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another name change saga . tell me i'm being daft . i know i am .

74 replies

freesias · 07/04/2011 21:56

ok long rambling story but here goes

dd has just turned one too late to change her name etc

when she was born dp insisted there was only one name he liked , unfortunately i loathed it but dp refused to discuss names and vetoed every name i suggested . he believed his name for her would grow on me because i loved her . after a difficult birth c section, i gave in and accepted his choice in tears in the registry office on the last day we could register her and called her name a , name b. i felt that as i had a section dp didn't feel i had a right to name her

when she was 6 months old she had been baptised by then , dp realised i still loathed it and could hardly bring myself to use it,even though all our friends and family in rl loved it , and he aggreed reluctantly to use her name b, a name we both liked but had discounted because it didn't feel right (too try hard posh) and dp had been quite negative about it during the pregnacy as he was with every name suggested .name b was in my top ten names but towards the bottom of that list but had been dps second choice

6 months on although i like the name we are using for her i don't love it , and if i hear anyone say anything negative about it , i wonder have we made the right decision . in reality name b was the lesser of 2 evils . i still don't feel it suits her .i also dislike it's most obvious nn . i feel guilty because i love her dearly and hate the fact that she will always know her name has been changed , caused so much heartache etc, she will have trouble with form filling etc and that although i like her name i don't love it especially as she is not our first dc and i love her siblings names and wouldn't care what others thought of them .

  on top of this many people who know we changed her name still call her by the name a and even those who use her new name say things such oh her name  a was such a lovely name implying her  name b is not .

    although i know we have to keep using her new name because it would be completely unfair  to change it again now , i keep wondering if we should have  carried on using name a , as it would have caused less heartache for dd . i feel angry with dp as we could have avoided all this if he'd just listened in the first place and angry with myself for not refusing to name her until dp discussed it properly  . 
   i am not normally this indecisive athe other dcs sorted either prebirth or within an hour of being born , so i really don't know what went wrong this time . (more guilty feelings)
 i think in reality i feel like this because i feel i not only did i not get the birth i hoped for , i also feel i was  left out of naming her iyswim
   if you've experienced this when did you get over the names you didn't use and learn to love the name you did .
   if not how do i move from liking to loving her name and not being constantly knocked by others opinions .
      tell me to get a grip but please be gentle (i feel genuinely upset about this ) , tell me i'll love her name because i love her and i'll get over this  becuse i  know this is stupid , i know  i need to move on but how .
OP posts:
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pixiestix · 07/04/2011 22:00

Oh OP, you sound so sad Sad
Is there any version of her two names that you like? Any NN you can call her which would make things easier for you?

CharlieBoo · 07/04/2011 22:04

You're just going to have to accept the name you are now calling her. What are the names btw?

Poor you... Naming a baby is a joint decision... Your dh has been completely unfair. Next baby, put your bloody foot down.

freesias · 07/04/2011 22:06

thanks pixiestix i do feel really sad about this , i think possibly because more than likely she will be our last makes it worse , i'm in my early 40's, . have tried to find a nn but feel she'll end up with that for life and it's not fair to confuse her again.

OP posts:
freesias · 07/04/2011 22:10

charlieboo her birth cert name is felicity arabella now known as arabella and if we have another one i'm definitely going to put my foot down and insist that i can at least veto any name i really dislike .

OP posts:
CharlieBoo · 07/04/2011 22:16

Arabella is soooo beautiful!!!! It really is! Do you like the nn Bella? I much prefer it to Felicity...

If it helps I have felt with my dd in the past did we pick the right name etc. She's nearly 2 now and she just is her name now... She has a very girly name (Daisy) but she's quite a Tom boy, but it does suit her, it just makes me chuckle watching her making mud pies and beating her big bro up!

iskra · 07/04/2011 22:16

I LOVE the name Arabella. I really do.

MerryMarigold · 07/04/2011 22:16

We named our twins in a bit of a rush. We both agreed, and liked names. But I still don't feel like I love their names (they are 2). Both names have obvious issues, and I'm always hearing names I like more. This was not the case with ds1. I can't imagine him being called anything else! I'm not sure I will ever love their names, but I am ok with that. It's just a name at the end of the day. As people they are so much more than a name. My parents' generation were all named after their grandparents and no-one batted an eyelid even if the names were awful.

I think in the end it will be ok. I will never let on to the kids that I don't 100% like their names. The name will suit them as they grow up, and for them, they will not have known anything else. The same of your dd. Although she had another name for a while, she won't remember that. You'll just get used to it, and even if you don't ever love it, there will be too many other things about her that stress you out/ make you proud etc. I would just get some perspective and realise that it's 'just a name'.

BluddyMoFo · 07/04/2011 22:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BluddyMoFo · 07/04/2011 22:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

freesias · 07/04/2011 22:21

thank you charlieboo, dd i think is also going to be a tomboy and dare i say a thug , one reason i disliked felicity was i thought it was too goody two shoes , she's areally stubborn , determined little thing but i keep worrying arabella is too frilly and posh.

