Would it put you off a name if a high profile news case involving someone with the same name was in the news around the time your child was born?

[Giltedged]

Probably badly explained - I suppose not dissimilar to using Ghislane just when she was found guilty but obviously Ghislaine is quite an unusual name so when you say it most people do think ‘maxwell.’

Would you just give the name a swerve and find another one?

I’d only avoid Lucy if your surname is / sounds like Letby.

I think that Lucy’s a common enough name for people to have lots of other associations that’ll override the Letby association.

I think for Ghislaine, yes it is very unusual. I'd never heard it before, although now I have heard of another one.

I would also be careful about how it goes with the surname. For example, if your surname was Thatcher, would you choose Margaret. That sort of thing.

And also for sadder reasons, eg I came across a Jo Cox the other day. I'd not choose Jo if my surname was Cox as it would always bring back memories of the MP Jo Cox.

But I don't think eg Lucy itself is a problem as it is such a common name.

I think that you'll be fine with Lucy.

My first associations with Lucy

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
then the actresses
Lucy Liu
Lucy Lawless
Lucy Hale

For me it would depend on how unusual the name is. Something like Ghislaine or Rolf would be a non-starter. But more common names can transcend any particular association.

I don't particularly see a problem with Lucy. It's a reasonably popular name with lots of other associations. Also, the Lucy Letby case will probably not be in the forefront of people's minds in ten or twenty years time.

Knew it would be lucy as soon as I read it however you will be fine honestly, I know so many lucy's I wouldn't associate any of them with the name

It’s such a classic name I wouldn’t associate it with a particular person. If it was Lilybet for example, I might instantly think of Harry and Meghan but with Lucy I think you are fine.

There are lots of Josephs though. Names only become unusable due to bad associations if the name isn’t well used. I can think of ten Lucys I know from the top of my head, so the Letby association isn’t overwhelming. One of the advantages of a very popular name is that there are so many people with the name, that one notorious example won’t taint it.