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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Do other adults decide whether children pick on other children over their name?

102 replies

LilQueenie · 29/01/2011 17:52

We chose our baby names well before hormones took over and really thought it through. By this I mean a year before i conceived. There is one name which is highly unusual but the first girl is getting a fairly commonish name. However several of my partners co workers have said its not fair on her! Am I right in thinking that if an adult starts on about a name then its usually only then the children think its ok to bully a child? Shes not even born yet and I feel like telling them to fuck off. Willow Green is in our opinion a rather normal name. Opinions please.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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Expecting06112010 · 31/01/2011 09:34

i dont know why you have even asked if the names defo staying anyway.

I dont like it, willow green hmmmmmmmm

although whats the worse she'll get, just tree related remarks i suppose, so its not that bad

but i dont like it

BuntyPenfold · 31/01/2011 09:39

I remember Alan Titchmarsh saying he didn't know he had a silly name until secondary school; then as he is short, the bullying kicked in.

There are several little Willows around here anyway; it would be seen as a popular name. Willow, Lola, Lily etc. not an unusual choice.
My daughter Rowan has been asked if she branches out a lot.

I agree with the poster who said children tease by rhyme (as it were) rather than by meaning; smelly Ellie, Lottie needs a potty come to mind.

Anyway, Lilqueenie, congratulations on your expected little girl.:)

BunnyWunny · 31/01/2011 09:40

What's her middle name going to be? Tree?

Honeydragon · 31/01/2011 09:47

I don't care what you callyour dd but I will tel you this.

Adults don't make children pick on a name children are capable of it all by themselves. You chose that name before she was even conceived as it was something YOU liked.

If your dd is bullied sadly it will be her problem not yours -- I speak like Soupdragon from experience. If you are this defensive about it now than then at present it is your problem, don't discuss the name with people then you wont have to get upset.

Naming a child is a privilege, be grateful you are getting to do so and stop and telling people your decision or you will spend the rest of her life with you having an issue over it.

orangepoo · 31/01/2011 09:47

LilQueenie

The answer to your question, is: sometimes, adults do decide whether children pick on other children, yes.

Children are perfectly capable of picking on other children themselves. However, adults are just children in bigger bodies a lot of the time! I have seen childish behaviour from some mothers in our school playground and I would guess that yes, a couple of those adults would commment on a name to their child.

WORSE - I have seen this sort of behaviour in one teacher I have had the misfortune to meet. (she doesn't teach in my kids' school)

Honeydragon · 31/01/2011 09:48

Sorry just read post it sounds a bit harsh (given you're reading as a little hormonal ) but it is not meant to be.

BuntyPenfold · 31/01/2011 09:49

I have seen it in a teacher too, encouraging other kids to mock.
It doesn't take much - a pause, a raised eyebrow, a look around the room.

detachandtrustyourself · 31/01/2011 09:52

Sorry but your attitude of if she gets teased she will learn to sick up for herself, like you did, reminds me of the song "A boy named Sue".

This is a much longed for child. You are getting what you longed for at last. So is it so hard to let go of the particular name you have planned? Who cares if it's adults or children starting the teasing? The result is the same.

Original poster

LilQueenie · 31/01/2011 11:50

but dont you think adults should know better than to insult or tease a child? that is what makes me angry.

And no her middle name will not be tree. Its that kind of rudeness coming from an adult that I mean. If you look back you will see I already mentined her middle name.

OP posts:

pinkhebe · 31/01/2011 11:51

it won't be just children teasing though, all the way through life, when she is asked her name, she will get raised eyebrows.

But it is a pretty name, and not rude so that's in it's favour. I know of 3 Willows under the age of 4 though.

rachel234 · 31/01/2011 11:54

I can't see what is so teasable about Willow or Green or the combination .

We live in London are hear such a large variety of different names that nobody would bat an eyelid when meeting a Willow. I agree about most names being teasable e.g. Willy (William), Silly Tilly, etc in fact EVERY name can be teased!

