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Original poster

Is my name a 'brave choice'?

127 replies

rosy189 · 18/04/2015 14:39

First time poster on this board!

Our first baby is due in the Autumn, we are not finding out the sex but if we have a boy we have decided to name him Milton.

I told my best friend and sister and they both said 'ooh thats very brave' but they were positive and seemed to like the name. I know you don't see many around but are we brave for choosing this name?

I didn't think it was too 'out there' maybe a bit uncommon?

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Guin1 · 18/04/2015 16:39

I thought of, in order:
poet
sterilising fluid
Milton Keynes
the Simpsons (although now realise I am confusing it with Milhouse on that one)

A possible nn would be Mils. Or Millo.

BalloonSlayer · 18/04/2015 16:49

Yes I was about to post that I thought "milt" had some errrr spermy connotation (read a pun in a book about "no use crying over spilt milt" and guessed from the context that was what it meant) but it seems more knowledgeable people than me know what it means!

MsCake · 18/04/2015 16:54

I'm related to a Milton and he's lovely!

Christelle2207 · 18/04/2015 17:36

Bear in mind that any mummy friends you make will almost certainly think "steriliser".

J0annie · 18/04/2015 18:12

reminnds me of that nappy sanitiser fluid as well.

What about Calvin or Marvin or Marlon (all brave as well)
Mervyn is kind of nerdy but I like it.

mrscatmad31 · 18/04/2015 19:42

I like it, I knew a Milton growing up but that's the only one I've known

afink · 18/04/2015 20:10

Sterilising fluid.

sparklesandfizz · 18/04/2015 21:09

Steriliser

IvoryMadonna · 18/04/2015 22:24

A famous showjumping horse in the 1980s/90s

Greenwing · 18/04/2015 23:34

Please don't regret posting this. I know a lot of people say that you should not tell anybody the name you have chosen until after the baby is born and ignore everybody's opinion but I disagree. Other people may know something you do not (eg milt is fish seminal fluid) and think of connotations you are not aware of (eg the ubiquitous steriliser).

As a teacher I can picture him being called 'Milly' and teased to the point of tears. He will probably have surprised and/or questioning looks and raised eyebrows for the rest of his life when he gives his name so perhaps the question isn't whether you are brave enough but whether you are willing to gamble that his personality will be strong enough to cope with the potential problems this name might cause him.

squoosh · 18/04/2015 23:45

'Teased to the pint of tears'? Are you a drama teacher, your reaction to the name seems ummmm, just a tad dramatic.

LilQueenie · 18/04/2015 23:47

dont worry about the cleaning fluid, most products were named after the people who made them so it doesnt really matter about that does it. I like the name. Sounds American to me.

Aquilla · 18/04/2015 23:59

I'm a teacher too and I have to say your name may not go down terribly well at a bolshy secondary school. Especially if he is bookish or shy. Sorry, OP, but it's a bully's dream. Just my honest opinion.

Chancewouldbefinething · 19/04/2015 00:06

Great name! Makes me think of Milton Jones who is a great guy!

Chancewouldbefinething · 19/04/2015 00:11

Strong name. Very distinguished. Miles ahead of the Ethan, Finlay, Joshua brigade...

BumpAndGrind · 19/04/2015 00:12

First thought was Milton from Woodbury in The Walking Dead.

HubrisNemesis · 19/04/2015 00:12

The poet Milton is surely just as available an association as sterilising fluid, isn't it? Paradise Lost is what came to mind for me, and I have a toddler who was FF, so not unacquainted with sterilising fluid brands.

I quite like it, OP. I don't think it would cause most people a second thought in an increasingly surnames-as-first-names world. I certainly don't see any basis for the slightly hysterical 'bullies of the future' comments.

stormyboots · 19/04/2015 00:23

I'm personally not keen on the name but I don't believe a child would be bullied because they're called Milton. It's a legitimate name and children for the most part just accept other people's names without much thought to it.

If you love the name go for it, no name will ever be universally liked and there is the potential for a bully to pick apart any name if they are intent on doing so.

BackforGood · 19/04/2015 00:29

Let's be honest, they don't actually mean brave, they mean 'daft' but are too polite to say "Why are you naming your child after a sterilising fluid" so tried to 'think on their feet'.

squoosh · 19/04/2015 00:38

I see so many awful names on this forum that people say 'oh lovely' to and Milton gets this fevered reaction.

Odd.

RedCheckedTablecloth · 19/04/2015 00:44

"Milton Keynes has many roundabouts. "

A line from the film Love Actually.

I think of concrete cows and underpasses.

clary · 19/04/2015 00:45

I agree with those who say it is no more likely to make him a target for bullies than any other name.

I teach/have taught children called Marshall, Robson, Keaton, Mackenzie, Riley, Riven, Brooklyn - all surnamey sort of names, but as far as I am aware none of them have ever had an issue about their names and getting grief from others.

I am not a fan, personally, and I, too, thought of the sterilising fluid, but it's not going to be a general connection I wouldn't think.

PunkrockerGirl · 19/04/2015 00:55

Not odd at all sqoosh If OP is happy to call her child Milton and be fine that he will have the piss ripped out of him in the playground and later in his teenage years then she should go ahead. It's the child that'll have to live with it, not her.

Hakluyt · 19/04/2015 00:56

Never understand people saying parents are brave choosing a name- it's the person who has to live with the name for 90 years who has to be brave!

squoosh · 19/04/2015 00:59

Oh do get a grip, it is an actual name you know.

No offence but you make a pretty sad excuse for a punk with that attitude.