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?

I have a friend who has an Arther and an Edith (Eddie for short) no one has said anything cruel about the names. Your friends I feel are in the minority. Actually I have another friend who’s daughter has a traditional name and one of her friends said she wasn’t keen on it at first but now sees how well it suits her and is lovely. Sometimes names need to grow on some people.

@BooksBooks

Those are lovely names

I thought you were going to tell us you had chosen something strange and outlandish.

Just ignore, it is your child, your choice and if you are both happy that is all that matters.

so maybe just a bit clueless rather than vile?

You need new friends

Op I LOVE both those names ;) and actually I know of a good number of small Arthurs (not so many small Ediths tbf) so your friends are out of date.

Arthur was fourth most popular in the Uk last year.

(I also know a 20-odd yo Arthur and a 20-odd yo Edith…. They seem to have got through their childhoods without too much ridicule

Both Arthur & Edith are ten-a-penny where I am.

Really nice names.

They're great names your friends just aren't used to them on young kids. Once they're here they'll be adorably cute and fit the name in no time. Your friends will look back and wonder why they thought them odd x

This is the issue with pre announcing names as there will always be someone with an (unwanted) opinion. However you'll find people tend not to say they don't like a name once the baby has arrived and that is their actual name. You'll never please everyone but they were rather rude. I do have a friend who named their son Arthur, I personally don't like the name but I would never tell them that. And why would they care? As long as you like it that's all that counts.

i can't stand Edith, it's the worst of the old lady names

Lovely names for when you find out the SEX of your baby.

I don’t like them but that’s just personal taste. You might not like my choices. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with them. I’d say Arthur is already quite popular and Edith is becoming more popular as are many ‘older’ names. Don’t know if that’s a concern for you or not.

It's not an old lady name, though. It's used for children now.
When I was growing up, Emily and Florence were "old lady" names, now they're common.

They aren't cruel but they are super boring and overdone IMO

I actually had a Great Aunt Edith,who was very old fashioned, so to me it seems very dated. I don't know any young girls named that.
Arthur is fine though.
I was given an old fashioned name but it has never been popular and I absolutely detest it, it sometimes get mentioned on here.

To be fair, I’ve known people to call their children the oddest of names and I’m sat thinking my daughter who is a Sophia( I went for that because I wanted something “different” with an a at the end to go with my mums other grand daughters) will be having friends with names that are odd and not at all normal. I can’t think off the top of my head but honestly it’s getting worse. I don’t like those names but I’d much prefer to hear those than what is around now. So just do you! They’ll own their name what ever it may be

Grandparents' and great-grandparents' names are always in fashion. People tend not to use names from their parent's generation because those are the names that feel old-fashioned to them.

Take, for instance, 'Mark'. In a seventies classroom, you couldn't chuck a blackboard eraser without it ricocheting off three Marks. So all the thirty-somethings producing kids now have dads called Mark. Mark's no longer popular. Mark is the grandad name of the next twenty of thirty years. Which means it'll kick back in as a popular name in the second half of the century, because everyone will think it's charmingly old-fashioned and retro. What they won't touch with a long stick is Josh, because all their dads will have been called Josh.

Both are lovely names. Currently very popular too, I know one Arthur (also hear it in play parks a lot) and two Edith's. I had both on my baby name lists!

Both really lovely names. I have an Arthur, there are a lot of now! Edith is lovely, I really wanted it for DD but DH didn’t like it. If you like them stick to your guns, people make all kinds of comments when you have a baby and most of it is rubbish!

I was expecting names like Ron Weasley or Daffyth. Arthur and Edith are lovely, classic names! Your friends are cruel and daft. I wouldn’t want to know what they’ve named their own children.

Gorgeous names! My favourite student is called Arthur 😊

I know children called Edith, Elsie, Arthur, Ivy, Ruby, Herbert and Dotty. All primary or younger. No problems with being teased.

One thing I have never done with my babies, is tell anyone the names I am planning on calling them, especially if you have your heart set on it and then some twat says they hate it. Call your baby what you want, the names are cute xx

They're only 'cruel' in the sense that your DC will share their name with half their class and will forever be known as 'Edith T' or 'Arthur H' or whatever your initial is.

If you want to avoid that, you could go for a name which is truly rare nowadays like Mark, Paul, Craig, Rebecca, Natalie or Sarah.

They wouldn't be ridiculed at school! There are so many different names out there and I've met little Arthurs and Ediths alongside other old names and very modern names. Name fashions are always changing. Your friends will get used to the names.