Ready for everyone to come at me, but...

[Tucancrossing]

...why on earth do some people not understand that they're naming a person who will be a child for a decade but an adult for the vast majority of their life?!

A friend of a friend just named her baby Ralphie... full name on birth certificate. I actually think it's a very cute nickname for a little one, but real name Ralph, surely?! Imagine being a 45 year old man trying to be taken seriously with a child's nickname 😬

Just because you don't like a trend, doesnt make it wrong or bad taste. I think it will probably become dated and associated with men of a certain age in the future, a bit like Nigel or Keith are now (ie always in their 50s)

I'm not sure it's nasty to discuss what style of names people like or dislike on a board about baby names? Everyone likes different things and has different opinions, that's ok and has been represented on here with different posts.

It's a MN crime to use a surname as a first name, which I've done with my DS. I love it and get compliments on it regularly. MN opinion would likely differ. It's not nasty! It's just a reminder that MN is wrong sometimes

My g-g-g-granddad's first name was Harrison (b.1813) and his son had Harrison as a middle name. I wonder if my g-g-g-g-grandma got judged when she called him in for his tea?

I don’t think it’s wrong to discuss which styles of names we do or don’t like. I have a problem with people who think that their taste in the names is the correct one and that other people’s children are subjected to a terrible fate if they aren’t called Thomas and Charlotte. It also seems mean-spirited to me to start a thread to ridicule a specific child’s name.

I don't think you can win with names as there's always someone who doesn't like it. I named my sons after grandparents and was told they were too old mannish for babies. Funny thing is one of them is classed as "not a real name" on this thread.

I'm not a fan of surnames for first names. Harrison, Clark, Blake etc.

I totally agree. I think for female babies as well, it’s anti feminist to give your daughter a name that she could never use to be the president/prime minister with if she needed to one day. If you want something super cutesy then do a middle name but give her options!

@Allsorts1

I totally agree. I think for female babies as well, it’s anti feminist to give your daughter a name that she could never use to be the president/prime minister with if she needed to one day. If you want something super cutesy then do a middle name but give her options!

Condoleezza Rice became Secretary of State. Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck has a PhD (interestingly on the effect of uncommon African American names). Misty Copeland is a principal dancer at a prestigious ballet company. Many women have succeeded in life with unusual or cutesy names. I think it’s more anti feminist to suggest that women need to fit a particular mould to be successful.

@toastofthetown there’s nothing cutesy about the name Condoleeza though. And I’m agree that having a cutesy name doesn’t hold you back from succeeding as a ballerina so the Misty example doesn’t really refute my point.

Totally agree that women shouldn’t have to fit a certain mould to be successful but I do think it is anti feminist that boys are given sensible names and girls are given names that really can’t be taken seriously outside of the creative industries.

But maybe as names like Peaches become more common we will have a prime minister Peaches and I’ll be proven wrong!

@Allsorts1

I totally agree. I think for female babies as well, it’s anti feminist to give your daughter a name that she could never use to be the president/prime minister with if she needed to one day. If you want something super cutesy then do a middle name but give her options!

What sort of names do presidents and prime ministers have?

We have cabinet ministers and a PM with namaes like Liz (a nn), Priti, Steve (a nn), Boris (a nn), Kwasi, Alok, Anne-Marie, Therese, Nadhim, Grant, Dominic, Kit, Michelle etc.

@TerribleCustomerCervix

I’m not a mad fan of nicknames instead of full names on birth certs, but I can see PP’s logic that given how popular a trend it is, there’s going to be loads of adult Tommys/ Archie’s/ Poppys/Maisie’s in 30/40 years.

What does really irk me is when people pick a name that is just so “out there” that is obviously been chosen with no consideration for the poor person who’s going to have to use it for the next 70+ years. There’s a small business I follow on Instagram and the owner has just called her newborn son Bucky. Imagine going through life being called a nickname of a popular fortified wine.

The idea that in years to come (or even now) people will be equating ‘Bucky’ with fortified wine is ridiculous. It will be the Winter Soldier.

That said, I know some kids with some very out there names and they all suit their names. Some have even grown up and are still ok.

[quote Allsorts1]@toastofthetown there’s nothing cutesy about the name Condoleeza though. And I’m agree that having a cutesy name doesn’t hold you back from succeeding as a ballerina so the Misty example doesn’t really refute my point.

Totally agree that women shouldn’t have to fit a certain mould to be successful but I do think it is anti feminist that boys are given sensible names and girls are given names that really can’t be taken seriously outside of the creative industries.

But maybe as names like Peaches become more common we will have a prime minister Peaches and I’ll be proven wrong! [/quote]
But why is a different name needed to succeed as a dancer than a politician? And I don’t know why you are talking about boys being given sensible names when the whole point of this thread is to insult a baby boy’s name. Nicknames as full names are very common for both sexes. Not just girls. And I still don’t know why someone’s name means that they can’t be taken seriously. Why can’t a Peaches be prime minister? Just seems to me the typical sexism where femininity is seen as a bad thing to be avoided. Do you think Albie or Ralphie could be prime minister?

