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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Do you have any regrets choosing an unusual name?

79 replies

Cheesegloriouscheese · 28/03/2013 19:38

DH and I agreed on a name months ago and now we're close to the big day (C-section is next week!) but I'm starting to have a wobble. Although we love the name it's starting to worry me that others won't, part of me thinks I shouldn't care and part of me thinks we may regret picking something so unusual.

I got a bit of a flaming when I trialled the name on these boards a few months ago so I won't share it, but wondered whether anyone has regretted or opted out of using an unusual name they love?

I'm pretty certain friends and family won't like it but I expect they'd be polite enough not to let on to us. Since we choose the name I haven't been worried about what other people might think but now I'm wondering whether we might regret using something so unusual that many people won't like.

I can't tell if this hormones talking or if we should have a re-think and choose a name that people have at least heard of and are more likely to like. Wow that's a bit of an essay, any advice/comments very welcome.

OP posts:

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bigbluebump · 29/03/2013 11:07

Agree with poster above:

Names are meant to be unusual as their purpose is to identify someone!

I know so many adult Clares and Steves and it gets confusing sometimes. Life would be easier and more interesting if more people had 'unusual' names.

seeker · 29/03/2013 11:27

I think [dons hard hat] that this "unusual name" is usually a parental ego trip.

If you want a name that you can guarantee is unique in a Reception class, then you only have to call your child Beryl or Trevor. Or Colin.

But no, unusual names have to be Fledgling or Sputnik or Strawberry. So people will say "oh, what free spirits those parents must be! No normal constraints of boring old common sense for them!"

thegreylady · 29/03/2013 12:45

Colin is rather nice I think :)

BananaHammocks · 29/03/2013 14:13

seeker What make you think the OP isn't talking about a name like Beryl?

Unusual doesn't mean the same as crazy/out there! My name is unusual but is a name from one of my parents heritages and middle name is an old-fashioned family name, neither are silly or made up just not often used.

mum47 · 29/03/2013 14:24

If you like it, and it is not so out there that dc will be likely to be bullied/ridiculed for it, go for it.

My DS2 has what was an unusual name, it has become a bit more popular since though far from common, but annoyingly I have seen it used as a girls name too recently.

jellybeans · 29/03/2013 14:27

No I don't regret it. So glad they are not one of several in the class, too popular names can become 'boring'.

baskingseals · 29/03/2013 15:49

i would go for it. my dc have lovely but traditional names. i was willing to be a bit more original - dh not.

is your name Seraphina by any chance?

seeker · 29/03/2013 15:51

Banana- because when people say "unusual" that's what they mean.

Disastronaut · 29/03/2013 16:31

Hi. First time MN poster here! Two thoughts about unusual names: firstly having been saddled with difficult, foreign 1st & last names, it becomes really wearing, constantly having to spell/ explain every time. So unless your surname is straightforward, I might give the kid a break! Secondly, me & DP have only come up with one solitary girls name we both like so far (we don't know the sex yet) and it's been universally panned. People literally snort when we tell them. We think it's fab, but are reluctantly admitting defeat.

Bunbaker · 29/03/2013 16:47

It's not really about whether you regret it though, it's about whether the kid hates their name.

Spot on. I hated my name as a child. As an adult I don't mind that it is unusual, but I still really dislike my name.

I really don't like alternative spellings though. A friend has called her little boy Konner. When he gets to school the teachers will think that his parents can't spell. She complains now that everyone spells his name wrong.

seeker · 29/03/2013 16:51

Oh, go on diasronaut- tell us. You know you want to!

Disastronaut · 29/03/2013 18:16

Seeker - ok, but don't laugh. Alabama. We really liked the film True Romance & there's a character in it called Alabama Whirly (although she's not the kind of girl you'd want your daughter to take after).

The best anyone can say is, 'D'you mean it in an ironic way?'

So, back to square one!

GraceSpeaker · 29/03/2013 18:25

Just be prepared to spell and correct pronunciation! DD has a mildly unusual name and it's only been pronounced correctly by a stranger once so far!

Talkinpeace · 29/03/2013 18:28

DD has an unusual name so she has two traditional middle names in case she hated it. She doesn't.

ZolaBuddleia · 29/03/2013 18:45

I love Seraphina!

