To think people should take naming their children seriously?

[DreamsOfDownUnder]

Do they not imagine their name choice on the top of a CV or whatever when naming their child 'Ballerina' or 'Buttercup' or 'Tulip'. I find it tends to more girl names than boys.

I know a Tuppence. Can't take a person with a name which is a nickname for a vagina seriously.

There's a BBC journalist called Tulip Mazumdar - it doesn't seem to have done any harm to her CV!

I left work early one day as I felt really unwell, achey and generally fluey. Popped into the pharmacy on my way home and the lovely pharmacist made me up a miracle elixir that made me feel so much better. Her name was Comfort. Never was a name so apt.

Oh, is it time for the bi-weekly, low-key racist let's sneer at funny names because they don't meet my oh so middle class standards thread? Jolly good.

I'm surprised we're eight pages in and nobody has claimed to know a L-a yet.

In defence of the original poster, I took her to mean that the world is judgmental. It would be lovely if it wasn't, but it is, so why call your child Yooniec-Buttahkup and give them a permanent handicap?

It would be lovely if people with beautiful artistic tattoos on their necks could have equal access to the job market, but they don't, so maybe better not to get one!

As others have said previously, Tulip is no stranger than Rose or Daisy. Blessed is no stranger than Grace. Shanice is no stranger than Patrice.

It’s also ridiculous to discriminate against someone for a name their parents gave them. It’s just as stupid as not hiring someone based on the house they grew up in. Neither has a bearing on the persons skills.

A lot of this is just basic snobbery because if Kate Middletons next kid was called something ‘out there’, watch how fast some of those who believe they are in a position to judge people’s names, would call their kid the same. There are some really pathetic Hyacinth (out there name) Buckets who are so desperate to appear upper middle class it’s untrue.

My name isn't a uuuuneeeek spelling, it's actually a classic name.
That everybody spells wrong. It's incredibly annoying and has happened on official documents too. Even more annoying when people say "Oh it doesn't matter" when I point out they've got my name wrong.
That's why I feel internally annoyed when I see a name with a different made up spelling as I feel for the child who will constantly have to be correcting people.
Whether or not you think Blessing or Tulip are nice names (I think they are!) at least they're easy to spell.

I know an Adolf. He works in London and is highly professional and well respected.

I teach Reception and each year we have all kinds of children from all kinds of backgrounds with all kinds of names. They're all wonderful, they're all lovely to be around, they all grow up to be perfectly happy, kind, loving people given enough kindness.

I don't think basing my judgement of them on their names would be any more appropriate than basing my judgement of them on the income level of their family. Anyone who does so doesn't deserve the privilege of knowing children in the first place.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned “Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii” yet... Now that, unlike all the other names mentioned, is surely not a matter of taste!

Before they even get to CV's children have to face school with other children, and we all know kids can be cruel.

I went to school with a sea of Julie's, Laura's, Lindsey's and Marie's. It may not have been the fact my parents named me Starlight that made me stick out of the bullies, but it bloody well didn't help.

And yes, you can just change your name (as I did), but that's huge thing to do and it shouldn't be a 'oh well I'll call them something wacky and if they don't like it they can change it' - if you think the name is wacky enough there's a high chance the child won't like it then pick something else.

I think the CV point is valid. I do have some issue with people calling their kids ridiculous names but my issue is more that to me the ridiculous names are not chosen with the child in mind but it’s more about the parent and what they want to do/think is cool or ‘different’. You might want to be cool or different but there are more ways to be this than through your choice of Childs name??

I really don't mind what people call their children, but for heaven's sake, if it is already a name or a word for something, spell it properly!

If you want to call your kid Winnie after Winnie the Pooh, then please do. Just don't spell it Winnniey.

lyralalala

I agree with you completely. It's so easy for people to say a name is not a big deal but people like that usually have names that haven't given them issues.

