Your unpopular mumsnet naming opinions

[Jsummers16]

This is a very controversial opinion especially in the Uk but I prefer the modern “made up” names like Paisley, Braylee over the classics like Olivia, Lily, Edith ect.

Paisley isn't made up, it's a place in Scotland and a type of fabric pattern.
Wren is a pretty name for a bird and a fine surname, but I don't like it as a first name.
Braylee neither looks nor sounds nice.

My unpopular opinion is that names from other countries, cultures or languages don't generally date well or sound nice if you anglicize them

I'll add Welsh names to the mix.

I remember a thread a few years ago about a Sian being pissed off because people pronounced it incorrectly (apologies for the lack of circumflex over the "a" in advance but I can't seem to find this functionality on the app).

Her name was phonetically pronounced Cyan not Sharne and there absolutely no convincing her otherwise even though she acknowledged it was a Welsh name that her parents had seen written down but never heard spoken.

I remember quite a few other Sian's getting quite testy about that one.....it nearly went "I AM a Canadian" for a while on that thread 😂.

It’s very unfair to saddle your child with one of the Irish names that are in at the moment eg Aoife. They will spend their entire life spelling it and correcting people’s pronunciation. Same goes for any hard to spell/pronounce name.

I agree with you. The rudeness jostles for position with the vacuous determination to insult posters on something as banal as naming. It's just a bit pathetic.

Can nobody just like/not like a name without attributing a negative characteristic to it now, or is that not 'fun'? Until somebody hits on your name of choice and rubbishes it.

I know - all those Irish and Welsh buggers giving their children traditional names the English can't spell/pronounce - absolute heathens the lot of them...

...and?

@SinnermanGirl I’m with you.

@BreadInCaptivity , I think the opposite. Perfectly fine for Irish/Welsh to give the names to their children, but hate it when the anglicized pronunciation becomes mainstream.

@Titsflyingsouth ooh no, I think Imogen is ugly (and someone else upthread doesn't like it either). It's almost as bad as Margot.

I do think it's funny when all these young whippersnappers go on about how Emily is "a classic that will never date"...

Agreed. So many people think vintage boy and girl names are “unusual” but they’re hugely popular. Like Reuben, Arlo and Ezra for boys and Ivy, Elsie, Nora for girls. Not keen.

I don’t really get the middle name angst on MN.

Nobody gives a shit about middle names.

An online forum is where real people talk in real time. What makes you think it isn’t? 🫤

I think using the excuse of “online excuses my rudeness” reveals a distinct immaturity and lack of emotional intelligence.

Emily. It’s wearying dull and unimaginative.

I think Olivia is simply awful. I cannot understand how it is so consistently popular when there are so many, much nicer, other names out there...

I am quite bored by classics like Emma, Charlotte, Hannah, Jack, Oliver, Thomas and some others

not keen on Imogen, Margot, Myles, Freya, Phoebe, Emilia, Beatrice, Grace, Joshua, Sebastian, Oscar… all get love here

names i like which won’t get good reception here: Skye, Posey, Nova, Autumn, Marigold, Coco, Lulu, Melody

~You don't need to "wait and see" what name suits your baby. Babies change so much, what they look like today is not what they'll look like in 20 years time, 20 months time or even 20 weeks time so I don't believe a baby "doesn't look like" a name!

Agree with this... never understood how babies can look like their names.

~Put whatever you intend to call them on the birth cert. You want Abbie to be Abbie and never Abigail, why the fuck are you naming her Abigail then!?

Totally disagree with this though. You choose a name for your children to have, and going for the longer name gives the child options for when they're older. We did the Equivalent to this, had a name like Abigail and always used the shortening. However, in recent years my daughter has decided she prefers the full name and so is now known by that. A bit weird for us, but it's her name. Had we just taken then short version, we would have denied her the opportunity for using the full name. Once you've named your child it's their name, so always best to give them options in my view (but I might be biased on this as I hate my full name, never use it and always use a shortened variation I chose in my teens instead)

Haha I so disagree, I think babies definitely have their own look and personality from birth and suit particular names.

Names have tastes to me so Arthur, Sidney, Eleanor and Olivia are all sour names. Sorry.

Do you aye @SinnermanGirl 🙄

For me it's more telling whether I'd actually be comfortable using the name in reality, as opposed to just linking it theoretically. I'd like to try it out for a day or so in case it doesn't feel quite right when it comes to it.

I can't bear shortened names on the birth certificate.

Alfie
Archie
Toby
Freddie

Ellie
Nell
Evie
Betty

*liking it theoretically!

I like traditionel names and really dislike 'made up' names.

Yes I can totally understand that.

A lot of people, especially those who have not been around babies and children, think of babies as one homogeneous group. Which is why on here you see so many arguments about what’s right or wrong for babies/parenting.

Of course each baby is an individual just as each adult is, it just takes a while to get to know them. The whole thing is so amazing 💫

I’m afraid Braylee sounds like the sort of name that will make their first primary teacher’s heart sink when s/he sees it on the register.

For anyone of my generation, ‘pensioner’ names often conjure up wizened, whiskery old great aunts, and bristly old men in ancient tweedy jackets smelling of pipe tobacco, so it’s no wonder we can’t imagine anyone inflicting them on a poor, innocent little baby.

A GM of mine, born pre 1900, was a Phoebe, and she always hated it. My DM, born 1918, was given a name that was newly fashionable at the time, later horribly dated, and she hated that, too, so gave all her children classic, ‘royal’ names.

As for whoever said that an Elizabeth will turn out dull, I take that personally!