Could Barbara work as an honour name?

[SDtome]

Thoughts on Barbara? Could it work? There's an amazing woman in my life that I really admire named Barbara (goes by Barb), and I'd love to honour her. DH is supportive of the idea. The only potential problem that I can see is that the Barb in my life was born in the 1970s, so the name would have been much more common during that time. I do wonder if bullying should be a concern because it's not a very fashionable name at the moment (and probably won't be for at least a decade or longer). I worry that our daughter might not be able to pull it off and will hate her name.

I love it

It's a very dated name. Maybe use it as a middle name.

Use it as a middle name?
She may end up being called Barbie, would you mind that?

No

If its what you want go for it. I like the name.
Be confident about your name choice and your daughter will too x

Love it

I would use it as a middle name

God awful for a baby / child

well i don't see how it's any more unusual these days as half the names on our school roll so whilst I'm not a fan, I don't think they'll be bullied.

You don’t honour someone by making another person get saddled with their name. Bizarre. I was born in the 70s and have never ever met someone my age or younger called Barbara. It’s a grandmas name

I was born in the early 70s and one of my best friends at school was Barbara.

Well done! 👏🏻

Barbara is a great name. Victoria Coren and David Mitchell have a young Barbara. She’s probably about aged ten now.
I know three Barbaras - two are in their 50s, but one is aged eight.

David Mitchell (comedian) and his wife Victoria Coren (presenter) have a young daughter named Barbara, so likely it's coming back around. I quite like it. Would you call her Barbie for short though? 😊

This is going to sound strange, but I really dislike when a person has a name that doesn't "match" their generation. I like when I'm able to accurately loosely imagine what a person will be like just by hearing their name or seeing it written down. I have a colleague called Lily and was expecting her to be much younger. She's in her 40s currently! Meeting someone born after the 80s named Barbara would give me this same feeling but reversed.

X post with @Nottopanic . I might have known I wouldn't be the first one to mention DM and VC!

I think it would be cruel.

Could you use it as a middle name?

I think if it is important to you, do it. It is not an off the wall choice and she won't be bullied.

Yes, but what about Lily Allen then? She must be in her 40s by now maybe, or nearly?

Often the child of celebrity/fashionable parents might have a name ahead of the curve. Maybe it's the same with your colleague Lily. I think you're being a bit rigid about 'suitable' names for different age groups.

I personally think it's strange to name a baby after someone else. My daughter's friends middle name is Barbara and they think it's funny. But a lot of people are slightly sheepish about their middle names.

I'm surprised so many people think it's old fashioned. I think it's so old fashioned that it's either fashionable or soon will be, If you see what I mean.

14 year old DD has a mate called Barbara. Inner city state school and they all think the name is cool.

We live in a diverse area and so there are all manner of names in the school, some quite weird and wonderful. Don’t believe anyone would bat an eyelid at Barbara.

She might get called Babs.

I think you should only call your child after someone they are going to feel some sort of connection to. They are the ones that are going to have to live with the name.

Do you know how the Barbara that you're considering naming your child after feels about her own name? Does she know that you want to do this? I ask because I can't imagine that she likes Barbara very much if she's choosing to exclusively be called Barb. Many people do not like their own name so would not want to be honoured in this way.