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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

If you posted a baby name on here asking for opinions and...

41 replies

seeker · 07/04/2009 07:26

you got nearly 200 responses and only 2 people liked it and all the others had negative associations with the name, would you change your mind about using it, or would you assume that the 198 people were wrong and the 2 were right?

OP posts:

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greenelephant · 07/04/2009 07:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lawks · 07/04/2009 07:41

I would assume the 298 were wrong .

IheartEASTEREGGS · 07/04/2009 07:44

If I had posted with any doubt in my mind at all I would have changed my mind about using it with those responses.
If I loved the name I would still use it and feel smug that those 198 people had less taste than me

blametheparents · 07/04/2009 07:46

I would not have posted if I had any doubt in my mind. What would be the point of asking for opinions if you knew yours was right? So, beacause of this, I would probably end up changing my mind

OrmIrian · 07/04/2009 07:48

I'd use it. IME names come to represent the people they are given to, not the other way round.

purplemonkeydishwasher · 07/04/2009 07:57

i always assume everyone else is wrong and i'm right. probably because I'm RIGHT.

Original poster

seeker · 07/04/2009 08:01

"IME names come to represent the people they are given to, not the other way round."
Absolutely, I agree about the people around the child who've got to know him/her and the name together.

The trouble is, that every new person the child meets in life or who reads the name on an application form or a list is either going to be one of the 198 or one of the 2!

OP posts:

fishie · 07/04/2009 08:04

i would never post a baby name here for internet people to be rude about.

coochicoo · 07/04/2009 09:21

Have you seen my Walter thread?

If I loved a name and had no doubts about it, I wouldn't need to post to ask for opinions. I expect I like the name Walter because it was my lovely Granddad's name. Dh isn't keen, and I think if he'd put the name on the table and it wasn't a family name I'd probably say no to it.

Having seen the opinions I'll probably go with Walter as a middle name.

If I loved the name completely I wouldn't care what others thought or be put off.

SobranieCocktail · 07/04/2009 09:27

seeker - there is no "wrong" and "right". It's a matter of taste.

frazzledoldbag · 07/04/2009 09:29

It wouldn't change my mind. I post baby names cos I'm interested in what people think and how 'popular' it is. If 100% loved my choice of name THEN I'd probably be suspicious and maybe not use it! But if only 10% loved it I'd still use it. IYSWIM. But maybe I'm odd......

VeryAnnieMary · 07/04/2009 09:38

"Always listen to advice...and then make up your own mind" as my wise old Dad once said.

I guess it depends on whether you wanted everyone to like your name or whether you wanted to know if you were likely to have RL opposition, and if so, how you'd react.

Otherwise it's a bunch of internet invisibles and no way of knowing if you share similar tastes.

(Coochicoo - do use Walter! - I think it's lovely.)

coochicoo · 07/04/2009 09:41

Thanks

Unfortunately it's not just up to me though...dh is on the side of the majority at the moment. Don't think I'll win him round.

Laugs · 07/04/2009 09:44

frazzledoldbag I understand that completely. When everyone comes back saying they love the name, it really puts me off! You know it will be added to potential name lists across the country, if not already the name of loads of MNers' kids!

seeker if you like the name, keep it. If you can't get over the fact that other people don't like it and it feels tarnished, then back to the drawing board.

I don't think I'd ask for opinions on here. We kept DD's name secret from everyone in RL and online until she was born. I knew it was a bit unusual and people would feel free to say they didn't like it when it was just an idea, now it is her name they wouldn't dare! Also, it is lovely and it suits her - that's all you need.

Gorionine · 07/04/2009 09:49

I would keep the name.

coochicoo, I was on your Walter thread and my post might have sounded unkind and i am sorry about it. I have come to relise something though, if you are asked straight out for an opinion about what a name reminds you off your mind can play tricks on you and "blurt out " stupid things. Now if I was to meet you anywhere and you said to me This is DS, his name is Walter, I am pretty certain the same thing would not have jumped out of my mind IYSWIM. I would definitely go for it as a first name if I was you.

All my DCs have foreign names that make a lot of people gasp when they first ear it but they do in time get used to them even though they mainly cannot pronounce them. You chose a name that means something important to you it does not matter what anyone else thinks IMO!

VeryAnnieMary · 07/04/2009 09:50

Blimmin' boys - they should not be allowed to have opinions. My sister and her DH thought they'd decided, but after a difficult birth dsis changed her mind and picked a name that she really liked, to which her DH couldn't object due to her post-birth hormonal state - she recommends this method for getting the name you want!

Tortington · 07/04/2009 09:52

i wouldn't ask if i didn't want to know tbh - and it really pissed me off when i post ' its a fugly name' and the reply i get is "how very dare you" wellyou shouldn't have pissin' asked in the first place!

VeryAnnieMary · 07/04/2009 09:52

Laugs - I'd do that too (if I ever manage to conceive)- my family are too opinionated to share these things with. Presenting a done-deal is my favoured tactic. If I ever need it. (Is it to early to hit the gin?)

peanutbutterkid · 07/04/2009 09:58

I can't imagine ever asking for opinions on a name, anyway.
If I did, then I assume I would go with the 198, what's the point of asking if you're going to ignore an overwhelming majority?

PortAndLemon · 07/04/2009 10:35

I wouldn't post a baby name on here asking for opinions . It does hack me off when someone else asks about one of my DCs names and posters are rude about it, though (and that's one reason to perhaps be tactful about saying a name is fugly for everyone who's asked for your opinion and so ought to be able to take the full force of your opinion there are probably a dozen or more who have already used the name and haven't asked you to tell them how hideous you think it is (this is why I now have Baby Names hidden I only came on this thread because it was linked to from the main page)).

belgo · 07/04/2009 10:48

I have never asked this board for opinions on my children's names, because I don't really care what people think. Just as well, as someone else recently asked for opinions on my ds's name, and roughly 98% didn't like it.

My own name was critised on here recently.

coochicoo · 07/04/2009 10:54

Don't apologise Gorionine, I wanted honest opinions!

I've seen a few people say negative things about dd's name but it doesn't bother me because I love it regardless. I only ask for opinions if I'm unsure of a name myself.

pointydog · 07/04/2009 10:59

If I did post for opinions and most were aginst, I'd probably change my mind, yes.

I'd never post, though.

LaDiDaDi · 07/04/2009 10:59

I'm not sure to be honest.

I don't remember posting here about names when I was pregnant with dd. If I get pregnant again then I might post for ideas rather than opinions but I do think that getting opinions on here can be valuable for people to find out how they feel if everyone dislike the chosen name, they might not even have considered it not being well-liked.

ohdearwhatamess · 07/04/2009 11:01

I would change my mind.

I posted a thread about the name we'd decided on for ds2, which is a bit unusual, and wanted to test out reactions to it on people who would say what they thought rather than just be polite. I was surpised at just how many people were really positive about it and that was a big factor in us deciding to use it.

Had everyone hated the name I wouldn't have used it, as I'd assume people in RL would think the same and snigger, even if they said all the right things in person.

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