I went to a college open day with my daughter today, and i was really glad she wasn't called....

[Tortington]

poppy or daisy type names

but a lovely traditional name.

she wants to do Law - and i would have felt silly saying "poppy wants to do law"

i really think people should think beyond the immediate future.

not putting on hard hat cos am hard !

That is very reassuring! I think maybe I just don't know enough lawyers...

I was thinking about this the other day, not so much from the perspective of what some would see to be "silly" names, more "geeky" or "dull" names. Looking at famous people and their names and just thinking how it really doesn't matter.

I was looking at famous sportspeople and people who are acclaimed for something or other and thought that no-one gives a toss what their name is. I don't mean that a name is okay if you are successful, but just that once you are an adult, your name is just you, people seem to make judgements on the names of children but once you are an adult it seems to be just accepted.

I don't think it really matters. When you hear a childs name, you automatically start thinking about their parents, why they chose the name, what it means, maybe judging them, or thinking that you like it. When you meet an adult, they are just that person. If I meet someone called Jenny, I don't think "wow, that must have been number 1 the year you were born, why on earth would your parents choose something so popular"...I just say hello to Jenny!

You look at Kevin Pietersen, how many would actually consider calling a child Kevin these days, yet no-one watches him play and thinks "what a dull name" do they? Wayne Rooney is just who he is. Not his name.

Kevin Pietersen is South African.

My solicitor is called Poppy and she's blooming fantastic!!

Also, bear in mind bicultural families who may choose a name outside of UK mainstream names but very popular in their own culture.
For instance, I live in Spain and might have called my DS (I didn't) Angel, pronounced ANhell. While we are living here it would have been as common as all those "lovely traditional" names in the UK. If we ever moved back to the Uk then I expect you'd all have thought he had a weird "trying too hard" name.
These name threads can be awfully narrow minded. There is another world out there you know...not every "weird" name is people randomly choosing something they've seen on telly.
What about Barack Obama? I expect you all think his parents were irresponsible too....hhmmm i think he ended up as a lawyer/senator/us president, didn't he?

My sister is a solicitor and knows a barrister called Tallulah.

Guess it's just lucky her parents didn't feel silly saying 'Tallulah wants to do law'.

Or perhaps Tallulah was able to speak for herself....

Can you guess I have a Poppy and am well aware of people not liking the name but it never seemed like a 'cutesy' name to me. Makes me think of a bright scarlet red colour and that is why I love it.

Wasn't there a doctor on that Embarrassing Ilnnesses show the other night called Poppy or something equally quirky?

I think a solicitor called Poppy would be great actually. Make her stahnd out from the crowd.

Tallulah is a fine name - suitable for someone of any profession!

Can you tell I'm anoyed I'm never going to have another little girl and won't be able to use the name Tallulah!

I know Pietersen is South African but it was just an example. Doesn't exactly render my whole point void, does it?

Plus, his mother is English and his brothers are Greg, Brian and Tony.....so not exactly way out of the English sphere of names/

Would anybody dare suggest that this woman ought not to be a lawyer because her name is Daisy?

No! LOL!

my barrister was a bloody whizz

she was called sharon

i am a lawyer called michele. pretty sure thirty years ago michele wasnt the recurrent name on the roll of solicitors. times change. ps, also have an a level in law!

NotanOtterOHappyDay - the point is that Daisy and Poppy have only become popular (again) recently - no doubt in 15 years time there will be Poppies and Daisies in every firm as there are Emmas and Joannas now. Barack Obama was known as Barry for many years (the last presidential candidate called Barry was Barry Goldwater, so that isn't a good precedent).

Where's custardo gone then? Off to change her DCs names by deedpoll to something more suitable for a prime-minister / astronaut / rocket scientist...

Or is she just sitting back with a bowl of popcorn watching the furr fly?

I've just remembered seeing Paula Yates being interviewed about her choice of kids names (think it was on Parky). She was pontificating about how divine her chidren's names were "Just imagine when she's 18 and her boyfriend calls and asks for Peaches - it's so gorgeous and sexy". The interviewer interjected: "But what if she wants to be a nuclear physicist".

