Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Girls middle name for a little boy??!

33 replies

Emlyric · 06/05/2013 08:02

So, our third little boy is due in 8 weeks and I have a middle-name dilema! I am very close to my mum and keen to use her name as a second middle name for one of our children - she is the most amazing lady - however, given we are blessed with boys it makes it a bit more tricky! Her name is Carol, which traditionally is a male name, and also has a dutch spelling Karel which is still used for boys over there - my husband is dutch so we have a tenous claim to use it 'legitimately' but I wanted to know thoughts! Am I condemning this wee one to a lifetime of friends sniggering at his passport?! Should we amend it to Karel or brazen it out with Carol?! xx

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
lilolilmanchester · 06/05/2013 08:05

couldn't you use Carl? Obviously up to you but I wouldn't use a girl's name as a middle name for a boy.

raisah · 06/05/2013 08:06

Use Karel or Charles as an alternative.
Lovely idea to name your son after your mum.

mirai · 06/05/2013 08:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

raisah · 06/05/2013 08:08

Or Carl I forgot about that name as you dont hear of many new babies called Carl nowadays. Time for a change.

GeordieCherry · 06/05/2013 08:08

Cathel is the Gaelic version, what about that?

Jenijena · 06/05/2013 08:10

Could you use her surname (or maiden name)?

OhTinky · 06/05/2013 08:12

Carlo?

BNmum · 06/05/2013 08:19

Jenijena got there first but I was going to suggest using your mums maiden name

cheekbyjowl · 06/05/2013 08:45

I think you can get away with karel. Its unusual enough that I wouldnt think of carol. But, you need a macho first name and strong surname ...i.e if your surname is lily and your chosen first name is Vivian...then perhaps re think it.

katkoala · 06/05/2013 08:54

I would suggest Carl or Karl...my uncles have the name Maria as a mn (my grandparents used the name Mary in some form for their 3 dd and twin sons)...we still take the pi$$ 55 years later!

HongkongDreamer · 06/05/2013 09:02

What about carlos

EssieW · 06/05/2013 09:09

I think using carol would be fine. I've heard it as male name before

Purplehulk · 06/05/2013 09:45

I know a man with the mn Carroll. He uses it in his email addy so it has obviously never caused him embarrassment.

almapudden · 06/05/2013 09:47

Carol is a boys' name. Pope John Paul II's real name was Carol; he was Polish.

It's just an alternative to Charles.

ClaraOswald · 06/05/2013 09:50

I would go with the Dutch link and use Karel.

Bowlersarm · 06/05/2013 09:50

Don't do it.

I have a boys name as my middle name (an old family surname which happens to be a boys name as well). I hate it, and just don't use it at all. I'm baffled as to why my parents thought i would like having it as part of my name.

ShipwreckedAndComatose · 06/05/2013 09:54

Another vote for the surname here...you are setting him up as bullying fodder

TheHerringScreams · 06/05/2013 09:55

I would go with Karel. It's a handsome name and isn't a girl's name either.

KateBeckett · 06/05/2013 10:12

Karel is fine :) reminds me of Karel Abram the moto gp rider!

JacqueslePeacock · 06/05/2013 10:16

I know a man called Carol. Never considered it odd, really - it is a man's name in several languages.

lastnightidreamt · 06/05/2013 10:18

I would go with Karel - lovely.

ryanboy · 06/05/2013 10:18

Is using her maiden name a possibility?

KittenofDoom · 06/05/2013 16:33

Even in English, Carol can also be a man's name. (eg film director Sir Carol Reed).

However I think you're on dodgy ground naming a boy Carol after a woman. Different if it was after your father or uncle, say.

I'd go for one of the indisputably masculine variants. Save Carol in case you have a girl some day.

YouDontWinFriendsWithSalad · 06/05/2013 20:35

I don't think there's anything wrong with using Carol, I've heard it as a boys' name before.

rambososcar · 06/05/2013 21:07

I had an Uncle Carol so I never think of it as anything other than a man's name but kids with a tendency to bully might not see it that way. I'd be wary of using it and would prefer to use a maiden surname or the name of my maternal grandfather or uncle instead.

Swipe left for the next trending thread