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

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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?

They pass the court of law test - I.e. if they were in a court of law would they be more likely be the judge or the accused 😁

After baby Edith is named, just look your friend straight in the eye and launch into "Non, je ne regrette rien..."

Isn’t Arthur in the top 10 in the UK? That presuming you’re in the UK. It’s not a name I like but hardly cruel as it’s so popular.

Edith, I don’t think that’s popular is it? I don’t think it’s a nice name and if it isn’t used much, I suppose I can see where your friends are coming from with possible ridicule from others. They should have been a bit kinder in how they said it to you though, not laughed.

They are truly great names. Why should you care what your friends think?
Don't be influenced by other people. Do what you want to do.

Yup, your friends are out of touch. If you told me those names I'd be thinking you'd gone on trend on purpose.

Perfectly nice, inoffensive names.

Absolutely fine names.

Threads like these are very useful reminders that it is sometimes easier not to announce names until the baby has been born. Its far harder for people to be rude about names when the baby is there.

Arthur has been in the top 10 boys names for a good few years now. Your friends are odd!

you've just reminded me of the novel Fred and Edie. It's based on the real life case of a couple who were executed in the 1920s for bumping off Edith's husband. Think he might have been called Percy.

Loads of nonsense. Plenty of little Arthur’s and met a few Edith’s/Edie’s. Old fashioned names are very much making a return (I’ve worked with children for years). They’ll be absolutely fine in school.

My DD7 and DD4 have classmates with those names. Also -
Iris, Mavis, Elsie, Ruby
Tommy, William, Vinny, Frankie

So don't think old traditional names are unusual any more.

By the way, you'll find out your child's SEX at birth. Their gender, on the other hand- apparently they choose that themselves when they are teenagers these days...

This is why it's a good idea to keep names and other decisions to yourself and not tell anyone until after the child is born and named.

Your friends are unkind, and wrong.

They're lovely names and can be shortened to Artie/Archie or Edie as a kid. Your friend sounds rotten

Your friends laughed at you over baby names? They don’t sound much like friends.

Both are quite old fashioned names so tend to be love it or hate it kinda names but definitely not cruel. They're completely in the range of normal names. I had a couple of older relatives called Edith and it's not one I had particularly imagined a comeback off but there was also a girl at Uni with that name. "Edie" is a cute nickname for a toddler and completely in keeping with the Evie, Ellie, Eva style names that are popular at the moment.

Your friends are daft. The names are lovely.

I don't get telling everyone what the name is before the baby arrives though, sure maybe general chat around it, but not "if it's a girl it's X and if it's a boy it's Y".

Lovely, Classic names.

Arthur and Edith are both perfectly normal names for children.

Arthur was the 4th most popular boys name in England and Wales in 2021.

names.darkgreener.com/#arthur

Edith was ranked as the 83rd most popular name in England and Wales in 2021, but it’s been rising in popularity, so it’ll almost certainly get more popular before it drops out of fashion again.

names.darkgreener.com/#edith

So your friends don’t know what they’re talking about, basically.

Those are really really common names near me (London) and have been for years. To the point where I wouldn’t choose them as I know my child would be one of multiple in the class. Your friends sound quite out of touch - do they have kids yet?

I know 4 Arthur’s so just consider if it being a really common name now would bother you? Similar to a George or a Harry.

I don’t like the name Edith, but I don’t think it’s a name a child would be bullied over.

Tell your friend that they are showing their age and need to join the 21st century. I'm sure that will go down well

Are you the first couple in your friendship group to have a baby? I think people who aren't around many kids don't really know what's popular in terms of names and can be surprised when they hear them.

They're great names! Arthur especially seems very popular for little boys at the min and I love Edith/Edie.

You haven't chosen cruel names.
You have however chosen cruel friends.
Personally I'd look for new friends.

Those names are perfectly ordinary normal names. Your friends sound vile. What’s the betting OP is the first in her group of friends to be having kids?!