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

484 replies

Giggsie · 11/06/2025 21:53

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

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PopeJoan2 · 11/06/2025 23:40

Giggsie · 11/06/2025 22:43

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.

You are joking!!??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Sounds like two Erics.

NescafeAndIce · 11/06/2025 23:40

I knew a Welsh lad named Iorwerth - shortened to Io, but pronounced 'yo'.
I think I'd also think of...
"I spy in the night sky, don't I?
Phoebe, Io, Elara, Leda, Callisto, Sinope, Janus, Dione, Portia, so many moons"

Cluborange666 · 11/06/2025 23:41

I really like it.

Wanttobefree2 · 11/06/2025 23:42

I agree it’s a bit odd but not much you can do. I don’t know why parents like to call their kids odd names or with weird spellings. I have a hard time spell surname and it drives me nuts having to spell it ALL the time.

Mothership4two · 11/06/2025 23:42

YYYDlilah · 11/06/2025 23:38

Brilliant. I'll call my DC Crapper because surnames as first names are trendy..

Hope he becomes a rapper!

Tiswa · 11/06/2025 23:42

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 11/06/2025 23:04

Ariadne married Dionysus, which sounds kind of fun.

Rather than being a woman who has a sea named after her you think it is better she was abandoned by the man she loved and than married another - Dionysus who as a god probably gave her as much choice as Zeus did.

JHound · 11/06/2025 23:48

Giggsie · 11/06/2025 21:57

It’s hugely distinctive and identifying so I have name changed and will ask for this thread to be deleted.

its Io.

its from Greek mythology, a women who was raped by Zeus.

the child will spend her life being called “Lo” or “10” due to how it’s written.

Is that Eye - O (IO) or Elle-O (LO).

Why does she want those names. I would simply ask if she is worried about teasing?

Oggyoggyogg · 11/06/2025 23:48

Awful. And it even looks ugly as a word.

Doitrightnow · 11/06/2025 23:48

I'd stay quiet.

I love a Greek name, and wouldn't be phased at all by Io. There are several kids at my DC's school with Greek names. No one really cares about the story behind a name in my experience. Does anyone think badly of Cassandra or Dinah, who were also raped in Greek mythology / the Old Testament?

I don't think it's a problematic name at all.

SalmonWellington · 11/06/2025 23:49

I like it.

GlasgowPingu · 11/06/2025 23:49

Depends entirely on the relationship you have with her - my mum would not have been shy about telling me if she didn’t like names we were considering, and I wouldn’t have been upset with her doing so.

Copperoliverbear · 11/06/2025 23:50

Personally I’d just say it’s your choice darling it’s your baby but, i think it’s awful.

PyongyangKipperbang · 11/06/2025 23:51

There are so many beautiful classical names......why that one?!

Not sure you can do anything about it though unless you have the sort of relationship where you can say "DD, you are a classicist....do you really want to name your baby after a rape victim?! And also, its not a name that would really work in the UK" I could do that with my daughters with disagreements maybe but no hard feelings all round. I wanted to call youngest DC a name that isnt unusual at all but is a bit left field for where we live. Eldest DC (21 at the time, yes big age gaps!) said "Its ok if you dont mind her getting taken the piss out of every day" which pretty much covered it! Chose something else!

Velvetbee · 11/06/2025 23:52

I really like it.

Copperoliverbear · 11/06/2025 23:54

Also does your daughter know the mythology, is drum it into her her baby can’t be called Lo for that reason alone

SuperSue77 · 11/06/2025 23:54

Giggsie · 11/06/2025 22:01

But it’s Io, as in eye-oh, not Lo

That was exactly how assumed it was pronounced when I saw it. I quite like it andIreally don’t see it as a name they’ll get teased for. If kids are going to tease, they’ll find anything.

My sister gave her DD a name her MIL hated (due to having known someone with the same name that she hated) - the spelling was different but pronunciation exactly the same, BIL and my sister were adamant they were calling her that. MIL said she would not spend time with the DD and all that emotional blackmail stuff, but once she was born she was a complete doting grandmother and I’m not sure the name thing has ever been raised since.

My brother chose to give his DS an unusual name as he thought it would be ‘character building’! He thought that to carry the name off he would need a strong character. It wasn’t actually that far-out a name and I don’t believe he was ever ribbed for it - he is a very confident and well-adjusted young man.

