Am I definitely being stupid?

[FF1]

Going round and round in circles. Feeling quite rubbish about having called my baby Lucy like (to quote) the most prolific child / baby killer in modern British history (BBC website). I don't feel like I'm seeking this out, it's on the front pages of all the news papers. When will this go away so that I don't think about my baby and the nurse Lucy at the same time? I'm sure others have bigger problems but I'm finding this more and more upsetting. Can anyone make me feel better?

I know how it feels to overthink things OP, try to be kind to yourself. Read all the replies - everyone is saying the same thing - it's a lovely name & very popular which means that people won't make the association. If it was a really unusual name then I think it would be worth thinking about a change but not with such a popular name. In a few years time you won't even think about this even though it seems such a huge thing right now.

Turn it round: if you were introduced to someone called Peter do you think about the Yorkshire Ripper? Does hearing the names Jon and Robert make you think of Jamie Bulger?
is it different if you hear Peter Sutcliffe, Robert Thompson or Jon Venables?

The first name on its own doesn’t hold the same meaning at all.

It would be different if it was someone known by one name - Elvis, Adele, etc.

I have a 21 year old Lucy. I've also known a number of Lucys. I wouldn't even think of Lucy Letby.

I'd say you are overthinking.

No I wouldn't think that about other serial killers, it's just the phrase "most prolific child killer in modern British history" that affects me. Maybe it's not the name at all, it just reminds me of how vulnerable I felt when in hospital, how vulnerable the babies were and it just brings back all of these memories because the birth wasn't easy. When I named her I hadn't even heard of LL, I wasn't watching the news at all and this has only affected me since we heard the guilty verdict. Before then, I wasn't bothered by this at all. It's just such evil and if I had heard of her before to be honest I probably wouldn't have called her Lucy but when I had her I had not heard of LL and I was really happy with the name. It's actually a name I had dreamed about naming my baby for a long time. So this news story seemed to have touched a very sensitive nerve in me.

@FF1 , Lucy Letby is always going to be "Lucy Letby" not Lucy.
Unless your surname is very similar to Letby, there almost certainly won't be an issue.

There are people calling their babies Jack, Peter, Rose etc and nobody thinks 'the Ripper', Sutcliffe or West, do they.

Speak to someone at your GP surgery. Going round in circles will make you ill.

I know little Ted’s, Rose’s, Fred’s and even a Levi (Bellfield wasn’t that long ago). As long as it’s a popular name like Lucy it will pass over! As I’ve said on these threads before, if you Google any baby name hard enough you’ll find a bad person with that name unless it’s really ridiculously rare like Marmaduke or Huckleberry.

Two of my cousins are Rose and Myra. No one associates them with Rose West or Myra Hindley.

Rose no but I would definitely associate Myra with Myra Hindley. It was a never a particularly common name so there are few other well known associations with it. Lucy is much more common so it shouldn't be a problem long term.

I'm 6 months pregnant and Lucy is currently our number 1 choice for a girls name - and the recent news/events haven't changed our minds, in fact it didn't even cross my mind until I saw this post (and it still doesn't concern me!)

Or consider Harry Potter.
Which personal ruined my favourite girls name. Hermione. I could not name my daughter that after the films came out. Because its not a commonly used name and would forever be associated with the character.
But if you named a child 'Harry' the literal main character... people would not automatically think of Harry Potter... because there are so many Harrys and its such a widely used name.

I wouldn't make the Lucy connection, doubt most people would. Give your baby a nickname, lulu, luce, cece.

Lucy is a lovely name. I know lots of them and never make the connection with Letby.

I don't know if this is something actually wrong with my hormones right now. This case has deeply affected me because I think about how vulnerable my baby was, how tine and how vulnerable I felt for a long time. Although she is 15 months and a lot less tiny now, it feels like 5 minutes ago that we were in the delivery suite, totally dependent upon the nurses, and the name Lucy has somehow got tangled up in that. I just can't seem to think rationally about this. I don't really think it is the name to be honest. There is a Saint named after Lucy for God's sake!

