Bear

[DoctorBambino]

Fully prepared for this one to get pulled apart. Me and DH love the name Bear but know it's a bit out there.

We really don't like names like Edward which Bear comes from, just Bear itself.

What do people think?

I'm trying to imagine how this would go down at work. Imagine opening a meeting / leading a conference call / signing off a product / see a patient /submitting a manuscript etc & having to introduce yourself as Bear. I can't help thinking people would make judgements off the back of his name.

@DoctorBambino

Very fair opinion thanks 😊

I mean why does a person have to have a 'proper' name not a name they actually use on their birth certificate.

Typically because names need to work for three life stages - childhood, adolescence and adult hood. The long name on a birth certificate gives more options - for example, Sebastian could be Sebbie as a baby, Seb as a teenager then Sebastian at work.

It's a bit of a default name for anyone wanting to be alternative or "unique" (I rather dislike that word!) but it's fine. Too twee for my taste.

@DoctorBambino

Because I'm looking for what I consider as valid reasons for such negative opinions. I want to see if people can persuade me and test how confident I feel about the name. I'm very interested in people's opinions, doesn't mean I have to agree with them or not question them.

No, it doesn’t - but you’ve asked for thoughts, people have given them, snd you’ve dismissed each one as irrelevant or unimportant. It sounds like you’ve made up your mind already and there’s nothing that would persuade you otherwise - in which case, go for it, you don’t need MN.

Cute on a baby

Not cute on a 25 year old applying for a job

I actually do have Native American heritage. You would never know it to look at me though!

In that case, most of the views on here are moot, then!

People will still often enquire on meeting him, as they frequently do when encountering a 'foreign' and/or unusual name, but he can just say (if he chooses to) that he has NA heritage and nobody would think any more about it.

A bit like if somebody on MN asked "Should I call my baby boy Andrea", and everybody would say not to be ridiculous - but then if they add "We're Italian and we live in Italy" - entirely normal.

So the child can have a choice, rather than being saddled with a cutesy nickname type name when they're an adult, which they may utterly hate
Exactly.
My nephew has James on his birth certicate and his parents wanted him to be called Jamie. Which he was until his late teen years and thought that Jamie sounded too 'young' so he went back to his given name of James. He is in his 40's now and hasn't been known as Jamie in 26 years. Jamie is a fairly inoffensive yet to my nephew it felt like just a nick name and babyish.

This is what people mean about options.

@NotMaryWhitehouse

I never comment on these threads, but honestly I think the Scandinavian way is best: a set number of names that a baby can be called to avoid saddling a child with such a ridiculous non-name

Whilst I 100% agree with this. Bjørn (bear in most Scandinavian languages) is a perfectly normal and fairly common name in Scandinavia so it would be allowed under their rules.

Having said that i dont personally like Bear (or Bjørn) so its a no from me to op.

Hideous

I wouldn't go for it personally.

But your comments are interesting OP.

Why do we like to have different names in different situations? I know I like nic names because it implies a kind of intimacy with person. And I like the formality of the birth certificate version of a name at certain times. Sometimes certain situations call for that pomp and ceremony. I like that we have different seasons for our names.

That's probably what I have against Bear. It is gorgeous on a child but limiting for other seasons of life.

I'm very much having a formal name on the piece of paper and a name for everyday I suppose. And Even as I type it seems a bit silly.

SO I would call him Theodore but Bear everyday.

I do think it’s very cute for a baby, but really struggling to imagine a late teen or adult man called Bear. But saying that, it will be in a generation of unusual/quirky names so probably won’t stand out that much.

Please god no, it's cringe af

Go for Björn or Arthur if you like the meaning bear.

I'm not going to give any opinion on the name Bear, but I honestly think go with you want. DH and I both have weird names, doesn't bother us as adults! Our son is named after a literary character (although it is a better known name in Scandinavian countries, there were only 13 others with that name in the UK the year he was born). And funnily enough we named our daughter after another literary character and a certain ginger-haired chart topper recently named his daughter the same. I think as long as it's not a name that could be actively offensive then the most important thing is whether you and DH love the name! My in-laws rolled their eyes a bit when we named our son but now can't see him as anything else but his name, I'm sure the same will go for you :)

It's so twee and will date quite quickly, I think. Bear seems to be quite 'in' at the moment.

But clearly you're not interested in other people's opinions, so I'm not sure why you've started this thread.

You're not interested in giving your child options when he's older, you have no concerns that he will be teased at school, you are fine with giving your son a name which is sexual slang and you're not bothered by the fact that other people may make judgements about him or his background based on his name.

Sounds like you're all set!

DS is often called bear but it is a nn.

He has proper names for formal situations and school.

Both Edward and Theodore can have the nn bear.

What I would say is that ds has changed what he wants to be called a few times over the years and names that sound perfect when the are babies often don't age that well.

Bear is as good a name as any other nature name. Animal names - Bear, Fox, Robin, Wren, etc. Plant names - Rose, Ivy, Fern, etc. Also, there is Bjorn (= bear) where I come from.

Can you imagine introducing yourself at interviews etc. as Bear? Please don’t inflict that on a child.

I see this sort of comment a lot and it really does say more about the poster's own prejudices than the modern world of recruitment. I do a lot of recruitment and I honestly wouldn't give a shit if someone was called Bear, Edward, Simon, Balonz, Princess Consuela Bananahammock or Ham Sandwich III...I just want to know if they can do the job. But I work with adults and beyond an "oh, that's an unusual name" passing comment at most, it would quickly become unremarkable as their name really wouldn't be the most important thing about them.

@DoctorBambino

Hahaha brutal honesty as expected! DH would actually very happily be called Bear. We both really like it for all age ranges but don't want him to be saddled with a name that everyone hates so much and are so judgemental about.

The connections to the gay community don't bother us, we aren't homophobic.

I just think it's so cute for a little one, then by the time they are a teen they will have become their name and it will be cool and unique, then as I said as an adult DH would like it as his name, and as a little old man it's cute again!

There were 114 babies called Bear in 2019 so it's not like people don't do it 🤭

If there are 114 other people with it then it's not unique.

My first thought was 'ridiculous'.

@Woolywolf that is interesting! And topical!

Crap! Sorry

[quote Enko]@NotMaryWhitehouse

I never comment on these threads, but honestly I think the Scandinavian way is best: a set number of names that a baby can be called to avoid saddling a child with such a ridiculous non-name

Whilst I 100% agree with this. Bjørn (bear in most Scandinavian languages) is a perfectly normal and fairly common name in Scandinavia so it would be allowed under their rules.

Having said that i dont personally like Bear (or Bjørn) so its a no from me to op.[/quote]
So I gather!

I think you should call him any full name you like and just use the NN Bear. My daughter is called Amelia but goes by "Squidge" (at home, granted). It's fine.

@EdgeOfACoin

It's so twee and will date quite quickly, I think. Bear seems to be quite 'in' at the moment.

But clearly you're not interested in other people's opinions, so I'm not sure why you've started this thread.

You're not interested in giving your child options when he's older, you have no concerns that he will be teased at school, you are fine with giving your son a name which is sexual slang and you're not bothered by the fact that other people may make judgements about him or his background based on his name.

Sounds like you're all set!

Wow @EdgeOfACoin - this is a really unfair comment. You can ask for the opinions of others but it doesn't mean you can't disagree with them or enter into any sort of debate.