My friends say my husband and I have chosen 'cruel' names

[BooksBooks]

My husband and I are expecting our first child together in early June this year and we're both a mixture of nerves and excitement. We are both fans of traditional names and so have decided on Arthur for a boy or Edith for a girl (we've decided to wait until the actual birth to find out the gender). I think these names are really sweet and could work for both a child and adult. Both our families have said they love the names, however when I mentioned it to my friends they started laughing and told me it was cruel to name our child something so old fashioned as they'll be ridiculed at school. My husband and I don't see where they're coming from but I was just wondering if anyone had any opinions on this?

[StrychnineInTheSandwiches]

Arthur and Edith are totally common names these days. Especially Arthur, you can't move for Arthurs. Your friends probably just don't know that many young kids.

[FeinCuroxiVooz]

your friends may be a bit dim.
20-30 years ago these names weren't very popular, because lots of names go through peaks and troughs of popularity. and maybe a child with one of these names would have been teased possibly because the name reminds the bully of some fussy elderly great-aunt. however, nowadays the generations have shifted and these aren't particularly unusual names for new babies, and the generation of fussy elderly great-aunts are more likely to be called Olivia rather than Edith, but who knows what names will seem terrible in 2 decades time.

go with the names you like.

[TheArtfulScreamer1]

Arthur and Edith will likely be in a class alongside Stanley, Martha, Elsie, Archie etc ignore your friends and if you like the names go for it.
Folk like your so called friends are exactly why we kept our name choices secret until our children had arrived!

[LemonAlice]

Nothing wrong with those names. Your friends are not your friends, they are being horrible. As an aside, I am in my 50s and have learnt you should never tell people your possible baby names, as long as you and your partner agree then that’s it. No need to involve anyone else. It’s your decision. Enjoy your pregnancy and make some new friends.

[RoseBucket]

Gorgeous names!

[YellowAndGreenToBeSeen]

One of the ex Towie women (Billie) called her son Arthur about 4 years ago - it’s hardly ‘out there’. Personally, Edith isn’t one of my favourites but it’s a perfectly normal name.

[HelloBunny]

Lovely names. My son goes to play group with kids of all demographics / different cultural background / mixture of races. A whole range of interesting & gorgeous names. Your friends are narrow-minded.

[CastleTower]

These are just normal, popular names and no one will bat an eye. Your friend is seriously out of the loop!

[ClaireEclair]

Edith always makes me think of Lady Edith Crawley from Downton Abbey who is one of the my favourite characters and played by the lovely Laura Carmichael.

Arthur is a very popular name at the moment. Not sure what the problem is.

[StrychnineInTheSandwiches]

I don’t think you need to do anything as drastic as ditch your friends. They were probably just having an undiplomatic moment.

But keep names secret until the baby arrives. Everyone is more forthright with their opinions when the baby’s yet to be born.

[MarmiteyCrumpets]

Your friends are bonkers. There's nothing at all wrong with those names. I think they're lovely and classic.

[KindlyKanga]

Don't tell anyone your names until baby is here.

Your friend isn't.

[GGMTJ]

Arthur is a top 5 name in the UK and Edith is very popular as well. I’m guessing your friends don’t know many children and so all their references are 30 years out of date.

[Tdcp]

I know children called Arthur and Edith, I've never thought anything of it other than how nice the names are. Arthur is a family name of mine so i'm quite fond of it!

[TheYearOfSmallThings]

Arthur and Edith would have sounded old-fashioned in 1984, but have been popular and heavily used (especially Arthur) for years now. Your friend must be living in a bubble if they find them unusual.

[BellePeppa]

Arthur’s alright but Edith is not nice (to my ears). It just makes me think of frumpy great aunt Edith types. Edie as an abbreviation is ok though.

[SummaLuvin]

the only Edith I've ever known was a truly horrid women, the mother of a friend (who is now NC), and so I have a strongly negative connotation with that name. To me it does feel much more dated and less appealing than Arthur which is very common now, but hardly cruel... unlike the Edith I knew.

[halfsiesonapotnoodle]

I think both names are awful, really frumpy. However, it's completely your choice what to call your own children.

[Stickstickstickstickstick]

Maybe you should choose your friends with the same care that you choose baby names. Names are lovely; friends are mean.

[Maireas]

I thought you were going to say Adolf and Myra.
They're great names, totally ok, easy to spell.
If their kids are all called Archie, Ollie and Izzy, I suspect they will date sooner.

[Goodread1]

Sorry not a fan of Edith , unless it was shortened ,



Arthur name not a fan like that name either,



Saying that I have heard on mum'snet that old names have made a come up and I am confused 😕 not sure why,?

Unless it's to pay respect to a significant member of their family who has died, like a gran /grandfather

There's a limit only certain old fashioned names I like such as Eve, daisy ect

[AvengingGerbil]

As long as you don’t live in an area where they will be Arfer and Ediff.

[RosieRainbow1986]

They're great names! 😊

[Allblackeverythingalways]

You need new friends!
Both of those names are lovely

[Purplecatshopaholic]

Given some of the names mentioned on here, i think saying these two names are cruel is somewhat harsh! They are perfectly normal, non-cruel names. Arthur is very common now though which would put me off, and I don’t like Edith at all (baby Edith? Just sounds weird - but I guess it’s a name you grow into). This is maybe a wake-up call not to tell people your chosen names until the baby is here..