Everytime I hear the name Lucy, I think of the TV show I love Lucy

Lucy was played by Lucille Ball, who was awesome

I love that the name means light and that there is a saint named after her. I'm being honest I think I have some deeper issues going on and I will speak to a GP.

I'm glad you're going to the GP. Have you spoken to anyone about your difficult birth? It sounds like you might have PND/PNA. No one, I promise you, is thinking of that woman when they discover your baby's name.

@FF1, stay away from the news. I can't listen or discuss what happened at The Countess of Chester without bursting into tears.

Scroll by, don't click, change the conversation.

Would it help to call your lovely little girl by her first and middle name, or a nickname for a bit? Lucy Jade (substitute the real middle name) or Lucypops or something?

I wouldn't link the name Hermione to HP more than fleetingly, but I've not read the books or seen the films. It makes me think of Hermione Norris.

Lucy is a lovely name and I can essentially guarantee no-one will associate your wonderful little one with LL.

There are lots of babies called Rose, Jack, etc. Look how popular Amelia is - Amelia Dyer killed over 300 babies!

LL just feels like an association now because it’s current and she’s all over the news. It’ll go away, I promise.

Every mother who has had a tiny baby is impacted by this story. Even people who haven't had babies are impacted. Both my kids were in the neonatal unit - my first for a month. We ALL reflect on how tiny and vulnerable are babies were when they were born. It's normal. I think that if you are ruminating over this (it sounds as though you're obsessing over it, to be honest) then you need to see your GP and think about getting some anxiety medication as your reaction is not rational. Nobody will associate your baby with Lucy Letby. Your daughter will not be aware of Lucy Letby (unless you continue to make an issue out of her name) for many many years. In the nicest possible way, you just need to let this go. And if you can't then you need to seek help

Lucy is a really lovely name! And very common. Do not worry about this.

Everyone here is right and sorry for making an issue out of this. It is only an issue in my head so I'll try to get a grip, not watch the news and have fun with my amazing baby. Thank you and sorry for making a non-existent issue out of this. I hope I did not put anyone off naming their baby Lucy because actually it's been around for thousands of years. Sorry and thank you.

It's not a non-existent issue and you are not stupid. It's something horrific that happened.

I've looked up serial killers uk on Wiki and they seem to have ordinary names like John, Mary, Ian, David, Robert, Stephen and Thomas.

Big hug to you @FF1 and a virtual for little Lucy.
FWIW, I'd be more than happy to name a baby girl Lucy, it's a pretty, classic name with a nice meaning.

I get the complex feelings op. Altho in a different hospital far away, my son was in NICU at the same time as those babies. I've found the coverage hard so have skimmed it. We were in for months and then back in when he was 1. The nurses were not just DSs saviours, they were my sanity and life line. It's hard to comprehend what's happened and ATM it feels so linked to her name and your beautiful girls name.

Could you buy a print of Saint Lucy to put in her room to remind you of why you like the name?

But I bet this isn't the only struggle you're feeling ATM, so I'd speak to the GP just to get checked out

Ah! Lucy is a lovely name and I really wouldn’t make the association because is it a fairly common name. It’s totally different from the name Myra for example, where most people have only heard of Myra Hindley so would immediately think of her. People aren’t put off naming their babies Ted or Teddy (Bundy) and if I meet a Pete or Peter I don’t think of Peter Sutcliffe.

I think you have picked a beautiful and timeless name.

I am glad you are going to visit your gp around the rumiating and intrusive thoughts. Don´t say sorry, it isn´t your fault.
About the name, my cousin is a Lucy and she is one of the nicest, kindest girls I know.
I also understand why you have been affected by this. I just cannot see stories about kids and babies being ill treated or killed, my daughter is 5 and I am like this since her birth. I actively change the channel or do not click on the story if on the internet. I find it especially upsetting. Please do yourself a favor and do the same.

All the best, and enjoy your little Lucy (in the sky with diamonds, I hear the song when I hear the name :-))