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Baby names

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

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Original poster

nagging doubts

14 replies

agora1 · 27/02/2011 20:25

My youngest daughter is called Cerys. We are not Welsh and have no connections to Wales. I love the name but following some negative comments and lots of people asking how to pronounce and spell after her birth I began to have doubts. These have stayed with me. People have also told me it's a lovely name but it's the negative comments that stay with me. Since going on to naming sites I also started worrying that we should have matched her name more to her sister's - Molly.

I think it highly unlikely we will change her name at this stage and am hoping to stop fretting over it. Has anyone else felt like this and got over it?

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KristinaM · 27/02/2011 20:31

I don't but my SIL did and she ended up changing her childs name when he was a year old. i was a bit but she said she had never really liked the name and once we all stopped rolling our eyes at her we got used to the new name and forgot it was ever anything else

FWIW i think both your DDs names are lovely. i have no connection with wales and i know how to spell and pronounce it, i dont think its that unusual. If YOU are happy then dont worry about what other people think.

Janoschi · 27/02/2011 21:33

Well, I AM Welsh but really, how hard can it be to pronounce? Some folk just never get it right anyway and frankly there are loads of more 'normal' names out there that seem to cause these people trouble - Clara, Sarah and so on. For the record, even my own family pronounce my name in weird ways and it's shorter and supposedly easier than Cerys. I've just learned to answer to everything vaguely close. I love Cerys, it's beautiful.

cookielove · 27/02/2011 21:38

I find it so odd that you people say you have to have a connection with the names orgin/counrty to use it

JeanLouiseFinch · 27/02/2011 21:40

Cerys is a lovely name

threefeethighandrising · 27/02/2011 23:46

Cerys is a beautiful name, and it means love - how could anyone not like it?!

I wanted to call my future DD Cerys for years (had a DS in the end )

K8ster · 28/02/2011 03:02

Not everyone is going to love your childs name...I have found whatever you call a child there will be some people who raise an eyebrow or give a look or say "sorry what?"...you will never find a name that pleases everyone...but to be frank it has nothing to do with anyone else...have the confidence to like your daughters beautiful name.

fifi25 · 28/02/2011 11:03

Ive got a Niamh and have had the same problem for 10 yrs. Never really thought about it when she was named. Wish i had of now though

pinkgirlythoughts · 28/02/2011 11:11

My cousin is Carys, and my auntie had a lot of problems with people asking how to spell/ pronounce it when she was little. Even though she's nearly 18 now, and the name has become a lot more common, she still occasionally gets people having trouble with it. I think Cerys is, if anything, slightly easier than Carys to pronounce and spell, some people are just weird!
And FWIW, I think Molly and Cerys are beautifully matched, you did very well there, IMO!

PepsiPopcorn · 28/02/2011 15:10

How do you pronounce Cerys? I've only ever seen it written.

mopsyflopsy · 28/02/2011 15:16

Why are you so concerned about other people's tastes? Wouldn't it be boring if we all named our chidren the same names, wore the same clothes, etc. Let's have some confidence to be different and raise our children to value differences and have confidence in themselves and their own choices.

Personally I like the look of Cerys (how do you pronounce it) and prefer it to Molly (which is too cutey for me personally).

saffy85 · 28/02/2011 15:24

It's a lovely name and don't get what's difficult about pronouncing it. Some people are just awkward buggers. My name is similar to another in how it's pronounced but not how it's spelt and even at 25 I still get gormless looks when I correct them. (And I always correct them- don't like my name much but hate the alternative far more!)

Original poster

agora1 · 28/02/2011 15:24

Thank you, Pinkgirlythoughts, matching didn't overly concern me till I came onto this site, but ever since I've worried about it so I'm glad you think they match. We actually discounted Megan because we felt they matched too much and would be a bit twee!

Fifi25 - Niamh was actually our other choice for Molly but we couldn't agree on a spelling, I wanted Niamh and he wanted Neve. I still love the name for what it's worth.

K8ster: logically I know everyone can't like the same names and if we did all our children would have the same name but I want Cerys to like her name when she's older and when I get negative reactions I wonder... however I can't predict what Cerys will think and as one of the previous posters said it means love which is a rather lovely meaning and it is a name I have personally loved for a long time so I will just have to hope she does too and the pronounciation, spelling issues don't concern her too much.

Cookielove: I agree and again it hadn't overly concerned me before coming on here. In my mind Cerys is in the same category as other Welsh names such as Jennifer, Dylan, Megan which are commonly used throughout the UK. I hadn't realised people didn't know the name Cerys and would assume we had some Welsh connection.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the trouble to post, it has helped to know you all like the name. I'm very sleep deprived and I think that has contributed to my negative state of mind at the moment, however at this moment in time I'm feeling happier about it. I'm glad I wrote down my thoughts instead of worrying as I have been

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Original poster

agora1 · 28/02/2011 15:25

It's pronounced Kerris.

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K8ster · 28/02/2011 23:10

The sleep deprivation sends you crazy about all sorts of things...trust me I know!...some of the things I have worried about then later think...what am I doing??????
I think the fact that you have loved the name for a long time should give you some peace of mind..I'm sure your daughter will love it. As I said, for what its worth, I think its beautiful and am glad you are feeling better about it now :-)

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