DD has an unusual-ish name, outside top 300. Only met a couple of adults with her name and I love it.

I changed DD's name, her original one was more unusual still. I felt lacking in confidence saying her name, it made me feel pretentious. Could have been the galloping PND though.

birdofthenorth, is your DD Bess by chance? Love that name!

MidnightMasquerader · 29/03/2013 18:51

Depends what you mean by unusual.

I was given a very 'unusual' name - I've still never actually met anyone else with my name IRL and I'm 39. My parents gave me a nice, simple one-syllable middle name, so that I had a back-up in case I truly hated my first name enough not to want to bear it any longer. Although they actually only told me that was an option in adulthood - I probably would've taken it up, had I realised I wasn't going to horribly offend them...! I certainly never let on to them that I really disliked it. Most children who like their parents probably don't.

I never liked it growing up. Didn't think it looked nice written down and got everyone making the same 'hilarious' joke about being necessary on a bike (must've been in my teens before I even got the damn joke) the first time they met me.*

I'm named after both grandmothers (both of whom died before I was born) so I obviously don't apply this rationale to my own lovely parents...

But I do think that giving children very unusual names is incredibly self-indulgent and ego-trippy. But, you know, people do what they gotta do, own child be damned...

*My mind still boggles that the name is so popular now and the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction that people are starting to get bored of it from sheer over-use.

Frikadellen · 29/03/2013 19:16

I have an unusual name look here if your nosy

I have NEVER liked it and I always found it a bother having to spell it. & at age 43 it bugs the life out of me when I get letters addressed to MR as it is also unisex..

My children have what I would call unusual but not weird names (apart from dd1 whose name didn't appear on the top 100 list the year before she was born (feb birthday) and went in at highest riser the year she was born. All 4 have very traditional names but not names that are commonly in use. They have also all 4 got the traditional spelling.

I would not go for something over the top unusual However I dont mind actual names. Yours is not one "I" would pick but nor do I think OMG horrible..

Shellywelly1973 · 29/03/2013 22:00

My ds is 24 & i named him Levi.

Peoples reactions were very surprising. I didn't think it that unusual. We have met a few now & even a girl Levi.

Ds loves his name, never been an issue.

I love Herbie by the way!

Creameggkr · 29/03/2013 22:36

Shelly I have a 22 yr old with Levi as his second name. His first name is even more unusual scored 0 on the name website.

MajaBiene · 29/03/2013 22:52

A real name that is seldom used (like Beryl, or Ivo) is great imo.

"Unique" names not so much. Plus I have met 3 baby Cocos recently The mother of one did not look happy when I said I had met another with the same middle name too.

Designjunkie · 29/03/2013 23:30

If you love the name you have to go for it, you'll only regret it. You'll never please everyone anyway. Distronaut I know an Alabama and have never known anyone to disparage the name. She is called Bam Bam as a nickname which is so cute. I don't want to give myself away on here but where I live there are some truly original names which barely raise an eyebrow. Paradise, Trilby, Ace and another that is like a certain wildcat. I could go on.

nooka · 30/03/2013 00:25

I have a very unusual name, and really like it. But it is a real name (dates back several hundred years), just not at all commonly used (so much so that it doesn't register in the stats - it's been mentioned here three times I think ever!). It has no teasing potential and it has a very common short version should I have ever wanted to be more anonymous.

I virtually always get a positive comment on my name, but it's still a bit wearing to always have to spell it out, and sometimes getting the 'what' response from receptionists etc.

My sister has as one of her middle names an equally unusual name which she absolutely hates, and for which my parents have apologised. Unusual is not always good!

If you really have found that a large number of people have disliked the name and that a high proportion of your friends/family will also dislike the name then yes I think you should think very carefully about it, because it's a bit sad to imagine your child introducing his/herself and having negative reactions more times than not.

Viviennemary · 30/03/2013 00:32

It depends on what the brave unusual name is. And don't forget it isn't you who will have to brave the teasing it's your child.

Disastronaut · 30/03/2013 00:49

Designjunkie: BamBam is so cute it's actually causing me to reconsider.

Trilby & Paradise, though, they're just erm, delightful. And if the type of wild cat is a Cougar, I think I'll cry.

CandyCrushed · 30/03/2013 01:04

I know a little Trilby too..... I thought it was a very unique name.

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