To tell them their baby name options aren’t great?

[Ellase]

I can be fairly confident DS and DIL don’t use Mumsnet so I’m prepared to take a risk and post this.

DS and his wife are expecting their first baby, all very exciting, a little girl. Tonight they came over and we were chatting names and they told me what their two front runners are, and well they aren’t inherently awful, but they are diminutives that aren’t well established as names in their own right (so we aren’t talking Milly or Rosie which are now fully fledged names). I asked if they were planning to use a longer name too and was told absolutely not. This worries as I feel their child won’t much appreciate having a name that is not well established, sounds a bit off (I don’t know how to explain better than that), and could easily have a longer name that would provide more optionality however they choose to live their life.

Should I cautiously mention it or just bite my tongue? We have a very positive relationship generally and they tend to be open to advice.

I don’t think they are bad at all. Also, agree with all the pp’s, say nothing.

Cannot follow this one at all.

Seriously? unlikely. I was a secondary teacher and some of the names I came across made me look twice, but to the kids, that was literally just their friend's name. They never batted an eyelid and certainly never made up upleasant nicknames. No one under about 75 calls horses gee-gees now anyway.

Keep quiet.

Incidentally I know a very cute Gigi whose name has caused zero issues. It really suits her.

The names are fine. They are not going to cause any problems.

Yikes - they’ll never forgive you wading in with your unasked for opinions. Zip it!

If the names were chlamydia and gonorrhea because they 'sounded pretty', yes. Intervene. Strongly.

You just think they're nicknames? Stay well out of it.

The only acceptable comment would be "Oh how lovely, that's such a popular name! :)"

Well Gigi is a name I've heard of, albeit with slight prostitute overtones, but WTF is Tiggi, even as a diminutive?!

You'll have to stay quiet but they ARE pretty dreadful names.

I've not heard anyone under the age of 50 say gee gees.
The Tiggi to pussy is a huge leap. If your leaping that hard you could make any name into something sexual.

I'm not sure why you're worried by this, OP.

You could take a leaf out of my mil's book, don't say anything and upon meeting the baby, before saying anything else, look at your dil and ask her "you keeping the name then?". Seriously though, none of your business. It kills me how everyone acts like when they had babies everyone must have just adored the names they chose. They didn't!

But what do you hope to achieve by telling them their name choices are shit? (which, personally, I'm not sure they are - thinking here of the Palestinian model and the obscure royal)

I don't think either of them are too bad. You'll just get used to it as her name as she grows.

Mumsnet is a bit snobby classical about names!

I’ll go against the grain. Yes, for that child’s sake you should say something (constructive) but be prepared for them to disagree.

Gigi like Hadid? Quite on trend I’d have thought.

Tiggy/Tiggi(e) imo isn’t much different to Kitty, which I think isn’t everyone’s taste but I find I much prefer to some of the more popular names around at the moment.

it’s not your place at all to say anything.

None of your business. My mum hated both of our boy names, luckily we had girls but would have used our boy names. You’ve already had your chance to pick baby names and it’s their child

I'd not be too critical but try to steer them towards Gigi out of those options.

Tiggy is quite sweet, they might not know it can be a shortened version of Antigoni? So you could check they know that.

Gigi.... 🤔
I feel like it's what glamorous grannies get their grandchildren to call them

Agree, nothing good will come from it, they will only be upset, especially if their hearts are set on these names. As others have said I would only tell them if the names were offensive.

We told my MIL the name we wanted for our girl - we picked it out years before she was conceived. When we told MIL all she said was “keep thinking” which I imagine she thought was tactful but it stung from someone I respected. It didn’t change our opinion and we used it anyway - it is a perfectly normal name, and very common in the region. I don’t resent MIL but I’ll never forget her reaction.

That’s because the poster comes across as a leery old man.

Tiggi and Gigi, incidentally, sound like utterances a baby would make.

Juvenile name choices, I’m afraid.

Oh my 😂

The names aren't to your taste but they're not upsetting or offensive.

I don't think Gigi will raise any eyebrows though people might ask what Tiggi is short for.

Say nothing but i have to say what is going on with people these days that they have to make up daft names as if the child is a teddy bear or doll, that will never grow up.

actually i know it is a celebrity thing cos we are all specials and our baby is gonna be famous and amazing and i can shine in the reflective glory.

reality being tiggy, stop pulling Gigi’s hair

Gigi and tiggy i am begging please go to sleep etc.

I don’t think you should say anything.

It’s their baby and it’s not your place to say you think their names are shit (even if they are).

A guy in work told me they were calling their kid a really nice name, but were considering ‘Dawn’ as the middle name. I blurted out ‘you can’t give her the bloody middle name Dawn. It’s the name of someone in their 60’s!). Anyway, turns out it was a family member who had died and they did end up using that middle name.

Fortunately it was someone I could have a laugh with, but I thought after that was pretty rude of me and I will also never comment on a name again!!