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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Did your surname influence your choice of name?

34 replies

bankofengland · 26/11/2012 22:12

we have just started looking at names and noticed that some go with our surname better than others. Some are difficult to say and some just sound just plain silly. It has automatically cut down the pool of names from which we can choose.

I think our choice will end up one which we like and works rather than one we love. Has anyone else had this? Did you have to make a practical choice rather going with the name of your dreams. Did you regret your choice?

OP posts:

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pegster · 26/11/2012 22:16

I couldn't use my favourite name (Elliott) because it is too similar to our surname (also 3 syllables beginning with E and ending in t). Was never an option so it was joked about but never made it to a short-list. DS is very much his chosen name now, I'm certainly not haunted by a baby Elliott that will never be

KatyAnn28 · 26/11/2012 22:17

Yes, some names just sound silly with our surname. We tried to get around it by thinking about the name as a whole (including middle name) but the reality is that middle names are rarely used on a day to day basis.

My all time favourite girl name is an absolute no no because of my married name (the effect of the two together would be similar to Thomas Thomson!)

Katy x

ProPerformer · 26/11/2012 22:18

Oh yes!! We have a last name that would sound just plain WRONG with some first names!!

KatyAnn28 · 26/11/2012 22:18

Pegster, Elliot is our number one boys name for our first born son...we clearly have good taste

Original poster

bankofengland · 26/11/2012 22:33

Pegster and KatyAnn are you happy with your chosen names despite this? How did you make your final choice if you couldn't use your favs??

OP posts:

IAmSoFuckingRock · 26/11/2012 22:37

yes. i wanted Ben for ds2 but EXp very rightly pointed out that along with my surname it sounded like a rude name. think phil mcCracken but for Ben.

KatyAnn28 · 26/11/2012 22:39

bankofengland we haven't settled on another girl name yet so I can't answer that yet! We're really struggling to compromise on another

Hassled · 26/11/2012 22:41

I think you have to think about surnames - need to watch the too many/too few syllables thing, need to think about whether you're happy with alliteration etc.

NotInMyDay · 26/11/2012 22:42

Yes but more from an initials POV. Surname starts with Y so all K names were out. Also it's really easy to make a word with a Y surname so no Graeme Alistair Y or Catherine Rose Y.

No regrets about the names we have chosen.

SomersetONeil · 26/11/2012 22:45

We have a DS and a DD and both names are family names, so our surname didn't determine the names per se.

However DD's name has three accepted pronunciations - the most common of which sounded wrong/repetitive with our surname, so we went with another pronounciation.

Our surname also ends with a Y which basically rules out names ending with a y/ie/ee sound. DS's nickname ends with a Y which is fine; but an actual 'ee' sounding first name and surname was just a bit too twee for me.

sausagesandwich34 · 26/11/2012 22:45

surname starts with an M so any M first name were out

DD1 would have been Megan if we had gone with my surname, but she would have been 1 of 4 in her class if we had so quite glad really

DD2 came along and we realised it also excluded Emma which I was sad about because I've always like that name

bananaramma · 26/11/2012 22:45

Yes, we have a short one syllable surname. We therefore chose 2 syllable first names that aren't normally shortened.

Snowflakepie · 26/11/2012 22:58

Oh yes, anything starting with an H or with a strong oooo sound doesn't work here. Has caused issues with a possible boys name as the only one I really did like was Matthew, but it sounds ridiculous. Fingers crossed DC2 is a girl!

Rhubarbgarden · 26/11/2012 23:06

Yes. A long complicated foreign surname meant that we had to choose short easily recognisable first names that would not require spelling or any questions about pronunciation - the poor blighters are going to spend their lives spelling out their surname as it is.

TeaDr1nker · 26/11/2012 23:14

We could not have had any name beginning with D, or initials would have been a derogatory word. No I don't regret the name we chose, a bit sad as I love the name Devorah but we had to consider what if any word her initials would make.

Having said that she has a really long name, two middle names (as do I) and a double barrelled surname. I don't think it matters, we gave her her names because they mean something.

RarelyUnreasonable · 27/11/2012 09:24

Not sure. A lot of names we liked were discounted for being too tricky to say or v alliterative. But the name we decided on for a girl was the worst culprit of all! Luckily dc2 is a boy.

meditrina · 27/11/2012 09:30

Yes, we decided the DCs would have DH's mildly awkward surname and so there were a fair few we liked that we ruled out as clunky or risible. But that didn't bother me, as there are so many lovely names.

CheungFun · 27/11/2012 09:35

We have a short one syllable surname, so definitely needed at least a two syllable first name otherwise it just sounded too snappy!

sleeplessinderbyshire · 27/11/2012 09:35

Friend wanted to call her DD Isla but as her surname is Mann realised that wasn't wise. My surname is Jones which ruled out India for DD2 which made me very sad

TenthMuse · 27/11/2012 09:44

Yes, ours is a very common one-syllable name. With an overly popular name it would sound incredibly dull, but with a very unusual name it risks sounding like a comic book hero/Bond girl (think 'Christmas Jones'!). Longer names also tend to flow better, but most of my favourites are on the short side!

Jojoba1986 · 27/11/2012 09:57

Our surname sounds the same as the last syllable in lots of words so we spent most of the pregnancy joking about all the funny things we could call DS. Unfortunately, this included all of my favourite names that DH didn't hate. In the end DH had to choose the name because he just didn't look like any on our shortlist to me. He's now 13 months & I still look at him sometimes & wonder if it's really his name! I guess it's because I knew several people with the same name when I was young & it doesn't seem right that this little individual should have the same name as anyone else! PFB syndrome strikes again!

IWipeArses · 27/11/2012 10:16

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with alliteration in names, there's a couple in DS class who have alliterative names and sound funky. It depends on the names.

Our surname begins with a vowel, which ruled out names ending in -a for DD, which was a shame as I really wanted to use Sarah.

hatsybatsy · 27/11/2012 10:19

oh yes. we were all set to call dd Annabel and then realised that as we have a surname ending in "ell" this would sound pretty daft.....

we remain delighted with the name we chose though. Cannot imagine her being an Annabel now.

wewereherefirst · 27/11/2012 10:23

Our surname sounds stupid with alliteration especially as DH and I both had minor speech impediments which if our children had would have made it sound ridiculous. Other than that it wasn't too problematic for us.

weeblueberry · 27/11/2012 11:07

Absolutely. Theo was one of my favourite boys names but bambino's last name begins with an O.

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