Are you honest when commenting on names in real life?

[Abrakatabra]

Has it ever happened to you to think "what an awful name, poor kid" and then say to the parents "aww lovely name"?

Of course...if someone tells you their new babies name, the only response is to say how lovely it is.

No I would not be honest. No good would come of being unkind or negative about a child's name. I would probably not be effusive about a name I didn't like for a child that hasn't been born yet, but I wouldn't be overtly negative about it.

Of course! If the kid is named already, what's the point of being rude. Even if they aren't born yet, it's rude to critisize. The most I'd say would be, if they mentioned two choices, "I prefer (this one), but they are both nice".

Yes. A few times. But the kid almost always grows into the name regardless, even the most dreadful names seem reasonable over time.

Of course not, I'm not an arsehole.

If I really don't like it I try to say nothing, but usually would say something inane but vaguely positive.

Except for one memorable occasion. DSis' PFB was nameless for several days. When she phoned to to me what they'd decided on it was so outlandish I thought she was joking and laughed

Child is 18yo now and his name is quite common among younger children!

I wouldn’t dream of saying “aww lovely name” to a name I think is awful. I’d say, “Congratulations, what a darling, he looks so much like his big sister Ptarmigan as a baby”

For clarity, that's a yes to 'Do you dislike a name and keep quiet? And not a yes to the question in the thread title - I'm not a monster.

Of course! The only time Ive been negative was when I was much younger (although old enough to know better) and a bit drunk, on the phone to my sister, and I have always regretted it. Child ended up being the other sex anyway so didn’t get the name, which doesn’t seem nearly so outlandish now anyway. I was a judgemental arse.

@FourTeaFallOut

For clarity, that's a yes to 'Do you dislike a name and keep quiet? And not a yes to the question in the thread title - I'm not a monster.

Yes, mine was in response to that too!

If it's a name which just isn't to your tastes, then you just go "Ah, that's lovely."
If it's something really quite bad then it probably depends a) on how well I know the person and b) on whether they've already filled out the birth certificate or if they're just floating it as an idea.

If my colleague were to tell me they've got a kid called Rainbow- smile and nod. If my sister were to tell me tomorrow that she's pregnant and thinking about Rainbow, I might press it.

In my whole experience of many many years I've only thought two baby names revealed to me as truly awful.

1. Nevaeh - dh's 2nd cousin's child.
2. Beau - posh woman at school's third son.

I expect I said something nice to the parents.

Of course I’ve lied to people about their choice of baby name.
You can’t tell a friend that you hate what they’ve called their tiny baby.

After the baby is born and named? No of course not. I don’t feel the need to comment on the name at all. I usually just tell the baby how lovely they are.

Before the birth and if a friend asked my opinion? Probably not then either tbh. Unless it was something really off the wall and had a connotation they weren’t aware of, then I might alert them to that. But I wouldn’t criticise the name itself.

Absolutely not. What would that achieve except hurt feelings.

White lies really are necessary in this life. People who 'call a spade a spade' are invariably absolute arseholes.

Of course not. Because I’m not a rude, ill-mannered oaf. The whole point of asking about baby names on MN is that people will tell you what they really think, which they are too polite to do IRL.

@A580Hojas

In my whole experience of many many years I've only thought two baby names revealed to me as truly awful.

1. Nevaeh - dh's 2nd cousin's child.
2. Beau - posh woman at school's third son.

I expect I said something nice to the parents.

See, you can't even come onto an anonymous Internet thread about names without insulting someone! There will be people who read this who've named their DC those names. Can you not, for 5 minutes, resist putting the boot in? AIBU is that way ➡️

They don’t ask you for your opinion when telling the name, so smile and say it’s lovely.

I keep my mouth shut, nod and smile.

I've met someone with a child called Blade.

It would be rude and unnecessary to be honest.

Unless the name was REEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYY offensive and you really HAD to say something

Like Hitler, or Donald

Are you honest when commenting on names in real life?

Of course not, my reply is always
Aw, that's lovely 😂😂
Last week my neighbours became Grandparents for the first time. I took a card and a bottle round for them and asked about the baby.
It's got the same name as my sister's dog I was thinking wtf when dd said that's the same name as Auntie Terri's dog 😂😂😂

I would never say a name was awful.

The only time I would comment would be if it was before the baby was born or very shortly after, and the issue wasn’t with the name itself but with how it sounded with the surname. If it was awful, I’d maybe say it in a way where it was clear I wasn’t criticising the chosen name, just pointing out what they may not have considered. Eg “Well Mike is a lovely name, but have you thought that maybe with the surname Hunt it sounds a bit rude..?”

I’ve only ever said something once.
Named child a lovely name but couple with her surname meant he had the name of a very well known sex offender. She didn’t think people would make the connection.

I try to be polite and make a simple compliment like "nice name" or just keep quiet.
A friend of mine gave her son a name nobody (really nobody) likes and which is like an invitation for bullying. However it's her choice and she didn't ask me in advance, so I just remained silent.
My sister asked me in advance what I think about possible names for dd1 and I was honest.

I always just say "that's lovely"

However DD1 is currently pregnant & I am completely honest with her & have so far told her "that's not a name, it's a letter in the alphabet" (Jay) & "I don't like that, it's very dated" (Dylan).