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Original poster

Unpleasant comments you have received when revealing baby name

270 replies

Polkadotfanatic · 17/02/2012 09:49

My friend has just had a daughter (Monday morning, all new and pink and fresh and gorgeous). She has chosen Alice Elizabeth, (imo) a timeless classic name which wont age.

Her mother's comment:

''Oh. Playing it safe are you?'' Hmm
''Well I suppose someone has to use the boring names so the braver people can use the nicer ones...'' Shock

I mean as comments go, it's not the nastiest, but the timing (Alice was about four hours old and friend was in blissed out baby loveness) wasn't great.

Just wondered what, if any negative comments you had when announcing baby name...

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pgreen · 22/02/2012 09:32

crumbs what a minefield. It's not their choice after all. We only told our folks we were expecting a couple of weeks ago. On seeing my MIL (who I get on very well with) for the first time after we told them she pulled out her diary and told me she'd already started a list of potential names - WTF! I think only one I would even vaguely consider.... she did say she thought we'd chosen the best name already for our dog.....

I think there is a spell that comes over people about baby names.... bugger off the lot of you.

I think Alice Elizabeth is gorgeous.

ayearoverdue · 22/02/2012 09:48

We were constantly asked when pg what names we'd picked, when we told people the shortlist we got all kinds of comments "that reminds me of so and so and they are horrible" "oooo I don't like that one" ect ect . In the end I told people the names were a secret and we'd tell them once he's born.

I was irritated that people kept giving me names THEY'd like us to use, I really didn't see that it was anyone else's choice. It was hard enough for DP and I to agree on ones we liked let alone taking in everyone else preferences.

My DM said upon hearing the name, "oooo why did you do that to him, you realise he'll always be the last to be called on the register!"

For some reason even though DS has been given a simple three letter name no one can bloody spell it. We named him Zac and when announcing it virtually ie on FB, via email and text people replied and commented with their congratulations but with various spellings of his names ie Zak, Zack, Zachary, Zakaria even Sac. I can't comprehend how when it's spelt out in front of people it they still spell it wrong or make up their own version. It's Zac! What's bloody difficult about that. Angry Irritates he life out of me.

lilbitneurotic · 22/02/2012 09:57

FIL said about DS's name "Hmmph, it a bit catholic sounding"

Words fail me . . .

MarmiteMagic · 22/02/2012 10:14

When DP called my parents to tell them we'd had dd1 and that she was called xxx my dad replied 'oh good. Thank god you didn't go for anything chavvy like Skye.'

Dd1's middle name is....

Yep you've guessed it!

Dad was veryShock bless him and he loves it now.

I purposely didn't tell my mum any of the names we were thinking of for the girls because I knew she wouldn't be able to help herself and she'd make some comment to ruin them for me. Not on purpose as such, just the way she is.

deemented · 22/02/2012 10:34

When pegnant with DS3, manshapes mother presented me with a list of baby names she liked - and tol me to chose!

She's a bit of a biker come hippy, and suggestions such as Jupiter Starr and Harley Moon were on the list.

Needless to say, we didn't go with any from her list. And she asked this time if it was a boy if we would consider sticking Harley in there somewhere. Am very glad i had a girl!

TheBigJessie · 22/02/2012 10:37

"Are you Christian, then?"

It's a very common boys' name!

skippy84 · 22/02/2012 10:55

Someone I know told their brother the name o their new Dd Ava. His reaction was ' oh like hitlers wife' Smile

scentednappyhag · 22/02/2012 11:02

A team leader at work's first reaction was to pull a face and say 'eurgh, that's horrible.', which wasn't too bad.
What got annoying though, was that every time I saw her after that, she'd ask if I'd 'changed my bloody mind yet, it's not fair on the baby just because I want to be different.'.
It's not even an unusual nameHmm

everybodysang · 22/02/2012 11:06

oooh - porolli - if we'd had a boy he would have been Robin Alexander! It gave me a bit of a shiver to see it written down as someone's actual name. It's so lovely.

Our DD has a name which can be a boy or a girl; DSS was not impressed when we told him what she was called ' no, that's a boy's name', but he's not a particularly tactful soul so we got over it!

onelittleclara · 22/02/2012 11:15

My dad on the arrival of Daisy; that's a cow's name isn't it?

