Does anyone else feel underwhelmed by the name they chose?

[Butterflybluebell]

Not sure what I want from this post really. Just a little vent. When DS was born four years ago, we really struggled to name him.
I've never loved his name. But it was a name we both agreed on. A name we both liked enough, but neither of us loved. He needed a name. In hindsight, I wish we had taken a lot longer to name him but you know, post partum hormones and all that. His name is now associated with him, and obviously I would never change it, but I do feel it is a bit 'meh'. His middle name is the name I really wanted, but DH vetoed, not because he didn't like it, but because he was mildly friends with somebody whose son has that name! Ironically, he now doesn't see said person. So I'm still a bit annoyed about this 🤣.
And yes, it was me who posted about the name Miles haha! (And no, Miles is not his middle name) So many names I would name him now, now that I've had longer to mull names over. Not sure if it's just me in this boat!

Sorry what do you mean?

Lots of people dislike the name their parents gave them hence why deed poll change of names are so popular.

That's really interesting - I didn't know it was popular! What proportion of people change their names and how old do they tend to be?

I think i had ppd when my son was born, I didn't say anything and thought I'd feel better if he had a name so booked to register him without having a name, the only name my partner had suggested that I liked got used 2 months before he was born and couldn't use it, I didn't like my partners name list but really wanted my partner to like the name, I'd already decided against 1 name and then just named him my partners top name out of the ones he had, I didn't feel better about my son having a name and the name I wasn't keen on I started to dislike more with the spelling mistakes and most recently mishearing the name for another, I haven't told my partner and don't intend to as I think my son knows his name and my daughter would be confused if I did so I have to accept it and take comfort out of the fact my partner loves it

I definitely had PPD, and if I'm totally frank I had slight gender disappointment. I think because of this I didn't really overthink names too much at the time and I reallt wish I had. I love him so much, to think I ever had a pang of gender dissapointment upsets me now, but it was just how I felt at the time. I don't really hate his name, I just dislike it enough to bother me. He suits his name but I feel like he would have suited other names much more

Naming can be so hard! My partner wouldn't even suggest any names and left it up to me 😅 I agonised over it, but when she was born the name came to me. It felt like she told me her name.

I'm quite spiritual, so to me names have deeper meanings too, and I do believe our children choose their names before they are born.

I also think children grow into their names, it can deffo feel awkward when they are younger! Let him enjoy his name regardless of how it appeared to be decided upon by the adults.

Maybe have some fun and look up the meaning of the name or numerology and think about why his little soul might have chosen it. That can be enjoyable!

No I love the names I gave my kids, and was not really prepared to compromise with DH on it, in that I wanted him to like the names too of course, but I wasn't going to settle for something I didn't love. In the end we both love the names and they suit the DC well.

I don't really like my name, feel very underwhelmed with it, but my mum adores it and has told me so many times how she chose it and why. I would never bother to change it but I'd have loved to be something else! With my married name now too sometimes I feel like my entire name is just a costume I wear and not really me. But there's also bigger things to think about so I'll not lose sleep over it.

Ppd is awful, I had it due to being disappointed at the way I gave birth but it took me a while to realise that was what I was disappointed in, I honestly thought I was disappointed in him when he was born but at the same time I did love him and wouldn't swap him for anything which I also found confusing, it upsets me to think I thought those feelings were for him but I know how perfect he is and how loved he is and how much my partner loves his name and im sure he will grow into it, i thought a name would make me feel better when I just needed to realise why I felt the way I did

This is really interesting, because I think this is how I felt.
Im sorry you went through this too. I definitely think more research and resources need to go into Women's post natal mental health.

I called my daughter as my mum hated my first choice Mhair pronounced Vhairi .
I should have stood my ground , but it was easier at the time .
raging at myself.
also had big church wedding that cost a fortune as my mum was a widow and single mum and insisted I do it properly , full church wedding no pregnancies for years . I was a fucking numptie.
could have had a daughter called Vhairi and saved all the money fir a house .
I tell my kids do ur own thing , don’t let anyone influence ur decisions .
bit late for me

Forgot to add I was 24 at the time, think if I had been older or had lived on my own or with him things would have been very different

My parents agreed on the name they would give me and my father went to the Register Office to register my birth. On the way, he decided on a completely different name which is now my (only) name. He told my mother on his return. I don’t think she had any choice and just lumped it!

😯 that is wild!
Do you like your name, though?

I like my name, but I never really think about it to be honest. I don't ever wish I was called something else. I don't even really think about it! I realise the irony in that...

That’s awful! What was he like in general?

I can relate to this. With my first child, I chose my favourite boy’s name and I did and do love it. But I had zero awareness of just how popular it was but we would meet other little boys with the same name almost wherever we went! Not saying I would have chosen something different as I do love it and it suits him, but you hear a lot of it about.

Second DC, my DH and I had very different ideas on girl’s names…I vetoed many of his and he vetoed many of my favourite names and the only one we agreed on was about 4th or 5th on both of our lists. Again, I do love it but it (or variants of it) is probably even more popular than our DS’s name.

DC3, for reasons I won’t go into, DH did not get a say in the name. I chose it 100% and I love it. It’s not by any means ‘out there’ but it’s slightly more unusual and we don’t come across many. It’s my favourite of my 3 DCs’ names.

This wouldn’t suit me at all!
Very casual approach.

Oh that is dreadful. Is your father generally controlling?

You have to be 18 to change your name and I would say most of those who do it are fairly young as in not in their 40s or 50s. It’s more common to wait until you are legally able to do it and then do it if that makes sense. A lot of the time it’s down to a strong dislike of a patent, that’s putting it mildly. For example an estranged father who chose the child’s name.
Sometimes it’s a dramatic change, so David Smith becomes Salvador Tarquin Florentine, where Florentine is a family name somewhere down the line, and Smith was the fathers name. The first names being just a preference of the person.
Sometimes it’s a more subtle change so David Smith becomes David Ian Smith, where Ian was the grandads name that sort of thing.
Often people change their surname to that of the mother’s maiden name, again this is often down to a strong dislike of the other parent, though not always.
Quite often people keep the same (ish) name, but change it to the correct/usual spelling. So Aimeeie Smith becomes Amy Smith. Often they throw in a middle name too and it’s a name they would prefer to be called but probably find it too much hassle to change completely.
Sometimes they remove names where they have several middle names to make life easier.

Haha this was me too except it was my Dad and Uncle after a few pints. I love my name and why they did it, especially as my mother was a nasty narcissistic bitch who made my life hell, my dad very rarely stood up to her so knowing he got his way on my name actually makes me very happy.