Turns out she didn't want to go down the nuclear physicist route anyway, eh!

Sorry haven't read all the posts but can agree entirely with the poster, sorry can't remember who it was, who said that Charlote etc would have been cringeworthy at one time.
Hence when a friend told me she was calling her baby Emily I thought how old fashioned and awful, this was 19 years ago when the only Emilys I could think of were VERY old ladies and nobody called their baby Emily.
Now the name is popular and Cool again and nobody bats an eye.
As for the name Honey, I quite like it-get me to the lap dancing class now!!!!!

x

Poppy and Daisy are very pretty and sensible names - i can't imagine either of those are going to hinder a career - it's more the made up/whacky spelling that I think is more of an issue.

Androo, Danyell, Sharlot etc...

Scottishmummy-say the name outloud and imagine solicitor or accused.

You mean like PETER- solid and traditional as in Peter Sutcliffe??!!!!!!!!
Or again IAN as in HUNTLEY!!!!!!!!

Don't think your theory upholds somehow.

Liffey - I've been on here for a while and I don't get upset and take things personally very often - you're the first person that's actually made me feel physically sick -at the thought that some people will hear my dd's name and think she sounds like she works in the sex industry.
I honestly wasn't rtying to push back the boundaries when I chose her name - it was the name of a friend and now it's in the 100 most popular names so not very boundary pushing.
I really hope your views are in a minority and that of an older small minded generation and not her prospective employers in 20 years time.
Sorry - can't feel very light hearted about this one.

"Mnay of the names that are popular now (like Poppy and Daisy, etc) will be very much the norm when those children are older - so they won;t seem out of place at all."

Yes, this is a possibility or they may become names that people take the piss out of like Sharon or Tracey.

"Does one really want their DC to be one of five or more in the class with the same name"

As a 31 year old "Sarah" I can confirm that being in a class of 18 with 3 others is not a traumatic life experience. In fact it's almost a bit of a club having the same name as other people. I'd rather that than be called Fifi Trixabelle or something else ridiculous. I'm not sure that any names these days anyway are as common as mine was then - people go for lots and lots of different names.

I wonder if the prejudice against certain names may be due to preconceived ideas of what the parents who give those names may be like, and therefore how the child has been brought up.

DD has what has been described (on MN and elsewhere) as a 'chavvy' name, and I have more than once had comments on the lines of 'You don't look like the mum of an X' - and DD has had similar comments herself.

Oh RustyBear - YOu have to tell us what your DD's name is now!

What an unpleasnt, smug, self satisfied type of thread, as well as being rather stupid.

In twenty years time law firms and hospitals will be choc a block with Dr Poppy Williams', Registrars called Millie Robinson and QC's called Poppy Bleasdale etc etc (make up you own cute name/surmane combo)

as these are the current popular names of middle class girls, and who are now performing best at school and entering these professions in disproportionate numbers? That's right middle class girls.

So fear not those of you with cute girls name DD's (I have DS's with not very cute names) they are our Dr's and lawyers of the future. If that gives you any reassurance and/or pride .

I imagine though that by then Custy will be a cynical old lady (like now but worse) along the lines of Catheriens Tate's Granny, and sitting there in her dirty tights whilst consulting Dr Lily-Mae Jenkins about her arthitis, and muttering just so the Dr can hear (cos she's hard)'Lily-mae, what sort of bloody stupid name is that for a Doctor??' Of course Lily-Mae will act totally professionally and ignore the nasty old ladies coments and try to alleviate all her old lady symptoms.

I actualy think the most unplaeant thing about this thread is the suggestion we should try to think of names to help them become lawyers and/or doctors when they are babies. Why??? There are many other ways to lead an equally/more fulfilling life.Weird imo.

Everyone needs to stop getting so huffy and understand the point being made by custy. Even though we know it's ridiculous and terribly judgemental people do of course judge people by things such as their name, especially when like on a CV etc you don't have much else to go on. There are countless pieces of research saying it happens. Almost everyone on this thread has expressed an opinion about different names. No it's not right, and it is mostly subconscious, but it does happen. Just something to think about when you are deciding between boring but timeless Katherine and adorable but twee Kiki-Trixi.