What’s wrong with Tabitha???

[Rjd13]

So I’ve learned the hard way that sharing your names with family and friends doesn’t always give the reaction you expect. If I’m having a girl I love Tabitha and so does my other half. I’m due in early October so think it suits the season too.

Everyone I’ve told hates it. HATES. IT.

I really don’t understand why it’s so contentious and it’s really upset me. I get a lot of ‘that’s a cats name’ yet I know of pets called jasper, molly, tess etc and there doesn’t seem to be the same concern. So even if it is associated with cats - why is that so bad?

My mum and nan have joked about using the middle name instead and other people have laughed or even gone as far to say it’s cruel. Am I mad? I don’t like anything else half as much 😩

Cat

Beautiful name... for a cat!

I like it, it was on my long list. It does make me think of a cat but I still like it!

I like @ShirleyPhallus for the response. That is the response that all parents who name their children should have.

Tabitha is a knightly name if I may say so myself. A doctor friend of ours is called Tabea (Romanian spelling) and she is the most graceful and essentially lady like person I have ever met. She is also one of 7 and just amazing. I luvs her a million times over. Hopefully your little one will be loved as a friend one day too

Such a nice name!

I like it. I suggested it to DH for DD but he vetoed it along with everything else for being too posh, maybe that's an issue for other people too?

It's not my naming style but I think it's a gorgeous name!

My Mum wasn't sure about my daughters (very rare) name when I first told her it. It took her a while to get used to it and it wasn't until she saw it written down that she realised she liked it. And once she was born she said she wouldn't suit any other name! But luckily my Mum said all the way through my pregnancy "you could call her bin bag for all I care.. I'll still love her all the same"

My daughter is called Effie (bc Evelyn) and before she was born my sister said ‘well I will be calling her Evie’ I quite promptly told her that she won’t be calling her that as it’s not her name and she will call her what I have chosen or I will be getting very angry. She has never once dared mutter Evie and agrees she suits Effie perfectly.

Stick to your guns. Once she’s born she will become little Tabitha and your family won’t remember what the issue ever was!

I don't get the Tabitha love on MN at all. It's perfect for a cat, in fact my own favourite ever cat was called Tabitha, but to me it just doesn't sit right on a human being. I can't quite put my finger on why & I realise it's weird, but there it is.

I like it. It makes me think of Jilly Cooper and Bewitched, neither of which are bad!

You could just go with the cat associations — a family friend has a Tabitha, a Catherine and Imogen, and they're known as Kitty, Tabby and Moggy. She hated her DH for doing that at first (he calls them his kittens) but it does really suit them all!

Great name.

LOVE the name Tabitha. I'd have shortened it to Tea (pronounced like the drink) if DH hadn't vetoed it altogether :(
I don't get the cat / witch connection? but we didn't get a TV until 1995... they're going to be TV characters aren't they?

Tell them you've decided to call her Dorcas (Greek version) instead. Personally I think Dorcas is a fab name but I suspect the kind of people who dislike Tabitha will like Dorcas even less and then when you call her Tabitha they'll be greatly relieved.

But seriously don't worry about the grandparents views. Apparently the most disliked name among grandparents is Charlotte. I mean, what wrong with Charlotte?

Love it. If I'd had a DD she'd have been Tabitha (although happily I did tell my sisters my name choice as I was considering giving her the middle name Katharine but Tabby Kat may have been an error ....).

I know a couple of Tabithas. Neither of them are cats.

Really lovely, talented, bright gorgeous girls.

I love the name.

I suspect that your taste is just too high brow for your nearest and dearest!

Thanks all, perhaps I will stick to my guns!

I don’t mind people not liking the name, there are plenty of kids names that I don’t like myself (no such thing as a universally loved name, right?) but I’d never be rude if someone chose them. A simple ‘not my cup of tea’ would suffice, and I’ll be telling them that in future

I know a couple of Tabithas. It's cute. It's fine. The ones I know are people not cats.

I know a Dorcas and I think it's lovely.

Cat.

I think it's a lovely name - ignore the haters.

I think it's a nice name but I'll be honest my first thought WAS cat. Probably because of the Tabby connection

Its a lovely name which gives a lot of room for different personalities as she grows up, in my opinion.

Pissed off that DP's ex ruined it for me (it's her name) by launching herself at / climbing on him and trying to snog him last time we bumped into her. Fucking crazy bitch. I'm sure your one will be nice though

We picked Tabitha Alice if baby was a girl. Love it.
Told mum when she asked and was promptly laughed at. "It sounds like a witch or a cat!! I'll just call her samantha"

She asked about boys names and I refused to tell her. So when he gets here (any day now) she will just have to deal with the name regardless of her opinion on it.

People always comment on the name before baby is here.
If you say, "this is tabitha" when she is here they can't comment.

If you like the name go for it. Ignore everyone else.

It's a really lovely name imo

It's a nice name.

Also, yes to everything Shirley said.

Tabitha is pretty. It has quite a strong association with cats , but it's not an unpleasant link. Jemima and Benjamin are also strongly associated with animal characters, and lots of other names (Daisy, Poppy, Ruby, Molly, Tilly, Flora, Stanley, Felix, Oscar) also remind me of animals.

Older family members or adults that don't know many children are often conservative and out of touch with the type of names that are popular nowadays so it might seem a stranger choice than it is. Tabitha isn't obscure and her schoolmates won't be watching Bewitched. Once she's here and its her name not just a name I think people will feel differently.