The name Chester - am I the only one who’s told everyone the baby’s name/bought personalised things and now I’m having second thoughts

[Namesfordays]

So I’m due next month and pretty early on in the pregnancy we settled on Chester. I’m a teacher and wanted a name that I hadn’t come across and was a little bit different. But now I’m worrying that it’s chavvy.
Please can you share your opinions on the name

His middle name is James (after my dad) and I do love the sound of Chester James but I don’t want to come across pretentious with a double barrelled name.

we like a few other names but they have been taken by relatives and friends and dogs lol
including; Arlo, Ralph, Charlie and Vinnie
We do also like Reuben

Any advice would be lovely!! (It’s our first baby and it just feels like the worlds biggest decision)

is your surname Dawes?

I'm sorry it's the first thing I thought of too.... Chester the Molester

I don’t like it and sounds chavvy to me

It was my childhood pony’s name. He was a very naughty boy!

Chester is a gorgeous name. I like all of them possibly with the exception of vinnie. We changed our mind on the name very late on and we had been given personalised things. I felt dreadful but I haven't regretted the decision at all.

Chester was my sister's cats name.

I don't think if you want your child to have a serious future in a professional workplace you should give them a name that undermines that ambition.

Chester - honestly, it will not help your child, if you are keen for them to do well why on earth would you pick such a name?

So many parents trying to be original - it's sad. There are lots of names that won't hurt your child's life you can pick from - look for one of those.

Sorry, I don't know your background so that is presumptuous of me. Maybe Chester fits your outlook.

@Pollywoddles It is chest of drawers, but so many people misspell it that 'chester drawers' has become a running joke. I would change the name OP.

Reception teacher here. I like the name Chester and the 'long version Winchester'.

I would have to stifle a giggle upon meeting a little Winchester. Is it not a bit much? The kind of name that an American romance novelist might give to their upper class 19thc English hero.

Bizarre post. Chester is a normal common name that has been around for a long time. Not exactly comparable with calling him ‘Chicago’ like you imply.

I don't think if you want your child to have a serious future in a professional workplace you should give them a name that undermines that ambition.
Chester - honestly, it will not help your child, if you are keen for them to do well why on earth would you pick such a name?

I'm not wildly keen on Chester but this is a bit silly.

@SavingKitten , well the name has been around for a long time as a name for a city.

Chester the Molester. Hard pass. Kids in school can be very cruel.

Sorry I don't hang out in Essex so I don't know. Unfortunately names colour perception so I wouldn't use a name like that.

I really don't think it is a "normal common name" as you suggest

I don’t like the name, it sounds like a dog or cat name to me. Chester-James doubled barrelled would be much worse.

But you’ll find that if you pick an unusual name, it’ll generate stronger opinions than a common name.

If you are having second thoughts, please don’t feel you have to stick to a name you don’t like just because someone’s given you a blanket with it on or something.

It's currently the 87th most popular boys' names, so not exactly rare or unusual...

names.darkgreener.com/#chester

It's the name of a queen bee's son at school so hard to divorce from that. Oh god it's also Tom Hank's son who thinks he is a rapper called Chet Haze!!!
Fester, vest, best, chest, chestnut. No, not great.

Charlie
Cormac
Harlan
Rory

And also people. Including a US president.

It’s more of a cat/dog name than a child. Plus Chester draws listings by illiterates on Facebook.

This was me a few years ago! Also a teacher and found naming our son an almost impossible task! Lots of names I liked had associations with children I'd taught so I wanted to avoid those. In the end, we settled on DS' name as it wasn't popular at the time so assumed I wouldn't come across it often, if at all... it's now quite common and I've met at least 3-4 kids with the same name and of a similar age to my son 🙈🙈

If you like Chester (which, I do too), go with that 😊

If you like James use that...

Surely you'd go for Sam or Dean instead...? :D

I don’t like it but I’ve also read threads on my planned baby names and people don’t like mine either 🤣

I don’t think it’s chavvy

My cousin’s dog is called Chester. He’s very cute.

I like the name Chester and it sounds nice with James.

You'll always get rude replies asking about names on here though. 🤣 IRL most people don't care all that much. If they are friends and family, they'll accept it and if they are strangers, they'll forget it 5mins after walking away.

Also I've known VERY successful people called "unique" names so it isn't a blocker. And Chester is hardly out there anyway.

However, if you've gone off the name don't keep it just because some people have bought you personalised baby grows.