Please help...changing DD name

[rubyred84]

I'm so conflicted over what to do about my daughter's name. She is 8 days old, and we called her Bryony. It wasn't an easy decision...we spent months looking for a name that we loved as much as her sisters name (Imogen), and thought we had decided on Ottilie (nn Ottie). We announced it via text to family when she was born, and the responses we got were "wow, never heard of that before". Literally nothing else. I spoke to my mum and asked her what she thought, she said it was a name she had never heard of and just thought we were setting the baby up for a lifetime of explaining her name, spelling it etc. Also, she hinted it was a bit pretentious. So, after a few days we decided on Bryony, and this is what we have "announced" her as. Cards etc are arriving with this name on.

But I'm now not so sure. It was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to give her a name. I just don't feel it's a pretty/beautiful name anymore, and I don't know if it goes with Imogen. But I am used to calling her it now (for a few days i called her Ottilie by accident).

I would love others thoughts. Do you think Bryony goes with Imogen? Is Ottilie really that pretentious? Should we have stuck to our guns and gone with Ottilie? Does Ottilie even go with Imogen? Is Bryony a "pretty" name in your opinion?

I was due to register her tkmorrow but ive cancelled for now as we have time. I feel like I need to go back to the drawing board for a bit to make sure we are certain on her name.

Others that have come to mind that are prettier and match Imogen are Phoebe, Freya (a bit of an issue as DH has a close-ish friend who's daughter is called this), Clara....

Im still sad at our family's reaction to our first name announcement...we werent asking fir their opinions, it was the proper announement! So now I'm totally unsure of myself and what to do.

I'm just a bit lost and would really appreciate some help.

I think Bryony is gorgeous. A really beautiful name and has a lovely nature meaning too.

I like them both but if you haven't registered the baby go with your favourite.

Can’t stand Ottilie but it’s none of your family‘s business. If that’s the name you truly prefer you should go for it.

That said I like Bryony and I think it goes well with Imogen. Not even remotely comparable to Brenda - it’s a lovely wild flower. I also really like Phoebe.

Naomi/Petra/Zoe/Sakia/Xenia/Sasha

I prefer briony spelling

The problem with the Briony spelling for me is it looks much more like Brian. We are going to try calling her Ottilie for a few days and see how we feel. But thanks everyone for feedback on Bryony, I definitely feel better about it as a name now :)

I really like Bryony too. I prefer it out of the two.

I personally prefer Briony which to me is very pretty and sweet. Ottilie is a bit too frilly (and a bit of a mouthful) for me. Also, people in my area often drop the letter t when they talk which would completely ruin the name Ottilie!!
Bryony, nickname Briar or Nonny, is beautiful.

But i really think you should hold off making any decision right now. The first few weeks after having a baby is overwhelming and you're sleep deprived and hormonal. Tell people that you need space to make a decision on her name and only tell them when your 100% sure otherwise you'll be making a decision under pressure for a second time.

Good luck! Forget about names for now and go and enjoy your baby! Congratulations!

PS I think Bryony goes brilliantly with Imogen!

Go with the name you love. We had similar reactions to our dds name, she's 20mo now and they have gotten used to it.
I love ottilie, lovely name! Bryony is nice too.

We are going to try calling her Ottilie for a few days and see how we feel

Also imagine her as a teen and see how the name feels.

My personal opinion:

Bryony is about 1000 times prettier than Ottilie. I really, really dislike Ottilie (sorry) and I think it's pretentious and not an attractive combination of letters. I also think of Ottilie as a French name.

I know a few Bryonys. It's not 'out there' weird but it's not run-of-the-mill either.

Bryony fits very well with Imogen. Both the same type of name.

In short, my vote goes completely with Bryony. (And spell it with a y, no one spells it with an i, I don't think.)

I don’t like Ottilie...

How will you feel about it in five years if you call her Bryony because of your family?
How will you feel in five years if you call her Ottilie and you still get some negative reactions?
Which of those would you rather live with?
FWIW I think Ottilie is lovely.
But she's YOUR BABY, not your family's or anyone else's. I think the fact that you called her Ottilie for a few days (she's 8 days old so that's a lot of her life!) by accident is very telling. What's it telling you, OP?
And congratulations!

Ottilie such a cute name. I've never heard the name before and it's so pretty. We named our son Sterling and it was a mix bag love and hate.
We love it and it's our child so our choice.
She may be called Otty? Very hard to name a child.

I don't think Bryony is a pretty name and I don't think it's in the same league as Imogen at all. Ottilllie is lovely, so is Pheobe which I think is a similar style to Imogen.

I don't think I'd say Bryony is pretty, it's more strong and beautiful. I love it and have only known wonderful Bryonys.

But it's what you feel that matters. You can't really go wrong with either of that's at all reassuring. Could you add whichever you don't go for as an extra middle name?

Bryony's ugly. Very harsh sounding, like Bertha.

Personally I do think Ottilie is quite ugly. It makes me think of otters. I prefer Bryony but both are fine with Imogen. You should definitely call her whatever you like though. How about Ombeline? Perhaps it's too French.

I love them both. I personally prefer Bryony but Otillie is pretty as well. Otillie is also becoming fairly popular so I'm sure your family will hear of it soon. Both go well with Imogen in my opinion. You still have time if you do decide to change it back. Go with the one you both love.

Bryony fits very well with Imogen. Both the same type of name.

Yes! I was just thinking this too GorgonLondon. Wonder where this is from - were there characters in something who were sisters or friends with these names?

Ottilie is difficult to remember how to spell. I just had to check again in the thread. I wasn't previously aware of it as an English name - the only one or two I'd heard of before were from other countries.

Clara and Phoebe are both nice (I assume that for a child born in 2018 Phoebe from Friends will not be a big deal). Freya - it might be a bit embarrassing as a teenager to have the same name as a brand of larger bras (if they are still around).

Think you should keep the names you have. Like some others all the (few) Bryonys I've met have been lovely.

Do you remember Flower Fairies? There is a Bryony among those.

I'd vote Bryony. I picture is as a very flowery name, maybe because I picture briar roses.

I'm not a fan of Ottilie. It's a bit pretentious. And someone is bound to say Ottie on the Potty. Or Hotty Ottie.

Both nice names but at the end of the day you need to go with your gut instinct and what feels right for you, not everyone else. If you can't decide, you could toss a coin, and if you feel disappointed at the outcome then you know you prefer the other :)

Ottillie sounds made up and not nice at all.
Bryony is okay but reminds me of that awful girl in the film atonement.
Phoebe is lovely.
Freya is lovely.
Clara sounds harsh.

Love Bryony, Phoebe, Freya and Clara (and Imogen)
Not so keen on Ottilie but she’s your daughter so go with your favourite!