Who broke the MN rules when it came to naming their babies?

[MissingMyMarbles]

Just had a look at the MN name ad at the top of the page, seems there are a lot of MN rules

DD1 has a very unusual name with a slightly unusual spelling - suits her down to the ground and we love it.

DD2 has, according to MN, got a very common name, perhaps even considered 'chavvy' by some, although we don't know anyone else by the same name, and it's not in the top 100 for England or Wales. It's also Welsh, and we are not, although we both have Celtic heritage (me more than DH) so Welsh blood is a possibility. We have to correct the pronunciation with most people. And, her middle name is French, and we are not. But, again, it suits her down to the ground and we love it.

Oh, and both their names mean the same thing - that was a coincidence, because initially I thought DD2's name meant something else as I have loved it for years, but only found out it's actual meaning when I was pregnant with her.

So who else has broken The Rules and couldn't give a hoot?

Dd1 has a nickname for a proper name which also has the same meaning as my name and is spelt with a k! (Shock horror)

Dd2 has a top 3 name

I've failed my dc haven't I?

What are the rules?

One of my sons has a 4 letter name, the other has 5, however we have managed to use the same 4 letters in both names in a different order with just one additional letter for the 5 letter name.

The alternative choice for No2 son coincidentally was a 5 letter name with again the same 4 letters plus one other random letter........all completely unintentional - only realised when I was ordering them wooden letters to put on their doors when they were toddlers :o

Oh, and they both have the same initial and No2 son's name has a weird spelling and can be confused with a girls name. Neither begin with K but both have the "K" sound too.

Me and it seems so did my mum when she named me yet its a standard name. Both are K's. Poor us

Do you have a link to the article? Am on my phone so I think it is different, but im curious. I suspect we broke them too.

what rules?

MN name rules

my two just have ludicrously popular/common names

Dd1's name is irish, spelt french, and is a 'chav' name which i didn't know until after i'd had her and registered her it looks so pretty and i hate when people hear her name they think of the 'k' spelling.

Ds's full first name is biblical but he's named for his grandad who uses the shorter version as a derivative of his name not a name i'd have chosen off my own back but df loves it and ds suits it.

Dd2 is getting another 'chav' name poor dd's but it's pretty and it's apt. I despise naming children, particularly dd's so when we found a name we both liked it stuck

hahaha - all of ours have Biblical names on purpose.

first and middle names!

so glad I never knew about those "rules"

and now that I know I still would not care.
Biblical names are beautiful and widely used.

Rules my arse. Thats just a load of mumsnetters opinions lumped together to form a rubbish 'advice' topic.

And these 'rules' coming from some who have called their offspring Arlo, Persephone or Raphael (my 3 most hated names very often suggested and loved on here? yuk)

I agree Ezza, which is partly why I asked the question. I find it interesting that it is those opinions that seem to get the loudest shout. I like the baby name threads because there is a, usually good-humoured, diversity of opinion but there do seem to be common themes, exemplified by The Rules. I wonder, too, how much sway they hold when people are considering names for the bundles of joy.

I did post on the names board, in my excited pregnant state, but honestly, we chose what we chose irrespective of the voice of MN.

I'm not really worried about all these rules. I've lived with a very odd name all my life and I don't see why it's supposed to be so horrible. Yes, I have to spell it and correct the spelling often, but so does DH, who has a very common English name. Yes, people often pronouce my name wrong, but I always know they're talking to/about me, so I've never minded.

People invent some odd rules when it comes to names. Someone told me not to give a name beginning with P, because the initials PB would cause loads of jokes about lead and being heavy...

Oh yes, we broke the rules - all of our DCs have common (ie popular) names that come out of the Old Testament simply because we, shock horror, liked them.

Otoh, we do have an incredibly unusual family name (which is a PITA because we all spend our lives spelling it or correcting pronunciation), so maybe that meets the desired 'no-one within a 150 mile radius at least must share the name' criteria.

Ds1 has alliteration
It honestly sounds fine and is a perfectly respectable name.
Think Michael Miller in style

I picked a name that I didn't know was considered 'posh' by some...fits him well though so pfft

I broke the rules a bit.

I used something from a culture I'm not directly associated with...well it's a Swedish name.

It can also be German though and I am a quarter German...and the baby's father is from somewhere eastern European. So I think that's Ok.

But I just love the name so much, it doesn't matter. And we call him something else anyway.

no alliteration?

tell that to

Greta Garbo, Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, Sylvester Stallone, Danny DeVito etc.

granted some were not born with these names, but they did/have done all right!

I am amazed how people's opinions on a personal & practical matter can be even considered as rules, let alone announced as such.

guidance or ideas to consider would acceptable, but call them rules? that's just arrogant! and wrong

Everyone has different rules. My children all have perfectly normal, traditional names but I have seen all of them rubbished on name threads in the past. Ds1's name is too popular, dd's full name is horrible and reminds people of a non too popular public figure and her commonly used diminutive is common and twee and dated and too popular while ds2's name is getting very popular again especially down south and is therefore going to date horribly.

DH is American and I am Brit so we wanted names that both cultures would pronounce the same way and at least have a passing familiarity with. So we ended up with names that crossed many cultures and just as well as now we are in Germany.

Choose names you love - that's the main criteria. Can't stand it when people are snobby about names, but I think that's a result of living in the states. The UK still seems to put so much class connotation on names. In the US you can be called Newt, Tipper, Flip (Philip) and still attain the highest offices in the land or at least a great job. My accountant in the US was called Rainbow and was a very acute business woman and extremely successful.

I broke the 'give them long names, so they have lots of nickname choices' rule three times, DS1 is Jack, DD1 is Sarah and DD2 is Mary.

The only time I didn't break it was with DS2 who is Alexander.

Oh well, never mind!

My DC2 has a ludicrously-popular name but it's a family name (as a first name, eek!) so ner .

DC1's name is lovely but also gets a regular paddling on here.

My 3 DDs all have names that end in the 'ee' sound and so does our surname. DD2 also has the same letter preceding the 'ee' sound in both first name and surname. They each have a middle name ending in 'a'.

DD1's name might be considered chavvy by some, DD2's name is quite popular and 2 of their names derived from the same name but are both names in their own right.

I broke the rules. DT1 has a dead common name. Think middle name is MN acceptable DT2 has a biblical/jewish name and a shortened version for a middle name. And it's now in the top 30 odd (wasn't at time)
DH is bhuddist asian.

I dont give a shit. Their names are cool.

Three of my four have massively popular names.
Two of them have popular dog/cat names.
Two have diminutive names with no 'proper' name on the birth certificate.
One has same initials as DH.
One has same middle name as a living relative.