Unusual names

[tlnejntr]

Me and my partner have decided on a name for our little girl. It is unusual and I've only heard one other little girl called this. I've had a few people say they don't like her name but that hasn't bothered me. I just don't want to go off of the name because of other people's opinions. Did you choose an unusual name and stick to it? Even with some negative opinions...

We have an unusual name, but nobody has ever said to my face that they don't like it.
Those people are either very rude, or you've chosen an awful name

We chose unusual names (only used less than 50 times that year) and are super happy with our choices . As are our kids.

Also, why SHOULD everyone have the same taste? That would be boring and we'd all have the same names

Totally depends - is it unusual or made up/'yoounniiiique'? Is it a less unusual name but spelt differently? Does it mean something offensive (there was a thread on here not long ago about someone wanting to call their little boy 'Aryan' - as in the race which Hitler believed to be superior!).

If it is just unusual then don't worry about it. If it is ridiculous or offensive then think of the impact it will have on your child as they grow up.

I always think it is best not to reveal the chosen name before the birth as others seem to think they can enter the debate, when it is in reality none of their business.

One of my DDs floated a few names prior to birth and I just smiled sweetly and hoped she would choose the one I liked - she didn't!!

Yes, we did. No comments to our face but am sure there were a few we didn't hear!

What we did do however was make sure that a. there was a nice, easy to spell, familiar(ish) shortening that we liked . Not sure we would have gone with it if this wasn't possible, and b. gave middle name alternatives they could use as an adult if they wished, without too much hassle. Only fair, really.

DS has an unusual name - a real one, but not very popular. About 30 kids a year the last few years.

Never had a negative comment, just a few odd looks and "you don't get many little ones called that nowadays!"

Most hate I've seen for it is on mumsnet, where I've seen it as a bit of a pisstake name

Yes our daughter has an unusual, unisex name (not unheard of) and we got some strange reactions tbh. Mostly in the hospital from hcps which annoyed me a lot! However, I love the name and it suits her to a tee so no regrets

But yes agree with PP in that we told no one prior to her being born what we'd chosen

We've already told a few people, mainly family and close friends. But it's my mum who doesn't like it as well as a couple of others. Luckily my siblings said it's not her choice anyway and that it's our decision. Her name isn't ridiculous and it is a name that has been heard of before and not a made up one. Just one that isn't chosen often. But to be honest my mum and some others weren't sure of my other daughters name and now I get so many lovely comments about her name, I am hoping the same will happen with baby no 2. I haven't looked up the meaning of it- so maybe that's something I should do! X

Yes, sometimes we get 'oh that's... interesting? How do you spell that?' Even though it's very easy to spell and just like it's pronounced.

But it doesn't bother me.

I judge people who are dull enough to name their children something out of the top 50 names so if they judge me in return for being 'odd' I'd have that anyday.

But yes I'd never tell anyone before baby arrives. You're only asking for trouble!!!

People who criticise the name of someone's child to their face are socially inept though, if you ask me.

DD has an unusual name, but it shortens to a common one. It will be up to DD which one gets used as she grows up.

All her grandparents prefer to use the shortened "common" name, which did seem like a happy compromise. Everyone my age (and hers) seems fine with the unusual name... It is just some of the older generation that don't like it.

But I'm glad we kept the name we like. DD likes it too.

I have an unusual name and I like it. I didn't have to use a surname at school and people don't muddle me up.

I have an unusual name and people either compliment it or say something along the lines of "oh, that's unusual" then ask a question about its origin - I think this is a pretty standard social response to encountering unusual names as I get the same reaction to my DDs (known just not commonly used) No one has ever been negative about either to my face and I love not having to use my last name often.

Never share a name before the child arrives.
Just because someone else has used it as a name doesn't mean it's not "youneeq"

3 of my 4 have unusual names dd3 has had a rise lately as Irish and they are popular.. ds and dd2 are Conrad and Eloisa very few named this each year (Eloisa I have never met any of and only 1 other Conrad)

they are all teenagers and I still LOVE their names.. They also like them so that's a bonus

Totally depends - is it unusual or made up/'yoounniiiique'? Is it a less unusual name but spelt differently? Does it mean something offensive (there was a thread on here not long ago about someone wanting to call their little boy 'Aryan' - as in the race which Hitler believed to be superior!).

If it is just unusual then don't worry about it. If it is ridiculous or offensive then think of the impact it will have on your child as they grow up.

This ^

Through work, I come across so many ridiculous names - you just have to feel sorry for the dc growing up, having someone comment on it every time they meet someone.

Two rules for baby naming

1: you choose
2: never discuss it with family or friends in advance!

It's definitely not made up name, it's just not commonly used at all. But it is quite pretty, I am thinking of giving her a nice middle name too. The name We have chosen is from one of my favourite Disney movies, we both agreed we really liked the name before we even knew we were having a girl. I think I'll just wait to see if the name fits her face when she's born. If not I'll have a few alternatives, but they are more commonly used which I didn't want. I don't want there to be another 2/3 children in her class with the same name.

Named after a Disney character? Hope it's not Ariel! There are worse things than having someone else with the same first name.

Aurora or Belle is a lot better than Pocahontas or Tiana.

We gave DD1 a very unusual name - a historical and classical one - but very unusual! We didn't tell a soul during pregnancy as no one I know likes the same name styles we do and I didn't want any criticism. I told one or two people who I knew loved the same sort of things we did!

We then had a bit of a disaster during the pregnancy and during that awful time I decided to tell my family our chosen name (incase we lost the baby - happily we didn't). I was a bit calculating as I knew full well they couldn't say anything awful about her name when we were under such a risk of losing her!

I have absolutely NO regrets about my name choice and I love it to bits. I would use it all over again if I could! I've not been met with any overtly negative comments at all since she was born- which in a way I find a little disappointing I'm always up for defending it!

However, my father dearest did say to me that at the time he felt that her name was going to be more of a difficulty than the disability that she has! That hurt like hell. I reminded him of what he said last week, and he was utterly mortified and apologetic!

In my experience, people don't question your choices so much once the baby is there. That name simply becomes their identity, no matter how unusual. However, I will certainly NOT be telling anyone our name plans for baby number two (unless - heaven forbid - we have a similar awful experience!) and I cannot wait to announce it in 8 months time

My advice is stick to you gut and don't tell anyone about it - they'll only put you off and so many people can be a little put off or frightened by unusual names!

(They're going to be bullied... my ass!)

I meant to add that her middle name is even less common than her first and completely unpronounceable by my side of the family! lol I LOVE it so much and it's just so totally her.

Both my dds have unusual names, less than 3 in the year they were born, one is a definite name, the other a hybrid and ungoogleable...always had compliments, never anything negative, and no one ever forgets their names!