Help please- is Autumn Oates a bad name? I hate my surname!!

[Sarahoatesy]

My surname is Oates. Which I didn't mind until looking for baby names.

My 1st born is called Lyra 🤍

Thinking about name for no2 and love the names Winter or Autumn 🍁!

But have a small feeling these look like porridge brands when paired with Oates. My husband thinks I'm overanalyzing.

Autumn Oates
Winter Oates

Please help and be honest.

TIA

What is your DH's surname? Would it work better with that?

You could always change all of the children rather than just have one of them different.

Great post from @honeylulu

It is the sound that makes it tricky. I have similar. Anything ending 'ie' sound doesn't work with mine, which is most names at the moment!

But there are lots of lovely names you can have without her sounding like breakfast cereal.

Autumn-Jane Oates works

I was imagining she meant that the whole family have the surname Oates.

I'm a farmer, we grow winter oats or spring oats, autumn oats just sounds wrong. Almost as wrong as wild oats.

Not Hazel! Hazel Oates sounds like a cereal bar.

Now I can't get Mares eat Oats ditty out of my head. So maybe not Ivy either ...

It doesn’t work sorry. They sound like instant porridge mixes- Autumn with cinnamon and pumpkin spice, Winter with winter berries. You need a name that is just a name and isn’t used in any other context. I sat next to a guy at work who had the surname Oates for years and genuinely never thought of oatmeal or cereal bars because he had a classic, traditional first name.

Winter oats get planted in the fields round here. They are known as winter oats.

Autumn is a lovely name. I would keep that and change the surname : )

Sounds like an animal feed, sorry. I love the name Autumn but I don't think it works.

Don't call her Wild ...

A normal name is what you need.

Eg
Anna Oates
Katie Oates
Janey Oates
Sophia Oates

Too harvesty.

With a surname Oates you need to move away from nature names
Lyra works well, how about Cassia, Cassie, Amelia?

Definitely porridge I'm afraid

I think from my list Jasmine Oates sounds quite nice if you would like a nature name ,

Although in all honesty I think I would move away from nature.

Yep, I'd give all of nature a miss as well.

Autumn is lovely but I have to be honest it really doesn’t work with your surname OP, sorry!! Sounds more like pumpkin spice flavoured porridge!

I’m sure this is a wind up, who would call their kid winter or autumn oats, cmon now,

There's the teasing thing, but then there's the lifelong fact that whenever a stranger reads Winter Oates the first image their brain will throw up will be a pile of oats, not a human being.

Hazel Oates sounds like a breakfast bar, but at least Hazel is a familiar first name, whereas Autumn and Winter are still predominantly seasons to most people. I agree with PP suggesting you go for a more namey-name like Katie, or Tabitha or Caroline.

Exactly this. I do think Oates is a great surname, though -- but lots of surnames limit the kind of first name that can be used with them.

I really like the suggestion Olivia Oates up thread. Cool initials, flows well. and makes Oates sound like a normal surname.

Porridge brand or flavour

Oates is a great last name

I'm really sorry, I don't think names that are nouns work with your surname. Winter Oates in particular makes me think of going to feed a horse in the snow.

Are you hoping she'll marry a farmer? Maybe one called Mr Barley.

Probably best not to name her after a cover crop.