OP posts:
blueberrymoon · 07/04/2011 22:22

I remember reading your threads a while ago! (if it was you that is) And for what it's worth, you made these two names stick in my head as lovely names and a fab combination. I really really like them. And my DH is the fussiest namer ever, and he likes Arabella very much! Do you not like Bella as a nickname? I don't think calling her that would confuse her at all? Loads of luck, I hope you get it sorted x

blueberrymoon · 07/04/2011 22:25

X-post! Oops.

rasputin · 07/04/2011 22:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

aStarWithHerOwnWays · 07/04/2011 22:34

It sounds to me like your feelings of being browbeaten or forced into a name choice by your DP are more the cause of this problem, tbh. I think if I were in your shoes, those feelings might stain the names so much that I would find it hard to meld either one with the actual little person they had been given to. IYSWIM.

cloudydays · 07/04/2011 22:35

Hi freesias - My dd is just a little bit older than yours, and I'm somewhat ambivalent about her name (love the person she's named for, don't really love the actual name but really wanted to name her for the person). I toyed with the idea of changing it when she was littler but felt I just couldn't revoke the namesake thing. Her name is one that has lots of good nickname options so I'm hoping that as she gets older one of them will be a great fit for her.

It is entirely possible that your dd will pick up a nickname as she grows, either a variation on one of her names or something else entirely, and that you will love it.

I don't blame you for being angry with your dp - it sounds as though he was pretty insensitive to how important it was to you that your baby had a name that you loved. So much of what exacerbated your feelings, though (your feelings about not getting the birth you wanted, not feeling 'worthy' of choosing the name Sad ), is linked to an experience (namely childbirth and the incredible feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability that follow for so many women - myself included) that he can't possibly fully understand. But he should have tried harder to understand better.

For what it's worth (and I know it's not my opinion that matters, but yours) I think your daughter has a truly beautiful name.

Wafflenose · 07/04/2011 23:25

I think they are both lovely names and that you will grow to like one of them more in time. I slightly prefer Arabella and don't think it's too posh - it also has lots of possible nicknames. I used to know one who was sometimes called Bell and sometimes Ella - do you like either of those?

Agree that your feelings seem to be tied up with your difficult birth, and that your other half has been very insensitive. But I think it will all be OK.

notanumber · 07/04/2011 23:33

Freesias - if you're able (or want to) do PM me.... I have walked your path.

Don't worry - you are her Mum. That is what matters. Names are not the be all and end all.

HopingForAZoo · 08/04/2011 04:36

We would like to use Arabella if we have a girl and will use Bess as a nn. I know some people might find that strange but hey-ho. We like it anyway. :)

willow5 · 08/04/2011 05:20

I completely feel for you. My partner had one suggestion and refused to accept other suggestions. We went with his suggestion (he took 2 days off work then pretty much worked 14 hour days until she was 6 weeks old so we didn't have any chance to have a 'cosy 'name conversation (he didn't offer any suggestion until a week before she was born)) and I feel cheated as well, and angry with my partner for not understanding how important it was to me. She's now 15 months old and just the other day I suggested adding another middle name to include one of my suggestions (I actually felt at peace with this idea and I think it would have made me accept her name) but he just laughed it off and said he didn't like the name. When I asked if he could offer one suggestion to help me he just said it was a stupid idea. Very annoying ... ( I wasn't even suggesting changing documents, just between us so I would 'know')
I love the name Arabella

freesias · 08/04/2011 08:35

notanumber i think part of the reason i spend along time on this topic is i still feelif i'm looking for a name i'll love and dp will accept etc

astar exactly i think it has become less about the name but more about my irration with dp . he has never looked after her if she wakes at night , probably changed one nappy in a year etc all of which i love doing but yet i was ignored when her name was chosen

willow have also wondered seriously considered adding the name i would have loved as an extra middle name but again dp was not keen

blueberry it probably was me feel like i've spent the last year on here searching for an answer

bluddy the nn bliss is lovely a maybe a way forward a good combination of fliss(which i like ) and bella ( which i'm less keen on)

hoping love bess but we have a beth and dsis dog is bess unfortunately

OP posts:
Sportsmum · 08/04/2011 08:37

Fliss as a nn is not bad and even Flic - actually to quite cool names amongst the teenagers

mrsdaz · 08/04/2011 09:19

I knew a felicity at school with nn fliss and she was pretty and popular so i also associate this as a nice name.

Love Arabella and would love to use it by my dh doesnt like it..we are settling on Bella possibly if we have a girl

Skinit · 08/04/2011 09:30

I felt a bit unsue for ages about dd1's name.....she was nameless for ages a DH and I could not agree....it didnt sit right....but we kept it and now she's 6 it's fine! It's her.

Felicity and Arabella are beautiful....both of them! I also think Fliss is really nice...very pretty.

Skinit · 08/04/2011 09:32

As a side note, my older DD was allowed to give the younger DD a middle name and she chose Bee! As in bumble bee. We're guilty because we never put it on her certificate....as her first name is a flower and we felt it was all too horticultural...but DD1 calls her by her frst name and "Bee" all the time...so we feel bad nd may have to get a new certificate with the name Bee included!

Skinit · 08/04/2011 09:32

Younger DD is 3.....so we will probably be changing her certificate soon!