Hate DD’s planned baby name. Is it ever ok to say that?

[Giggsie]

I expect the answer is to keep quiet but I fear by future grandchild will be teased mercilessly.

I don't mind it. I've heard a lot worse! It makes me think of Jupiter's moon as others have said and also a verse of a Christmas carol. A later verse of Ding Dong Merrily on high I think. "And I-o I-o I-o"

Iona is a great idea, could still have Io as a nickname.

Io is also the name of one of Jupiter's moons.

I think it's OK. They will have to write it with a bold capital I - not a straight line like this font but with serifs (?) at the top and bottom.

I know a little girl called Io and she hasn’t had any of the problems you anticipate

That’s really bad.

Hope you can find a way to change their minds.

Maybe Iona with Io for short?

No. Never ever ever ever times a million trillion say anything. Please. I really, truly, would ask you to just keep your beak firmly shut in this one. She will never forget it. And if she doesn’t call the kid it she will always have your judgement there as a reason she didn’t use a name she loved. If she does use the name she will always have your judgement ringing in her ears and know you deep down don’t like it. Just keep quiet.

for what it’s worth I like the name. Never did any child (nor most adults) know the origins of a name, so while it’s not a nice story, it’s also really not like everyone knows it by any stretch of the imagination. Also, why is your judgement better than hers? Did you raise a child so silly she can’t Google names and come to her own conclusions? Jsut because you might not like a name doesn’t mean someone else wont

I've actually met someone with this name! Tbh I thought the parents had made it up so that was ignorance on my behalf and once I had the initial oh that's unusual it didnt cross my mind again. It's honestly not the worst I have heard & you will gain nothing by mentioning it. Let them name their baby what they want to.

Ganymede is a great name. I quite like Io. Didn't know anything about the name but it's quite cool. If they're not in the UK, it may not be so problematic.

You could be really rude...
Old MacDonald had a farm
Ee i ee i o
And on his farm he had some cows
Ee i ee i oh

Is it pronounced “eeo” or “eye-o”? If it’s eye-o yeah I don’t like it.

I don’t see how she’d be teased, it’s a fairly neutral name. I’d say maybe go with Iolanda and have Io as a nickname but I’m not a fan of the name Iolanda.

I wouldn’t pass it on considering the rape story though, it’s just too dark.

That’s “Hi ho, Hi ho” Old MacDonald is ee eye ee eye o .

I rather like it, and I would guess in this day and age not many people would know about the myth. Kids anyway, who would presumably be the only ones likely to tease her about her name. And we'd run short of names if we excluded everyone who was raped by Zeus! You could point out that the myth sees her turned into a very unhappy cow, that might be off putting... and in some accounts she turns into Isis (the goddess, not the terrorists. But still maybe not a nice name to be associated with.)

As a rape survivor I think it’s awful that OP and many others on here think being given the same name as a rape victim would be awful and shameful and is ignoring the fact Io was also a princess and priestess. If a woman is raped is all she’s reduced to a rape victim? Is that all I am?

The villain in the story is Zeus, not Io. If your grandchild was going to be named Zeus after a rapist by all means complain, but how misogynistic to tarnish the rape victim and reduce her to nothing but her sexual assault. Plus sexual violence against women is unfortunately so common, and has been even more common at various points of history, that almost all female names will be the names of rape victims. Even in mythology there are many rape victims (male and female): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listofrapevictimsfromancienthistoryandmythology

Would you be against the name Cassandra? Lara? Susanna? Eve? Adam? Arthur?

I know a toddler Io! I actually like it and think it’s a pretty cool name.

There are alternatives with a similar vibe - Hebe, Juno, Clea, Hero, Dido… or they could go for more nymphs - Calypso, Daphne…but I wouldn’t actually worry about the details of the myth or about bullying: names are much more individual these days and among the kids DD knows or knew at primary school the names were very varied and international.

I don't dislike it, but it's going to be a tricksy name because of the way it's written. It could be mistaken for Lo or read as number 10, as you say. Then there's the Old McDonald song (ee-eye ee--eye-oh). Plus some people are saying that the correct pronunciation is actually ee-oh.

Iona, as others have suggested? Or a different name from Greek mythology?

Don't say anything. It's your personal opinion, but ultimately it's their choice, and there are just as many people (myself included) who DO like the name Io. If the parents (and child, eventually) like it, that's all that matters :)

I’d say lovely, short for Iona? Then they can call her Io but she has a longer name that won’t get confused with ten or LO

Io is on my list!

Tbf, Zeus raped everyone.

The bigger issue would be Io was also a cow. A literal cow. But also, as a PP pointed out, a moon of Jupiter

Thought you were going to say Pol Pot

Lovely name. Keep your mouth zipped and remind yourself that you’ve had your kids already, and this baby is not yours and your opinion does not matter one bit. Sooner you realise that the better. Jeez, grandparents are so entitled these days thinking that their opinion matters…!

They have chosen it for the Greek myth not after Jupiter’s moons. DD is a classicist and intends to call any other kids after Greek mythological characters. If this has been a boy he would have been Eryx.

😂

I don’t understand why mumsnet got rid of the laughing emoji because I wanted to use it on this 😂

Yanbu to hate it - I would too - but you can’t say anything, it’s their choice. FWIW there are so many highly “unusual” baby names these days that it almost renders them all normal. At my kids’ secondary school there are brothers called Fox and Hawke. Both very popular boys in with the cool crowd so it doesn’t seem to have done them any harm with their peers.

I’d just say to DD is Lo the one raped by Zeus?
and sew the connotation seed. That is all you can do, don’t pass comment