I hate my baby's name

[WatchingFriendsOnRepeat]

I didn't know where to put this post and I need as much advice as possible because I'm so torn!

I'm a single mum to 2 boys - 5yrs old (next month) and 8 weeks.

My eldest was named while I was 19wks pregnant and when he was born he fitted the name perfectly - i never had any doubt of his name and still love it! He is Teddy.

I couldn't find a name I loved during my pregnancy with my youngest, but I did have a list of names I liked. I still like those names but none of them fit. I went in for my planned c section with the name Charlie pretty much on top, but he has never suited it in my mind. I mentioned it to my mum the other day and she sheepishly agreed. We all call him "baby!" My dad keeps calling him Chuck or Chaz... I really hate when people immediately say "cheeky Charlie" when I tell them his name.

My eldest loves the name Charlie and said he will still call him Charlie even if I change it, which is fine. I think if I change it and stick to it anyway, he will eventually forget his original name.

I like Louis. He suits a Louis. My mum isn't too keen but that's partly because she thinks he is a Billy/William. I kind of do too, but my dad is Billy and my 3 siblings and I are extremely screwed up thanks to my dad, who is old and wobbly now but still a mean man and I see him everyday as I live next door to both my parents. I don't want to call him Billy and end up regretting it more than I do Charlie!

The baby's dad is not around at all so I can't ask his opinion. I feel embarrassed that my baby, in my view, has no name!

Did anyone else here have name regret? Did you change it or did the baby just "become" the name?

Please help...

All lovely names but, at 8 weeks just change it. As a PP said, fate has been on your side with you not having a birth certificate yet so how's the time to do it. Your eldest will get over it and so will everyone else. If you dislike it this early on then there's nothing to be gained by keeping it.

I have a family member, now an adult, who was briefly Joseph at birth but after a few weeks became Samuel. As far as I know, nobody has ever remarked on it again, let alone “laughed their head off” - why would they? Sometimes the first name that is tried out just doesn’t stick, for whatever reason. It really isn’t a big deal, especially when the decision to change is made before registration of the birth.

I changed my sons name at 8 weeks from the short to the long version of name, think Billy changed to William. Everyone still calls him 'billy' but I'm glad I did it as gives him more scope when he's older. My friend switched her babies first and middle names around at that age. If anyone mentions it now she says they remember wrong!

Change it if you hate it
But if you go with Louis people might still come up with stupid nicknames. Never name him after your dad with that much negative feelings that go with it...
And if you stick with Charlie. Embrace it. Love it. Charlie is a beautiful name. And nip the whole cheeky Charlie in the bud. Make people realise how fucking annoying they are and that they are ruining something beautiful. Also take in consideration that you might still be hormonal etc

Charlie is a beautiful name. So is Louis. But realise people might go "is it loo-is or Lew-is or loo-ee"

Wow you've had a rough time!!
Change the name to the one you feel is right for him.
I loved the name Charlie.....we were still deliberating all the way to the office..he ended up Benjamin!
I love the name louis to. Good choices op.
Im like you worry about other people's thoughts way to much.
Congratulations

I had this too with my second. I've never got over it being the wrong name and I didn't change it. I left the registry office in floods of tears because my DH insisted we had to go through with the name that neither of us was that sure about. still resent him for it.

I prefer Louis personally but if he’s Charles I would call him that rather than Charlie. Change it if you want, if he hasn’t been registered yet it’s not a problem.

Louis is a fantastic name (but I may be biased 😉)

I’m not Kate BTW 😂

I like Louis I’ve got one in my family.
I didn’t realise babies weren’t being registered, call it fate and change his name. Congratulations.
Ps never apologise to anti vaxxers they’re all deranged.

I've never heard of anything like all the things you're saying and I've got a Charlie (Charles), so will many readers as it's a popular name. It's fine if you don't like it but you don't need to 'justify' it by coming out with a load of crap. Change the name, you don't want to give the boy a complex as you will be gritting your teeth whenever you call his name.

Charlie and Louis are both lovely names. I'd say if you want to change his name, then you should! Someone I know got talked into calling her son Joshua when he was born and has spent years hating the name. I think he's about 8 now. She said she struggled to bond with him for the first two years and thinks it's partly because family railroaded her into choosing the 'wrong' name.

Louis Charles is a lovely name! It goes very well with Theodore too.

He’s your baby, so it’s your choice of name - why on earth would you name him after your father if he is an unpleasant man?

