In your opinion, can people with names like 'Posy', 'Kitty' or 'Dotty' be taken seriously?

[Stateofgrace]

...I happen to think so, but my family and a few friends disagree. Strongly.

Almost every name I have considered is of the 'cutesy' variety - as well as the above three, I also like Polly, Lola and Nelly. I seem to just like girly names. My mother is fond of telling me ''You are naming a person, not a baby'' as if I am not aware that baby will grow up.

I know that you shouldn't tell people the names before baby is born and present the name as a fait acompli, but I really don't want to pick a name which everyone else seems to hate...

Any thoughts / experiences on this? My mother this morning has just told me that ''she wouldn't trust a Doctor called something ridiculous like Posy'', which is actually one of my favourite names.

Any thoughts/experiences on this?

Nope, take a look at the birth announcements in the Telegraph, that's where the real power lies. Teddys and Kittys are at the tamer end of the spectrum there.

But writer, what are considered 'normal names' vary wildly across time, place, culture, social class. There's no one standard.

Aoife, Conchobhar or Caoimhin are very ordinary names in Ireland, but are exotic and considered difficult to pronounce by many in the UK. Lots of African kids are called things like Precious, Beautiful or Beloved, and those names are entirely normal in those cultures, but would be considered very strange in the context of mainstream UK naming trends, though kids here are often called names that mean those things in other languages.

We named our son an ordinary Biblical name that wouldn't cause a raised eyebrow on here, or in London, where he was born, but my parents and ILs find it very weird and rather 'look at me', because they'd never heard of anyone called it.

In a similar way, names like Mabel, Violet and Lily have gone from being the names of elderly women, laughably old-fashioned, to the names of today's babies and toddlers. The usage has changed. I think it will be similar with the names people are taking issue with as 'cutesy'. In 20 or 30 years those will just be names like Karen or Nicola, and people will be calling their babies something else.

I'm baffled at how people judge people by their names!
I don't care what my doctor/judge/childrens' teacher is called, as long as they can do their job! All lovely names!

But the Telegraph announcements won't tell you what is on the birth certificate. So, even if they say Kitty / Teddy they might well be Katherine and Theodore.

I always announce / introduce my daughter as Kitty, even though she is a Katherine and had I put a birth announcement in the telegraph and if we had wanted her called Kitty, then I would have put that on the birth announcement. My daughter chose her own nickname (Kitty) but she now has that on all her semi official stuff - certificates, forms, school documents etc.

I don't think you can read too much into the telegraph names section for this purpose.

It would be very unlikely that anyone would put an announcement in the Telegraph using the shortened version. Unless they put something like "Katherine Mary (Kitty)"

A quick squiz at the Telegraph announcements shows me

Lulu, Minnie, Elsie, Freddie, Hatty, Bonny, Monty and Daisy.

Do people really do birth announcements with just the nickname?

I don't think people do announce nicknames rather than the full name, on the whole. I think your list Squoosh are the movers and shakers of the future.

Telegraph top 50 girls

No Lulus there!

I have to say Minnie is pretty awful, God forbid she grows up to be a bit plump.

No, but clearly Poppy, Evie, Molly, Lily and Holly are very popular. Those are the kinds of names the OP was initally asking about.

Lots of people announce both full name and nick name though here

Gah notso now you've given me more time to waste, browsing all this archives! Does it say which newspapers they are taken from anywhere?

'those'

BuzzFeed have made a handy list of the best examples of THe Times and Telegraph announcements.

OP, give her a "sunday name". I have a cutesy name that my family and friends use but choose to use my birth-cert name for work because I felt it sounded more professional. It's not a choice everyone would make, but I'm glad I had the option to do it easily and fuss-free. You don't even need to tell your mum!

Sound advice from TheCraicDealer.

bowlers the link I meant to do was this one but now have also wasted ages browsing.
I am particularly interested in Gavin Gary and Nova Star.

Thanks for more of your thoughts, ladies. I am still a bit torn. Discussed it in depth last night with Himself and have taken Posy off the table sob.

Polly is looking like a strong contender at the moment, the more I say it aloud with her chosen MN (Alice) the more I like it. I don't like Mary, so Polly she shall be, if she indeed, is .

FWIW I think Bear is incredibly cool. I agree with any poster who said that in 30 years these names would mostly be common place. BF daughter is called Mia and 18 years ago when she named her, her father said: ''That's a bit show-bizzy isn't it?''

**BF father, not Mia's father ...

You're right, State. My nephew is 20 and called Max. Not very common then, two a penny now.

I like Polly!

For what it's worth my parents think all children should be called Neil or Ruth! But people get used to names very quickly, even opinionated Grannies.

Polly is a superb name.
A high court judge or a prima ballerina - you could be anything with a good name like Polly.

Trouble is we can't see into the future to see what these babies as adults will a) look like b) do for a living.

Bear Grillis (sp?) is fabulously named because he is a rugged adventurer and looks the part. If he had been weedy and worked behind the counter in the local branch of Lloyds bank it would seem utterly ridiculous to have called him Bear.

We shouldn't but we do judge people (sub-consciously) in that first split second that we hear or see their names. It isn't snobbery, it is forming a very ancient set of rules as to where this person belongs in the scheme of things, much as we might take into account clothes, hairstyle, way somebody talks etc. Not being judgemental, well maybe, but it is a totally involuntary thing that we all do whenever we meet someone.

Honey or Tallulah will not be taken as seriously as Catherine or Sarah - the last two names will just be filed in the 'normal' tray whereas I suspect the other two would be chewed over just that bit more and possibly hesitated over in some circumstances.

Just sayin'

TheCraicDealer I am wondering if Foquett is pronounced as in 'the Foquett residence; the lady of the house speaking'

Arthur John is the given name of a boy who will be known as "Bear" according to Notso's link (first section 'diminutives') and I would guess Arthur John is the one he will be known as when he's older.

Polly put the kettle on..... horrible name

Bear is just ridiculous

What is wrong with George Alexander Louis :)