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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To use the name Alfie for a girl?

211 replies

Notverycreative · 20/06/2019 17:50

I really really really love the name, we were actually hoping for a boy so we could uae this. We won't be able to have any more children after this and have just found out are having a girl.
WIBU to call her Alfreda and use the nickname Alfie?

OP posts:
MyInnerAlto · 20/06/2019 20:35

If you would like your daughter to grow up resenting you for it, go ahead. So many beautiful girls' names out there and you call her Alfie - a boy's name, and a bit of a debatable one tbh - just because you loved it and wanted to use it no matter what the circumstances (the sex of your child, in this case) demanded.

A child's name is the first gift you give him or her, and it's one that lasts for life. Do you give someone gifts you love, even if they can't use them and probably won't like them and may cause them problems or ridicule? No, you try to give thoughtful gifts that suit the recipient and their needs. So it should be with naming.

RandomUserNIckNames · 20/06/2019 20:36

My sister grew up with what was a boys name spelt slightly different (along the lines of billie bobbi etc) & she hated it; she was very girly but her name wasn't & it made her stand out which she didn't like. I think you need quite a strong personality to carry it and unfortunately she didn't.
My sons name is Alfie and his nickname is Alfredo because of his love of pasta & obviously how it sounds like his name 😂 I think maybe you should save it for if you decide to have another baby.

MangoFeverDream · 20/06/2019 20:37

What about Alef?

Isitmybathtimeyet · 20/06/2019 20:37

Effie is really pretty and very feminine. A really similar name if it’s the sound of the name you like.

viques · 20/06/2019 20:37

a celeb called their girl James

Oh that makes calling some poor little non celeb girl Alfie fine then doesn't it? i bet registrars all over the Uk are fed up to the back teeth of typing Saint, Stormi,Psalm........

User2638394 · 20/06/2019 20:38

Normally I hate stupid made up names but I actually think Alfie is kind of cute for a girl.

HappyLoneParentDay · 20/06/2019 20:38

Please don't me your girl Alfreda (is t that an American pasta dish?!) or Alfie. Alfie is a Dog's name

HappyLoneParentDay · 20/06/2019 20:41

@Notverycreative You were hoping for a boy and are so disappointed at being lumbered with a girl that you're wanting to give her a male name? That makes me immediately feel very very sorry for your daughter. She's always going to feel like a disappointment to you if you continue to think like this

MeganBacon · 20/06/2019 20:41

Alfalfa? Gandalfa?

LuannC · 20/06/2019 20:41

Never heard of it for a girl but similar is Elfie, Elvie, Effey, Alphia, Alfia, Aoife, Alvie.

LuannC · 20/06/2019 20:42

Or give her double barrel name (eg. Alannah-fiona) the nn be Al-Fi :)

viques · 20/06/2019 20:47

mangofeverdream

Or Aleph.

Personally I've always fancied Serif, though Arial and Avenir are unusual, and not over popular, lovely for twins......

AwakeNow · 20/06/2019 21:07

No. This is a human being, do not start her off in life with the name Alfie.
Change your name legally to Alphie if you love it that much.

Lockheart · 20/06/2019 21:16

As long as it's short for something I don't see why not. I can think of lots of women who use traditionally male names as nicknames. Jamie, Frankie, Nicky, Billy (Piper), Georgie, Henry.

Don't see what's so different about Alfie.

AwakeNow · 20/06/2019 21:23

I am sorry, my reply seems rude when reading it...but I think it is a poor choice. I am serious about you using the name for yourself. At least you are an adult who can handle questions and won't be mocked and bullied as much as a little girl will be, all though her childhood. Plus it would be you choosing a name for yourself knowing what you are in store for, if you see what I mean. Though as an adult you will probably just get raised eyebrows and questions as to why you changed it, it will be differant in school.

SleepAllDay7 · 20/06/2019 21:25

@Lockheart

I agree.

IMO the worst of them is Stevie, Nicks or otherwise!

SilverySurfer · 20/06/2019 21:29

If you love it so much change your own name to Alfie, it's bloody awful for a girl.

SingingSands · 20/06/2019 21:31

I know an Althea, nn Alfie.

Spooksandchocolatecake · 20/06/2019 21:35

Just Alfie I like it...don't add anything

RubyJack · 20/06/2019 21:38

I know an Affie

goodwinter · 20/06/2019 21:40

I knew a girl Alfie when I was younger, she was my friend's younger sister. She was sporty and cheeky and funny and it really suited her. It can work!

AnnaComnena · 20/06/2019 21:41

Alfreda is only an acceptable woman's name if you're an Anglo-Saxon living in the 7th century AD.

And even then, Elfrida is more usual.

janetheimpaler · 20/06/2019 21:48

How about Eppi from Silas Mariner?

LennieLou · 20/06/2019 22:55

If you do choose this, please dont tell her it was because you wanted a boy with that name, it could badly damage her self esteem ad she gets older.

SilverySurfer · 20/06/2019 23:15

Can anyone explain why these people so desperate to give their daughter a masculine name (except where they wish the child had been a boy, which is pretty disgusting) never want to give their sons feminine names?