DD is 4wks old and we're having 2nd thoughts about her name. Anyone else been through this?

[Jivegirl]

Hi there,

Well, as the post title suggests.. DD2 is nearly 4wks old and we're not sure that her name (Charlotte) suits her.

Not sure whether this is just because she's a teeny baby and needs to grow into her name.

Her middle name is Elisabeth, but I guess one option is to pick a nickname from her middle name and call her that?

We haven't registered her yet, but of course we've told everyone she's called Charlotte, all the congratulations cards have her name on, her red book etc. etc.

We've tried shortening it to Lottie but it just doesn't feel right.

Is it terrible to change a name after 4wks? Has anyone else done this? I know it's daft, but I'm really worried about what other people will think. And that it's changing her identity in some way!!

Could Carla work as a diminutive? I think that's really pretty.

Its up to you if you want to change it. Do you know what you would change it to? If you havent registered the name yet its no problem, everyone will get used to it. I didnt like my dd's name but I love it now I just had to get used to it. We had registered it by the time I changed my mind!!!

I've called my little girl Charlie and her birth certificate says Charlotte. She is 3 now and if anyone calls her Charlotte she tells them her name is Charlie.

Also have a friend whose mum called her Victoria Gabriella on her certificate, and called her Gabby ever since she was wee.

I think you need a posh name for life (school and job) and what you get called on a day to day basis is fine.

I agree that babies do need to grow into and own thier name. Found her sibling (a boy) much harder and didn't confirm name until 6 weeks, called him sausage up to then. It took ages for him to look like the name we gave him and I did have doubts.

Lets face it you can change it later and so can she. Charlotte does have loads of alternatives - also could give her a great middle name as a potential alternative.

Have you decided what to do?

RuthT - NO!

I am completely fed up.

I know people say that Charlotte has lots of derivatives, but I don't think Char, Lottie or Charlie is much of a choice

I liked Josie this weekend but my brother, sister and m-i-l have vetoed it

I think this baby is going to be called baby till she's 18 at this rate!

we never ever registered a childs name till day forty.
the cards, the redbook. none of that matters. only what is on the birth certificate.
and even that you can change the first name within a year of her birth, and just get a new birth certificate, without going through the whole deed poll business

DD was called little girl for ages and didn't actually grow into her name until she was about 3 months old. Give it time?

Stitch I thought you had to register within 6wks? And I thought you could never change the birth certificate?

We're booked at the registry office for 4th Aug which is 2 days before she's 6wks (as long as we could leave it!)

Maybe the first step is to give her a nickname or just start calling her baby/little girl so we can stop thinking of her as Charlotte..

My DD1 is getting very confused, we keep giving her all these different names to say!

Feel like I've come too far to go back to Charlotte now. I don't dislike the name, it's just the world seems to have become overrun with them since we chose it. Wish we'd taken our time rather than rushing ahead!

PS I was never settled on a name during the pregnancy either, I was exactly the same.

My mum was born during WW2 and registered as Delia. When my grandfather got home he said he didn't like the name and it had been the name of a horrible aunt. They decided to call her Helen instead but my grandmother never got round to changing it at the registry office. Later my mum was teased with her name by big sister, and when she was 7 she started refusing to answer to Helen and insist on Delia. At one point she was known at work and by everyone as Delia + maiden name, but registered with the NHS for a long time though as Helen + her second husband's surname.

Good luck with your dilemma - I think your original choice of names sounds nice but I understand the problem. There are lots of names around that I can't imagine using for a baby.

It just takes a while for a baby to become his/her name. At first it seems a bit surreal, this baby is called charlotte only because I say so......

I think Charlotte Elizabeth is lovely and that the baby will grow into Charlotte. But if you don't feel comfortable enough with it and do decide to change, I'd put Charlotte as the second or third (?) name to validate the cards and stuff if you get me.

'Tis a lovely name. My dd was Eleanor, it's just not a new born's name, but she is such an Eleanor now.

Good luck with your decision.

