Your baby's name is 'so weird' ...?

[brandnewcoffee]

Due with our baby girl in just a few weeks. It took us a long time to pick a name that will flow nicely with the middle name as well as the surname and a name we both love equally. My nan texted me this morning and ask if we've picked a name yet so I told her that we have and told her the name we chose is Esmé. Her response was simply 'such a weird name'. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm gobsmacked and don't know what to say back. I know it doesn't matter what others think about the name we chose for our baby girl but it really got me doubting myself and now I'm sat here worrying whether we picked the right name. AIBU?

Esme is a beautiful name

It’s a lovely name. We called our pup Esme after Esmeralda Weatherwax as she was born on Halloween!

Not weird at all! It’s a traditional name. Maybe she just meant that - that you’d chosen an older name?

Ignore her anyway. And - this bears repeating - never ever tell anyone the name of your baby before they’re born! That way you a) don’t get rude comments that upset you and make you doubt yourself; b) don’t get people ‘stealing’ the name; and c) can look your baby in the face when they’re born and just check the name suits them and change it if it doesn’t.

My daughters name is Esme. She likes it and it’s never gotten any comments at all, apart from the polite “oh, pretty name” ones you always get.

My Nan said our name choice for DD was ‘bloody awful and old fashioned’ (Matilda) and our choice for coming soon DS is also ‘bloody awful’ (Barney). You can’t please some people!

Esme is a lovely name!

Nice name. But ditch the accent.

Oh I was expecting something more out there!

It's just must be different to your nan. 🤷

I had some woman in the doctors tell me that my son 'has to live with that name what did you call him that for?'

She was older if that makes a difference. It's a fairly popular name where we live too!

My MIL didn't like our choice of name for our first son, too many 'L's apparently.
I couldn't have given a shiny shite and now he is nearly 8!

Don't take any notice. Just say, 'well we like it and that's what we've chosen'

I think it's very sweet.

Haven't read whole thread but I wanted to say that I opened this because I was expecting an actual "weird" name.

Esme is NOT weird. It's a lovely name.

Just to add a little story (it's legendary in my family). When my brother was born, and when my great uncle heard what my parents had decided to call him, he said "I can't stand these modern, new-fangled names".

My brother is called Adam...

I wondered if your Gran wasn’t pronouncing it properly.

I loved the name Rebecca, a favourite film and book, but for my cousins child, my Mum pronounced it Ree-becca, instead of R’becca
Ugh
I was already wondering if I could copy the name of a family member, but this made me realise, that I could never live with it.

She can’t pronounce my youngest daughters name, and often calls her a totally different name, but very similar, ( and denys it) by accident 🤣🤣🤣😂🤣

Lovely name! I wish my real name was a little bit unusual.

Not remotely weird - the spellings Ezmay and Ezmai are weird but the proper traditional spelling is lovely.

This is the reason we refused to tell anyone the name we’d chosen for our DD until she was born. People seem to think that they can comment all they like about a choice of name whilst you are still pregnant, but they tend to (although not always!) not make comments once you’ve had the baby and named them.

Ignore the comments OP. Esme is a beautiful name.

It’s a nice name. Very “now” though and would have been unheard of in her day

I recall my mother recoiling when I said I was considering Jack, Theo, Ethan for our ds1. She thought they were totally inappropriate. She suggested Gary, Ian, David!

Ignore her.

We told my grandmother our choice of girl's name (Imogen) before DD was born. Every phone call she would say, "Have you thought of a better name yet?"

When DD was born I phone my brother and he said, "Imagine! What have you called her that for?" He had never heard of the name Imogen!

I was speaking to DD, now 20, and having a giggle about people's reactions and she said, "Well I love my name!" and so do we! My grandmother said many years later, that she could not imagine DD being called any thing else and she loves the name now.

I remember hearing an old lady in a shop moaning about her new grandchild having such a modern name... Adam! I had to smile, has she not heard of Adam and Eve? You could not get an older name!!

I would think she doesn't know how to pronounce it. She might think it's Essss me rather than Ez may.

So your Nan doesn’t watch Sewing Bee?

Her loss.

My DH’s gran asked why we hadn’t given DD a ‘normal’ name.... because Charlotte is so off the cuff, right?!

I wouldn't have said it was unheard of, I worked in a nursing home and there were two Esme's, pronounced Ezmee. That's probably how she would pronounce it if she saw it written down.

Unless this is the sort of thing your Gran would normally text to you, could it have been an unfortunate autocorrect?

Esme is a lovely name.

@TriggersBroom

Nice name. But ditch the accent.

Why? It’s French and without the accent sounds different That said I seems to be fairly accepted to ditch the accent in the Uk.

Beautiful name!

I find that bizarre as esme is traditionally an older generation name that's made a comeback. I have a Saskia who's now a teen, Noone ever said they didn't like it but I always got the "where does it originate from" "where did you find that name" "oh, I've never heard of it before"

That's not weird at all.
I adore Esmeralda which might be seen as a bit more out there these days but Esmé is perfectly lovely

It's it possible she's never seen it written before so doesn't recognise it?