Name regret

[User1983]

So the 2017 top 100 names have been published. My 2018 baby is called Oliver. There was pressure from hubby and I was massively sleep deprived during the first week so I agreed but I have massive name regret now! Every time something like this is published it just confirms it.

It's not too late to change it if you feel that you prefer another name.

user1983 name regret is one of the indicators for PND... I had a massive issue with DD's name for the first 12 months of her life but now love it just as much as I did during pregnancy. I wish I had have known it was a PND indicator, I might have been a bit quicker to realise that for me the name regret was a symptom not a problem.

It's still less than 1% of babies, though. There's a good chance he'll be the only one in his class or even his year at school. Plus it's popular for a reason - it's a lovely name!

As pp has said it’s popularity reflects how nice it is. There’s nothing wrong with a more popular name and if you live in certain areas you’ll find that it’s the ‘popular names’ that are uncommon among all the Ophelias and Persephones

Oliver is a lovely name. I’ve got a toddler and a newborn and their names are something like 21st and 41st in the list, I’ve met other children with both their names. I’ve never met or know of an Oliver.

Does it really matter?

I would stick with it tbh. I don't actually know any baby Olivers, just a couple of boys around 8 or 9 years of age.

MonaChopsis I didn't know that, so thanks for pointing that oout. I too had name regret and PND and hadn't linked the two. I love DSs names, so it makes total sense now you've said it.

It's nice and seems to be perennially popular. It's a classic.
Being popular only matters if he is one of several in his peer group.

What name would you like? Not too late to change

It's a gorgeous name. But not too late to change if you want to. My ds has a fairly unusual name (outside top 150) and I chose to give my dd a top 20 name partly because everyone asks twice and shows surprise when I say my ds's name. I love them both though so try not to care what others think.

I have a 4 month old and 21 month old. The only Oliver I know is 32. But, if you do want to change his name, you really can.

Not a single Oliver in DD's reception class.

Oliver has been a very popular name for many years so there will be lots of Olivers. It will probably fall out of fashion at some point.
But what matters most is whether you love the name or not. Is there another name you prefer? It's not too late to change it.

My dd has a name that features in top 3 every year. There was not one child of her name to be seen when l gave her the name but it suddenly took off. It hasn't affected her in the slightest all these years and l still love the name.
Could you call him Ollie which is a lovely name, l think

My DS is called Oliver when we chose the name 21 years ago it wasn’t even in the top 20 of names . You never know what is going to happen with names and fashions . My best advise is choose a name you love and not worry about tables

I felt a bit meh over my oldests name but i love it now and it is very him. Also - are you an "out there" type of person whose preference is Bluebell over Belinda? If not then you are likely to choose from within top 30.

I love Oliver. It's popular because it's almost universally liked. That's not a bad thing. And it's not like being called John was in the 1920s, because there were so few names in use back then. Now, so many more names are being used, so an Oliver still may end up being the only Oliver in the class/team/group etc.

My little boy is 60 something in the list and my little girl isn't on there and probably never will be wish I picked a more unusual name for my son now though although 4 years ago it wasn't popular x

I had name regret and pnd, so agree there can be a link.

Not a problem at all for me now.

My 4 yo made a best friend based on sharing the same name. They also come up with fab ways of adapting their names to identify themselves.

I have a laugh with the other mums complimenting their ace taste in names.

For what it's worth, Oliver is a lovely name.

It’s been number for for about ten years, but there is a reason for that - it’s a great name.

However, do you have a middle name you could call him? So he’s known as Fred but his name is Oliver? Not unheard of

When we picked DDs name we didn't know any and she was our PFB. There were none then! Unfortunately, everyone also seemed to think that way. Now, it or variations of it are top 10! Her BFF has the same name and they were born within 24hrs of each other at opposite ends of the country. Because of this she wishes she'd had our second choice and I sometimes think of it, but her name suits her and I still love it for all the reasons I did then.

Oliver is a very nice, perfectly sensible name.

There are no Oliver’s in my DC’s year and in fact I only know child with the name (aged 15yo)

Is name regret really a symptom of pnd? Wow that makes s3nse. I felt very powerless and controlled when my dc1 was small. Her father, my xh, chose her name, i didnt feel it was thw right chouce for years. I am much happier now an i never think about whether her name was a good choice or not now.

In my family the first born son is alway called James followed by a middle name and in all instances is referred to by his middle name. This has been going on for as many generations as I know about so perfectly normal to me.