Unfortunate name choice

[dsandhisname]

DS shares his name (first and surname) with a fairly well known person, who unfortunately has disgraced himself since.

I don’t really think I can change DS’s name but wondering if others would. The spelling is a bit different. But the name is identical.

It will blow over.
Does he have a nickname you use?

No - it doesn’t lend itself to nicknames really. It will blow over, and he’s young enough he’s not aware of it but it is a pity

Does your DS just have one G at the end of his name...? If so, no-one will remember anything about him before long - it certainly wouldn't be something that people will remember in the future.

How old is he? If under 12 months then it’s simple to change if it’s bothering you. Unless it’s Jimmy Savile or Harvey Weinstein then it will almost certainly blow over.

If it's Greg Wallace, I wouldn't worry about it, noone will remember when he's an adult.

If it's Ian Watkins or Jimmy Saville or similar I would change it.

It depends entirely on the name and your DS's age OP, but you probably shouldn't reveal those.

Is his name Kanye?

Depends what type of disgrace we're talking. Fruit and veg knob head? That'll be old news and hopefully lessons learnt by the time your son grows up.

Notorious murderer or child abuser, I would change it. If you're talking US rappers you should be alright as they're mostly known by their stage names much more than real names.

@dsandhisname I had to Google one of the names mentioned above which proves that the vast majority of the time people forget about disgraced people.
Unless it is incredibly high profile (like Jimmy Saville) then I wouldn't worry.
What if you change his name and then someone with that name does something....how many times would you be prepared to change it?

The plus point about sharing a name with a notorious person is that it makes you ungoogleable. As long as he is far too young to be mistaken for the person in question it might actually work in his favour

Jay Z?

I agree, if it’s Jimmy Savile I would change it; if he’s called Hugh Edwards then I wouldn’t worry.

P Diddy?

Connor McGregor?

What's H from Steps done????

Is his name P Diddy?

Rubbish. Should every woman called Rose, Lucy, Joanna or Maxine change her name?

...

How old is DS? The only concern I’d have around sharing a name with a high profile offender is the possibility of mistaken identity and being targeted by idiotic vigilantes. If DS is 3 then there’s not much chance of him being mistaken for the real whoever it is; and unless we’re talking really high profile serial killer etc, by the time he’s an adult I doubt anyone is going to remember some minor celebrity who “disgraced themselves.”

It isn’t Greg Wallace but yes one of the others above. DS is 4. So a bit old to change his name I think, even if I wanted to!

I think the difference is it’s first name and surname, obviously calling your child Rose is fine but I wouldn’t call my daughter Rose West!

If it's Hugh Edwards, Conor McGregor or Philip Schofield I wouldn't worry as they're not uncommon names and by the times he's in high school / an adult it will be forgotten about anyway.

If it's P Diddy or Jay Z then you may be a bit stuck 😂

What did a Joanna do??

If you google the name, how many results do you get that are not the offender? If it's lots, I wouldn't worry.

The OP’s issue is her son shares both the first name and the surname with the person. If the surname was West, Letby, Dennehy or Carr for each of these examples then I’d probably advise changing the name if the baby is under 12 months too.