What makes a name officially ‘made up’

[ikeakia]

And why can’t you have a ‘made up’ name without Judgement?

Surely all names were made up at some point, even those with a very long history. Someone had to be the first one to use it and why are we so against that now? When does it become a ‘name’ in it’s own right?

Btw, I’m not talking about ‘yoo-nique’ spellings or presentations of established names.

I mean more ones you’ve conjured out of the air yourself or perhaps combination names from one or more other names to create something unheard of.

I’ve noticed there seems to be a real thing on here about declaring that names are or sound made up (even if they aren’t, just very uncommon) which often goes with the poster not liking the name. Just wondered other posters thoughts?

For what it’s worth, I have one child who goes by an unusual animal name, not bear/fox/wolf but a feminine one. And one with a combination name that is mostly easy to say/pronounce and sounds like a proper name anyway.

I liked the name Amelise which is Ama for my grandmother combined with Elise but as you said in your post, I got a lot of flack about it so I decided to use Amelie instead just because reactions hurt my feelings although I still think it's pretty and I have a sodt spot for combination names if they have significance.

Dracob did have significance for me but not relating to family.

When I was pregnant I was told at my 20 week scan he was a ‘healthy’ baby girl, then he was born early with Down Syndrome and a condition meaning his bladder was on the outside of his body. The doctors wouldn’t confirm he was a boy until over 24 hours later.

But I was convinced they were wrong after my scan and just knew I was having a boy. I flip flopped between Drake and Jacob in my head for ages (we had a girl name ready) and can so clearly remember exactly where I was on what road when my head went ‘Dracob’. Weeks later he was born and in the same way I knew he was a boy, I knew he was Dracob.

Rachel

That is a very pretty combination, and nothing about it would make me say ‘oh that’s not a name!’. Amelie is lovely too.

🤦🏻‍♀

I know of a woman who decided to honor both her own father and the father of her husband when naming her son. Her father was called, "Agostino" and her FIL was called, "Andres". She named her child "Tinondre". I really like it.

I met a woman yesterday called, "BeauShondra". I like that one too.

But I've also encountered two of the most bonkers names ever by a woman who I worked with many years ago. She literally got the tiles of a Scrabble board and put letters together. Her daughters were called, wait for it...

Jsutoya
LaTrevia

Several years ago, I lived in Atlanta, Georgia and my son told me that when they did a "roll call" for attendance, the teacher had a lot of trouble pronouncing his name. The students before him were:

Key-ran (in other places, it's spelled, "Ciaran")
LaWanda (she was a white American girl)
Shoshana (another blonde American)
Waltershaw
Brionty

My kid is called, "Adrian". lol

You can call your child whatever you want but you do need to remember you're naming an adult as well as a baby. Not aimed at you specifically OP just an observation.
I can't imagine many 45year old women wanting to be called butterfly. And in a professional capacity it would make me cringe. But at least she has a different name to chose if she wants.

One of my dd's has a totally made up name and I'd bet my other kids on there not being another one anywhere.

That’s the thing though, you aren’t naming an adult, you’re naming your baby. And no matter whether you pick something never heard of because you made it up, or the number one name that year, they may hate it!

No one knows their child really when they name them, let alone the adult they will grow to be. You may pick a soft name for your son, to find he’s 6’4 and 18 st as an adult. And the same for girls, a strong sounding name may get lost on a quiet shy young lady.

You may raise a child that hates their top 10 name and for an unusual one. And vice versa. So you just have to pick what you like and see what happens.

I really can see mine being strong enough to want to keep Butterfly as her name as an adult, and carrying it off, but she has options if she chooses not to. Best of both worlds.

That’s the thing though, you aren’t naming an adult, you’re naming your baby.

Er no. You’re naming an adult who will be a baby for about 2 years. Or 2.5% of its life assuming 80 year lifespan.

And you have no clue at all whether that child/adult will want the name you choose. So you pick what you like and hope for the best.

I hated my ‘normal’ name because there were loads of us, would have loved something unusual and stand out. We’re all different.

I can pretty much guarantee that if your daughter wants to be any kind of professional, she won’t be keeping “Butterfly” 🤦‍♀️

Of course she likes it now, it’s cute and she’s a child. But no self respecting woman would ever be happy with it.

As for Dracob... well. I think it’s pretty cruel to be honest.

I have an unusual name and I love it. It’s not made up though.

Made up names stand out for the wrong reasons - looking a bit illiterate.

Dracob

PMSL

I have to agree with Tatiana here, you are naming an adult! You’re naming your child and they will turn into an adult. At the end of the day of course you can call your child whatever you want to but be prepared for them to get bullied to hell and hate you because with a name like butterfly it will happen. Not only will they have to try and be taken seriously by universities and employers (before 18, when she can legally change her name) but they will have to endure the absolute crap that comes from a name like that.

As a parent I have to discard names I like due to our last name, in order to protect them from as much bullying as I can. Yes I could ignore it and just go with names I like, but as someone who lived my life being bullied about my first and last name combination I would NEVER inflict it on my child.

Ok, I’m going to respectfully bow out now. Thank you all.

Making up names seems to be very tied up with class in English speaking countries. I’ve never known anyone who wasn’t lower class that did this. Other people don’t like the practice because it’s seem are attention seeking.

Perhaps the problem with unusual names is that people don't like to feel stupid, and when they say a name and get corrected with the pronunciation it makes them react negatively because it has shown a gap in their knowledge.
Thus the name becomes 'stupid', not them.

My name has become more popular but my son's name is a family name that is 100% unique. But he has two fall back options and a solid nickname.

Also I know a very good lawyer called Boo.

If I were called Dracob, I'd go by Drac and hope people thought it was short for Dracula. 🧛‍♂️

I know an Octavia, I thought it was nice at first but she gets called Occy all time which is awful and often commented on.
Butterfly is nicer than Occy.

Shoshana (another blonde American)

This is the (original) Hebrew form of Susannah.

But no self respecting woman would ever be happy with it.

What a stupid thing to say. Have you canvassed the opinions of all self-respecting women? I know a woman who goes by Rainbow. She’s a professional, she’s intelligent, and she doesn’t give a crap about your opinion.

I hate this board. Every time I come on here I remember why I stay away

Fartniss Thank you.

I see no reason why a confident 8 year old who loves their name won’t turn into a confident adult who loves their name if that’s what they want.

I agree, ikeakia.

I live in the US, and it seems to me that individuality is more valued here, or at least not seen as 'trying too hard'. There isn't as much tall poppy syndrome, more of a go along/get along culture.

I know an adult man called Turlte, it’s a nickname but he chooses to use it professionally. He has a law degree and is a writer. My dads name is Robin it was a nickname but he actually changed by deedpoll years ago because everyone knew him by that name. He also has a law degree.
I know Robin is a well known name but it is also a cute red breasted small bird.
I was reading the other thread about aspirational naming of children and I think that the problem is more that people perceive these names as unaspirational. Hence the “no one who wants to be a professional would have that name” comments. It’s rather ignorant snobbery.