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"?

Sarah chose Amelia because she wanted something a bit different. 😂😂😂😂

Every single name will be disliked by someone!

Why are parents so keen to 'please others' when naming their child?!

@mUserBot9to5 I think having the baby names conversation with your husband quite often leads to you thinking: who is this man?!

@PeeAche

I once clicked on a thread on here that was for my actual name that I am called in real life. It's an unusual but not unheard of name.

A handful of people said it was lovely but most people said it was "frilly" "too posh" "pretend posh" "stupid" "hideous" "made [them] do a sick in their mouths" "sounded like a pornstar" "sounded like a tampon" and "a good name for a handbag dog"

One person said it sounded like a good name for Prince Andrew's third daughter. Which didn't offend me so much at the time... 😅

Next time I saw a thread with my name on, I didn't click it.

The point is, we'd all rather not know.

You are very funny, and very diplomatic about your stepdaughter's name!

This post about your own name makes me laugh because it's similar to what I've read about my own daughter's name. Half of the posters thinks it's boring and too popular (not in the top 100 though) , the other half think it's too frilly and fake posh.

I've also read threads about my own name which I think is ready to come back. It had been in the top 5 in america 2 decades before I was born and I am 51! But again, half the comments are ''how refreshing'' and the other half are ''not yet!!!!''

@DoNotTouchTheWater

Sarah chose Amelia because she wanted something a bit different. 😂😂😂😂

Yes, and I nodded and smiled!!!!

People are usually polite to other people's faces, especially if the baby or child is there.

It was difficult to keep a straight face when introduced to a young girl called Rose West. I felt very sorry for the child.

[quote DoNotTouchTheWater]@mUserBot9to5 I think having the baby names conversation with your husband quite often leads to you thinking: who is this man?![/quote]
Oh so so so true.

''no, not Sophie''.
''why not?''

''i used to cycle round the block with a sophie and she had snot on her face''.
Think of fifty more names. Rinse and repeat. Variety of same..

''Ok what about Honor?''
''no that's so weird, I've never known anybody called Honor in my whole life, it's weird''.

If I'm asked directly by a friend or family member about name choices then I'll be honest if I think they want that. I did tell one very close friend that her choice for a girl was awful as I did think the child would possibly be bullied for it. Luckily she has a boy so didn't use it.
Sometimes your reaction alone is enough. My mate listed off some beautiful names then got to one or two that were perfectly nice just a bit dull and safe so my reaction was a bit more muted.

Once the baby is here and named, I keep my trap shut!

[quote DoNotTouchTheWater]@mUserBot9to5 I think having the baby names conversation with your husband quite often leads to you thinking: who is this man?![/quote]
so true. For DS1 my DH was obsessed with a name that actually rhymes perfectly with our surname. Like 'Saul McPaul' sort of thing.

Thankfully when it was pointed out (alot) he realised. But it was pretty worrying for a bit!

No! Some of my friends have called their children absolutely horrible names and I just say oh lovely name! It’s horrible to me but they obviously like them.

I generally avoid commenting either way when it comes to other parents baby name choices. I just say something about how cute baby is, or that I'm looking forward to cuddles.

I've noticed a recent trend amongst my Indian friends and family of naming their baby sons Aryan, which has Sanskrit/Hinduism connections. However, I remember learning at school about how the Nazi Party adopted the word to describe their perfect race and now I struggle to look past the negative association with the name. Even more since seeing news and documentaries about extreme groups such as Aryan Nations or Aryan Brotherhood.

I daren't say anything though - I guess it's none of my business and I'd only end up upsetting a lot of people, especially as I'm clearly in the minority!

Ha ha I'd love to know what the name is! That two people alike enough to get married can have such a polarised view of it!

It's a made up name. Loosely based on a very very rare name and then just... altered so it's pretty much entirely made up.

My husband personally chose the spoiling and decided to omit any accents over the letters, because he felt it was too pretentious. 😐
People often pronounce it phonetically (bless them for trying) which often results in my poor step daughter being called a word that far too closely resembles the word "anal". Mostly she goes by a shortened version of it, which is in its own right an actual name and is much more normal.

When I would take her places as a little girl (because I'm afraid I'm one of these MN-unapproved step parents that provides parenting-adjacent services) people would ask me about her name. But in that curious, bashful way that you might ask someone what the fuck happened to their face.
I would guard my expressions and explain (like it was the most normal thing in the world,) that yes, that is indeed the actual name of my child. And no, please don't think I'm standing in the middle of Family Swim shouting "GO ON ANAL" at the top of my lungs.

Fortunately, (thanks in no small part to being raised by actual nudists) I have never been too concerned by the opinions of others. And besides, who wants to be gently calling George and Sophie anyway?

That said, I told my husband no more made up names and we instead selected from a book I bought on Amazon.

I'm sorry I can't give you the actual name. If she Googled herself, she'd definitely find this thread and never forgive me. 😅

The only response is "How lovely/that's gorgeous/really nice". Nobody wants to hear their baby name criticised. They've presumably chosen it with meaning/love/care.

When my daughter was expecting we were discussing names and she said ‘I’m thinking of Annie, Alice or Abishag’. I said ‘Oh, Annie is lovely, Alice is pretty, but I don’t like Abishag at all’. A few weeks later she said ‘I’ve decided I really love Abishag and I think that’s what I’m going to call her’. At that point I said ‘Yes, I’m coming round to it, so if you like it that’s what matters’. Sure enough granddaughter is called Abishag, I still don’t like it, but hate it much less than I did, and it’s just her name. In any case she is always called Abi.

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent)

And I would never criticise the name of a baby that had actually been born and already named

ha ha, you should have your own column @peeAche!

I'd like to say one final thing on the subject of my step daughter's unusual name (and all unusual names) which is this...

Did the kid grow into her name? Oh hell yes. She's the most confident, good humoured and beautiful young lady you could hope to meet. And she's peppered with the kind of humility that could only come from growing up with a name that sounds a bit like the word anal.

So y'know... her name will never be on the top 100. (In fact, her name will never be a name,) but she rocks it. And she pretty much doesn't need a surname... like Madonna!

I'm diplomatic, I've said "that's different" or "that's unusual" whilst thinking how terrible poor kid

Are you honest when commenting on names in real life?

Nope, I don't want to be rude.
And what's the point? It's not like they are going to change the baby's name just because I don't like it.

Just because I find a name 'awful' doesn't mean it is - many might love it.

I always find myself saying, “That’s an interesting name” and then ask if there’s a history behind it.

I’m always polite to the parent’s faces but I usually go home and say to my husband, “There’s a woman at work who has just had a baby and you won’t believe what they’ve called it….”

I’m sure there are some people who don’t like my children’s names (though they are normal names) but that’s just life.

Unless someone specifically asks for my opinion on their names list, why would I give an opinion? It's not my child - not my concern

If they did ask my opinion it wouldn't be based on if I actually like the name but the practicalities (eg "I like both but Anna will be easier for them to learn to write and spell than Jaqueline" that sort of thing