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Baby names

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Original poster

Everyone laughs at my babies name......thinking of changing it????

486 replies

KidderminsterKate · 04/03/2012 12:48

Well, title says it all really. DS is 10 weeks old and is a handsome smilng chap already so gets alot of attention. My parents hate his name but are sort of used to it...my other DC's love the name but its HVs and shop keepers and friends and friends of friends that usually just eh and then oh.

I wasnt bothered at first but now its starting to get to me. I do love the name but am a bit embarrassed now.

Would these sort of things make you change the name??? I'm thinking of changing it to Edward (Ted).

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TooImmatureTurtleDoves · 04/03/2012 20:22

Bear is cute - as someone who was relieved to discover that this baby is a girl because I couldn't get past wanting to call a boy Wolfie, I have no right to judge. However, I do think it might be nice for him to have a sensible name to use for job applications etc. Has he got a normal middle name he could use for that? If so, I wouldn't bother changing.

By the way, Bear could be a nn for Bernard see here.

Schrodingers Mew, now I want to know what your name is!

GinPalace, toupee tape. I imagine.

TooImmatureTurtleDoves · 04/03/2012 20:23

Rupert Bear?

akaemmafrost · 04/03/2012 20:25

Bear is BRILLIANT! Don't change it. I wouldn't have the nerve to use it but it would make me happy to meet someone who had.

treadonthecracks · 04/03/2012 20:30

I'd change it to Edward I think. With Bear as a lovely nickname.

Cakestall · 04/03/2012 20:33

I'd definitely change it to Edward on his BC.You can still call him Bear.

petitema · 04/03/2012 20:42

I like it but only as a nickname. Smile What were you thinking Kate? Confused

madaboutmadmen · 04/03/2012 20:42

Just a suggestion, Welsh for bear is 'arth' how about Arthur?!

Coconutty · 04/03/2012 20:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

logi · 04/03/2012 20:45

I wouldnt change it ..think its a great name.

I know exactly how you feel though ,when i had my first son 20 years ago i choose a name that people laughed at ...my mother refused to call my son by his name and called him baby for the first 7 months :)

I think you will regret changing it.

SAHMlikeitHOT · 04/03/2012 21:03

I have the solution - why not change his name to Bruno?

Iamweasel · 04/03/2012 21:04

See the problem with Bear is that it isn't actually a name, is it?

No more so than zebra or wildebeest

Psammead · 04/03/2012 21:04

I quite like it, but I think I'd personally rather give my children plain names that they can allow their personality to shape, than fancy names which threaten to try and shape them.

Edward nn Bear is very nice Smile

LydiaWickham · 04/03/2012 21:11

erm, it doesn't sound like the name of a FTSE 100 CFO does it? It's rather harsh if he ends up being a bit of a weedy geek, you're rather banking on him being large/stocky and 'outdoorsy' or 'creative' straight man - you don't imagine someone in town planning called Bear.

I would change it, but keep Bear as a nickname, and it's a very cute nickname. (I know a woman known as Mouse, has been since newborn, her family never use her actual name, introduces herself to people as Mouse, but she has a very normal first name, which is really her 'work' name.)

LydiaWickham · 04/03/2012 21:12

I also think Edward works with nickname of Bear.

BaldricksTurnip · 04/03/2012 21:15

I think it's a lovely name. We don't all have to be the same do we? Don't change it :)

BaldricksTurnip · 04/03/2012 21:16

Lydia- is Mouse a hairdresser by any chance?

iFailedTheTuringTest · 04/03/2012 21:41

It's ok as a name, and rather cool as a nn for Edward.

Bear (!) In mind that if you put that in his birth ceritficate he is going to get a certain ammount of hassle at job interviews and from inflexible officialdom as to why he is using a nn and what is his real name please.?

My db suffers from this, he has a given name that is often used as a short form of another name (think tom or Ben, but more unusual) it happens quite frequently, one chap at a job interview was actually quite hostile about it. Trying to make db out to be a fool or a liar. Db showed him his birth certificate, and the chap still rumbled in about it not being a real name. not a good start. the chap was being a nob, but Db says it can make him look unproffessional at times. And he loves his unusual name and suits it perfectly.

Eglu · 04/03/2012 21:49

I like Bear, it's a great strong name. If you want to put Edward on his BC then fine, but you will probably then get you parents deciding to call him that.

scottishmummy · 04/03/2012 21:55

you called him bear
and didn't anticipate a strong reaction?
should have seen that one coming

frutilla · 04/03/2012 22:00

I like Bear. What about Bear Grylls? It is a name. Cat for Catherine is accepted, so why not Bear?

CecilyP · 04/03/2012 22:04

I did know a girl called Mouse once. Even odder, her surname was Katz!

susiedaisy · 04/03/2012 22:08

Staying with with the animal theme I might call my next child parrot or guinea (pig for short) or maybe gerbil, hamster the possibilities are endlessGrinGrin

5inthebed · 04/03/2012 22:08

Wow, wasnt expecting Bear.

Bear is a great name! My little non-nephew has it as his middle name and totally suits it.

If it makes you feel better, change it to Edward on his BC, but I'd not tell anyone in your immediate family if you don't want them to start using it.

COCKadoodledooo · 04/03/2012 22:15

I presume he has a decent middle name to fall back on when he's a professional or whatever later on in life? I wouldn't choose a solicitor or a surgeon called Bear personally, would struggle to take them seriously. As do I those who think Bear Grylls was actually named such at birth; of course he wasn't.

scottishmummy · 04/03/2012 22:19

bear grylls is Edward
bear as a tumbling wee laddie yes, bear as a suit in a regular job.no