Fanny for a girl?

[LemonZebras]

Hi everyone,

I’m expecting a baby girl. My husband is French and is insistent that he wants to name our daughter after his aunt who raised him - Fanny! It’s a common French name, but the baby will be born and raised in the UK.

Am I unreasonable to say no and to worry that she would be bullied or made fun of? My husband thinks I’m overreacting and that the slang word is barely used nowadays and that not many people know of it.

I will be showing him this thread with the different responses.

Thank you

No word of a lie, a relative in my husbands family was called Fanny, she went on to marry her husband who's surname was Tickle!

😄 No !

100% not! Do not call your child Fanny!

Show him this thread!
your poor baby!

Absolutely not! It would be cruel.

Tell him about the children's book The Faraway Tree. One of the children was originally called Fanny but when they republished it they changed it to Frannie because they knew no modern child could be called Fanny. (I don’t like Frannie either, but it’s better than Fanny.)

No! Tell him it would be like you wanting to call your child ‘Connie’ and have it shortened to ‘Con’, which is the masculine for the swear word CNUT in French. I know you can’t have a masculine CNUT literally, but as a swear word that is what it is!

Can you not write the word cunt?

you could, then when you register the child for school there is a box where it says “known as” and you can change the name, so all registers etc they will be known as the name you choose. However, all legal documents ie GCSE papers etc will show their legal name. But an option if it goes through.

It is a popular name in France; I spent a lot of time growing up in France and I remember explaining what it meant in English when we were teens and they were visibly shocked.

Is there a more formal (longer) name for Fanny? Then legally she can have the longer name and Fanny at home?

NO

in France, Fanny is short for Stephanie, so you could call her that and he can shorten it to Fanny when he's in France. If he must.

Hard NO

Of course you shouldn't name her Fanny! I'm sorry but your husband is being ridiculous, does he realise what it means over here?!! The poor child would be so bullied, it doesn't bare thinking about 😬

I had a tortoise called Fanny, she was named at the start of the 20th century when Fanny was just a girls name. By the 1990s when she became my tortoise it caused endless hilarity when I told people and I. I can only imagine the piss taking a child would ensure.

If you plan to raise the child in UK past the age of 3, I would highly recommend to reconsider or add it as a middle name that will only be used as F. For example Alexandra F Smith.
But please, for the love of God, convince your partner that Fanny is not a good name in UK...

I'm a mother of 3 girls and I'm mid 30s but HAHAHAHAHAHA is he being serious oh my goodness he must hate his kid she will he bullied forever even I'd be in stitches at a kid named fanny.. would he call your boy cock?

Absolutely not if you're going to live in the UK. Kids are arseholes and will rip her to shreds. Maybe Tiffany or use Fanny as a middle name.

Google “ya couple of fannies” there will be many, many videos from a Scottish sketch show…. There are so many other reasons I could add but the shorter answer is NO!

Maybe look up the French slang for vagina and insist on that?

It’s also slang for butt in America, so lerhaps a French phrase for nether regions 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you name your daughter Fanny and bring her up in the UK she will be laughed at, teased and very likely bullied all through her life abd grow up hating you. It's slag for vagina here. Do not do this to her. You should be able to name your child whatever you want. But you can't. So don't. Don't call her Fanny 😒

I agree with the above quote.

No - stand firm on this one. Use it as a middle name if you are forced to. Or consider Francesca, it’s a lot better 🫶🏻

Absolutely not. She will be torn to pieces at school with bullying. Your husband must be incredibly daft.

Google "irn bru Fanny advert"

As a British person who lived in France for a few years, it’s often short for Stephanie. You could call her that.
You might like to point out to your DH that the Dame in the adult Panto we did last year was called Dame Fanny and the audience yelled ‘We love Fanny’ every time she came on. Scriptwriters pick it as it is a name to be mocked.
DH needs a wake up call.

My French cousin is called Tiffany. I think that's nice and could be a good alternative. Your husband could still shorten it to Fanny at home although we call her Tiff

I like the idea a PP mentioned, why not call her Stephanie and he can use nn Fanny with her between them?

No. No and again no.