Is Willow Green really that odd...?!

Peachy · 31/01/2011 12:01

DS2 has a rare name but he loves it and at ten has not ahd any issues; had he ahted it we offered the chance to revert to more normal middle name.

Houwever we have a silly surname and tbh so many names went badly with it that we chose to focus on finding something we liked that wasn't going to be stupid and go from there.

Supersunnyday · 31/01/2011 12:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GandalfyCarawak · 31/01/2011 12:44

I like Willow Green but I think Linda as a middle name is just odd with it I'm afraid.

Got2Dance · 31/01/2011 12:51

I think Willow Green sounds like a paint colour

ElfOnTheTopShelf · 31/01/2011 12:58

I gave my daughter a very "normal" first name and a slightly different middle name. Her name is Evelyn Boo.
She is five, and she really dislikes her middle name. Nobody has teased her, she just does not like it, and asks to be called Evelyn Louise instead (Louise is my middle name). It does make me glad that I stopped DH trying to hyphen the name to be Evelyn-Boo, so at least it doesn't crop up on a daily basis.

FWIW, I think you sometimes have to sacrafice a name you like if it does not go with your surname. My surname begins with a F. So, I had to veto Felicity for a girls name and Flynn for a boys name, despite that I like them, as they just don't "go" with the surname.

DewinDoeth · 31/01/2011 13:15

I like this name. A lot.
It's feminine, pretty, not way out, and makes me think of lovely things, summer days.
It's also made me think of a lovely piece of music: On the Banks of Green Willow (Butterworth). Stick with the name, and go and listen to that.

chaya5738 · 31/01/2011 13:26

Heh, so funny that someone mentioned using the name Sage. Our friends named their child Winter Green and then changed it to Sage Green due to all the comments on the former
I like the name Willow but agree that Green is the problem.
Could you hyphenate?

5DollarShake · 31/01/2011 13:42

'She's not even born yet and I feel like telling people to (ahem) fuck off'.

Said without a hint of irony. .

A few months of gentle ribbing and you've had enough - imagine how she will feel, spending her whole life with the name.

Willow's not to my taste, and without the surname Green there really wouldn't be a problem, I don't think. It's just not a great first name-surname combo, is all.

And no, adults shouldn't make fun of children, but you can't stop the raised eyebrows or internal sniggering, no matter what you do.

christmascakequeen · 31/01/2011 15:01

If you love that name use it and don't ask about it on here, I got a flaming for my choices, I get nothing but positive comments in RL and in fact a young teenager stopped me in the street to say the name was "proper beast" I think that means good [sad git emoticon].

I think it is a lovely name and Willow is having a bit of a moment right now

SoupDragon · 31/01/2011 20:57

"if she gets teased she will learn to sick up for herself, like you did"

In my case, it made me painfully shy and afraid to use the phone as an adult in case anyone laughed at my name just like everyone had done in the past when hearing it for the first time.

As my surname is a word (as was my maiden name as it happens) there were several names which were non starters. Given my experiences as a child, I was extra careful when naming my own children. Yes, they may get teased about something but it won't be becaue I saddled them with a daft name.

There's nothing wrong with Willow at all but you have to look at the name as a whole.

mathanxiety · 31/01/2011 22:46

Just because rudeness is wrong doesn't mean it's going to stop. It's unfair and unjust, but really, what are you going to do about it? Send a child out to wage war on it, using her name to separate the sheep from the goats? Nobody is saying anyone has a right to be rude or to tease.

KangarooCaught · 31/01/2011 22:56

How much negative comment have you had in RL?

Original poster

LilQueenie · 01/02/2011 13:56

in the last 3 days in RL no negative comments all have been supportive. :) Just the idiots my DP has to work with but then thats nothing unusual from them. One thinks us women are putting it on becuase morning sickness doesnt exist only because his partner never experienced it.

OP posts:

kerala · 01/02/2011 14:17

Its causing upset already. I really really wouldnt use it - poor girl will face a lifetime of sniggering.

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