R Kelly - how bad is that initial & surname?

[thefirstmrskelly]

We love the name Rowan and it’s out long term favourite for a boy, but our surname is Kelly. Is R. Kelly unusable? I’m leaning to no, even if people make the connection now it will fade throughout his life. But just want some outside opinions.

I wouldn’t. I think R Kelly will be notorious for a while yet, it’s not “over”, and even if he’s largely forgotten by the time your baby is a teen, it’d still be an odd connection. Like calling him Rolf Harris.

And until then, you’re likely to get some strange looks/assumptions made by current generations very familiar with R Kelly & what he did.

It’s a very common surname, and many people with it will have a first name starting with R. It’s not like you naming your child after this guy who will have been forgotten about in no time.

I wouldn’t.

I think this is way overthinking it. Nobody is going to give you strange looks, and it’s most certainly nothing like calling your child Rolf Harris.

How often are you going to refer to your child as R. Kelly? If they have middle names, they’re more likely to write their signature as R. X. Y. Kelly or similar, in which case it becomes much less noticeable.

I can understand avoiding certain initials if they spell something unfortunate when run together, but honestly I wouldn’t give R. (Rowan) Kelly another thought.

@YouveGotAFastCar it's absolutely nothing like calling your child Rolf Harris. What are you talking about?!

Richard Kelly
Robert Kelly
Rowan Kelly
Rachel Kelly
Rebecca Kelly
Ronnie Kelly

Now do you see how daft that sounds?!

I wouldn't ...

How often is someone refered to like that anyway? I can't remember any of my kids even once being referred to as first initial surname.

I wouldn't

I wouldn’t. If you already had a child named R. Kelly then you’d have to shrug and make the best of it. I wouldn’t name a child that now when you have so many other choices.

I wouldn’t do it

I wouldn't

i admit I am old and out of touch but I had to Google to find out who R Kelly was. It was 5 years ago - by the time a child born now is of an age they are at all likely to be referred to by initial surname he will be long forgotten. I think it’s a non-issue - one of those name things people way overthink.

If you love the name use it. I didn't use a name I liked for DC2 (17) because of a reality show contestant who was famous at the time. I regret it ever since. No one remembers the "celebrity" now and I still don’t really like the name we picked.

It wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me - if you love the name Rowan best then go for it, I doubt it would be a major issue in his life.

I think it's ok, it's not like it's G.Glitter or J. Savile. It must be a pretty common use of an initial and surname

I understand your concern but like others have said, first initial + surname are rarely used (wondering if you're in the US where it might be used more often). Your child's peers and those 10 years older will not even know the reference (my son and his friends wouldn't know who R.Kelly is).

If you're set on the name go for it, if you can't shake the doubts then don't risk it.

I live in Belfast and we tend to say 'our' before naming a family member, so 'our jack' 'our Jill' etc and anytime my friend says 'Our Kelly' when talking about her sister for a split second I do think she's about to say something R Kelly done 🤣

But having R as an initial alongside Kelly wouldn't annoy me at all. I know a few people with the surname Kelly and initial R and would never associate with the singer.

I wouldn’t

It’s not great, and the two names put together has the word ‘wank’ in the middle.

I just wouldn’t do it 😂

Oh my god I didn't catch that 🤣🤣🤣

Oh God 😭

You have done OP’s child a really good turn by spotting this.

My first though was 'wan K'. Sorry.

Kelly is a very popular surname and many people will have it with an R first name.

This wouldn't even cross my mind as a reason not to name my child the name I liked. Go for it op.