Are my kids' names strange ?

[ClaudineSeymour]

Hi!

My husband and I are expecting our 4th child together in August. I was speaking to some family about baby names (I didn't reveal what name we had chosen as I had been warned against it) and my MIL said something along the lines of 'Oh I hope the name you select won't be as strange as the others you chose' To which a few others nodded or giggled. Now I've never thought of my kids' names as strange and neither has my husband. A little traditional or old-fashioned maybe but not strange. My children are Arthur, Joanna and Alfred. We're hoping to call our next little girl Matilda when she arrives in a few months. Are these names strange? I love my kids' names and will call my baby Matilda no matter what but I was just wondering if others thought the names were strange?

@ClaudineSeymour

They're super cute names! Matilda is my fave out of all them. I would call her Tilly as a nickname. And I know 2 boys called Arthur. (5 and 9 years old.)

@WonderingWanda

I thought you were going to say 'Breeze, Dancer, Cobalt and Azealia.'

They sound like reindeer! 😆

@ManilowBarry

I thought you were gonna say Mushroom, Cloud and Buddleja!

And THEY sound like names of guinea pigs!

All great names. But please don’t shorten to Tilly - it rhymes with Silly. Next door’s golden retriever is Silly Tilly (she is very silly too)

@Moveoverdarlin on what planet is Joanna 'strange'? It's a perfectly normal name that's happens to have been not so fashionable for a short while. I really like it. Yes it's classic, there have been Joannas in Britain going back to the middle ages, and even a queen once. Very few names are consistently popular every decade, they come and go. Anna maybe? When I was at school there were NO kids named anything like Florence, George, Lily etc they would be thought of as old people names, even something like Emily or William would be unusual. Do we have to be so rigid and name kids the same as everyone else this year?

OP, your kids' names are very normal!

No, your kids names are gloriously normal in the world we live in.. thank god.

I know someone who's names their children Kharaylee and Daisen (middle names are danger and awsum.. as in, awesome) 🤦🏻‍♀️

The only thing I find slightly unusual (but not that unusual) is that two of them have the same initial. Most of the names are not rare in themselves - Joanna is not particularly fashionable right now, but it's a beautiful classic name. I think Matilda would fit very well with the rest of the set.

The thing is, for everyone saying how normal these names are and they can't understand who would describe them as strange, they're really only coming back into fashion after about a century. An Alfred or Arthur would have been very unlikely in your average English comprehensive in the 1970's to 90's. Same with Seth, Noah, Florence, Edith, Martha, Ruby, Teddy, Albie, etc. I had a Geoffrey in my year and thought it was awful old-fashioned name to be saddled with amongst all the Marks, Craigs, Daniels, Richards and James'. Your Mum, like mine, may struggle to comprehend the old fashioned is current trend in the same way she doesn't grasp leggings without a long top, trainers with smart clothes, and so on. She was beside herself (lighthearted) when she grasped the new baby next door really had been called Winifred and her DH hadn't misheard.

Yours are all great names, I wouldn't overthink it.

Were the people who agreed a similar age to your MIL?. As a PP said, Albert and Arthur sound very old fashioned to older people whereas to younger people they seem more popular. But just ignore them OP, the names are lovely and classic.