Eden or Shay for our baby girl

[AutumnLoves]

Hi everyone, my boyfriend and I are really struggling picking a name for our daughter who is due in September. My boyfriend has his heart set on the name Shay but I love the name Eden. If we choose shay the middle name will be either Olivia Talia or Alexia. If we choose the name eden the middle name will be Renée. The surname is Smith. What do you guys think.. Shay smith or Eden Smith?? Just thinking to think if the names will age well too.

Not Shay.
Eden is nice.

Going against the general consensus here but I really like Shay and it can be a girls name i.e. Shay Mitchell. I think it's lovely 🤷‍♀️

Shay! I absolutely love it for either ❤️

@Thisismytimetoshine I meant to say Shay spelled Shae, but yes 100% two Irish parents, with Irish language names themselves. Funnily enough, I think because of the spelling I thought 'oh that's unusual' rather than 'oh that's a boys name'. The only other little (male) Irish Shay I know of is actually spelled Sé, which I assume is a direct abbreviation of Séamus but I believe it's his full name.

The eden (7) I know says eden.
Eden renee is lovely.

Eden

Definitely not Shay.

Both Great names I'd use both and have Eden Shay.

Ignore all the negativity on here they're lovely names and so much nicer than the boring Evie, Isla, Freya etc

Shay Smith... sounds like “chez Smith”, i.e. at the Smiths’ house.

In any case I don’t like it, sorry.

Eden doesn’t exactly float my boat either, to be honest. As a PP said, it’s biblical, but not a biblical name (for a person, that is).

Shay is horrible, sorry.
Eden is ok. But Renee isn’t to my taste!

Why not Eden Olivia, Eden Alexia or Eden Thalia?

@clpsmum

Both Great names I'd use both and have Eden Shay.

Ignore all the negativity on here they're lovely names and so much nicer than the boring Evie, Isla, Freya etc

It isn't a choice between the op's two suggestions and three fairly popular, current names. That's a tad reductive.

The negativity on here is merely a reflection of general consensus in real life. Presumably, people ask because they want to know how a name is perceived. In real life, people won't tell the truth. Plenty of people will say "oh we only get compliments" but that's because people are good, kind and polite in most circumstances. It doesn't meant they aren't economical with the truth to avoid offence.

Should the op use the names if she likes them? Of course! But a lot of people will find them "downmarket" as evidenced here or assume it's boys names used as girls names which is increasingly popular. Sacha, Beau, Jamie for example. I know girls called these names and to me, it's like calling a girl Dave.

Shay is a boys name I'd say. I don't like it, which one goes with the surname?

Eden is far better than Shay. Shay is awful.

Ignore all the negativity on here

What's the point of asking for opinions then?

Sorry just seen the surname is Smith.
Eden for me although it is becoming super popular

I like both of them but along with Talia I see them all as very prettyHebrew names. I pronounce Shay as Shy and Talia as Ta-lia not Tahlia

Shay is a boys name in my experience, I know a Shaynie who is female (I was at school with her so she's in her 40s now). I think Eden is a lovely name.

I think with Smith they both sound like a double barrelled surname.

Your middle name ideas I think would work better - could you use one of them as the first name? Alexia is lovely!

Neither are great. Shay is awful.

Both names are lovely OP, don't let the MN snobs sway you.

@ElevenSmiles

Both names are lovely OP, don't let the MN snobs sway you.

MN snobs? Or people answering honestly? There are people from all sorts of backgrounds on MN, answering a question.

Why ask if you don't want the truth?

I prefer Eden.

ShowOfHands....If ppl don't like the name fair enough, call it downmarket or chavvy then I'll call whoever a fucking stuck up snob.

I'm afraid that names have associations and while we could all stand to be a little more careful in how we phrase these things, these are reactions that will occur irl as much as they will on here. Only in rl, people tend to dissemble.

Siblings called Ludmilla, Tristram and Ptolemy versus siblings called Kaiden, Demi-Leigh and Jaxxon. There is a difference and that difference will elicit a reaction. To the name though I hope. Never to the child.

I still maintain that if somebody asks, they want to know. And sometimes it's important to know why. There are plenty of names I simply don't like because they're not to my taste but some names have associations. Does it matter if you love a name? Not at all. But somebody isn't a "fucking stuck up snob" just because they're honest.

Just in case it matters - was mentioned up-thread - Shay Mitchell's given name is Shannon. Shay is a nickname.

I love Eden Renee. I've only met a male Shay so doesn't seem to fit on a girl imo