Change his name??

[Mommymattters]

Hi everyone, just after some advice ...... when my son was born, myself and my husband hadn’t got a name chosen and we found it really difficult to choose one... we wanted a name that wasn’t overly popular so there wasn’t going to be 5 of them in the same class at school but ideally a name that could be shortened.
After a lot of googling and reading books we decided on the name Vince - with the shortened version being Vinnie smile we were debating using Vincent on his birth certificate and official documents etc.
Anyway, yesterday we watched Toy Story 4 and on there are ventriloquist dummys Called Vincent confused and they look like slappy dummy off Goosebumps.... not what you want your son associated with :.(
I know you can’t predict how kids are going to be cruel at school but we just don’t want to make it easy for the bullies! He is only one month old at the moment so we could change his name pretty easily.... and we think we have another name we’d use
Just wanted to hear what people thought.... should we change his name or not?

What’s the other name you think you’d use? As Vincent is a nice name and I’m pretty certain any name you choose you could find some convoluted reason the child could be bullied.

For that reason?? No

I think you may be over thinking it a little. I don't think Toy Story 4 is going to affect the way people see a name.

The other name we thought of was Bradley

By all means change it if you’ve got another name you like better anyway, but I can’t imagine any children remembering the name of of a ventriloquist dummy from a film which will be 5 years old by the time he goes to school and then using it to bully someone. What happens if you change his name and then the bad guy in the next Disney/Pixar film has that name?

Not for that reason, no

Think we’re only “over thinking” it as we both suffered with bullies/name changing at school so it was something we were both very aware of when thinking of names.

I think you're hearts with Bradley.
A movie that will be old news by the time your ds can watch it would not put you off the name if it was a name you loved.

Your

Vincent is a lovely name!

we were debating using Vincent on his birth certificate and official documents etc.

Debating? So his name isn't actually Vincent? It's Vince?

I think it would be silly to change it purely because of the film. I've seen it, and wouldn't remember the ventriloquist dummy's name without prompting

I think the ONLY thing you need to do is google the full name and make sure its not the name of a mass murderer or something. An obscure character in a film is so irrelevant.

I have a Harry. Not only is he the only one in his form and one of only 2 in his year (yr8), no one has ever called him Harry Potter for example.

GrimmsFairytales: yes we “announced” him to everyone as Vince as we prefer that but was thinking Vincent sounded more official so registered/christened as Vincent but known as Vince.

I think we’re just aware of how cruel kids can be and as you story is such a big franchise that it will still be watched in 5 years time when he’s at school

The thing is, nobody can predict what will happen to a name and what future associations it might pick up. Think about all the kids called Harry Potter before the books came out - a perfectly nice, normal name which now has an unshakeable link to the character in most people's minds.

I mean this nicely but if Toy Story 4 is as bad as it gets, that's pretty good going! Vincent is a nice name. It's not like he's called Buzz Lightyear.

😂 And if you change his name to "xx" and it turns out there's a new serial killer with that name?
Vincent is a normal name. It's not like Adolf or Lucifer. He'll be fine. Either way, kids bully for any reason, whether it's hair colour, skin colour, glasses, freckles, manner of speaking, clothing style, etc. Eh.. Don't overthink it. Obviously if he does eventually get bullied then that's when you tackle it, but you shouldn't live your life worrying about every little thing, like the name of a ventriloquist in a movie.

Congratulations on having little Vince. 😊

Ah right that makes more sense. I agree that toy story is a big franchise, but you wouldn't automatically think of it when hearing the name Vincent. Not in the same way you would if the name was Woody or Buzz. There are plenty of names that feature and wouldn't draw a connection.

Bonnie (the child)
Sid (the neighbour)
Andy (main Character)
Pete (Stinky)
Rex (dinosaur)
Hanna (Andy's Sister)

You get the idea.

If the only reason you are thinking of changing it is because of Toy Story I’d forget it. If you genuinely prefer Bradley then I’d change it. If you had to go through every popular film, book, computer game or tv programme excluding names of negative characters, you’d have a very busy time of it. If you still like Vincent/Vince/Vinnie their is no good reason to change it imo.

If you prefer Bradley then change it but you are massively over thinking the film thing. You'll be changing his name monthly if you have to change it every time you encounter a negative connotation with a name.

There is a million things kids might pick up on to bully him about, but a minor character in a kids film from years ago is really unlikely to be one of them!

No need to change the name-the dolls are called “Benson” not “Vincent” although I do agree that it sounds like they do say Vincent!
I ended up googling it after watching because I thought I was hearing 2 names (one minute it sounded like Vincent then Benson) and it turns out they are Benson dolls!

BarbaraBeast. I wished that that was the case , they’re benson dolls but they’re all named Vincent. :.(

The dolls are definitely called 'Benson' not 'Vincent'. Just Google 'Toy Story 4 Benson'.

disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Bensons
No mention of 'Vincent'.

I saw Toy Story 4 about 2 weeks ago and I didn’t remember the bar of the ventriloquist’s dummy until you said it. I don’t think this is a reason not to use a name.

I prefer Bradley though.

I wouldn't worry about it. Bullies will find something as ammo and it may not be his name if he is bullied at all. I'd teach him as he grows how to cope with bullying and to be kind to others instead. Vincent/Vinnie is a good name imo.

I love Vincent! We had to veto it because it would have given our son terrible initials. No one is going to think of Toy Story, it's a classic name.

Thanks for all your comments/advice. It’s really helpful to hear other people’s opinions that have no connection to us so they’re honest lol.