebrity obsessed fools.

LadyOfTheCanyon · 22/03/2018 04:01

This is just my opinion but I can't be the only one. When I hear an 'out there" name I just think "why don't people have any class any more?

Giving children unusual names isn't a race to the bottom, although sometimes it seems that way. A child will be a genius or not, or a free spirit or not regardless of what it's called but calling a child Green, or Storm, or Drogon just makes the parents look like celebrity obsessed fools.

MercuryInTransit · 22/03/2018 04:54

Azure, yes technically blue
Adventurine
Peridote
Jade
Malachite
Sage
Verdure
Verdigris, shortened to Verdi?
Yoda
Oh, and Kermit

Or any green plant?
Herb
Dandelion - this mixes your DH’s preferences in too.... but she’ll be called “piss the bed” in France
Leaf
Chlorophyll, Filly for short
Grass. And you could call her Mulch as a nickname, or when she gets older!

I like Avery.

MercuryInTransit · 22/03/2018 04:56

Tell us how you really feel Ladyofthecanyon!

Or was that just an echo? Echo?

Hey, how about Echo... you’d only have to call her in for her dinner once.

Mumofkids · 22/03/2018 05:55

@ladyofthecanyon she's not really being that 'out there'. The names that I find really ugh are all the names double barrelled or where the names have extra pointless letters. Like we know of a Hollye, a Leighah, then there's the Lilly-Grace's etc the children always have to correct the spellings. A less common name is always good to here, names that are clearly names but not overly used. Whilst you groan at unusual names many of us are so bored of the top 20 names.

LadyOfTheCanyon · 22/03/2018 06:00

Balls, sorry for the thrice post!

MissDuke · 22/03/2018 06:29

I don't really like 'out there' names usually but I prefer Green to Leona or Leo! Hopefully you can settle on a name you are happy with op.

mummy2oneandtwo · 22/03/2018 06:57

I wanted Avery for my boy but my husband vetoed it Sad

SkaPunkPrincess · 22/03/2018 07:26

Call your child whatever you like. fwiw I always likes Axel for another boy and Jake for a girl. no more babies for me though

liz70 · 22/03/2018 07:33

Well, it didn't do Mr. Gartside any harm… Smile

But if it's the idea of the colour that you like, how about Verde (M) or Verda (F)?

Bairnsmum05 · 22/03/2018 07:48

GReen is a term very often used to describe a form of cannabis. If someone said green here in Glasgow that’s one of the first things I’d think of (apart from the park Glasgow Green Smile)