Baby name regret

[lauraIEN]

My 3rd baby is coming up to 1 year old and I just am not sure about her name. Is it too late to change?

My partner and I had a real hard time deciding on a name, we didn't really agree on any. When we went to register her we were running out of time and I still hadn't decided. I really liked Eve but my partner said it was too similar to my middle child's name. Sooo I decided last minute on her name and I don't think I was ever 100% about it.

Her name is Noa. I have had so many comments from people assuming she is a boy when they hear her name or on the phone they ask her name and I have to state the spelling "without an h". My other two kids have timeless, straightforward names.

I'm not sure if it's more of a problem just now because she is a baby and when she gets older it will be more obvious she is a girl. I feel like I really need to make a decision asap before she gets too old for me to change it.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I really like it but this isn’t about me…

It’s not too late to change .

It's pretty written down but I do think she has a lifetime of having to tell people she's female or it's not a typo for Noah. It's not one you can shorten or make a nickname out of either.

As to changing it, we'll only you can decide that. I'm not sure I would at this stage but that depends if it really feels like her name. I have a daughter and I love her name, I can't imagine her being called anything else, but I also have two sons and one of them I don't love his name. I wouldn't have changed it but I don't actually think it suits him and he could have been called any number of thinks that would fit him better. I didn't really think that until he was older though and he just never grew into the name.

In short, if it suits her and she feels like Noa I'd leave it. Otherwise I'd think of alternatives and practice using your favourite at home for a few days to see how it feels.

My DD has a name that is unisex, but most people assume it is a boys name ( think Ashley) this is not helped by our surname also being a boy's name ( think Thomas) So they hear Ashleigh Thomas! Anyhoo I love the name Noa for a girl. You could perhaps start calling her by her middle name as a pet name then let people know she is called Noa, but known as .

It’s a lovely name. I would keep it!
My husband and his sisters have unisex names and occasionally someone new says ‘oh I know a (person of the opposite sex) called that’ and that’s about it.

Love this name very trendy

Love that name, I assumed most would know girl was spelt Noa and boy Noah. Do you like her middle name better? Or do you have a name picked you would change to?

I actually think Noa is quite nice! Unusual but not too try hard. There are lots of names that people can’t spell, even ones that should be super obvious.

For a moment I thought you meant you were going to call your baby “Regret” from your title.

It's becoming more and more unisex I know a few Noas. I don't like it for a boy but really like it for a girl

Unisex names are very trendy at the moment but if you don’t feel comfortable then it’s fine to change it now - Eve is a lovely alternative.

We made a mistake like that and just changed it when DS was four. It made life so much easier and we've never looked back really. All you need to do is download a form and get a couple of neighbours to witness your signature. Then when DC needs to provide a birth cert in future they send that form too.

I think if your child is under 1 it is even simpler.

I love Noa, it’s beautiful. I like that it’s different but it’s your baby, it’s not too late to change. You could simply add a letter and have Nora or Nova which aren’t too different sounding.

To me you might write Noa but you hear Noah - beardy old Biblical guy which is a mega popular boys name.
I would change it or at least go by a middle name.

There are several Noas at my children’s school, it doesn’t seem to cause confusion.
They think she’s a boy because she’s a baby and it’s harder to tell. It won’t happen when she’s older.

I like it and I wouldn't change it however you have to do what is right for you. Some slightly different alternatives:

Nola----
Nuala

My own name is unisex in terms of pronunciation but with a male/female spelling, with the male varient being much more common and the female varient being relatively unknown. I also have two female siblings who have classic, definitely female names.

My personal experience is that I didn't like my name growing up and still don't like it now. It felt harsh and unfeminine compared to my friends and my siblings names, and it's been a lifelong pain in the arse to have to correct people's spelling of it.

It's definitely not the end of the world, but personally I wouldn't pick a unisex name. Obviously this is only my experience and I'm sure some women love and even relish not having a name that identifies their sex. But we have no idea who our children will turn out to be and personally I think the safer choice is to pick a sex-specific name. I know many will disagree though.