The only baby names I see on MN are either pretentious or chavy names, I like reading the baby name threads and reading the same "original" names being suggested to posters.

@toastofthetown, part of the prime minister's branding is his first name.
Or rather he now uses his middle name as a first name.

His first name was Alexander and his siblings call him Al

Al Johnson or Alex Johnson does not have the same impact as the name he goes by now.

A name says more about the parents than the child.

@girafferafferaffe

People are so fucking nasty on here sometimes

Yep, the smug assumption that you choices of names are superior to other people's is a very bad reflection on people indeed.

Not RTFT but, whilst I personally prefer longer more formal names, I think the -ie trend is here to stay and they won't look out of place as adults. When I visit our local nursing home the list of names is literally like the local nursery (actually that was more the case 10 years ago as we are now onto the Brenda/Carol generation). They were Ivy, Lucy, Molly, Millie, Stanley, a Louie with an E, even an Evie and a Gracie...
What goes around comes around!

@toastofthetown, Margaret Thatcher grew up as Hilda Roberts. See the difference.

A lot of people manage to succeed on merit but if you have a completely run-of-the-mill name you won't stand out in the same way.

A politician ight go by a nn that people can identify with - Hilda would have negative connotations when the UK's mot famous Hilda was the cleaner at the Rovers Return.

Jim or Tony might seem more friendly first names for Labour leaders etc

*The idea that in years to come (or even now) people will be equating ‘Bucky’ with fortified wine is ridiculous. It will be the Winter Soldier.
*

I'm assuming you don't live in Scotland 😆

So what everyone seems to be saying is that it doesn’t matter if parents name their child a cutesy/nicknamey/‘unprofessional’ name as the child can easily change it to something they prefer? Then why be so critical of parents naming choices if it’s so easily changed? If Ralphie doesn’t like being Ralphie then he can change his name to Ralph. Or Thomas or Ocean or Harrison or Ptolemy whatever he prefers.

And I still don’t know why someone’s name means that they can’t be taken seriously. Why can’t a Peaches be prime minister?

Boris Johnson has a daughter called Cassia Peaches.

She'd probably make a better job of PM than her dear old Pa.

@toastofthetown, that's not what I am saying.

You can change your name fairly easily, but if you were originally known as a different name, people could probably find out

Lots of film stars in the past had names quite different from their birth names, often to make them seem more 'american' (WASP)

Look a all the fuss Donut Trum made of his predecessor's middle name etc.

There is a lot of prejudice in this world. Why make it harder for a child?

Ralphie could be Ralf/Ralph on his birth certificate and the response would be different

I guess the issue I have with ‘there’s lots of prejudice in the world’ is where does it stop? Should an African family living in the UK not call their children Precious and Blessing because they are unusual names here? Or parents could avoid names like Hassan or Noor so that people can’t know anything about their background. Or maybe we accept that every parent has their own reason for choosing the names they chose and not all children should be called William and Emily. Almost all names have some kind of association with them that is either too cutesy, too poncey, too foreign, too working class, too out there for some people. But the root problem isn’t the name; the root problem is classism, sexism, racism.

I accept that a name is part of a child’s identity and that it shouldn’t be chosen lightly and it should be chosen with the child’s best interests at heart, but what that looks like in practice will be different for each family. A name at its core is just a sound which identifies a person.

@toastofthetown

Should an African family living in the UK not call their children Precious and Blessing because they are unusual names here?

Of course not.

Or parents could avoid names like Hassan or Noor so that people can’t know anything about their background.

Not if that is their background, but he spellings you've used aren't the usual ones and Hassan is incorrect

Nothing wrong with William and Emily - but if the parents spelled them Willeam and Emmileigh I'd think something like wtf were the parents thinking

You are bending backwards to create an argument.

If I was told I would meet 6 people today and that they had the names you used - I'd think 2 probably West African origin, 1 muslim background with parents who can't spell the other of middle-eastern background, the other two probably uk english origin.

I would probably not expect them to be children. Those are names of adults I know.

I can’t stand the snobbishness of having a long name on a birth certificate which never gets used. I’m sure it’s a MN thing. I have a shortened name as my real name and not once had it occurred to me I won’t be taken seriously in my senior professional role. I imagine my friends feel similar. My kids have lots of Harry Lottie Libby Alfie Jamie Jessie Katy Rosie Ellie Zac Tillie Millie names and they’re all their full names and I perfectly suitable for all stages in life.

It is so depressing to see the lengths people will go to to try and belittle people who don't choose highly conservative names. So what if it gets found that 'shock horror you were called Peaches and then changed your name to Gillian. So what if donald trump tries to bully people for 'unusual' names? he's a bully and if can't do it that way, he'll do it another. So what if you spell a name unusually? Really the issue here is societal prejudice and anyone who can't see that is part of a much bigger problem. It's awful.