Can you name your daughter something your husband is not keen on?

[cupcakebakerer]

So we have chosen George for a boy - both agreed 100%. For a girl I want Harriet and although I will get my way if I want it hubby has said he's not keen. Much prefers Emma - lovely but a bit blah I reckon. Thoughts?

I think that you both have to like whatever name you choose for your child. Would you go along with your husband's choice even if you weren't keen?

No, its his baby too.

DH said he would choose if it was a boy and I choose if it's a girl, he finally convinced me of his choice, then we found out we're having a girl! hahahar! so now he's insisting on naming her after MIL, which I don't like, so it'll be the middle name, and I get to choose the first name! So a bit of compromising on both sides, it's so hard isn't it? good luck [hsmile]

Well he'll probably agree to anything once he's seen you give birth but if you value your relationship it would be better to find a compromise he's happier with.

Emma is MUCH nicer. Harriet is an awful name for anyone under the age of 43.

No.

I love Albert but dh doesn't so it's scrubbed from the list.

DH wasn't massively keen on dd's name when I was pregnant. He didn't dislike it, just didn't love it. But he didn't have any strong feelings about any other name. He was entirely happy for me to pick. And loves her name now.

Emma is much, much nicer than Harriet though.

You have to compromise. My 3DCs have completely different names from the ones that I would have chosen on my own, or from the ones DH would have chosen. If one isn't keen you don't use it.

My dh wasn't 100% on dd's name either, but he didn't have ANY names he really loved, so...I got my way. We agonised a lot more over our first child and were both 100%.

DP really hated my number one boys' name and his favourite girls' name was the name every second drug addict mum at the rehab I used to work in named their daughter. Our final choice for each was a name both of us liked.

DH wanted Harriet - I reckoned it was 'Horsey'. So, we had my choice, which is your DH's favourite and it is NOT blah

I actually know a couple of Harriets under the age of 43!

The way we got round this issue was by giving our children 2 middle names. Their first names were chosen together, then I chose one and DH chose one.

MerryMarigold it's a similar situation - he doesn't hate Harriet, just not overly keen. I officially retract saying Emma is blah as I don't want to offend. I do like Emma it's just when I was growing up there were several Emmas just in my class - and the name brings a nasty one to mind. Is the name less popular now? First baby you see so I really don't have a clue.

Ours is the only Emma in her swimming/creche/playgroup. In fact i have not met another. Very common here are Grace, Evie, Imogen, Emily

And i thank you for your official retraction

I like Emma. it's got quiet rare these days. There is only one in my place of work which has over 300 people.

Emma's very nice and not at all common now (as far as I know), but having known an unpleasant one is a reason for rejecting the name in my book (I had a name for DD1 in mind which I loved and which happened to be the name of a close friend, but DH loved the friend a lot less than I did, so exercised his veto). I think you need to find a third choice...

dh hated the name i liked for dd1. he said 'over my dead body will any child of mine be called x'.

so then i had a cs (which he scrubbed up for).

and after that he just asked me what we were going to call her.

he really likes it now.

i also know a couple who agreed from the moment of conception what their baby would be called. when they got home from the hospital they had changed their minds as she didn't look like an ellie, so they called her katie.

and another couple who did the same, except the poor child was nameless for five weeks, whilst they dithered.

this naming stuff is tricksy... but eventually, it all works out.

Can't understand why someone would give their child a name which the other half doesn't like! How odd....

There's LOTS of Harriets under 43 - but they do sound like they should be wearing twinset and pearls - even if they are in mini Boden.

Good Luck OP, you will find 'the one'. I am actually happiest with ds1's name that we BOTH agonised over and eventually both loved. I just wish I'd called my dd, Claudia as she is SO a Claudia, but anyway, we didn't, and I don't think her name is the best in the world now even though I got my own way!

So you may have Claudia - if you want.

How funny OP I know a George and Emma brother and sister!

I like Harriet; but DH didn't so it was off the table tbh. True of a number of names (Mabel springs to mind).

Interesting piscesmoon. Actually DS1 is totally called my best name for him (luckily when I told DH it he loved it too).

Emma is nice and actually not that popular. He has to like the name too IMO. Mind you so do you. Are there any others you both like?

DD's name is a compromise. I really wanted to call her Lydia, but DH said it was too thin and too posh . When I went to register her at the hospital, I was soooooo tempted to call her Lydia but didn't see the point in having a row.
Stupidly I could have called her Lydia as a middle name but was so befuddled I ended up giving her a string of names that we both quite liked but didn't love.
Poor old DD now has four middle names that she has just learned to spell.

Your DH has to like the name too.

I actually prefer Emma to Harriet (Hattie).

we have a George and a Harriet - who is not remotely horsey and is significantly under the age of 43. she is known as Hattie most of the time. in my (clearly biased) opinion it is a rather lovely name.