Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Need reassurance on son's name

122 replies

Moodhasplummeted · 13/12/2022 22:22

I wouldn't normally do a post like this but I'm really struggling with my son's name and I just need a place to vent.
He is nearly 3 years old and there is nothing I can do about it now. We couldn't agree on names and I ended up agreeing to my DH's favourite straight after a c section. I had so much regret the year after he was born but could never quite bring myself to change it. I think if DH had known I would still be agonising over it 3 years later he would have let me change it.

I love names and have been thinking about them since I was a young girl so to not have been able to use my favourite names has really got to me. My son's name is Cillian. It has a K sound for those that don't know.
Please don't post anything negative about it.
Every time I introduce him I feel weird saying his name, and I feel regret that I can't introduce a name I love. There are so many names I love.
I adore my little boy so much and feel a lot of guilt about this.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
Wisterialane1234 · 13/12/2022 22:23

I think it is a lovely name, it is unusual to some but I know a Cillian and the family's background is Irish.
Have you a nickname you can use? Or option to use middle name?

CuteCillian · 13/12/2022 22:24

Well... obviously I love it.

Original poster
Moodhasplummeted · 13/12/2022 22:26

Hello @cutecillian can I ask is yours a baby or older now? Does it ever get shortened?

OP posts:
DramaAlpaca · 13/12/2022 22:26

Probably not helpful but I really love the name Cillian.

cataline · 13/12/2022 22:26

I totally love it!

Snugglemonkey · 13/12/2022 22:30

I love it. We had it shortlisted, though picked a different Gaelic name in the end. What do you dislike about it?

Aquamarine1029 · 13/12/2022 22:31

Cillian is a gorgeous name, op.

RambamThankyouMam · 13/12/2022 22:31

I would change it. The "kill" sound is unpleasant.

Original poster
Moodhasplummeted · 13/12/2022 22:31

@Wisterialane1234 we call him Cilli all the time, and it does suit him as he's little and cute. But I worry about how it might get shortened or played with at school (kill or killer) he's sooo shy, I often wish he was just called something simple.
His middle names are family names, he could choose to go by one of them if he wanted but it would feel too strange to change it now.
DH is Irish, whenever we go to Ireland I love the fact he has an Irish name.

OP posts:
SavingKitten · 13/12/2022 22:32

The thing is OP, it’s just a perfectly normal name, so you have no reason to feel guilty. When you introduce him to people they won’t be thinking ‘wtf is that name’, it’s just his name. It might not be to your personal preference but there’s nothing extreme or ugly about it. If you have named him something random like ‘dog’ it would be different, but you’ve just given him a normal name, it’s fine.

SparkyBlue · 13/12/2022 22:32

Lovely name. I'm in Ireland and it's a fairly common name here nothing at all unusual about it.

EL8888 · 13/12/2022 22:33

I like it. I would be a contender for me but husband said no ☹️

Original poster
Moodhasplummeted · 13/12/2022 22:33

And it's very useful hearing people say they love it, thank you. I wouldn't normally post just to fish for compliments but I am unashamedly doing that to see if it helps as I really can't change it at this stage.

OP posts:
DorothyCannoli · 13/12/2022 22:35

I think its lovely. Not too common (in England) but not totally out there/unusual either. I wouldn't worry about the "Kill" sound, and it wouldn't occur to me if I was introduced/heard his name.

feellikemyselfagain · 13/12/2022 22:36

A friends baby son is called Cillian and I love his name. I've noticed it popping up more and more recently so it probably won't be such a rare name when your son goes to school

Potatomashed · 13/12/2022 22:36

I used to know a guy called Killian in Germany. His parent was Irish. He was an awesome snow boarder and pretty cool guy.

icanwearwhatiwant · 13/12/2022 22:38

I love it, it's unusual without a silly or yoonique vibe to it.

SageRosemary · 13/12/2022 22:38

@Moodhasplummeted, relax, Cillian is a fabulous name!

Adultchildofelderlyparents · 13/12/2022 22:39

I expect a lot of people have the same feelings as you when they didn't get to use their favourite names, because most people have to compromise on something that they both agree on.

If it helps, I was also disappointed not to use my favourite names so I named my dog one of them and I genuinely love that I get to say his name a lot now, even if it's a dog and not a little human. So there's an option for you.

FWIW, Cillian is a lovely name.

rickandmorts · 13/12/2022 22:40

I think Cillian is a lovely name OP. He will grow into it too.

Unsureofitall · 13/12/2022 22:41

No need to feel any regret. It's a nice name!

LighthouseCat · 13/12/2022 22:42

It's a great name! Love it x

picnicshicnic · 13/12/2022 22:43

Very nice name.

Contemplatin · 13/12/2022 22:43

Was on my list! Went with a family name instead. Love it

JenniferBarkley · 13/12/2022 22:45

Really nice name - and more to the point, a very normal one that won't cause him any problems at all.