Primrose/Rosie - your votes are needed!

[luth]

After months of deliberation my husband and I have finally agreed on the name Rosie for our daughter who is due in 3 weeks. However there is one sticking point.

I have a concern that Rosie is too popular. I've always wanted an unconventional name for my child - my parents were going to call me something off the wall and then chickened out at the last minute and I wish they would have been braver as I would have suited it. A solution would be to call her Primrose (and put this on her birth certificate) but shorten this to Rosie for everyday use. I think this allows her the option to be more unusual if she wants or stick to a conventional nickname.

My husband likes the name Primrose but thinks it sounds silly with our surname; Palmer. He also doesn't want to have to explain to people why we call her Rosie when her name is Primrose and thinks what we want to call her should appear on her birth certificate.

We have decided that we are going to settle it by the number of mumsnet votes each option receives (as we don't want to discuss names with our families/friends) So please help by voting one of the following:
Option 1 - Have Primrose on birth certificate and use Rosie as a nickname
Option 2 - Drop Primrose altogether and just call her Rosie.

Thanks for your help

Rosanna sounds lovely for BC - then, she can be Rose, Rosie, Rosa, Annie, Anna... lots of choices.
My daughter is Bethan, but she's called Beth and Bethy or Bethan.
Good luck.
Don't be too swayed by other people... go with your gut. No rushing in it, you've got plenty of time to register baby....xx

I like the name Primrose but she will get called Prim, I know one and she has always been know as Prim.

I'm really not a big fan of alliteration either.

Rosie sounds very childish and I can't imagine it would sit well with a woman over 20.

Rose Palmer?

'Primrose' always will remind me of Harold Shipman's wife.

Always google your choices Luth. You'll see why.

That is awful, Ineedsomesleep.

As well as the terribly sad story about Rosie Palmer . It is also listed in the Urban Dictionary here

I think the tragic story and the Urban Dictionary would put me off for life.

How about Patsy?

I just googled Rosie Palmer. I haven't clicked on it, but www.rosiepalmer.com seems to be a hardcore porn site.

Is this a sneaky joke thread?

Well, if its not a troll its a very unfortunate name choice.

Oh dear - I'm not a troll and up until yesterday we were completely happy with the feedback on this thread and had both agreed to go with Primrose.

Problem is there is no 'right' name for us. Everything has connotations (either with people from the past or google!) friends have babies with the names we like or we find out names we think are unusual and cool (eg Ruby, Lola) are very popular.

I actually thought that choosing a name would be the most enjoyable part of being pregnant (we are both quite creative types) but actually the responsiblity of it all has been quite stressful.

I'm not throwing my arms in the air with excitement at either Primrose or Rosie but I just can't think about any other names anymore or I might go mad!!

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to this thread - it was all really useful! x

Rosie is nice but Primrose is horrid imho and it immediately makes me think of Harold Shipman's wife.

Though isn't Rosie Palmer a euphemism?

luth - don't be sad! It's so easy to think of names when a friend is expectant but so hard when it's your own.

Why don't you give us a list of all of the names that you like but can't use and we will try to think of alternatives?

I love, love, love Primrose Palmer.

Don't be sad, as soon as your little one arrives and is called a particular name everyone will think she and it are fab
All the best

Little dawley we've been through every baby naming resource in the land and still can't decide! (although I think your comment about the barrister is the one that swung it for Primrose in DH's eyes!)

Plus the positive comments about alliteration made us think it could work (ie Patsy Palmer's name is not generally considered wierd).

It was really useful for us to judge both good and bad reactions on here without getting personal with family/friends! To be honest we thought that absolutely no-one would like it and the fact that about half of you do has given us the confidence we needed!

I think in the end you've just got to accept that if you choose an unusual name some people will love it and others will hate it!

(And after looking into it a bit more Shipman's wife was Rosemary not Primrose and hopefully the hardcore porn connection will be long gone before she reaches her teenage years when it would matter most!)

Thanks again for taking the time to give us your feedback everyone! xx

If you like the alliteration, you could go for nn Posy - Posy Palmer sounds lovely and there's no direct connection to the euphemism/porn site.

Posy is gorgeous!

I didn't mean to call you a troll, just thought it might be one of those silly threads people start that I often don't get.

Anyway, with it being a real name, I mentioned it to my DH and he said that it definitely is a euphamism for masturbation, as in "I'm off to spend some time with Rosie Palmer and her 5 lovely daughters"

You're right, it could have totally fallen out of use in ten years time - I just know the first thing everyone googles is their name and I wouldn't want her to get an awful shock!

People do start some funny baby names threads like I'm thinking of Milton, our last name is Keynes......

I thought I'd just write a quick update to anyone coming across this thread - we ended up calling our daughter Primrose and I'm so so pleased we did. She's now 9 months old and it really suits her - she's got a lively, quirky personality that goes with it perfectly!

In addition I get "Oh wow, what a great name!" comments all the time. It always provokes a reaction and consequently is never forgotten in baby groups, doctors etc. It is never shortened to Rosie and no-one has ever called her Prim. I think my parents might have been a bit unsure at first, but the older (70+) and younger generations think its very cool!

To anyone considering choosing an unusual name I would say think very carefully about who you discuss it with first (and be prepared for people to voice an opinion that you may not like!) Otherwise just go for it! After a week or so the name becomes a person and whether people like it or not ceases to become an issue.

Primrose Palmer pretty please.

I like update threads! I just read through all of this and was going to suggest Primrose so I'm glad you went for it in the end. Lovely name!

oh love it, and I also love update threads.

Congratulations on your dd. Primrose is a lovely name.

I'm so glad you posted this update. We went with Clementine for our dd born last year and although it's discussed on here a fair bit, in RL it's quite uncommon (especially where we live anyway). I agree that if you love a name just go for it. We've had a couple of raised eyebrows but like you, nobody forgets her name at baby groups etc.

We are considering Rosamund/Rosamond nn Rosie for any additions so a 'Rose' name which has been well received fills me with confidence.

Primrose Palmer. Lovely, and I've never minded the alliteration aspect. I think it's a cool name.

Though can't resist adding, if you like unusual floral names how about Bluebell, with Belle or Bella for everyday I love this name and Bluebell Palmer sounds good.