Sharing a name with a well-known(ish) politician

[Dalrymples]

We our expecting our first DS and we have a name that we like. Because of our surname, they would share a name with a relatively well-known politician (we have a fairly common surname so there are a few other famous people it clashes with).

Without giving it away, it's not Tony Blair / Boris Johnson / David Cameron level of fame, but they were in the cabinet for quite a long time. The politician in question is more a name from the recent past, but people might see the connection.

Would you name your child that is the same as someone fairly famous because you like the name, or would you avoid it all together?

Depends on their voting history 😅 if they are from the recent past at least you know they aren't going to cause future uproar and will hopefully be out of the news.

It's a tricky one. They might be just a boring politician one minute and then forever linked to dogging in a park the next minute.

No I wouldn't do it.

Is it Mark Francois? Don't do it!

But seriously, no I probably wouldn't. I don't think I'd like the inevitable references and people probably thinking I was a "super fan"

Ed Balls no
Rory Stewart Yes

Definitely not Mark Francois!

I won’t say the name but an equivalent in terms of notoriety and the style of the name is a George Osborne/Andrew Lansley type name. Classic surname and first name

I would if he a) wasn't too notorious and b) didn't seem likely to suddenly become very famous. So if he's no longer an MP, probably yes!

William Hague No.

To be fair OP, can’t say unless we know who.
It really depends on how awful the politician is!

Heseltine 😂

Just tell us the bloody name

Ok, outing myself here, then swift name change... Philip Hammond ?

To be honest I wouldn’t - he could still come back / do something embarrassing. Not the worst association though as it currently stands (and I’m not a Tory voter either).

No.

It’s a bit of a bummer as we like the name but there is a link

I think there is a fairly high likelihood that Philip Hammond will have disappeared into obscurity by the time your child is likely to care about any possible association.

To be on the safe side give him the sort of middle name that you could happily use as a first name as a back up plan.

No 😕

He was Chancellor of the Exchequer, pretty high profile! Based on that, I would go with it. But it's a personal choice. If you really love the name, go with it.

No I wouldn't

My has the name of a famous (ish) singer. The singer became famous after dd was born. People do remark on it.

Please don't.

@Dalrymples

Definitely not Mark Francois!

I won’t say the name but an equivalent in terms of notoriety and the style of the name is a George Osborne/Andrew Lansley type name. Classic surname and first name

I really couldn't op. There is literally no cabinet person that wouldn't have at least some negative connotation, even if just for the party they belong to.

@Dalrymples

Ok, outing myself here, then swift name change... Philip Hammond ?

God no 🤣🤣 please op! Middle name?

I think it's fine, my brother has the name a a famous sports person who was famous before he was born parents just weren't in to that sport. Said sports person layer became famous for drinking and womanising...brother got a slight bit of ribbing but not major. I also work with Dan Brown, Michael Jordon and Andy Murray. .none of whom appear to traumatised.

My thinking is that if you have a fairly normal name and pick a classic first name, our child will become that name. There are plenty of John Smiths with diverse personalities and in ten, twenty years, our DS will be Philip (or whatever name we choose). I’m also not sure whether Philip Hammond is quite a forgettable politician. We also had even thought of Richard (of Top Gear dame)

There are 10,000s of names, choose another

I think it’s fine. It’s not like his peers are going to know who Philip Hammond is.

I really like the name Philip. Just don't use the same middle name(s), Actually I couldn't find his middle name, so he probably doesn't have one.