If James and Hannah want to name their son Rockstarr, they may not understand the full burden they are putting on their son. Rockstarr is a huge name to live up to and maybe Rockstarr isn't popular, maybe Rockstarr has acne and a maths obsession. Is it really appropriate to put all the weight of the parents' ego and desire for what they want their child to be on the child via their name? I think it's better to let the child wear the name, then the name to wear the child.

The thing is, I think people do take naming their children seriously. Even if that means choices some of us raise an eyebrow at- interesting spellings etc. It’s their choice! The name does not make the person, or to bastardise Shakespeare and then Gertrude Stein, A twat by any other name would still smell as twattish, or a snob is a snob is a snob.

Thank god the children from my multicultural school don’t have to (hopefully) meet the adults on this thread who think any name that wasn’t popular in England c.1950-c1980 is attention seeking/stupid. Rather than the result of differing taste, background, religion, interests etc..

Didn't Kate Winslet's husband change his name to 'Ned Rockstar?' Not sure what that has to do with anything though!

By the time the current cohort of children are adults, their names aren't going to be unusual compared to their peers and names like Jayden or Arya or Theo or Lola won't look at all out of place on a CV. My DM told me that her grandmother was appalled when her parents, my grandparents, wanted to name her Kimberly. Great-gran said it was a silly name and not proper enough to last a lifetime, they went with a different name in the end but the "that's a ridiculous name" sniping has been going on forever.

I think it's funny that what were once considered old fashioned names like Mavis, Ivy, Albert, Esme, etc are making a comeback and I wonder if in 30-40 years "old fashioned" names like Gemma, Gary, Pamela, Sheila, etc will have a resurgence. I bet Nanny Luna and Grandad Jayden with be thrilled with their grandchildren Barry and Jacqueline.

Can’t beat my mums friend - named her twins Happy and Lucky. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Ds1 has an "out there" name. Oh the comments we got - he'd be bullied, children can be cruel, what if he wants to be prime minister etc etc.

No one under the age of 30 has ever commented on his name adversely (either to him or to us). He's never been bullied (despite being a small, bespectacled nerd). He has no interest in politics but if he did it wouldn't be his name holding him back, it would be his clear thinking and integrity. We still love the name. He quite likes it, insofar as he thinks about it. Suspect he'd be equally happy as a George/Harry/Edward bit I'm not sure the world really needs another.

BarbarianMum

No one bullied me for my name in front of my parents.

Was I bullied for my name? Yes.

Did I ever tell my parents? No. Why would I want to?

Made-up names aren't new - my great-grandmother was Aresylvia and she gave in to one of her daughters. Family legend was that GGGranddad got thoroughly pished on the way to the registrar and made a muck of Ursula, but the two of them were always known as Julie and Solly. Likewise, my aunt went by a diminutive, and I have changed my name to a diminutive as I was sick of mispronunciation (same name for aunt and myself in different languages). I've never forgiven my parents for a first name, middle name, and surname which all have to be spelled out. Every. Single. Time.

@barbarianmum
No one under the age of 30 has ever commented on his name adversely (either to him or to us

I have found its always people over 35 that have anything negative to say. When my husbands nan commented negatively, I found it so hard to resist saying "oh and Shirley is a great name!"

We have a 'Princess' in Yr6 at our school. Surname is double-barrelled.

Barbarian Out of interest how old is your Son? My DS has a daft name by MN standards (Buddy) and he LOVES it.

No one has ever been horrible to him, he is a bit shy in personality naturally but pretty popular at school.

He loves that no one else has his name and only today he was excited that there is a character in a story they are reading at school called Buddy. He is 7, so I'm curious about when it's due to become the bane of his life.

Ds1 has an "out there" name. Oh the comments we got - he'd be bullied, children can be cruel, what if he wants to be prime minister etc etc

When someone tells you their child's name and you don't like it, the only acceptable response is "that's nice" or words to that effect.

We had similar comments with all of our DC's names and they're not even particularly "out there" by my standards. They're not very well used and they're all the only child in their whole school with those names but they're not outlandish or unique, in fact one of them was in the Top 10 baby names for the last few years and the others have been in the top 100/500.