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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

To hypen or not to hypen...that is the question

64 replies

Pondlife87 · 13/04/2019 20:10

My husband and I are expecting a little girl on 18th May.
My husband's Mum passed away three years ago and we are going to name her 'Lucy' after his Mum. Initially, even though my husband wanted to name her Lucy after his Mum, he said it may be too hard to just call her Lucy as it may be a bit raw. Neither of us were keen on hyphenated names, but we decided to call her Lucy-Rose so it would feel less raw for my husband.
I have totally fallen in love with the name, but my husband has now said he has really gone off the hyphen and thinks we should just use Rose as a middle name.
I know people are unlikely to call her both names, but I have two friends who already frequently refer to her as 'Lucy-Rose' or 'LR', so it feels really weird for me to drop it.
Any advice?

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Chewbecca · 13/04/2019 21:11

It’s fine to change your mind about the name before she is born. You’ve got an awful lot longer with the name than pregnancy.

Original poster

Pondlife87 · 13/04/2019 21:16

He has yes. I think calling her it frequently has led him to now think of her as 'Lucy' and his Mum as 'Mum'. I think that may be the solution, and I can call her Lucy Rose if it feels weird not to.... When she is older she can chose what she is called. I don't know why I'm allowing myself to be dictated by 'norms'. Thank you.

OP posts:

handonhip · 13/04/2019 21:18

Go for Lucy Rose, no hyphen. Perfect - and very flexible as the years go by.

TriarFuck · 13/04/2019 21:23

OP, it isn't just the Katie Hopkins types who judge people by their names. It's employers, university admissions tutors (I am one), teachers... They may deny doing it, but they do. Just call her Lucy Rose, with no hyphen. Her friends will probably call her Looby anyway!

Krimpy · 13/04/2019 21:42

I think people on these boards can be (more than) a bit hyperbolic about people's perception of names. The horror of a hyphen, suggesting it will impinge upon on her education, make her less appealing to potential employers seems a bit silly. There are many girls and women out there with hyphenated names doing just fine.

SosigDog · 13/04/2019 21:45

Hyphens are awful and trashy, sorry.

whitehalleve · 13/04/2019 21:54

Never hyphen.

Rosesaredead · 14/04/2019 03:43

No to the hyphen! Always. Hyphens seem to really cheapen names, making two lovely names sound a bit naff. Hyphenated names are also associated with being "chavvy" at the moment (I hate that word but just being honest" so it's a shame to ruin two lovely names with a hyphen that just totally changes the nature and sound of the name for the worst. Also LR isn't really a good nickname - doesn't flow at all - but if you like it she could still be called LR if her initials are L.R. You could even still call her Lucy Rose if you want to. But the name looks and sounds SO much nicer as a first and middle. I really like both these names! I just think it's a shame to hyphenate them and ruin them a bit.

Krimpy · 14/04/2019 03:51

associated with being "chavvy" at the moment (I hate that word but just being honest"

You love that word.

MercyBodle · 14/04/2019 03:58

Both Lucy and Rose are lovely names. My personal preference is no hyphen - you can still say both, but either way is fine.

Tavannach · 14/04/2019 04:04

Agree, no hyphen.
And, frankly, I prefer Lucy to Lucy Rose.

BitOfFun · 14/04/2019 04:46

What about Lucinda, or Lucia? So you are paying tribute, but less directly.

BelulahBlanca · 14/04/2019 04:58

My name is spelt two very popular ways and mine is the slightly less popular way. I always have to spell it out or correct people who have written it down. It has had no effect whatsoever on me- if you want to caller her Lucy Rose with no hyphen it’s not going to have an adverse effect on her to say “oh actually no hyphen”

Icklepup · 14/04/2019 09:40

Lucy and Rose as the middle

TatianaLarina · 14/04/2019 09:46

Def no hyphen.

kenandbarbie · 14/04/2019 09:48

You're not really changing her name though. She still would have rose, even though there's no hyphen, you could still call her Lucy rose or LR when you're talking about her or to her. How would anyone know if a hyphen is there or not. My parents often called me by my middle name as well as my first name. Hyphens are awful.

NataliaOsipova · 14/04/2019 09:50

Agree no hyphen. Just call her Lucy (first name), Rose (middle name) Surname. Perfectly reasonable then to refer to her either as “Lucy” or as “Lucy Rose” depending on your preference. My DD has a friend who is called Anna at school, but always Anna Grace by her mum (Grace is her middle name).

bridgetreilly · 14/04/2019 09:51

Just call her Lucy Rose. When you announce it after her birth, no one will be wondering why it isn't Lucy-Rose and if anyone does ask, you just say you decided against the hyphen. People might call her Lucy Rose for a bit, which is fine, but it'll soon settle into Lucy.

ItsInTheSpoon · 14/04/2019 09:56

Sarah-Jane is a hyphenated name that has been around for decades.... so no, hyphenated names are not “chavvy”.

Personally I think either way is pretty, Lucy with Rose as middle name, or Lucy-Rose if you like it.

BikeRunSki · 14/04/2019 10:01

Could you call her a variant of Lucy, to take the raw edge off, then use Rose as a middle name, eg: Lucinda Rose, Lucia Rose, Lucille Rose, Lucilla Rose?

kittybee · 14/04/2019 10:03

Both my daughters have two first names, no middle names. So along the lines of Lucy Rose, with no hyphen.

TatianaLarina · 14/04/2019 10:10

Sarah-Jane is a hyphenated name that has been around for decades.... so no, hyphenated names are not “chavvy”.

Beside the point. There are old traditional hyphenated names, such as Mary-Jane and Anne-Marie, but the fad for hyphenating random names is entirely new and popular in a particular demographic.

Divgirl2 · 14/04/2019 10:27

Lucy is a lovely name, Lucy-Rose is very council house princess. Your choice, but you did ask.

BiscuitDrama · 14/04/2019 10:30

I think it’s just a bit of a girl’s name rather than a woman’s name. I’d go unhyphenated because of that.

Original poster

Pondlife87 · 14/04/2019 10:35

@TatianaLarina - what demographic would you link this with?

@Kittybee I think I may do the same then. Give her both as a first name, but miss out the hyphen, as it seems to be the line that offends people/ causes judgement.

@Krimpy - I hope you're right about the hyperbole over the impact it may have on her education. That would mean if Katie Bouman has been Katie-Grace Bouman she never would have developed the technology to develop the black hole, as she would never had gotten into MIT based on her double barrelled first name.

I genuinely never knew until this thread how many people were offended by a character on a keyboard, but I guess it has confirmed my husband's concern that people may find it chavvy.

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