Hello
Some of you may remember filling in a survey for us a while back about baby names - and specifically, whether your parents or in-laws liked or disliked the names you chose for your children. Meanwhile, we were asking posters on Gransnet what they thought about the names their children had chosen for their grandchildren.
We released the results today, and we can reveal...
Nearly one-fifth of grandparents (19%) say they hate or have hated their grandchild’s name.
More than a third of parents (38%) say that when it comes to grandparents and choosing babies’ names, it’s none of their business. 31% of grandparents say the same;
Almost one in six (15%) parents say they have a parent or in-law who hates their baby’s name;
6% of parents have fallen out with their parents or in-laws about their choice of baby name. Of those, 4% said that the disagreement was so bad they have ended their relationship;
3% of parents say the grandparents’ first response to the name was laughter, and 10% say the grandparents said simply “What?”;
Names hated by grandparents include Charlotte, Aurora, Elijah, Finn, Jack, Lindsay, Noah, Sally and Tabitha.
The top reasons for grandparents’ objections, according to parents, are:
The name was too odd (28%)
Annoyance that the grandparents’ suggested name hadn’t been used (20%)
The name was too ‘made up’ or unconventional (15%)
The name was too old-fashioned (11%)
The belief that the name will embarrass the child (10%)
Annoyance that a family name hadn’t been used (10%)
The name reminds them of someone they dislike (10%)
The name is too plain or ugly (5%), too hard to pronounce (4%), or too difficult to spell (3%)
Grandmothers seem to have much stronger views that granddads. 44% of parents who reported objections said the complaints came from their own mother, and 42% said they came from their mother-in-law - as opposed to just 14% who said their own dad objected and a further 14% who said their father-in-law objected.
You can see more coverage of the results here, here and here.
Here are the Press team's favourite quotes from survey respondents:
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"They said 'Keith? Like your pal Big Keith?'. (DS's name is Heath.)"
"SURPRISE AS HIS MOTHER CALLED HIM DYLAN WHICH IS THE NAME OF OUR CAT"
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Have YOU deliberately called your child something ridiculous to annoy the wider family? Or been surprised by the response to what you thought was a perfectly lovely name? Tell us everything (or don't, obviously - the choice is yours)
Thanks
MNHQ