Personally I’d keep your thoughts to yourself, unless asked, and then go with something tactful that expresses your opinion without being offensive - I’m sure you’ll grow to love the name.

HiddenInCubeOfCheese · 11/06/2025 23:56

Doitrightnow · 11/06/2025 23:48

I'd stay quiet.

I love a Greek name, and wouldn't be phased at all by Io. There are several kids at my DC's school with Greek names. No one really cares about the story behind a name in my experience. Does anyone think badly of Cassandra or Dinah, who were also raped in Greek mythology / the Old Testament?

I don't think it's a problematic name at all.

Tbf, I don’t think badly of Cassandra because she was raped but because nobody believed her about her prophecies! Shouting into the void

MirandaBlu · 11/06/2025 23:57

FWIW, I know an Ione who is sometimes known as Io and I don't think she's had much trouble with anyone thinking it's Lo or 10. Unless the baby's going to be hanging out with ee cummings and bell hooks, most people will probably figure out from context that it's a personal name / proper noun and therefore most likely starts with a capital I rather than a lower-case L or a number 1. She might get Eeyore or EIEIO, especially if they're using the Greek pronunciation, but bullies will find something to tease about no matter what.

BUT - a two-letter legal name (that is, not a shortening or diminutive of a longer name) can cause a technical issue in some cases. Most legacy mainframe systems, as used by registry offices, banks, schools, etc., can now handle it. But it still seems to be the default for a lot of online forms to present an error if a first or last name is fewer than three bytes. It can be quite annoying if you're trying to charge something on a credit card registered to "Io Marie Smith" and the form refuses to allow First Name = Io, and then rejects the entry because the fist names don't match. This is becoming less common as people get more used to traditional two-letter names (e.g., in Asian languages, Hebrew, and even Irish) and more people are using trad diminutives as first names (Bo, Jo, Di, Ty, etc.) but definitely still happens. Just something to think about.

Tiswa · 11/06/2025 23:58

PyongyangKipperbang · 11/06/2025 23:51

There are so many beautiful classical names......why that one?!

Not sure you can do anything about it though unless you have the sort of relationship where you can say "DD, you are a classicist....do you really want to name your baby after a rape victim?! And also, its not a name that would really work in the UK" I could do that with my daughters with disagreements maybe but no hard feelings all round. I wanted to call youngest DC a name that isnt unusual at all but is a bit left field for where we live. Eldest DC (21 at the time, yes big age gaps!) said "Its ok if you dont mind her getting taken the piss out of every day" which pretty much covered it! Chose something else!

Because she has a moon, a sea and a strait named after her, because she wasn’t just a rape victim even though many posters seem to think that is what she should be defined by.

the attitude towards the name frankly pisses off that she is somehow just become a victim of rape as her definition. That no one should be named after her because of that even though she wasn’t just that.

There is an Ionian Sea for a reason

Figcherry · 12/06/2025 00:04

Needmorelego · 11/06/2025 22:05

You could use a grandma only nickname.
As someone upthread said it's one of Jupiter's moons.
Maybe call her Moonpie 🙂

That’s worse.
My mil called dd the little girl and I knew it was because she didn’t like our chosen name.

evelynevelyn · 12/06/2025 00:12

Notellinganyone · 11/06/2025 22:13

It’s a beautiful name - I’ve taught two in my time. Unusual but not silly and simple once you’ve been told how to pronounce it. Don’t know why you think she would be teased.

I’m guess the issue is that while many people won’t know the story, some will. (Io was raped and turned into a cow).

Like calling your daughter Lolita, for some people it will always be the thing they think of when they are introduced.

Pigtailsandall · 12/06/2025 00:17

I like it. I know an Iona who gets called Io.

MrsSunshine2b · 12/06/2025 00:19

Seriously, there will be way quirkier names in her school. I've not heard of anyone getting bullied for their names at school and I've got a 15 yo and a 5 yo currently in school. The kids really don't care.

2021x · 12/06/2025 00:19

Mothership4two · 11/06/2025 23:34

That's quite the reaction @2021x! 😅

I know I can’t change it 😂

cryptide · 12/06/2025 00:25

helloquitty · 11/06/2025 21:59

Gosh. Maybe drop into conversation/suggest Lola and they can shorten it to Lo?

They don't want Lo, they want Io.