Alice Elizabeth is lovely

TrinaLuciusMalfoy · 22/02/2012 11:19

DD2 is Hebe (pronounced like Phoebe). One person I told asked me if I'd spelled it right Hmm
One of DD1's preschool teachers (never know what to call them- teachers? Nursery nurses? Playleaders?) said 'Ohhhhh my next door neighbour's daughter's called Hebe, but then they've got four children and they've all got really weird names...' I'm pretty sure she hadn't really thought through what she'd just said Grin (all the same I was a little miffed to know we had what we thought was an unusual name yet there's someone with the same name in the same bloomin' town...)

cherrypez · 22/02/2012 11:30

Every time DH's sister sees DD, right from newborn, she asks " can she put the kettle on yet?" Her name is Polly, she is three now, the joke's getting OLD!!!

Nursee007 · 22/02/2012 11:34

My other half has 'pooh poohed' a LOT of my favourite boy names.....and when I suggested Seth, Noah or Ethan he raised an eyebrow and said,' why would we call him that, we're not American!?!'
We now have a shortlist of 3 boys names that we both like and he is due to arrive any day now.....personally I'm still planning to push Sebastian, but he doesn't know that :)

There is nothing wrong with Alice Elizabeth....its timeless and classic, and just 'cos it may not happen to be your choice, doesn't mean it can't be someone elses. After all, your baby, your choice!

ballroompink · 22/02/2012 12:08

We are not revealing anything about our choices for upcoming DC because of all this.

Have got a bit sick of suggesting names and DH saying 'Oh no, that's a dog's/cat's name' though. It's hardly as if I'm suggesting Rover or Tiddles.

Weirdest thing has been DSIL, who is not pregnant and doesn't yet have any DCs either, asking me if I can tell her our plans for names in case they 'clash' with any of her likely names for her DCs WHO DO NOT EVEN EXIST YET. She then went on to point out that if I could please bear in mind her favourites (so I don't use them). Sigh.

Tonksforthememories · 22/02/2012 12:28

My nan, on being told DS's name said " I thought you were going to call him Stuart, or Ian!" No, they were names you liked, and the names of two of my exes.

Two and a half years on she still can't remember his name. she's 92 and a stubborn old bat sometimes

LotsOfGoodFunThatIsFunny · 22/02/2012 12:54

When DD3 was born I text my family and friends to say that we had decided to call her Niamh. MIL phoned up and said how much she really likes the name Naomi, one of exHs friends said they really liked her MN and think they will call her that instead and a friend of mine asked why we had given her an indian name and wouldnt it sound better if her first and middle names were reversed.

Since she was born exH has told me that he doesn't actually like the name and now calls her Neville Angry but seeing as he left me when she was a week old and started sleeping with someone else he didnt really have a lot of choice!

Fruitflieslikeabanana · 22/02/2012 13:15

"oh well, nevermind he can always shorten it to something else" From a complete stranger (elderly lady) in the supermarket when DS (Wilfred) was about 2 weeks old.

Kendodd · 22/02/2012 14:54

Not me, a friend.

Friend "His name is x"
Friends DM "Oh no, you can't call him that, I like Y, I'll call him Y"

changer22 · 22/02/2012 15:15

With regard to us using lovely old fashioned names like Wilfred and people reacting badly, how will we react when our children start using a similar old fashioned (to them) names like Barry and Trevor?

ThreeLittleTinkers · 22/02/2012 15:43

It wasn't so much a bad reaction with our DC names, it was more why that one. BIL is obsessive about names and meanings and ancestry (amongst other things) and whipped out the trusty names dictionary and talked all night about it. And was miffed we hadn't discussed the whole thing with the family first.

ImpYCelyn · 22/02/2012 15:53

DS's middle name is Barry :o To be fair, it's after his grandad, I wouldn't have used it otherwise.

flootshoot · 22/02/2012 16:10

Upon hearing DS's name my mum said, 'oh. good. good. lovely.' But then two years later on hearing DD's name said 'I can't tell you how much I love her name'

Guessing she wasn't that taken with DS's name to start with! Grin

changer22 · 22/02/2012 16:12

Ha ImpYCelyn! - I wasn't making any judgements Wink just trying to illustrate generational differences...

MirandaGoshawk · 22/02/2012 16:19

It goes to show that you shouldn't discuss names with the ILS or anyone else (except us lot!) before you've decided. Then just present them with a fait accompli & it's tough if they don't like it. (Am thinking about Clementine up above in the thread - it's a lovely name & it's a shame the poster was put off because 'people' didn't like it.)

LadyWord · 22/02/2012 16:55

I've had loads of baffled and disapproving looks, and of course my mum's "You CAN'T call her THAT!!!" - but also loads of swooning compliments and being told "that's so beautiful" "what cool names" - so I like to think our unusual choice of names simply sorts the sheep from the goats.

One elderly neighbour scowled then said "Well never mind" to DD (then aged about 1 week) :o

Kudos to the registry officer who did not bat an eyelid, and spelt both names right first time.