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Baby names

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

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Original poster

The problem with Poppy

46 replies

Justfuckingdoit · 26/04/2011 17:24

We are having a DD in June and until recently thought it was a boy! So slightly caught on the hop with girls names.

I love Poppy, but am worried it's one of those names which is very cute on a 3 year old, but a bit ridiculous on a grown woman. I always promised I'd pick long versons of names, so we could use the diminutive as a cute name, but leave the option of a more formal name for when they are older and want to be taken seriously.

Thoughts please. Does Poppy fail this test, and do I need to go back to the drawing board (for a boy, was thinking Archibald, Archie for short)?

TIA

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Collision · 26/04/2011 17:28

Would you want to be called Poppy?

I am 40 and not sure if I would or not.

Tis nice for baby and toddler but once she hits 14 it is a bit twee.

Do the test,

'All rise for Judge Poppy Maynard......'

'This is your Captain Poppy Wright speaking.......'

She does sound like a bit of an airhead!!

singersgirl · 26/04/2011 17:30

Weeeelll.... Poppy is a flower, so in that sense no more cutesy than Lily or Rose or Violet. It's also a flower associated with WW1 and 'serious' stuff.

However, the sound of the name is very nicknamey, and the other meaning ('poppy', as in 'like pop music', a poppy little number) is offputting to me. Just the meaning of 'pop' is kind of cutesy - pop up, pop to the shops - a sort of little bouncy movement.

So it wouldn't be my choice. But I know lots of them and the name seems to grow into them as they grow!

mopsyflopsy · 26/04/2011 17:36

Yes, too cutesy for me.

MinnieBar · 26/04/2011 17:38

Yes this thought only occurred to me after we'd officially named DD1 (oops).
However, I think it is quite a feisty name as well - white poppies are associated with peace, calm etc. but red poppies are more strong, independent (regneration after WW1 association as mentioned above too), obviously red is fire and so on (guess which one our two-year-old is!).

Only 'problem' we've had so far is with Americans who think it's a version of 'Popps' as in 'Grandpa' and seem to have trouble pronouncing it and say 'Paa-ppy' (wtf?).

Actually I quite like Judge Poppy Maynard (considers namechange)

AngryGnome · 26/04/2011 17:38

i know a penelope which is shortened to poppy, if that helps? i don't think it is an "official" shortening of penelope, but she was called poppy as a youngster, and it just stuck.

sorry, shift key knackered, can't do caps

Original poster

Justfuckingdoit · 26/04/2011 17:38

collision Yes, that's my issue with the name. Would I like to be called Poppy...good way of looking at it. Umm...no, not really as a 35 year old professional. Dammit.

singersgirl Yep, get your point too. Maybe I'll rename the cat Poppy and think again.

Trouble is that the "working title" is currently Clemintine. Nope, I have no idea either! Unless we can come up with some viable alturnatives, I am terrified that is what my DD is going to end up being called.

Has anyone else ended up calling their DC by the "working title"?

Not noticed too many children called Noodle or Bean, so maybe not.

OP posts:

blindmelon · 26/04/2011 17:39

to be honest, it is pretty popular, as are lots of cutesy/flowery names, such as Tilly, Millie, Lily, etc etc. So it may sound a bit twee to our ears but by the next generation I think it will just be seen as a normal run-of-the-mill name.

I have a 3yo Polly - I don't consider it a cutesy name, not sure why really, perhaps because there are more grown women around with the name than toddlers! Just a thought...

Original poster

Justfuckingdoit · 26/04/2011 17:44

Penelope...had not thought of that. Just can't get over the Pitstop connertations!

minniebar pmsl at Paa-ppy.

OP posts:

meditrina · 26/04/2011 17:45

I love the name Poppy!

Could you consider it as a nn for Shirley?

Batteryhuman · 26/04/2011 17:46

It is the second most common dogs name in the UK (after Molly)

sorky · 26/04/2011 17:47

my friend has just got a border collie pup and they called it Poppy...it suits her.

juneau · 26/04/2011 17:49

How about using it as a middle name? Flower names are really popular right now and IMO it's pretty, but a bit cute and little girly.

As for Archie - again VERY popular. I'm not a fan of names ending -ie if I'm honest. Again, it's cute for a little boy, but for a man? Not so good. And Archibald is horrible IMO. Sorry!

CointreauVersial · 26/04/2011 17:52

My granny had a dachshund called Poppy.

As a small child's name, o-k-aaaay. As an adult's name, ghastly.

But then again, in 20-30 year's time the country will be over-run with adult Poppys, Hollys, Daisys, Tillys etc. so maybe it will be the norm.

Original poster

Justfuckingdoit · 26/04/2011 17:56

Thank you all. You may have saved me from naming my child after a small dog!

Back to the drawing board methinks.

Clemintine is still is for the mo. That or perhaps Rover

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messylittlemonkey · 26/04/2011 17:59

All of this talk about these names only suiting babies is a load of cobblers imo.

Both of my DDs have these kind of names, although a bit more quirky than Poppy, they are of that ilk.

The thing is, in twenty or thirty years time, there will be women with these names, they won't sound strange.

Also, why should a name have to be 'formal' to be acceptable?

messylittlemonkey · 26/04/2011 18:00

Crossed posts with justfuckingdoit about common-ness of names in years to come!

Original poster

Justfuckingdoit · 26/04/2011 18:12

messylittlemonkey Agree it's hard to predict what will be the norm in 20-30 years time.

I work in a very male dominated indusrty and am glad that I have a formal version of my name as like it or not, in the job I do, it does make a difference to how you are percieved - certainly all the senior women in my company use long versions of their name in a work situation.

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juneau · 26/04/2011 18:21

Re: 'formal' names

This has been said a million times before, but the advantage of giving your child the name Katherine and then calling her Kitty at home is that you're giving her choices for the future about what she wants to call herself and how she wants to be seen by others when she's an adult. The fashion for giving nicknames as full names takes away any choice and lumbers the future adult with a twee name like Tilly, whether she likes it or not. Personally, I blame Jamie Oliver.

missmiss · 26/04/2011 18:32

If you do go with the 'working title' (which I love, by the way), it's spelt Clementine. Sorry but thought it was worth mentioning! Clemmie is a sweet nickname too.

pointydog · 26/04/2011 18:41

I think Poppy is cute for a child, a bit silly for a woman.

cat64 · 26/04/2011 19:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

BigSooz · 26/04/2011 19:16

Poppy is beyond twee and cutesy. Strongly dislike it.

mooloo · 26/04/2011 19:22

I really like it but couldn't quite bring myself to use it for the first name of dd but it is made a cute middle name and we often call her Poppy anyway!

Original poster

Justfuckingdoit · 26/04/2011 19:28

missmiss Heaven help the poor child if its mother can't even spell its name

Clementine is growing on me, and Clemmie is what we currently refer to her as....but it was supoosed to be a joke. Poor DD!

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DialsMavis · 26/04/2011 19:29

There are so many Poppy's, Molly's, Lily's and Millie's around today that they will just be normal names when they all grow up, rather than sounding babyish now IYSWIM. However i do personally agree with a formalish name on the birth certificate

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