Changing baby's name

[mumsymummum]

Has anyone changed their baby's name? DD is 7 weeks old, already registered and we've told everyone the name BUT I'm having doubts. We didn't find anything we absolutely loved the whole pregnancy so just picked the name we liked the most the day after she was born, but now I keep finding names I prefer 😭 DH says it would be too weird and embarrassing to change it now so we should just stick with it. WWYD? There's nothing wrong with the name - perfectly inoffensive - I just think we maybe could have chosen better...

Oh definitely change it. She is too young for you to be feeling like this about her name and it’s only going to get worst. I think it’s more important to name your child a name you like than worry about what other people think and people do change the name after announcing. I know two people who have done it. Change it and be happy, you won’t regret it. Good luck xxx

Just change it. Not weird - perfectly understandable, and everyone will quickly move on. We all understand the pressure for a decision in that moment of the birth.

Even if someone does think it's weird, does that matter compared with your long term feelings of regret? I think if you and your husband set the tone in the announcement - not embarrassed, no need to apologise or explain, just her name has been changed, it is now.... Keep it simple, light, be clear and decisive and move on. If someone wants to discuss it just say we changed our minds. You don't have to discuss it or defend the decision.

Did you give her a middle name? And if so did you announce it? If not just tell people you're swapping the names around as you now prefer middle name

Just change it, :)
Not embarrassing! As long as there is nothing with her name stamped all over it your all good! Some people at 7 weeks still haven't decided. I know someone who's mum changed her name at about 12 weeks old, from Rose to Ruby! Not a massive change but it was fine, no one ever called her Rose and Ruby suited her more.

You can change it, but be aware that her birth certificate will always show her original name. They add the new name as an amendment, rather than issuing a whole new certificate. Not a problem per se, but your daughter will have to explain it for the rest of her life!

Change it to the name you want to call her. She's tiny. You can't not change it because of embarrassment.

I'm going to go against the grain and say stick with it - you had 9 months to choose a name - alternative names don't just pop up 7 weeks after she was born? All the baby thin

Sorry pressed post to early

Meant so say did you get cards/baby things with her name on which now will look silly? Also faff to change things on all the documents

Stick with it. If you change it, you'll probably find yet another na,me you prefer.

Change it. But only if there's an alternative name you are set on, if there are several then you might find yourself having the same thoughts after changing it. People will soon adjust, and at only 7 weeks you can't have met many new people that she's been introduced to (especially in this climate). I would test out a new name for a few weeks to check that you are certain before making anything official. I still regret my dds name 5 years on and wish I had changed it so I may be biased in my opinion though.

I think if there's a name you definitely prefer change it. It's not like you can announce the change to anymore than 5 people face to face anyway so you won't have to deal with many questions

Sod embarrassing. You might get a few raised eyebrows but no one will remember this time next year, where as you all have to live with her name for life. Pick something you love and change it now

Have you actually got another name you love? If not and you're just going to be scrabbling around for another name you're not 100% on then I'd say stick with it and consider using a nickname (you could get a bit creative) or her middle name. If you've found another name you're absolutely in love with and know you won't waver from then change it. But bear in mind she'll have to declare both names on every official form she ever completes in her life, so make sure the hassle you're creating for her is worth it 🙈

It doesn't sound like you actually have a specific name you now wish you'd called her, so much as that other things you quite like keep popping up. On that basis, I'd say leave it as is, especially given the hassle you'd be creating for her in future.

I know someone who changed her baby’s name at about seven months old. It’s fine! For a while everyone called her the first name, but then people got used to it. Said baby is now 3 and I never think of her as the old name anymore. (We all liked the new name better anyway - not that that matters in the slightest.)

I would just do it and now rather than later. You don’t want to dwell on it any longer, and your baby will start to get used to her name.

Thanks for the advice/thoughts. There still isn't another name that I love but there are a few others that I prefer. Maybe I'll leave it a couple of weeks and see if a strong alternative emerges...

I think my main issue with this name is that it sounds a bit nickname-y (name ends "ie") which is fine when she's a child but the more I think about it, the more I worry that she might prefer something with a bit more gravitas when she's older. It is a stand-alone name but there are a couple of longer names which it could plausibly be short for, so I wonder whether to just change the birth certificate to one of those, carry on calling her by the current name, but then she has the option to use the longer name and/or we could start using that 🤷‍♀️

@ArtichokeAardvark

You can change it, but be aware that her birth certificate will always show her original name. They add the new name as an amendment, rather than issuing a whole new certificate. Not a problem per se, but your daughter will have to explain it for the rest of her life!

Do you know what the amended certificate looks like? Does it just list the previous name next to the current (new) one? Thanks

what is the name? and what are the preffered

Interested to know what thew process would be to change names too! Would it show on birth certificate? And would they always have to declare their previous names on the form?

OP can you tell us the name and longer versions you were thinking about? Not to worry if not x

Theres a box near the bottom (known by or smth) and the new name is on there. I changed my child's name when he was a few months old. I don't mind the BC saying both, it feels like part of his history. Plus BCs are barely looked at

Thanks ~@HeavyDeuty.
How did it go down when you changed it? Do you mind me asking why you changed it?
Do you know if he'll have to put his previous name on forms in the future?

I just checked - it's section 17 at the bottom, which says 'name given after registration'
I didn't change it for similar reasons: worry about what people would think, about the admin (for us but mainly for him throughout life), I kept telling myself it would grow on me. But the opposite was true. I would avoid using it, when others did I would cringe and I'd think about it every day. At 9 months we bit the bullet and it went down better than I expected. Some people were very interested in what we were doing, many congratulated us on following our instincts and some clearly didn't approve but we felt stronger in ourselves and our choice so felt fine with that. We're both really happy we did it now.
To my knowledge we don't have to put it on forms because his BC says his name. If it were deed poll I think it would be different. My hope is that he finds it interesting that he had a different name and sees that it is a result of our caring that we changed it. It is only a result of time passing, getting to know him and getting slightly more sleep that we were able to decide what his actual name should be. I'd always say give it time if you're not sure. Your little one will live with this name for their lives, it's OK to take a little time and it's OK to change your mind in the early days because, after all, they don't know their name yet

Thank you so much for this HeavyDuety.
You have a really great outlook.
My baby's 4 months now and I feel the same. I used to love the name we chose, we took over 3 weeks to decide on the name and I think we chose it because we always liked the name and had to make a decision. It didn't feel right at the time. Since we chose it I thought my mind would settle but it hasn't. It's difficult to know whether what you're feeling is hormones messing you up or what you actually think!
The feeling has persisted.
I think the name we would replace it with would be less popular with others but that's not important. Having said that I worry that if we changed it other people's comments would make me feel like a tw*t for changing it. It feels quite a big thing to do.
Seems that as the name goes on the birth certificate, they shouldn't have to keep putting on forms etc. so that's good

Change it. We did and I've never regretted it.

@LittlePearl

Change it. We did and I've never regretted it.

Do you mind me asking how old your baby was when you changed it? Did you get any negative reactions from people about the fact you'd changed the name? I think I'd slightly worry that people would feel the need to tell you which they preferred!