How about tweaking it to Nora? A beautiful name - not common but all known enough to avoid any confusion over spelling.

I can see how a female Noa might have problems often having to explain the spelling or assumptions made as to her sex- mainly because Noah is just so popular for boys at the moment and Noa isn’t used much for girls in the UK so some people aren’t really aware it can be a girls name too (unlike a lot of the more commonplace unisex names). Noa is rapidly increasing for girls but it’s so dwarfed by the numbers of boys - so it’s a toughie 😢as it is pretty.

What’s Noa’s middle name? Could you call her by that instead? I do adore classic, timeless Eve but it sounds like it might not be useable anyway if it’s close to her sisters name ?(even if you did change the BC)

Or could you add another similar style name to Eve to the BC so that she’d be NewName Noa MiddleName? I think the new BC would show her old name too, so it would be a shame to take Noa off completely.

Similar style short, classic names or with a similar sound to Eve or Noa might be Emma, Anna, Nina, Ava, Ella, Rose, May, Naomi, Sylvie, Maeve, Iris, Grace, Eliza, Genevieve, Eden (though that one’s quite unisex too).

When my Ds was due, I had the girls choice and DH had the boys (so he was named the longer version of DHs name)
As we lost DH to cancer when Ds was 15, he tweaked his name to be the same as his Dads and I’ve always called him by a nickname anyway (one of the TopCat cartoon cats names😁) His ‘real’ full name only crops up on paperwork so don’t worry, you can call your little girl by all sorts of options and leave her proper name for formalities.

@lauraIEN would you change her name to Eve or do you have another name in mind?

I like Noa, I think of the perfume so there is a feminine aspect to the name. I think people grow into there names and there really isn’t a 100% perfect name.

I used to love Noah for a boy but then it became too popular
I now love Noa for a girl

Name trends change and it is a unisex name.

As she's 1 now, I'd definitely keep it.

As you say, once she more obviously looks like a girl it won't be such an issue.

Also, babyhood is a constant series of introducing baby (baby classes, doctors appointment, relatives she's never met). Once she's in school everyone will just know her name already, it won't be an issue.

To me Noa is a popular Welsh version of the English name Noah. I would never thinks of it as a girls name, sorry.

I wouldnt worry. It is a name ive been seeing more often. This might not be an issue at all on the near future.

It’s easier to change before she’s a year, so change it if you want to.

My family is Basque so I know quite a few Noas. My friend (not basque) also has a Noa. I think it’s a beautiful name.

I like Noa 😊
We picked a really popular name for my son, it was always going to be his name and felt like his name instantly. I never felt strange calling him it or anything as a baby or toddler. When I was pregnant with my daughter we went between two names, both fairly unusual but not way out there crazy, just names you don’t hear many of, like Noa. My family liked the one I had in second place more but had said they loved the other name too. In the end I went with my heart and picked the name we had always liked best. When I told the staff in hospital her name I was met with a slight ‘ahh’ kinda vibe. It was very flat and just didn’t feel the same as when I said my son’s very run of the mill name.

Then when we FaceTimed my family they paused for a second before saying that’s lovely etc and I know it’s because they were sure it was going to be the other name. I overheard my husband phoning his parents and his mum just said ‘oh, unusual’. Any time I meet anyone out with her and they start talking to her, I actually now dread the ‘and what’s your name?’ small talk 🙈 I say her name and they just smile. Not one person has ever said it’s nice. Whereas with my son most people would say ‘aw lovely’ or something. I went from absolutely loving her name when I was pregnant to really not being that keen on it now. I don’t even like the other name more or want to change it, I just feel so different because of how everyone else reacts. It’s such a shame that unless everyone is called the same 10 names on repeat then people will have something to say. I say stick with it, my theory is that when they’re babies you really don’t need to shout them that often. I’m hoping my daughter’s name becomes much more natural to me to use as she turns 1 and becomes a toddler