Friends awful baby name

[ThisIcyHare]

My best friend is due to have a baby soon, they are having a girl and she has been talking baby names with me, which feels super special. She has got a few very lovely traditional girly names, and a couple of more unusual choices, but not ‘offensive’. They are names I would expect from her. However, she has one absolutely terrible name, that actually just feels very cruel. It would be bad even by American standards and ‘tragedeigh’ names. It’s not that I wouldn’t choose it, it’s just crazy stupid and the child will be ridiculed by peers and adults. Some of her choices are genuinely wonderful, but I’m so worried she will madly choose this one awful name, I can’t say anything can I?!

Is it 'Aileen'? My mum has a friend called Aileen. It always seems ridiculous to me.

names are quite cyclical like that. what sounds like an old lady name to one generation won't be an old lady name to the following generation, as they won't know as many old people with those names.

Virginity?

Hero IS a girls name. I have one. She's reached practical adulthood and was teased once by one boy in year 7, and that was it. One lot of teasing in her whole life that she dealt with; and she pleased she has that name.

She's not traumatised by her name at all. It suits her. And it's a beautiful Shakespearean name.

To the posters on here who decided against it, I am sorry. It's a lovely name.

On other names, only names that would cause "universal disgust" can be refused by a registrar in England and Wales. You can call your baby Antibacterial Hand Gel if you like (for example), but it's likely the registrar will quibble over a Hitler or a Stalin. To be honest, a baby Trump would probably cause a long conversation when registering a baby nowadays 😆

How lovely we live in a country where we don't have a prescribed list of baby names 😁

OP, it will be fine. If the child doesn't like their name, they can be known by another name be change it later on. It's really not a big deal.

Apparently there's something about Alice and grandma's to be because mine did the exact same. However, she did come around to it a few weeks later (we were set on it as our girl name). Sure enough baby Alice was born a few months later, and Mum can't imagine her named anything more perfect.

Not read OP's posts yet, but I do wonder if the name in question is on par with Rae Farty.

I can only assume you're not very close to your friend.

If the name is as ridiculous as you say, then "Nah, not keen" would've been sufficient.

She'll no doubt have discussed the names with other friends/family, and I doubt they wouldn't say similar.

I vetoed a name by best friend picked for each of her children - I'm her BF: that's my job. If it's truly awful, tell her! At least ask her if she wants an honest opinion.

Oh yeah and won’t end up in the Daily Mail will it.

Even if it Makes The Mail, how would OP's pal know which of her friends had sought advice from the good citizens of AIBU?

Chastity Carter, currently enjoying life as a lady of negotiable affection.

Is it Magnanimity?

@Ilikeadrink14 Press “see all” on OP’s posts at the beginning of a long thread, and read the last couple of posts. it saves a lot of time and in-thread confusion. Then you can go back and read through the whole thread if you still want to.

If the OP is the only person she’s told?

On the face of it you making a good point. Who’s going to know. However actual name dropping makes it far more personal and identifiable

I completely agree.

OP, if it's that bad you have to say something, especially if the issue with the name just doesn't seem to have even occurred to your friend - just put it in nice terms with positivity about her other choices and hope she sees the problem.

It’s Probity, isn’t it. Or Probiteigh.

My mother was an Alice, as was her mother. My sister gave her daughter Alice as a middle name, to much maternal delight, without mentioning that it was done to please her husband's very ancient granny. There used to be a lot of them about!

Alice?

She won't get picked on for her name. People have moved on. It's just idiot parents who laugh at other kids names nowadays in my experience, not the kids.

Rumpelstiltskin is a lovely name 👌

Only the Doctor receptionist, though some ask before trying to say it.
I've known a Good Luck, Rocket, Magpie and a Persephone as well in the school I work in. The only name bullying we had was a girl called 'lazy Daisy' by her peers.

You win the most esoteric post of the year (so far) @JohnofWessex .

In the words or rather word of Manuel from Fawlty Towers
“Que”

or if you prefer Mowgli from Jungle book
“Gee Baloo I don’t even know what you’re talking about”

🤣

I was standing behind someone in a queue for an ice cream a few years ago, who had her kids names tattooed on her back, one of them was Effiniti

I can only assume it was an attempt at affinity? I often wonder to myself how little Effiniti is getting on

Who the 🤐 is Alice?