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Baby names

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

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Original poster

EEEK DD'S 9mths and I want to change her name.

10 replies

Dilligaf81 · 06/05/2011 20:45

We named DD Amy which is nice enough however it's just not 'her'. DH has said we can change it (although he likes Amy) and we've decided on Orla, we will add Amy as a 2nd middle name so her new name will be Orla Amy Clementine (V.irish surname).

Ive told parents and my DMand DSIS are freaking out and saying she will only call her Amy and everyone else not really liking Orla.

Now all I need to know is how do I do it and am I mad - I dont want to watch DD growing up and always think she's not an Amy (have 3 other DC and all their names are really 'them').

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DriverDan · 06/05/2011 21:36

I just commented on the other thread about my experience! I changed my DD's name at 5 months in the same way you want to (making the original name an extra middle name).

It was very straight forward and luckily my family were very supportive of the change. I get a lot of comments from people when changing it, people find it quite strange- and these are people who never knew her by her original name!

What I would say is that for me the name was a massive problem- I was obsessing about it daily and mostly calling her by nicknames as I just couldn't get used to that name. We started calling her by the new name at 4 months and I felt much better from then and was very happy when we made the official change at 5 months. So I would ask how much does it bother you? My DD is now 9 months and recognises her name so consider whether it is worth the confusion. Your family would probably come around if you went ahead and explain that you know it's strange but it was upsetting you on a daily basis. 9 months is a very short amount of time relative to her whole life.

Also, you can only do it once so make sure your confident in your choice! Sorry about the essay!

Original poster

Dilligaf81 · 06/05/2011 22:17

Thanks for that. Amy really bothers me and I too have been calling her by nicknames too and have started calling her Orla and she responds to that so hopefully she wont be too confused.
As for family I am beyond caring they had their chance to name their kids !

OP posts:

DriverDan · 06/05/2011 23:33

People make a big thing out of the confusion aspect but people often use nicknames and things for their DC and don't worry about confusing them!

My friend has a DD who has been known by the short version of her name since birth, lets say Katie. Recently she started pre school and my friend is insisting they use the long version, lets say Katherine, no one is concerned about confusing the child!

Good luck with whatever you choose! For what it's worth Amy and Orla are both lovely names

weimy · 07/05/2011 16:57

It is totally your choice, nothing to do with them at all. Bloody in laws

Bagpusstree · 07/05/2011 20:13

I really like Orla, if thats any help! Probably not.....

VinegarTits · 07/05/2011 20:15

i dont think your mad, its your choice, best to change now while shes still little

lia66 · 07/05/2011 20:19

My dd is 6 and I still don't call her by her name and probably never will as I don't really like it. :( Mil chose it as me and dh couldn't agree and it's never grown on me. She has a nickname that my ds called her when she was a few days old and I use that all the time, as do all her close friends and family. School and friends met since school call her by her given name.

Change it now if you want to, she's your dd, others will get use to it or lump it :)

jellybeans · 08/05/2011 09:45

It's your choice but I had name doubt quite alot while mine were little, lots of people do. I LOVE all their names now though, I just over analyse everything. Still, it is up to you NOT your in laws etc. but it must be weird for them, after all she IS Amy to them and to suddenly call her something else is abit weird for them.

Another thing is, Amy is a pretty popular 'safe' name and Orla is either love or hate I think. So you have that to contend with too. Obviously that wouldn't matter if she was Orla from the get go but as she has been Amy for so long it is an issue now.

I personally would stick with Amy and maybe add Orla as a second name or even double barrel it. That way if she doesn't like it when older she can go by the middle. I do think it is a teeny bit unfair to change it this late when everyone else is used to it.

robincousins · 08/05/2011 13:17

she's your child your the one who will call her name more than her gps will etc , who will use it when she's up at night or being called at the drs .

while it may cause some initial confusion people will probably get use it although it may take alongtime and people will probably add in the comment amy was a beautiful name etc

i speak from experience we changed dds's name at 9 months her first name was the only one dh liked but it was a name i loathed . i cringed whenever i heard it called her anything other than her first name etc. we changed her name to dhs second choice a name i could live with rather than love .

the name (matilda) i really would have loved which i truly believe would suit her down to the ground dh vetoed. so i do know how you feel about not wanting her to watch her growing up and thinking she's not really an amy , i also have other dcs whose names are them which really upsets me .

a word of warning is that 4 months on ,however, many people still use the first name she was given even though they know we changed it . those that do use her new name often add oh but x her first name was so beautiful , which i personally find very unsettling .
so much so i have all but given up calling her by her new name and have just accepted that despite my feelings her first name may be here to stay and i'll just have to lump it .
as jellybeans suggested we tend to double barrel both names (unofficially No hyphen involved ) so she's hearing both and can decide between them when older

so my advice is if you really feel she's an orla go for it but prepared to accept it may not work .

lia66 i know exactly how you feel i tend to use a nn for dd.

Original poster

Dilligaf81 · 08/05/2011 22:38

Thanks everyone... She's now Orla but we have added Amy as a middle name so she has 3 names to mix up if she decides to.
Im so glad I bit the bullet, she feels like an Orla and responds to it already (apparently babies recognise the frequency and the actual word at this age ?)
My mum and sis still dont like it (soo not bothered now) MIL agrees with me (bless she is a great back up and soesnt think Im being silly).

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