Love ‘Beau’ for a boy but what if he’s not handsome?

[Lincolnlemons]

I’m pregnant with a baby boy and love the name Beau, feels chic without being pretentious. My only worry is that what if DS doesn’t grow up to be conventionally handsome? Feels like a gamble and possibly an opening for bullies when he’s in school? Am I being ridiculous?

Is every Belle or Bella beautiful?

if you love it go with it ! Believe me he’ll always be handsome to you , my name technically means wide open plain …I called my girl Beau. Wishing you the very best ❤️

I don't think anyone will think about it that much.

I know a Beau and he's not a looker. It's never really occured to me that his name should relate to his looks.

A family member named their dog Beau, he was very average looking for a collie, he was still lovely though.

There’s one at my son’s school but it’s spellt BO.

We've had a couple of Bonnies at school who weren't very bonny but nobody really cares.

Yeah, the meaning doesn’t really matter - nobody worries about that with all the names that have “Belle” in them (or Bonnie as others have pointed out). Most parents think their children are attractive, even if they aren’t conventionally so, as it tends to be hard wired in us. Having said that, I seem to meet far more dogs than kids named Beau or Belle (again not always conventionally attractive) so people clearly feel that way about their pets too! 🤣

ETA: I can’t see anything particularly teasable about Beau either, even though it’s not my personal taste. I know a Thor, a Maverick - kids just seem to accept more uncommon names now for the most part.

Some people would look on this as a 'silly' worry, but I'd look on it as evidence that it's a silly name and one you'd be wise to avoid. I've never understood the appeal of calling your child something which literally means handsome. It's far from 'chic', it's a naff fad name. Plus it's really not a pleasant sound - 'boh'.

You're right that it has teasing potential ( 'BO' as well as the handsome thing). I'd avoid it, personally.

what an idiotic post

I have a Beau and whilst I love the name, it does get annoying when people can't pronounce it properly.
But I don't like BO (smelly pits anyone?)

Always thought Vogue Williams’ parents must’ve been incredibly confident.

I'm sure you are going to think he is very handsome

Personally I think beau has gone the way of Leo and Teddy and become chavvy.

The Beau I know isn't going to win any modelling contests l, he's a sweet kid but not the brightest either.

My favourite name so far belongs to a little toddler called Xavier. He's so cool!

Go with it if you like it OP. I think it's a lovely name for a boy. Although, when it comes to bullying, I've heard from my DCs that a Beau they knew did used to get teased by some classmates because the name can be associated with body odor, even if the spelling is BEAU.

I've never understood why people name girls Beau. I know it happens, but why would you want to call your daughter a name that means handsome? It sounds lovely, definitely, but I can't get past the French meaning of it for girls.

Beau means absolutely nothing to huge swathes of the population. It’s a word in another language that they might learn for a couple of years and hear once. Obviously the people of Mumsnet are far superior to the usual British plebs and will disagree in fluent French but to many it’s just a nice sounding name. They won’t think oh, that kid isn’t handsome why did they call him that.

He will be the most handsome boy in the world to you!

A lot of people won’t know what it means. Never underestimate the general lack of intelligence of our population 😅

If you like the name, use it.

Sorry but it’s an awful name.

Well that’s why I ruled out all Virtue names. What if Joy is the most miserable person you know or Charity is the meanest?

I think you’re right to think about this. Belle and Bella are well known names and I don’t think anyone would consider the meaning. Beau is unusual enough for people to ask about. And it will ALWAYS be being misspelled.

I too am wary of virtue or descriptive names because they seem to require the child to fit the name rather than the other way around.

An irascible Patience, a stockily built Willow, or a rather large Wren could well think that Mummy & Daddy had been taking the mick. Same applies to poor old Beau if his facial features aren't all that.

It's definitely not chic, it's naff. People seem to like it enough to use it.
Babies called Beau in England & Wales since 1996
I think it's awful as a girl's name.

The sound ‘bo’ is horrible.

The only Beau I know is a complete bell end so that skews my opinion.

if it’s any consolation, I had exactly the same thoughts with wanting to call my daughter Bonnie, and even said to my husband and mum what if she isn’t bonnie? 😆