Confused about names I like...

[Writerwannabe83]

8 weeks ago me and DH found out we were having a boy and we still haven't come up any names we both like.

The weird thing is that 2 names I like are ones that generally don't get a good reception on MN for specific reasons so I'm scared that they are ones I like. The other name I like probably won't go down too well either

Tyler : Referred to at times on MN (not by me) as being 'chavvy'

Harrison - One of the dreaded 'surname-y' names

Joey - Too bird like or reminds you of a baby kangaroo???

DH thinks that when people hear the name Joey they instantly think of Joey Essex but I don't necessarily agree and I think the name is lovely

[Mattissy]

I think it's a modern thing to expend so much thought on naming our children, a ridiculous amount if analysis goes into it which is why there are so many weird and wonderful names out there, lol

If you like Joey then it's perfect. Use it. I have a friend JJ and he's well cool.

[qumquat]

Use the names you love. That's what matters, not what mn, or anyone else, thinks

[Poppins27]

Thank you, I love it too!! Haha

You totally can have Joey John, one of my good friends has a little boy and both of his names begin with the initial J. He's often referred to as JJ

[Writerwannabe83]

Good choice about Charlotte - I have never liked that name but think Lottie is beautiful.

I can't really have a Joey John though could I?? Haha.

Stupid John middle name!

[Poppins27]

I love Joey and would definitely choose it myself. It can be a nickname but is also great in its own right. My Dd is a Lottie, people suggested I called her Charlotte as a formal name but I ignored them, my baby, my choice. I have a formal name but am never referred to by it so don't see the point if I'm honest!!

[Writerwannabe83]

I really like Harrison too - maybe that could be his other middle name...

Arran John Harrison - followed by our surname.

He would have great initials : AJHW

However, I would dread it if based on his initials he would be called AJ I'm not sure I could cope with that.....

Maybe Arran Harrison John instead??

[ZombiePenguin]

I LOVE Harrison, it's great. Joey is nice, I like a long name too though. Joey Essex wouldn't cross my mind! Tyler is quite handsome and strong..,prefer Taylor though...

[Writerwannabe83]

- your last paragraph made me laugh out loud

[AnAdventureInCakeAndWine]

Check how "long running", to begin with. Two generations were named "after" my paternal grandfather and it turns out that that wasn't even his actual name (long story involving my great-grandfather's less-than-stellar parenting skills).

Yes, tell your DH that it's a long-running tradition in your family that babies get middle names that their mothers actually like , so at the very least you need to have two middle names in there to reflect both your family traditions.

[Writerwannabe83]

I think I feel frustrated too because I'm really not keen on what the baby's middle name will be! Apparently it is tradition for the baby's middle name to be the first name of their paternal grandad It's been long running in my husband's family apparently and I don't think there is any negotiating. I understand that middle names typically do have some kind of Family Tree Link but I'm really not keen.

I'm trying to convince DH to give him two middle names so there will be something in there that I like

[TheBunsOfPanettone]

Mortified fair point re. flexibility and "proper names". I suppose I just prefer proper names to nick-namey names and think that it's nicer for the child (and later adult) to be able to choose not to be called something that sounds like a cutesey pet. OP what you said about baby kangaroo in your thread opener is about right. It's cute for a little boy but I don't think it will age well with him.

[SicknSpan]

Choose what you like op.

Fwiw, I like Harrison the most out of your list, would try and nickname him Sonny :)

[AnAdventureInCakeAndWine]

Other islands in Scotland: Lewis, Harris, Skye, Ailsa Craig, Cara, Iona...

[Oriunda]

Arran is an island in Scotland! I would assume its Aaron spelt incorrectly.

[AnAdventureInCakeAndWine]

Oh yes, I wasn't suggesting you should name him Aaron, just that if you name him Arran you won't get away from the problems because there will be a lot of people who assume he's called Aaron.

[Writerwannabe83]

DH really isn't keen on the Aaron spelling as he thinks people would always be asking how it is pronounced, or just assuming it is Air-Ron, which neither of us like

[AnAdventureInCakeAndWine]

Arran is fine but will get confused with Aaron a lot, I predict.

[Writerwannabe83]

DH has now thrown Arran into the mix.....

You make a good point actually mattissy - our names are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The only time I actually pay it any attention is if I'm introducing myself to someone....

[Mattissy]

But is it really a minefield? Pick a name you like, give it to child.

How much thought do you really give to your own name on a daily/weekly/monthly basis?

[Writerwannabe83]

I honestly can't believe how difficult it is and what a minefield it is just naming a child, lol

It's a shame they don't already come with names, like Teddies do when you order them from the Home Shopping channels

[AnAdventureInCakeAndWine]

Harrison is fine -- solid name, lots of nickname potentials if he chooses or works well as a full name. The only Tyler I know is at a very academic private school so I have very different associations for the name from the common MN view. Joey is a budgie or Matt Le Blanc, though, sorry .

Re "Why put a name on a birth certificate that I have no intention of using?" well, because you're not naming a cat or a goldfish. You're naming (eventually) a grown man who will have his own intentions and preferences, so there's nothing wrong with giving him options (not saying you have to do that as said already, plenty of names don't have flexibility built in -- but it's one perfectly good reason for giving a full name that you don't intend to use. I bet Pippa Funnell was glad she had Philippa on her birth certificate when she was competing in Athens).

[HavantGuard]

You can choose what you're going to call them and I think that's what those MNers are actually doing. They're picking eg Katherine to go on the certificate but planning to call them Kitty when they're little/as a pet name. It also gives scope for the child to choose to be called Kate or Kat by friends when they're older and have something sensible for paperwork when they're adults. You can have cutesy, teenage and adult in one name!

[Writerwannabe83]

mortified - scarily so, in your list of Laura, Claire, Sarah you actually gave both mine and my sister's names

And you're right, I have no flexibility with my name but can't say it ever bothered me. It's funny how attitudes to names have changed over the years. I have noticed a lot of MN members also try and plan and choose what their child's nickname will be, but surely that isn't something you can actually force/control??

[MortifiedAnyFuckerAdams]

Thing is with offering flexibility, names such as Laura, Claire, Sarah, Paul, etc dont offer any flexibility either, yet because they are seen as 'proper names' they are ok.

I have a dd whose name is traditionally a shorter version of a longer name. I dont like the longer name and would never use it, so didnt put it on the BC. The other option was Lara, which again, offers no flexibility. Yet Im sure people wouldnt query that on the BC.

Op if you like Joey, then go for it.

[TheBunsOfPanettone]

"With regards to calling him Joel, Joseph, Josiah etc but always calling him Joey, I just don't see the logic. Why put a name on a birth certificate that I have no intention of using? I have always thought that if you like a name (even if it is 'nicknamey') then surely you just call the child that and register it as the name?"

Exactly what Oriunda said. Do allow your child/ren a bit of flexibility, even if you don't want it for yourself.

I was always called Jo as a child but I am very glad that parents had me christened a longer name that has several diminutives. I came to dislike being called Jo, mostly because I was a forgetful child and teenager whose classroom dizziness would be greeted with loud choruses of "oooohhhhhh Jo" and later I opted for the full name. There are a couple of other one syllable diminutives that I prefer infinitely to Jo. Apart from a few older generation family members everyone calls me the full name or one of the other diminutives that derive from it.