Baylor?

[WittyUsername102]

We were originally going with Laurel for our DD, but DH discovered this today and really likes it, but I'm a little unsure - what are MN's opinions?
He really likes the meaning of it and it does fit our family - it means horse trainer.

"Bay Laurel" makes me think of "Bayleaf".

Actually, Bayleaf is better than Baylor. A lot better.

I think Bayleaf might be the one.

Do you enjoy cooking OP?

Balohay?

I don't get the Baylor / Balonz reference - can someone explain??

There was a thread about Balonz as a name, bealos - where the poster pretended that they thought it was a "traditional name".
Balonz (like Baylor) is a made-up and unattractive name, hence the cross referencing.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/baby_names/a2197937-Help-Difficult-choice-of-boys-names-Sean-Daniel-or-Balonz

KatieKaye - Baylor isn't made up though. (I do not find it unattractive, but that is of course opinion).

The etymology proves it is real. Real dammit!
Does the whole university/football team thing not bother you, witty?
BTW, I think 'Bay' is growing on me. Standalone, though. Without the -lor bit at the end. Definitely without lor.
Laurie?
Or you could just go for Laurel?

I'm not saying you made it up, but somebody at some point decided to use a surname (Baylor) as a first name, so in that sense it is made up, because it is not generally accepted as a first name - not by us Brits or our friends across the pond.

forums.thebump.com/discussion/8674626/boy-name-baylor

No, Bayleaf is the way to go, moxon - and then you can have Leaf as a nn. As in Leaf Phoenix. There's provenance for you!

Bayleaf also pays a subtle tribute to the seminal ITV drama London's Burning and has a lovely connection to the natural world. Plus, who could forget Bayleaf the Gardener from The Chives?

Let's face it, you simply can't say the same about Baylor.

Vile. Sounds like the noise you make when vomiting. Just no! Why the obsession with unique names? Please do not do this to your child.

The university/football does not other me, and as I said earlier in the thread, we aren't using Laurel anymore, regardless of if we used Baylor or not, but we're pretty much settled on Baylor now.

I can see what you mean, but a lot of the top names here were once last names - Madison, Addison, Peyton, Mackenzie, Bailey, Taylor, Kennedy (and all also once boys names).

ponders Leaf
Leaf. Leafy. Leafie. Leftie.
"Leaf, tidy your room or no supper for you, young woman!"
Maybe, katie, maaaybe...
I still wonder if you can read bay/laurel leaves, like tea leaves? It feels like an existential question.

When did Peyton become a fad? Just sounds patently painful.
So their sports team is well known in the football world. Apparently all the rage. Jeerleading outfits and everything. The team is known as the Baylor Bears, so this name is quite popular. What if they call her Baylor Bear, or Bear, or Bail o' Bears, or Baying Bear? And not in the cute teddybear fashion one might call a little daughter, or how one might fondly refer to a big bloke as a bear.

It depends how you shred them, moxon - horizontally or vertically. I've heard some are particularly avant garde and advocate a diagonal cut, but that's going a little to far for most of us. Oh, and there is some debate about whether to shred before or after drying. Obviously this has to be done only when the north wind is blowing, and the leaves themselves harvested at full moon, with a silver sickle, but that goes without saying, doesn't it?

[dons beret and stares enigmatically into the flames]

Are you hearing the name with a non rhotic R in your head? Because it is going to sound all Worzel Gummidgey on the lips of New Yorkers and other Americans.

Obviously this has to be done only when the north wind is blowing, and the leaves themselves harvested at full moon, with a silver sickle, but that goes without saying, doesn't it?

Well, yeah, obviously!
The shredding issue is interesting. I've always held it that you need to tear rather than cut, to preserve the integrity of both the sap-lore the foretelling? But I might just be holding onto old-fashioned beliefs no longer practised by the hip and trendy tellers?

moxon - I think that can apply to any name though - although I have never heard anyone be bullied/teased for their name... do people actually do that? Maybe my family has just been lucky to avoid any bullying. And who do you mean by 'they' ?

mathanxiety - was that directed to me? Not sure what you mean?

although I have never heard anyone be bullied/teased for their name
Really, witty? Wow! Not even lighthearted rhymes? Wow...
With 'they' I meant her peers at school. In particular any who might not like her. Becuase, sadly, most kids have at least one arch enemy at school. Many have more.

Nope.. I'm really trying to think of any time someone was teased for their name but I can't.
Are you referring to primary or secondary school though? Because while I do remember teasing in primary school, I can't imagine a bunch of English under 11s knowing about a university in America, And for secondary school I do not remember any bullying, and still, I can't imagine people knowing about this university (unless they are some MNers DC, maybe )

I thought you were in the States? Are you coming back to the UK then before she goes to primary school?
No, I guess in the UK they wouldn't know Baylor. Might compare it to Taylor, Gaynor, Bailey, or Beryl, in terms of familiarity to UK kids.
Primary school teasing in terms of names is usually worse than high school. The little ones' are fairly innocuous; it's the 9-12 year olds' that can be really ferocious. High school kids ostracise in more sophisticated ways than through names, normally.

Yes -- there is a difference between the non rhotic bayla and the rhotic baylorrrrr.

The non rhotic bayla lends itself to bale o' hay - nobody would need to know anything about Baylor University to get that one up and running. Just the sight of hair blown about in the wind. Or a particular haircut.

Baylor is the name of a college, so historically they trickle down into names (particularly for boys). It's not a girls name, or at least, Ive only met 3 Baylor's and they are all male. It's kind of up there with Barker. If you're American, living in a colonial 4 bed, you can totally rock it. If you're living in a 3 bed terrace in Aylesbury, you should probably reconsider...

I probably wouldn't in the UK. In the US though, a lot of stuff goes that will sound strange in the UK. I know a Landry, that's a sweet name for a little girl? Baylor sounds so belligerent...but, as I always, always say on these threads - your child. Your choice