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Baby names

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Original poster

Help! We've chosen the wrong name...

51 replies

moogdroog · 02/06/2011 17:06

Have just laid my cards on the table with DH who has admitted he feels the same. Had a hard time choosing a name, and then made a snap decision on the operating table. 3 weeks on, and it's just not the right name for her..

Its a Welsh name, and no one seems to be able to pronounce it - Welsh
speakers get it right, English-speaking Welsh get it wrong and the English relatives just don't get it at all. Every time someone has asked what her name is, I've had to say it twice and then spell it for them... I've been calling her everything but her name.

So, has anyone else spectacularly changed their minds? How do I announce this whilst minimising egg on my face? She has many cards and a gorgeous love spoon engraved with her name.

I just can't believe we did this. I feel so daft.

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LoopyLoopsBettyBoops · 02/06/2011 17:08

It happens all the time, don't worry.

Have you registered her? Have you an idea what you'd like to use instead?

I've seen threads on here where people are changing the names of the 1year old. Don't worry about it!

LoopyLoopsBettyBoops · 02/06/2011 17:08

And maybe use it as middle name? Can you swap them round?

MotherPanda · 02/06/2011 17:09

Perhaps you could make this name her middle name instead?

I think it's quite normal for people to change their minds about the name - 3 weeks isn't too bad, and as you say - if you havnt been calling her by it then its not like its going to confuse her.

I think by making it a middle name instead then nobody will be offended (thinking of the spoon and the welsh speakers here...).

FriskyMare · 02/06/2011 17:10

What name did you choose?

Original poster
moogdroog · 02/06/2011 17:13

We chose Eirlys. We're thinking Gwen (or perhaps Gwennan) which was on the girl's name list first pregnancy, but we took it off because my nan wasn't keen - we should have just stuck to our guns!

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MotherPanda · 02/06/2011 17:16

Confused I feel ignorant because I don't know how you would pronounce Eirlys...

Gwen is nice, but I prefer Guinevere. Pretty Princess :)

So maybe Gwen Eirlys Moogdroog?

Original poster
moogdroog · 02/06/2011 17:16

Ooh, and not registered yet - doing that next week! Thank god.

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ifitsnotanarse · 02/06/2011 17:17

Don't worry about it - if you've not had the baby registered then you can easily change her name. When my DS1 was born we decided to call him Ger/Gerard - didn't suit, so changed it to Tiernan an hour later and phoned everyone. Then decided that it didn't suit either and had to phone everyone again. He finally got named on day 4!
That said both DS1 and DS2 have uncommon Irish names, espcially DS1. Nobody got his name right at first, some relatives still can't spell it properly (he's nearly 6) and even DP and I had trouble pronouncing it at first. However it really suits him and I can't imagine him being called anything else. DS2's name is easier to pronounce but I spent the first few months calling him the wrong name and even managed to do it again last week when ordering his christening cake Blush.
It does take a while to get used to your LO being a person with a name and not a Bump anymore. If you really like her name then perserve; relatives will eventually get the hang of pronouncing it properly.
Congratulations by the way.

Hassled · 02/06/2011 17:18

I like Eirlys lots but if you know now you'll never be completely happy with it then change - lots of people do.
My grandmother said "call her anything but X" when I said I'd had DD - but we'd already picked X. She got over it.

MotherPanda · 02/06/2011 17:18

on my own little rant now - did you know that the english for Guinevere is Jennifer?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinevere

That is... according to wikipedia.

ifitsnotanarse · 02/06/2011 17:18

Ooh, Eirlys is such a pretty name. So is Gwen.

FriskyMare · 02/06/2011 17:19

Love the way it looks but how do you pronounce it?? People will always pronounce/spell names wrongly, even simpler names,(one friend of mine insists on referring to a Carolyn as Caroline no matter how many times shes corrected) so if your initial instinct was to love this name I'd stick with it.

piratecat · 02/06/2011 17:22

it's a shame you feel like this, are you very sure you want to change it. Do you think it suits her?

A few people used ot get my dd's name totally wrong, but int he end it became easy for them to say when we'd used it for a frw months.

how do you pronounce it, ( i am welsh but rubbish)

BelleEnd · 02/06/2011 17:23

Eirlys is lovely ( I am a Welsh speaker!) and the meaning- Snowdrop- Is gorgeous.
Gwen or Gwennan are both beautiful. Gwenfair? Gwenlli?
I think it's better to change it now rather than being unsure for the rest of your days. It's not that big a deal.

The Welsh for Guinevere is Gwenhwyfar.

BelleEnd · 02/06/2011 17:24

BTW, both mine have Welsh names, the second, in particular, being pretty difficult to pronounce... BUt I live in Wales, and have a feeling you don't..?

MrsOzz · 02/06/2011 17:25

I think it's beautiful.

Pronounced Ayr-liss (well that's how my cousin pronouces her name).

Once everyone near and dear knows how to say it, you won't need to correct them again. Same as when she starts school, people only ask once. The DVD she is only three weeks old means it feels like you have to explain to EVERYONE, but it will get better soon.

In my opinion it is much more feminine than Gwen. But go with your heart and go with what your little girl appears to be.

BelleEnd · 02/06/2011 17:26

In south Wales, Ire-liss, but in the North, more like Eyr-liss (the e pronounced like in Ben)

Lotkinsgonecurly · 02/06/2011 17:26

How do you pronounce Eirlys, is it errlees.

I think I love the name, but while it may seem a huge problem to change it now a few months time no one else will remember.

MrsOzz · 02/06/2011 17:26

The DVD? Think I mean 'the fact she is...'

MotherPanda · 02/06/2011 17:28

Oh..... MrsOzz, now you've said ayr-liss I think i have met someone called Eirlys before. Even prettier now i know it means snowdrop. Ooooh :)

belleend - Gwenhwyfar doesnt sound as girly to me, but then, I don't know how you would pronounce the hwyfar part.

I feel like i'm getting a lesson in welsh today :)

BelleEnd · 02/06/2011 17:31

Glad to be a teacher :)
No, I'm not keen on Gwenhwyfar (gwen-hooy-var) either. A bit Arthurian for my peasant tastes.
OP, I know of a lovely little Gwernan...

speculationisrife · 02/06/2011 17:31

My Welsh colleague has just told me how to pronounce it, and I see your dilemma. It sounds and looks very pretty, but I think the problem is that it is not just a case of correcting people if they get it wrong (for example we have a Maya (My-a), who often gets called May-a) but it would also be quite difficult for non-Welsh speakers to correctly pronounce the 'r' sound in the middle.

If you do decide to change it I wouldn't worry about what anyone thinks, though. My DB and DSil changed their mind after 3 weeks, and there was definitely no harm done. They used their orginal choice as a middle name, as they liked it but it just didn't feel right as a first name. Hardly anyone even remembers now that they changed their minds.

spongefingerssavedmylife · 02/06/2011 17:32

I think it's a lovely name!

speculationisrife · 02/06/2011 17:32

Although if you're happy with people not quite getting that 'r' sound, a simple Air-liss, is, as others have said, very pretty.

Original poster
moogdroog · 02/06/2011 17:39

I do like Eirlys as a name, but I don't think its her name anymore.. Am in Wales but pronunciation seems to vary greatly - ime the main demarcation being welsh speaking or not, rather than north/south.. I'm bloody confused myself!

Think we just need to bite the bullet, but make very sure we have the right name this time!

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