Is 'Isambard' child cruelty?

[SnuggleBuggleBoo]

Ever come across one in real life?

I like it. Sam can be a good nickname.

I think it's awful and if, as some people have suggested, you have to shorten it to try to make it acceptable then why would you use it at all. If no one is ever going to use his full name as it's such a mouthful and are all going to call him by a nickname then it seems pointless to name him it to me. Also if you have to ask if using a particular name could be considered child cruelty then it's probably not a good idea to use it.

That said if you mix with the super rich then probably no one would bat an eye lid and it would probably go down very well.

I know one, goes by Izzy (yes even by his mum @Britinme ). He really suits it but then his whole family are v cool, rock-star-esque.

have also known a Balthazar, he went by Bazzie!

I thought this too. Nothing wrong with Peter at all, and I wouldn't bat an eyelid at Tim/ Timothy.

Wayne and Kevin would be unusual to hear for a kid these days though.

I like Isambard, and it has various good shortening possibilities. But then I also don't see the problem with names like Tim and Peter - slightly dated but the kids themselves don't know that.

My husband has a cousin in his early 40's with that name! I often wondered how they came up with that name for it! It's very rare, shall we say!

*that name for him, not it 🙈🤣

It wouldn't be my choice, but it's got nick name potential.

I wouldn't say it's child cruelty, but I think with more unusual names it's worth considering what's typical around you. If your social circle has lots of Atticus, Montgomery, Bartholomew, Persephone style names then it's unlikely to stand out much. If your social circle is all top 10s Oliver's, Amelia, Isla, Noah then it might.

I think it's quite wicked really. Ditto the poor bugger Horatio who got a mention on radio 2 this morning. But each to their own. I mean some kids have what it takes to carry off such names, but not all of them do.

Tim or Peter are unusual now but not offensive
Wayne or Kevin are cruel and honestly they were awful even growing up amongst them.
Oliver and Harry are dreadful in their conformity.

Isambard will be remembered in a way that Oliver isn't. Brunel makes it memorable in a way that Ignatius or Thaddeus wouldn't be.

Isambard is unusual but not awful for that reason. I don't see the difference between it and Christopher which always got shortened. It's just the spelling issue that's problematic.

For me the trick is to nail unusual but have a simple spelling and if it's long to have a decent shortened version.

I think that's where Isambard falls down. On the spelling. Once you know it, it's easy but it's not familiar enough to definitely get it right.

I know someone who has an Isambard. He goes by Bardy.

I quite like the name but not sure I'd use it for a human child (it's on my list for a future cat). It seems there are a few kids with the name, judging by this thread. I think it depends where you live and your circle and what names they're using.

I wanted it for DS! DH and the midwives talked me out of it. Still cross about that 15 years later.

It was perfect. I'm a civil engineer and we wanted a "Sam" name. Samson was also vetoed whilst I was full of drugs.

Peter? Seriously? WTF is “cruel” about that? It’s just an inoffensive, slightly dated but otherwise entirely normal name that everyone knows how to spell and would raise very few eyebrows.

Nothing at all wrong with it in an English-speaking country... I wouldn't use it if I lived in France, though

😂

I’m not sure I like it but if he doesn’t too it can easily be shortened to Sam

Wayne or Kevin are cruel and honestly they were awful even growing up amongst them.

Let's not rewrite history. I grew up with several Kevins and a Wayne at school. There was nothing wrong with these names at the time they were fashionable and the boys with those names weren't teased or sniggered at for their name in school. It's only with a combination of 70s names falling out of fashion and becoming used ironically for dog/horse names, plus comedy characters like Kevin the Teenager and Wayne & Waynetta Slob becoming part of popular culture that make them less suitable for babies today.

Oh come on, naming your child after a bottle of alcohol is tacky. Not the child’s fault of course, but the fact the girl you know uses a nickname says it all.

I think you are being mean and snobby to snigger at Chardonnay. I know one lovely girl.

Nobody is criticising the girl herself, who may well be the loveliest, most amazing person in the world - for right or wrong, they're criticising the name that her parents chose to give her.

Another vote to use it - I like it

No.
Nigel would be my choice if I deliberately wanted to be cruel. Wouldn’t bat an eye at Isambard.

Peter / Pete: it's very 'limp' and beta-male. I could never find a man called Peter attractive.

And miraculously, the 50 something Kevins, Nigels, Peters, Christophers and Timothy that I went to school with in the 1970s/80s, or who I work with, or an friends with, or am related to - they are largely decent people.

(It's the Carls you need to watch out for 🤣)

Depends on where you live.

No-one in London and parts of the SE will think it is odd.

I suppose we all have our irrational prejudices. This is an odd one, given how many famous men have been called Peter who are/were very definitely not limp and beta male, e.g. Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers, Peter Lorre, Peter Cook, Peter Capaldi, Peter Gabriel, Peter Jackson.

I had a colleague 11 or 12 years ago who was going to call her baby Isambard, Sam for short. I thought it was a great choice. I hope they went through with it.