Absolutely change it if you want to! I bet you anything in a years time your 5yo barely even remembers his brother being called a different name

@Notredamn actually it isn't a load of crap and I'm not trying to justify it. I had a serious coke habit in my early teens. I'm now 37 and talking to my 51yr old sister, who had actually been in the priory in her twenties for drink and cocaine addiction (thanks for the issues, daddy!), it was her who said to me, jokingly, "Charlie immediately makes me either think of a wrap of coke or my ex-boyfriend Charlie who was a cokehead!" I didn't even associate it as it has been years and years and she was surprised and said so. Clearly I am over that habit, perhaps she still has triggers that makes her think of it.
So no, it literally is that I just don't like the name for my baby. I have had an issue with the name since he was born but not had anyone to talk to about it. The first time I said to my sister, I'm not sure about his name, which was 3wks ago, that was like the green light for her to finally say what she had obviously been bursting to say.
My issues aren't with the name or people's opinions. It's just it never felt right saying his name, so I don't call him ANYTHING. Just "you" or "baby" and that feels sad, like I'm depriving him of an identity.
And the cheeky Charlie thing, I had no problem saying don't call him that. It's just it's stuck in my head and add that to not already liking the name (for him - I like the name otherwise!), it's just a downward slope.
Maybe hormones, maybe not, but I was hormonal when I had Teddy and his name wasn't an issue and I used it all the time. This just feels forced this time.
I've used Louis all morning up until now and it feels far more natural for him.

You really don’t need to justify it to anyone, and certainly not to anyone on this thread.

You already know that the old name was not right, and that the new one is the right fit for you and your baby, as evidenced by your feeling more natural and relaxed about calling him Louis today, and that’s really all that matters.

💐

Can I just say I meant to say early twenties, was when I had the coke habit - not my early teens... I wasn't that bad lol! 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP you have had a terrible terrible time. Congratulations on the birth of your darling baby, and I hope you regain your strength, emotionally and physically asap.

All your name choices are brilliant anyway, so call him what feels right to you.

Teddy and Louis: sounds good!

As you had such a triple bad time during your pregnancy, I wonder whether seeing your new baby in front of you, you didn’t want to make a fresh start, and give him a new name from his old ‘pre-birth’ name, and not associate him with the bad things that happened to you (and him!) before he arrived.

Good luck OP!

Oh, and my friend changed her baby’s name. We all visited and got to know him as one name... a few weeks later she casually remarked that it didn’t suit him and they had changed it. We were all mildly amused for about 5 mins and then got used to his new name. No drama!

You have found a name you like, it really doesn’t matter that it isn’t the name you were thinking 8 weeks ago.

If you want it pronounced French Louis rather than Lewis you could consider spelling it Louie to avoid confusion. I like both names but change it if your not happy otherwise it will always play on your mind 🙂

Thank you everyone. I haven't decided fully on the middle names but he definitely is now Louis (Lou-ee). I've slipped up a couple of times calling him baby or Charlie but that's to be expected. Teddy has told me "you can call him Louis but I'll call him Charlie Bear still" and I'm fine with that. It'll probably faze out anyway.
The few friends I mentioned it to a few weeks ago said I should change it if I felt it wasn't right, although I never said what name I was thinking of changing to, just that calling him Charlie didn't feel right and didn't suit him. Because none of them had ever had this issue before I needed to find out real life experiences from people that understood.
Until having him I couldn't understand the whole "the baby suits/doesn't suit a name" but I totally get it now.
I'm wary because I am aware it is sometimes a sign of PND, but because of CV19 life has to be taken pretty slowly anyway so I can take my time and let "his" name settle properly and get used to saying it.
I must say though, I've tried to called him Charlie now for 8wks and really struggled without knowing why. Today I have called him Louis for only 12hrs and it just fits.
Again, thank you for all your input. Please keep it coming if there are new opinions to be added, as I'm curious to see how many more people like me there are out there!!!
Stay safe x

If you want it pronounced French Louis rather than Lewis you could consider spelling it Louie to avoid confusion Oh no, Louie is Donald Duck's nephew. I know a Louis, no one seems to struggle with how to pronounce it.

You sound much happier, think it's a good plan :)

No brainer for me. You like Louis, you say it suits him. It's a great name. Go for it.

BTW quite like Louie spelling, have a friend in Spain ( she's British) whose son uses that spelling. At first was a bit confused by it but it makes the pronunciation more obvious, is it a Spanish spelling?