I went through that with my youngest too. Perhaps it is because the name is quite a grown up name, and does seem a bit odd on babies? My DD's name (Katherine) I also think is quite a grown up name (iyswim) and it didn't seem to suit her as a baby - we seriously looked at changing her name, but in the end decided to stick with our choice. I'm glad we did now, She is now almost 2 and it really seems to suit her now.

Jivegirl - it may just be a case of the wobbles ie oh-my-God-I've-chosen-this-name-am-I-sure?! DD1 even as i said her name out loud I kept thinking in the back of my mind she should be Rebecca. Same with DD2, kept thinking of her as Phoebe, and trying the name out in my head - didn't say it out loud, but in my mind she was Phoebe or Phoebs for a good 6 months! DD3 is only one where name decision has felt right straight off (perhaps we were running out of options!) Even though we've picked what I thought was a simple enough name that people can't pronounce.

Unless you have a good reason to change, I'd stick with it - she will "grow into it" and you will find a shortening that suits if you want to.

It took me about a year before I really adjusted to calling my ds2 by his name, it never felt wrong as such but I just didn't feel comfortable somehow calling him it. Not sure why but I'm getting used to it now hes old enough I guess to be a person with a proper name. Not sure that makes any sense and I didn't feel like that with the other 2 but sometimes babys just don't suit grown up names. He was Squish for a long time!

I think although you have to register the birth within 6 weeks you can change the birth certificate within the first year. I'm not 100% on that but fairly sure I've read that somewhere.

I don't know if this helps but here are lots of variants and diminutives for Charlotte, if Lotta/ie is not feeling right.
www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Charlotte
Failing that, what about if you list your ten favourites then you and your DP prioritise them, giving them each a number between one and ten, the way you do on a survey - where ten is your favourite and one is your least favourite.
Then stick it on here and allow us dis/agree with whatever you choose.

My lovely sister is called Charlotte and w have always called her Chach (pron: shush) as my brother and I couldn't say it properly when we were little. I think it's a really nice name.

she's 28 now and we still call her by her pet name, although everyone else calls her the full name.

My parents changed my name when I was four months old - they had an amendment put on my birth certificate. All the cards etc have the wrong name but it's never bothered me. They were either indecisive or running from the law - never sure which...........

My parents changed my name when I was four months old - they had an amendment put on my birth certificate. All the cards etc have the wrong name but it's never bothered me. They were either indecisive or running from the law - never sure which...........

Has OP made a decision?

Charlotte Elizabeth is a good name because it can be Charlie, Lottie, Eliza, Eli, Libby, Beth......

Don't worry, you can't go wrong.

Hello!

I've been offline a few days. Baby-no-name has been in hospital with a chest infection But we are home again now and she is much better

I did joke that perhaps it was a reaction to us considering changing her name..

Anyway, I'm pleased to report that we used the time productively (crosswords and a baby name book!). After much pondering and thinking about comments made on this post, we have decided that we want to keep the name Charlotte, but give her a second name of EVE instead of Elizabeth.

I love the name Eve but am working with a short surname..

So we're now debating whether to name her Charlotte Eve and call her Eve, or call her Evelyn Charlotte instead..

Evelyn sounds better with our surname, but it's the simplicity of Eve that I love.

Wondering whether it would be confusing to name her Charlotte Eve if we're not going to use Charlotte? HOw does that work for Doctors, school etc? (I think I'll post seperately about this too)

I know we have the alternative Eva/Ava etc, but my heart's not in them as much as Eve.

I've gone completely off the other names now, obviously it wasn't meant to be! She's going to be an Eve now or nothing..

Hi JG, Evelyn is BEAUTIFUL!!
You are gonna confuse yourself even more.

I have a friend whose sister called her first DD Alethea but didn't know how to pronounce it so it sounded like Alithia (should be Alethea) - my friend (and so I too) started calling her Thea and then the mum changed her name to Alicia, cos the first effort sounded like Alicia with a lisp. Friend and I continue to call the DD Thea, she called herself Thea until she was about 3 anyway; now friend's DS has taken to calling her Flower (dunno why!) so she has 3 names!

Another friend was called Madeleine but her family all called her Lulu cos one of her middle names was Louise - so you could try calling her by some derivative of Elizabeth instead if you wanted to?

sorry, posted before i read to the end.

Evie?