Do you like Wolf for a boy?

[mrsruffallo]

A serious question- is silly, bold or cool?

erm.. No sorry!

I was stuck in a traffic jam today thinking about this thread (sad person that I am) and I wondered if you had thought of Eric - or Erik if you prefer. It sounds as if it's in the same sort of "family" of names but without the potential for you having to fork out huge sums of money for psychiatrists in the future.

Eric doesn't appeal. It's a bit dull for a young lad isn't it?

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. Kids round here do not take the piss out of each other's names*, anything is acceptable and tolerated as names could come from anywhere in the world (and as a teacher I don't really have a problem with names that aren't Sarah or Jack either). This is in secondary schools in Tottenham and Hackney. Don't know if it is different elsewhere.

(FWIW our baby boy is called Sky/Skyler. If you want Wolf, go for it. Personally hate Wilf and Archie and Cyril etc but once you know a kid for more than 2 minutes, their name isn't anything, just their name)

*Though they might mug you for your phone.

PS I always though Prince Eric sounded funny from Little Mermaid (Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty is weirder). Though Erik is growing on me... .

Should I start saving now for Björn's psychiatry treatment?

Wolfgang - yes, lovely

Wolf - character out of a fantasy film, the sort of person who runs around with a sword killing dragons with 3 heads.

cory - no, but you had better start saving for the defence barrister he's going to need when he finally snaps and kills the next person who says "Sorry, what was that? Oh, like the guy from Abba! How do you spell it again?"

No that is a shit name!

I prefer Giraffe, or maybe Lion, or I don't know, Elephant maybe?

seeker, I did ask dcs tonight if they'd ever found their names a hindrance or that people at school made fun of them. They seemed quite surprised at the thought; apparently people think it's cool. So that's all right then. There's another Björn in the next road btw; he also looks calm and well adjusted. Foreign names are not that unusual here.

Of course, what cory has failed to tell us is that she lives in Oslo.....

Nope, she does not. Fairly large southern English town. Also plenty of Indian names around, a fair few Polish, some Russian and Portuguese. People just don't do a double take when they hear a foreign name.

I am getting quite curious as to where you live, seeker. Clearly not anywhere very multi-cultural.

What on earth makes you think that?

Because you seem to have the experience that a foreign name would make a child unhappy or bullied or make him stand out. Ds's experience is that so many kids have unusual names that it wouldn't occur to anyone to laugh at his. And I reckon he'll stay off that psychiatrist's couch for a bit longer.

Wolfgang is OK with a German/Scandinavian connection, could even be cool in the right circumstances. Wolf is not. It's just silly/try hard. Makes me think of Citizen Smith. Far too loaded. Nothing wrong with Björn, or any other foreign name (I went to school with a Zoltan. His dad was Hungarian) but it is much easier if you have a genuine connection. I think having a good story behind your name is really nice, especially if it is unusual, because you will often be asked why you are called whatever you happen to be called. To me Wolf is like River or Leaf, it makes more of a statement about parents than a gift for a child.

I'm not objecting to Wolf because it's a foreign name - I'm objecting to it because in English it is the name of a large hairy carnivorous animal known for howling at the moon!

In English, Perver (Turkish name I think) isn't great. I didn't even notice it was Perver (like well, a Perver) til about a month later when someone pointed it out to me. None of the kids cared or noticed. Sure there are loads of other examples.

I was at school with a Hans. Absolutely no German connection at all. We gave him hell.

Not another parent trying to live another life through their children... poor kid

I have lived in Ealing, Edmonton, Oxford, Chester, Devon, Sweden, France and Reading.

The most rural place I lived in had the most diverse or as diverse selection of names.

Reading and Chester I came across the least variation.

Small sample, but not sure urban=less variation.

There is SUCH a difference between a Turkish person with a Turkish last name called Perver, and an Anglo Saxon person deciding that Perver is a lovely name and what's wrong with being called Perver Mc Donald how narrow minded of people to thing it's at all a problem. We live in the world we are in NOW, not the one we would like to live in, which is full of people - some of them wielding power- who will judge. Why give them amunition?

But who knows the background of someone's name? How do I know meeting Perver the solicitor whether he is of Turkish or English origin? Should I ask him to check whether his name is valid or ridiculous?

If you have an unusual name people ask all the time. It does make a real difference if you have a good story as to why you are called Bollivar or Scolastica (or even Wolf) or even Perver. It's also much more likely to make you feel positive about your name if you feel that your parents had a really good reason as to how they named you.

If you meet someone with a non-English last name whose first name is Perver you think briefly "Oh that's a bit unfortunate - but it obviously doesn't mean the same in [insert language of the person's family of origin here]"

If you meet someone called Perver Smith you think either "He's been in the army and has one of those nicknames Prince Harry finds so entertaining but it is deeply weird that he hasn't changed it back to John now he's civilian solicitor" OR you think "That perspn's parents should be sued"