St John

[hofficoffi]

St John (pro:Sinjun) is a family name. (Dads name, Grandads name, great Grand dads etc) I only have sisters so no one in my generation has the name.

Do you think we could use it as a fn?

[MrAlbertoFrog]

My ds has St John as his middle name. Never had anyone pronounce it incorrectly. Unlike his first name which we thought was the less obscure of the two.

[GetOrfMo1Land]

I like it - it is ver' ver' posh, so I couldn't use it in a million years (being diametrically opposite from posh ) but it is a lovely name, go for it.

I don't think he would get teased tbh.

[rachel1970]

I think St John is lovely and I like the reason you're considering it.

[meditrina]

When Norman StJohn Stevas was active in the Goverment (1970s), everyone knew how to pronounce it.

Yes, there will be people who will need to have the pronunciation corrected, but that happens with quite a lot of names. The question is how much that would annoy you, and whether it's enough to put you off.

I like the name.

[Rhubarbgarden]

Have to say I agree with Meteorite. This isn't a fair or easy world to grow up in and I think boys find it harder than girls to deal with unusual names. Much as it would be nice to think that everyone is open-minded and that kids can take anything in their stride, I personally would prefer to give a child a name that doesn't so blatantly imply a certain class.

[LillianGish]

Fabulous - and as it's a family name even better. I absolutely love it.

[boodleboot]

love it. its on my list.

[hulabula]

I like it. Yes, some people might need help with the pronunciation, but lots of names have different ways of pronouncing them and most people remember when told.

I think it's a lovely family tradition of naming your ds after your dad and grandad .

[kelly2000]

I really love the name, but (and this sounds awfully snobby, so i await flaming), you have to be in the right environment. If he goes to the local academy, everyone will pronounce it like saint John, and tease him if corrected.

[birdofthenorth]

Extremely posh, it's almost like a secret pronounciation for posh people, sorry! Everyone else will ask "where's your ambulance" or just "neee naaa neee naaa!".

If it was me I'd use it as a middle name to honour your dad, grandad etc but would spare the poor child the neee naaas. I also think calling a baby something saintly will produce comedic remarks when they are occasionally devilish!

[Ephiny]

Not keen on it myself, would be more inclined to use as a middle name if you want to carry on the family tradition.

I think most people would know how to pronounce it though. Didn't know it was considered especially posh, though I've never met one in real life. Always makes me think of Mr Rivers in Jane Eyre!

[othersideofchannel]

I'm sure most people will remember if told to pronounce it Sin Jun - it's not that complicated. I think it's quite a nice sounding name, although I've not met anyone named this.

I don't get the fire engine connection ?

Seems like the OP's dad, grandad and great granddad's have all had the name so appear to be happy using it. Lovely reason for choosing it imo.

[CaptainBarnacles]

Depends on where you live, really. It is one of the poshest names I can think of. If you like in a naice area, DCs are going to go to posh schools, destined for the professions etc., then by all means go for it.

Where I live....nah. Especially as there is a very real possibility that DCs will end up in manual jobs - can you imagine a plumber or a builder called St John?!

[seeker]

When will people realise that they are naming a teenager and an adult as well as a baby? You just can't give a human being a name he will have to spell and pronounce every single time he introduces himself or has to fill up a form for the rest of his life.That's 80 years. Every time his name is called out at the doctors, every time he goes for an interview , every time he has a new teacher, for 80 years!

[NoNoNoMYDoIt]

not fire engine. ambulance - st john's ambulance

i think it's a nice sounding name, but like others have said, it's almost like the sinjun pronunciation is a posh person's way around the name. like the woman at work whose surname is Death, and who spells it De'ath (pronounced Dee-ath); and Mrs Bucket, pronounced Bouquet... it's almost an apology for the name being St John, which is why i don't like it.

but if it's a family name and YOU like it, then go for it. much better than a Mkenzi or other such name IMO >awaits flaming

[seeker]

"Depends on where you live" And on whether he plans on staying there for his whole life...........

[anewmotivatedme]

I didn't know how to pronouce it, and have never come across it. I'd have said Saint John as in ambulance.

I'm far from posh though, so perhaps if he goes to the right schools, the name would be okay.

[othersideofchannel]

But couldn't children at not the 'right school' learn how to pronounce the name . At our local school the kids have all sorts of unusual names, mostly from different cultures. Once you learn how a name is pronounced, you normally remember, no?

[anewmotivatedme]

Good point othersideofchannel, I'm just thinking they may tease him over name.

At Eton you probably have your students called Gustavus, Gideon, Orlando, Algernon etc. - St John, would not seem pretentious.

[othersideofchannel]

Why are you Brits so obsessed with 'labelling' names according to class....I've lived outside of the UK for many years and have found most people being much more relaxed about names - people get judged on who they are not what name their parents gave them many years ago . I've personally met many 'common' Orlandos and Gustavs so don't see these as 'pretentious'.

It seems a shame that so many names suggested on mumsnet are slagged off for being too 'chav', too 'posh' or too 'commonly used'... Wouldn't it be more fun and interesting for us all if we encouraged each other to be a little more open minded and have more name diversity?

Regarding St John, no I've not met anyone named and, yes, I'd initially struggle with the pronunciation, but I'd try to remember how it pronounced and certainly wouldn't find the name teaseworthy (and would hope to teach my kids the same values).

[MerryMagdalene]

If it's a family name, why not? It does make me think of extremely posh people, though.

[StepfordWannabe]

It's awful, I hate it, sorry. Do YOU like it though? What you think of it is what's most important when it comes to naming your little fella - not what a whole load of Internet randommers say!

[GrimmaTheNome]

I first came across the name St John in Jane Eyre. I started watching the TV series when I was a girl, started reading the book and got ahead - to the part with St John Rivers. Which I mentally read as 'Saint John' and was a bit . I was quite suprised when the TV series got to that point to find he was 'Sinjun'!

Its nice to keep family names going, but TBH I think this one is better kept as a middle name - it works well in the case mentioned, Norman St John Stevas.

[kelly2000]

Seeker,
I think most people would pronounce it correctly, it will only be if he lives in an area where most people call their children Tiffany or Byron that there will be problems.

Otherside,
In the UK it is considered "common" to give your child a pretentious name. It is like referring to Florence as Firenze when speaking English, or saying serviette instead of napkin.

And lots of people give children names that they mispronounce themselves, caitlin being one for instance.

[graciousenid]

I like it & don't have any problems with the pronunciation (had to struggle to make the ambulance connection). We live in a very non-posh area with a real mix of names - lots of Eastern European & Arabic, chav & poncey (my kids included) - it wouldn't stick out here.

Even if someone couldn't pronounce it correctly they'd only need to be told once? Not a big deal?