A Baby Called Dave...

[Rodgerina]

My DH is determined that should our planned child end up a boy it must be called David James Walker.
I have several problems with this:

1. I'm pretty sure David James is/was a goalkeeper and I don't want to look as though I'm in the habit of gestating a tiny human for the best part of a year and then ruining all that hard work by naming him after a footballer.
2. I lived next door to a David Walker growing up and he was a weird old man who buried his dead dog under a rockery in the front lawn.
3. My family is from South Manchester and "Baby David" is too close to actually becoming the Royle Family for comfort.
4. HE WILL END UP BEING CALLED DAVE. He will drive a white van, drink cheap lager and read The Sun. I literally cannot imagine anyone addressing him in anything other than an Only Fools and Horses "Awright Dave" cockney accent. He will have to move to Essex, which I would not enjoy.

However, DH is insistent. I wouldn't mind if it was a family name, or some deep meaningful connection with the name David, but it isn't. When he was at school, he had a fight with a boy called David, and (FRUITLOOP ALERT) the upshot was that DH ended up saying he would call his son David to prove a point that the David with whom he was fighting was a [swearword]. I have no idea how the logic for this works, but that's my husband for you.
Consequently he says that he has "always imagined" that his son would be called David.

My question is, should I have veto rights over this? Are my reasons for not wanting to give birth to a Dave any better than his for wanting a David? I personally think that the casting vote should belong to the one who has to push it out of their vagina, but heigh ho.

This dilemma is holding up proceedings, if you know what I mean... Need to fix this because I'm pretty sure that my window of natural fertility won't stretch to the day when they can guarantee a girl!

I knew a David. He was nice. It's one of those names that nearly everybody my age has known one, worked for one, gone out with one, has a brother called David.

I like it, and it would make a change from the usual 30 names you hear over and over again.

David Essex?

Why will he end up being Dave? I know a David who is six and is never called Dave by anybody.

And he is the loveliest little thing ever.

You could always go all gaelic and have:

David - Daibhidh
Davy - Dáibhí

There are about a million Daves in Scotland

Well, I've lived here all my life lady and only ever come across one "Dave" and he was English and had moved here whilst already a Dave. Any Scottish Davids have either been David or Davy - I have one for a brother too.

Well maybe you will meet some of the Scottish Daves I know one day.

Maybe Lady - not sure what the other half will say If I start scouring the streets and bars for them though

Scottish David are always David or Davy in Scotland. they only morph into Daves when they migrate south of the border.

David was the most common boys name for years in the '60s

At one point my DSIS and I both had Davids as BFs (hers was Dave my was David) hers was a prat who crashed white vans. Mine was a oxbridge graduate, who could drive 7.5 ton lorries with out crashing them and was pretty much the cleverest person I know.

yeah, your OP was marginally amusing but FWIW my Dad's a David. He has a BA, post-grad qualifications, a long and successful career, is called on for expert opinion by people who pay good money for his advice and in retirement has been commissioned by a publisher and now has four books to his name which are all selling well. I've only known one person ever call him Dave (maybe because he's Welsh).

My H has the same first name and middle name and he is a David. He also has a degree and is successful. He may occasionally drink a Stella but prefers other drinks. He is originally from a similar area as you but doesn't have any of the other traits.

It's a classic name and I love it.

Oh and there are thousands of Daves in Scotland. I know four at the moment but have known several.

There is a band called the Austin Francis Connection which have a song called 'Everyone knows a Dave' with matching dance routine though

Definately not Dave..... >.

Love 'everybody knows a Dave'. So true!

(We know lots of Richards for some reason. Once counted and got to nine, although we've lost touch with three of them now.)

There is a Richard in my son's class. There's also a David and an Andrew. A robert in the class above.

These names are still being used, although I read that Richard had 'fallen out of use' in the paper about a year ago. Not completely obviously.

DH and I say "he's a bit of a Dave" to describe grumpy, daily mail reading, middle aged arsey loud obnoxious white van types.

Its a good solid name in itself, I generally like that TYPE of name, but I couldn't make my child a David or a Dave

We live in Manchester and DP is a Dave/David. Good Jewish name, means beloved, which he is.
I call him all sorts of silly things, often I call him Dewi as I'm Welsh. He's never driven a van, he is a professional, we're very middle class, we buy the Guardian and only drink craft/micro brewery beers.

And he likes being called Dave. It's never occurred to him to move to Essex.

Your op was funny. David is a lovely name imo, but if you don't like it then it's a definate no. You push it out, you name it what you want - and yes, the same goes for c-section babies, for the benefit of the pp who asked!

My dad is David and never Dave. He would be as far from your stereotyping as possible. There is nothing wrong with the name other than you don't like it, but that is reason enough not to give it to your firstborn. You will have to come up with names acceptable to both of you. We really struggled to find boys names we both liked, much more on the same wavelength for girls names, but we got there and v happy with our final choices. His reasons are pretty stupid though, you'd have thought it would at the least be a deathbed promise to a significant David in his life! Why would you want your son named after some idiot you had a fight with....?